Twisted Custom Rods

I finally went ahead and pulled the trigger on a buying a custom rod. I really hadn’t been in the market for anything new, but then I realized my fishing pole collection was lacking in the top-water department. I immediately thought of Jonathan Vadney who is a regular on our forums and founder of Twisted Custom Rods. I remembered that he had posted some of his work in one of his threads, and I remember thinking to myself that if I was ever going to buy one it would be from him.

I want you all to know that Jonathan was EXTREMELY thorough throughout the entire selection process. He asked about style of fishing, colors, eyes, placement, left handed or right handed, cork, blanks, etc…. It was obvious that he had done this many times before, and I was very confident that he’d put his heart and soul into his work, just as he had done for some of our other SJB members.

… Continue Reading

Ripping the Grass for Bass

By Chuck Bailey

Nothing provokes the average bass angler to put away their crankbaits faster than constantly snagging submerged weeds or grass. Whether it is hydrilla, elodea, coontail moss, milfoil or any of the other aquatic plants that grow in the shallows, there is nothing more frustrating than retrieving cranks to find it coated in green salad. A poorly cast crankbait can even bog down in a heavy mass of weeds or grass to the point that you have to go in and get it.

So it surprises some weekend anglers to discover that many accomplished professional fishermen actually seek to make contact with weeds – INTENTIONALLY!

And no one knows more about this unique technique called “ripping” than FLW and B.A.S.S. tournament pro Bernie Schultz. Raised in Florida, … Continue Reading

Fishing for Bass in the Fall

If you’re living in California, especially the Bay Area, then you’re probably aware that we really didn’t have a summer this year. Many of us fishing our local lakes were catching spawning bass well past the April and May time frame. My personal take is that the fish this year were confused, and since it never really got consistently hot around here many largemouth didn’t really know what to do. And if you really think about it, we as anglers were almost as confused as the fish. The days and weeks we thought they should be biting, well…. they weren’t.

I guess this is a true testament as to how important the weather is to fishing, and this is the true reason why I wanted to write this article. Before I begin I’d like to offer up my typical disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am not a professional and everything that I write is based on my own experiences. Basically, I’m just a guy who enjoys fishing like the most of you and our website was in desperate need of a new article. … Continue Reading

Coyote Reservoir

I’ve wanted to write an article about Coyote Reservoir for quite some time, but I was somewhat hesitant due to the fact that some anglers may consider this place to be one of the South Bay’s best-kept secrets. However, after doing a quick Google search on “Coyote Reservoir” I realized that most of the larger fishing websites had already beat me to the punch. Some articles are over 5 years old, but nonetheless they each highlight the fact that on any given Sunday this place can yield large Florida-strain bass.

Having said that, I wanted to take a moment to highlight my own experiences out at Coyote, and explain to everyone why I love/hate this place. And then I also want to share some stories I’ve had out there, some of which were captured on film…

Disclaimer:  As most of you may already know, I’m not a professional angler by any means, and most of what I know I’ve learned from friends … Continue Reading

Striped Bass Fishing with Bobby Barrack

I am addicted to striped bass fishing. My addiction to catching stripers once contributed to the termination of a relationship with a girl, it has cost me hundreds of dollars and has at times, affected my work performance. Why do I do it and why do I like it as much as largemouth bass fishing…because those fish can pull. They are aggressive and their topwater strikes are nothing short of amazing.

My knowledge about catching linesiders is somewhat limited. I mostly learned how to catch stripers by talking briefly with Steve LaRussa at Coyote Bait & Tackle, reading quite a few articles on the web, and getting out as much as possible during the striper season.  At first, I quickly grew frustrated. It felt as though I was ‘blind’ casting my way through the Delta while hunting for these fish. What I really needed was some direction from someone … Continue Reading