BOOM! DDB, barely

Its a been a while since my last post. Fatherhood has taken a toll on my free time and although I have been fishing, the time I have to write about it has significantly decreased. The fire still burns though. That being said, I love being a dad. Seeing my little guy grow and develop has been nothing short of amazing. Life changing. Really.

Well on Saturday, January 22, 2011, I finally got her.

I woke up in the dark and headed to Lake Murray to work some spots with the swimbaits. I made the mental commitment to leave the light gear, or "fairy wands" as I jokingly refer to 'em, in the truck. I was planning to fish for a few hours in the morning and then meet my buddy in the San Diego Bay for an afternoon bay bassin session.   

The dock at Lake Murray:

I was packin two rods. An Okuma 7'11" Xtra Heavy Swimbait rod with a Shimano Curado 300DSV spooled with 25 pound Triple Fish Camo monofilament. On this rod I had the 8" BBZ-1 slow sink in rainbow trout tied on.

The other rod was an American Spirit, 7'6" Xtra Heavy Rod, kind of an off brand rod with a Shimano Cardiff 300A spooled with 20 pound Izorline XXX. On this rig I had a Huddleston ROF (Rate of Fall) 12 tied on.

These are both rainbow trout imitations and weigh about 5 ounces each. Designed to catch trophy size bass in  lakes and reservoirs stocked with trout. 

Heres a pic I found online of some Murray stockers:

The swimbaits work in non-trout stocked lakes but thats a whole 'nother story...

Anyway. I worked through the area around the boat dock, toward the fishing pier, into a cove, a point, and back past the boat dock (as seen in the above photo).

I was basically fishing an area that:

a) Is known to have had ddb's caught

b) Is close to the spot where the trout truck delivers the goods

c) Was recommended to me by an experienced basser, see item a.

Well, after about 3.5 hours of chucking and winding with no bites whatsoever, I struck up a conversation with a friendly guy in a float tube fishing right off the end of the boat dock. He was fishing for bluegills but through our brief conversation, I sensed that he knew a bit about all aspects of the local freshwater scene, maybe it was his chinaman hat. I dunno. Cool guy for sure, " Good luck man" I said as I slowly creeped away, pointing the trolling motor back to the launch ramp for one last pass through "the zone". As I picked up the rod with the BBZ-1 tied on, he asked if I ever get bit on that particular lure. "Not yet...",  I replied, "but if I do, it's gonna be a big one". 

I chucked the lure into one of the open berths in the boat dock and as the lure sank, I swung the trolling motor wide and around my intended path of retrieve. After about 40 seconds or so, I began the SLOW grind in. Maybe 10 cranks in I felt a thump. Not the freight train, rod yanking thump I so eagerly anticipated, but a solid THUMP, followed by a heavy load-up of the rod. It only took one head shake for me to realize that this was not a snag and my goal was soon to be realized. 

I put the wood to this fish and just cranked hard. Boy, did she feel big. I didn't know how big until I saw her. Holy S@!t! A GIANT! I saw her mouth was open and remembered a tip I heard. If a big fish has its mouth open, crank it in hard and the mouth will fill with water and make it hard for the fish to shake its head and throw the hook. When I got it close to the boat I was freaking. I grabbed the net and tried to scoop her up. Nope, she wouldn't fit. I saw the hooks in her mouth, top and bottom, and wondered how I would get my mitts in there. Screw it. The chance of a lifetime- I just went for it. I shoved my hand in her mouth avoiding the trebles and got a grasp on her lip. Hoisted her in and let out my best victory holler (God, I must have sounded like a kook). Done deal. She was mine.

Big belly, real long, and the most beautiful fish I have ever seen. Countless hours obsessing, planning, and daydreaming finally paid off. I weighed her on my Shimano scale and she came in at an even 10 pounds. Wow...Whew...Hallelujah...Is this for real?

Setting a personal goal, whether it's fishing, health, or career related, whatever; it's a wonderful thing. To realize your goal is a wonderful feeling. But in the end, yeah, its just a fish right?. Life is WAY more than just fishing. 

But look at her. So sweet. So beautiful. Glistening in the sun like a tiny little crack rock just begging to get out of its baggie, ready to be incinerated for a quick euphoric rush. Careful, it won't last forever! Gimme a taste of that son. Just a little...please? Oh man. I'm hooked, obsessed, addicted. This is getting out of control. 

Where is my 12 step program?? Kristen??? Help!!!

Fish in a Bucket

Me and the boys took the early train in to Lake Barret, San Diego county's most expensive and most managed bass lake. Its stocked with northern strain bass and the place goes off...

We ripped bass all day, through the chilly morning, mid day heat, and cool afternoon. Heres some pics. Cant wait to go back. No DDB's caught...

Caught my first frog fish and frog!

Seth ripped this pig on a jig!

We all got into em. Great day!!!
Beautiful place!

Confidence

It's been a while since I posted a report. Since the last report, I think I got skunked at Otay AGAIN. Frustrating to say the least. Lately, I feel like I am always scrambling, trying to get a bite, switching lures, changing speeds. Thinking... Overthinking? 

I needed to get my confidence back so Ive been hitting up the bay with some fantastic sessions thrown in there. Today, my buddy and I hit up Mission Bay for a bay bass'in session with the hope for an evening topwater corvina bite.

Before leaving the house, I usually tie on the lures I think I will use based on the areas and depths I anticipate fishing. I've had some success in Mission Bay and have been fishing it fairly steady for about 8 years. Over that time I have learned what my go-to, or confidence baits are. These are the baits that I know how to fish, where and when to fish them, and supply me with the confidence to stick with them until I develop a pattern. I caught this chunky Spotted Bay Bass on Confidence Lure #1-the spinnerbait that I had tied on to my 10 lb. setup. I ripped quite a few nice bass in this area on the blade.

My buddy wasn't doing so hot. He wasn't getting bit and was starting to get frustrated. He was fishing a swimbait in a color that generally works well , but couldn't quite get the strikes he was looking for. I put the blade down and decided to give the swimbait a try. Confidence bait #2, which was tied to an 8lb. test set-up, led to a few more healthy spots- including this guy:

I haven't caught a spotty this big in a while. Heck, I havent seen one this big in a while. I'm not sure how much this one weighed but I do know it was long and healthy (that's what she said). Not quite the bulbous belly of the other ones but definitely a great fish. Keep in mind that spotties don't get as big as their freshwater cousins, I think the WR is about 6.5 pounds? 

Anyway, all three lures I tied on prior to leaving caught fish. All were caught tight to structure or eelgrass. My confidence in the lures I picked allowed me to focus and stick to the plan. This was the key for me today. Hope to find this kind of confidence in the lakes. Eyes on the prize...

The JOCK

Back in the day, when me and buddies used to fish at home on Silver Lake or one of the other local ponds, I can't remember getting skunked, ever. Although we weren't specifically targeting bass, we always had a good time and  always seemed to catch fish. My good buddy Aaron had this one little popper that would always outfish any lure we had 3 or 4 to one. Bluegill, sunfish, perch, bass, carp, crappie, turtles, frogs, you name it- it would eat it. 

So of course we were jealous. Whenever he busted it out we were like, "oh man, here we go". We knew we were about to get schooled. We named this lure "The Jock". It was everything we (by 'we', I mean our lures) weren't. Thinner, cooler looking, productive, and awesome. All the girls loved it (by 'girls' I mean fish). The Jock ruled.  We just watched in awe.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010. A skunk I WILL remember. I launched at 6:15 am in Lower Otay Reservoir. Located in Chula Vista, just outside of San Diego, Otay is another typical expensive, clear, deep SoCal Reservoir filled with bass- so I hear. And there are DDB's all over in here- so I hear...

I fished a Daiwa Dead or Alive wakebait. A beautiful, big topwater/wakebait with fantastic action. Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) lures rule. This one is no exception.

No bites.
I fished a Neko rigged Yum dinger worm. No bites.
Spinnerbait. No bites.
Jerkbait. No bites.
Senko. Nope.
Frog. Nada.
Huddleston. Nothing.
I went back to the end of the Harvey Arm of the lake and although I was getting no bites, I enjoyed the differences back here from what I've experienced at the other lakes. The water was stained, there was brush, tullies, little canals, mats of floating vegetation. Just a neat area. Then I noticed it..again and again...Boils in the weeds. A sign of life near the end of a long morning. I wasn't sure if these were  bass but I was ready to find out. I threw about three or four of the above mentioned lures...................nothing. Go figure. The water reminded me of home, the weather was nice. I was frustrated but ok. Stoked to be in a new spot and being on the water. It reminded me of the good old days and being a kid again. Thats when I remembered the JOCK. Of course I didn't have one, but I made do with what I had. I dug out a trout mini jig and went to work. I made about 5 casts and caught this guy. A little bluegill. The first Ive caught in a LOOONG time. Scrappy but small, thanks for the fight buddy! I left Otay at noon.


Oh, then I went to Lake Dixon and got skunked again. Left there at 8pm.
Total hours fishing 11.
$23 in lake fees.
$30 in gas.
Bass caught 0.
Catching a bluegill and reminiscing about my childhood...bullshit!

I'm going to Jennings tomorrow night to catch a DDB dammit! It's all about keeping the focus, the eyes on the prize.

***UPDATE*** Skunked at Jennings. FML..

Ninja Bassin'

Mothers Day weekend in Oxnard led me to a presearch for some fishable waters near my Mother-in-laws. A quick look through Google Earth came up with Lake Casitas, only 20 miles away, near Ojai. Casitas is a big bass fishery with two of the top 25 bass coming out of here (see previous post). How could I resist? Oh wait, I know how, it costs 15 dollars just to drive in, 2 dollars more to bring the dog. Jeez...Welcome to Southern California.

So this little guy came on what has become my goto, guaranteed fish catcher- the 4" thin Senko (thanks for the tip B.H.). I had a 3lb leader on for added effectiveness. I know, I know, there will be zero chance of catching a DDB with this setup but with the entry fee as it is, I wanted something to show for it...Oh well, it was nice to enjoy the day with my ever-expanding wife (remember, she's preggo) and our little dog Seamour. Unfortunately for Sea, her two dollar entry included four paws worth of briars....

How do you avoid ridiculous fees and pressured waters? You go Ninja my friend, thats how. Me and my buddy hit up a local pond in search of some lunkers. He got this nice one.

Unfortunately, he also missed a bite on a 16" worm, definitely DDB style fishing. 

I got this little guy on the Ika. Because of the abundant cover and snags, we had to fish weedless and the Ika supposedly can catch some big ones. Not satisfied, I tried to throw the swimbait, and got it hung up second cast. I left that place with three lure-less rods and a giant birdsnest of a backlash...Better luck next time.   

By the way, I wonder if the Japanese call sneaking around in the dark at forbidden areas, in the wee hours of the morning, "Ninja" style. For some reason I doubt it. Maybe here in San Diego it would be more appropriate to call it "Ghetto Style Tresspassin' " or something. But then it might lose its nostalgic charm and we wouldn't feel like kids, more like criminals, sneaking around in the dark at forbidden areas, in the wee hours of the morning....  

My Local Lake

Lake Miramar...This lake is probably the closest to my house, so I thought I might start trying to figure it out. At one time, this lake pumped out a lot of DDB's. In fact, here is a list of the top 25 bass caught:

1 22.311 Manabu Kurita Lake Biwa Japan 7/2/2009
2 22.250 George W. Perry Montogmery Lake GA 6/2/1932
3 22.010 Robert J. Crupi Lake Castaic CA 3/12/1991
4 21.750 Michael Arujo Lake Castaic CA 3/5/1991
5 21.688 Jed Dickerson Lake Dixon CA 5/31/2003
6 21.200 Raymond D. Easley Lake Casitas CA 3/4/1980
7 21.010 Robert J. Crupi Lake Castaic CA 3/9/1990
8 20.938 Dave Zimmerlee Lake Miramar CA 6/23/1973
9 20.860 Leo Torres Lake Castaic CA 2/4/1990
10 20.750 Mike Long Lake Dixon CA 4/27/2001
11 20.250 Gene Dupras Lake Hodges CA 5/30/1985
12 20.125 Fritz Friebel Big Fish Lake FL 5/19/1923
13 19.700 George Coniglio Lake Mission Viejo CA 3/21/2006
14 19.500 Mark Balloid Lake Castaic CA 5/28/1990
15 19.500 Randy Crabtree Lake Casitas CA 4/9/2002
16 19.500 Keith Gunsauls Lake Miramar CA 2/29/1988
17 19.438 Mac Weakley Lake Dixon CA 5/20/2003
18 19.250 Chris Brant Lake Miramar CA 3/22/1998
19 19.188 Steve Beasley Lake Wohlford CA 2/3/1986
20 19.188 Arden Charles Hanline Lake Morena CA 2/17/1987
21 19.500 Kazuya Shimada Lake Ikehara Japan 4/22/2003
22 19.063 Sandra W. DeFresco Lake Miramar CA 3/14/1988
23 19.040 Dan T. Kadota Lake Castaic CA 1/8/1989
24 19.031 Larry Kerns Lake Success CA 1/27/2001
25 19.000 Riley Witt Lake Tarpon FL 6/26/1961

Miramar is no. 8, 16, 18, and 22 !!! Pretty amazing really since most people think it sucks now...

Anyway, I launched solo to try to get some lunkers. Got half way out and realize I left my tackle in the truck. Motored back to the dock and got my stuff. Got back out and as I'm tying on some lures, I hear a gurgle... UH OH.

I open the deck hatch and water just flows out!. I forgot to put in the drain plug. Whoops!. Motor back to the ramp, get the trailer, put the boat on and watch it drain for 45 minutes. Another reason I love my boat: Its unsinkable. The fishing was ok. I found a pattern fishing texas rigged thin senkos up close to the tullies. These are 4" skinny little worms- not exactly DDB material.

FOCUS DENNIS!!!! OK, so I decide to throw the Mattlures Tru Trout Swimbait . Nothing on the first five casts. Some grass on a few. Man my arms getting tired...Where was that senko at??? Needless to say, throwing and dedicating yourself to fish big baits is hard work. Miramar is fairly clear, like most of the trout-stocked reservoirs in San Diego. How can I get away fishing 20 lb test when the fish are shying from 6 and 8 pound test???

Not Quite

Well, I'm kind of off track. I fished a "wide open" bite at El Kapitan Reservoir recently only to find a floatilla of bass boats. My little center console skiff felt and looked a little out of place. But I love her. She's a seaworthy gal with alot of versatility. Offshore, inshore, and fresh, she can do it all. I have trolling motor rigged up on it, but would love to get something better. I think my back will thank me if I do. No more bending and casting, bending and reeling, bending and casting...

We did catch some fish. Nothing big, and nowhere near wide open for us. I certainly doubt I'll catch a DDB throwing Zoom flukes up tight to the bank. The little guys were smashing it. All the fish were caught shallow in 2 feet or so. I heard a DDB came out of El Kap recently but I don't think its that common.

Thats my buddy Jason up top. He caught that one right off the bat and we thought it would be on fire. It wasn't. We picked at em and it got windy so we left. Still fun though.