Low tide is probably the toughest tide to fish for most guys. The one reason is, we all like to chunk our baits up to the bank and work it to the weedlines, heck that’s where we ALL have the best results, up in that shallow trough. But when that window of opportunity disappears, what do ya do? It’s simple really, ya gotta know when, where and how to adjust to the fish movements and their activities.

Now there are two real key factors that I relay on to make these adjustments, seasonal patterns and barometric changes. Keeping in mind that the bass is a predator and feeds a lot, except in early spring during the spawn when most strike come out of reaction, ya need to understand their level of activity at that specific time of year.

The Seasons

Summer, in the early stages fish are just coming off the spawn and are spent. They move deep into areas were they are very difficult to catch for a number of weeks. At this time of year, you have just got to pound, pound , pound and hope for the best. In the later summer months of July, August and September, the fish recover from the post spawn doldrums and move into the shallows and become very active.

Fall, the fish now have detected that the temperature is dropping and begin to move into the current and feed heavily, preparing for their winter time of low metabolism. The Delta can be at it’s exciting best during this time of year, just for the shear number of 3 pound fish that can be caught. Fish are everywhere!

Winter time marks another tough period for most anglers. Many fish move very deep and congregate in large numbers chasing the bait fish, shad actually. Some very large concentrations of fish can be found in the middle of sloughs buried in the deeper grass, others in the deep holes of dead end sloughs and marinas.

Spring time, finds the fish moving shallow again for the spawn, they are very active and easy to catch. BIG fish are caught in the Delta from late February to mid May. Fish are located in any area lacking current that provides ample spawning locations. Spring, well it’s like you and me, when we head to bed with our favorite partner, they only got one thing in mind and it ain’t food. The fish are gonna be very aggressive and will attack anything that disturbs this ritual.

Barometric Factor

During all four seasons, these fish are active and catchable here on the Delta.

The tough part comes, when we get a barometric change. A falling or low pressure generally brings with it overcast skies and cloud cover. During this time the fish will scatter and be very active. Now when we get a rising or climbing pressure change, we tend to see bluebird skies. Fish will then tend to hunker down very tight to cover or structure. Both of these changes tend to have an effect on how a bass is living at that moment. One good, falling pressure and cloud cover tend to give a bass more security in his ability to roam and seek prey, to be an efficient predator. The other not so good, rising pressure and clear skies, seem to make a bass very uncomfortable, doesn’t like his visibility, hence they seek shelter and become inactive.

The Low Tide Factor

Now that we’ve talked some about how these changes in barometric pressure affects the bass, as well as the bass’ reaction to seasonal patterns, we can now take a look at the puzzling piece. This is the piece to figure out . What do they do when the tide bottoms out and their high water haunts are taken away during either of these situations? How do we catch em?

If we have a falling or steady barometer, with overcast skies, those fish are gonna be very active and roaming. This is when I concentrate on weed clumps, the ones that look like big mushroom clumps, they have little avenues all around them. They exist in very shallow areas with some current all the time. Jigs, spinnerbaits, cranks and buzz baits can be fished through these, very effectively, to draw those aggressive strikes. I also like the outside edge on deep weed lines, jigs and cranks are the ticket here. Barrack loves to blade the shallow tulles islands, big white/chartreuse blades, right on the outside edges, bumping the tulles the whole way. Under this condition the fish will be real aggressive and are roaming, look for areas at low tide that allow them to do this, roam around freely. Look for open pockets and avenues, allowing the bass plenty of space to do this.

One real good example of this is the Sherman Lake area. This area is always good for me on the falling to low tide. Sherman is an area than has a vast growth of tulles with many cuts, channels and miniature sloughs. These tulles grow on soft mud flats. Throughout the years, with the coming and going of the tides, the edges of these tulle flats have been carved out creating breaks and cuts at the base of the tulles. There is a trough that runs here between the tulles and the weeds, creating perfect holding areas for bass at low tides. It is a flippers heaven.

As the tide is falling look for the bass to be at the inside base of the weeds. As the tide ebbs at it’s lowest point, they tend to be just sitting in what openings you can find. Again they may be roaming freely through out these troughs. In areas where you can’t flip these openings, work the outside edges of the grass or tulles with a blade. Very slow retrieve just under the surface. Let that blade create a slight wake on the surface, especially in the summer time.

One of my favorite techniques for low tides, especially in the summer, is throwing poppers. I have two I use, one is a fire tiger by Excell and the other is a white with chartrues back Splash It. These are best tossed on the outside of the weed mats. Especially those that have the yellow and green cheese growin on them. This bite is really good when ya got low water all day long. Use a very slow pop and rest retrieve. The longer it sits, generally the better the fish is that eats it. I will also toss that popper up into the openings between the matts and the rocks or tulles, right on the bank. One thing I do with all my poppers is remove the factory hooks and replace em with Gamakastu. Generally one size bigger than what has been installed by the manufacture.

Now in the late fall and winter times, I specifically key on the grass clumps. I look for areas where there is lots of current and two sloughs create a T or major intersection. Kinda like down around the Victoria canal area. Key on the inside or outside points that are opposite or out of the direct current flow. Look for the clumps of grass in that 6 to 8 foot range. I work that jig, very rapidly down to the grass clumps, and begin to entice them with the Claw Wave! Fish will stack up in these areas. They will move with the bait as the tidal flow changes. Go to the next spot.

Now on the other side is the rising barometer and bluebird skies. Just like that of the TopSix tournament. Everyone else was strugglin, while we fished areas where nobody would even think to fish under these very low tide conditions. Course bigger problem is, ya gotta know what the area is like at low tide and how to get around with no water. That part can only be learned through experience on the water. But what we looked for was very shallow structure, any kind of structure, a pipe, wood, old car, washing machine, sunken boats, it must be solid and isolated. The fish will hunker very tight to these pieces of structure.

You look for small openings in the grass to pitch to, where the grass lies right up next to the structure, it creates a canopy over the bass. The key is presentation, your not gonna catch crank, blade or buzzbait fish very often, you can’t quietly present your bait to these fish. Your entry must be precise and quiet, oh, so quiet. And it sometimes takes repeated presentations to get that fish to bite. That second big fish I caught the day of the TopSix, as well as another that I caught in the WON the week before, 6.97, was on the 3rd flip into the same exact whole, both tournaments. Repeated presentations.

Under bluebird days and on a low tide, you have got to slow way down, be thorough and make repeated presentations. You have got to stay off the trolling motor until you have completed dissecting the target area, otherwise you will blow it out with mud and other crap. Doing this will spook and scatter your fish. Remember, on the low tides those fish are there, they have no where to go.

Now in the late fall and winter time, I look for these fish out in the deeper grass beds, under bluebird days. I will generally start in these areas with a Manns BB Shad, in Chrome and Black. This allows me to cover a lot of water. Once I find em though, and have picked off all the real aggressive fish, I will then drag, hop, scoot, crawl, swim and shake a jig until I catch em all. I will then follow this up with a Rodstrainer Blade with a huge #6 Gold Colorado blade. I will slow roll that blade out in the middle of these no current sloughs. Dragging that blade right through the tops of the grass on that low tide, but ya gotta be slow. This will generally get those bigger fish unwilling to take the crank bait or jig.

If all of the above techniques and patterns fail you, I have one sure fire solution. This comes from a highly regarded Delta expert, it is also something I used in the November Pro-Am of 97 with great success. Look for new rock that has been laid on the levee. This new rock will generate a new grouth of zoo plankton and stuff that attracts baitfish and generates a whole new food chain, The bass will be around this kind of stuff. This bank must have sparce tulle clumps and a defined weed line out to about 4-5 foot of water. Get out that 6A or 7A Red Craw Bomber and crank the open trough between the water line and the weeds. The red Speed Trap will work as well, but does not dig into the rocks and grass as well as the Bomber. The Trap will work if the fish want it just ticking the top of the grass, let the fish tell ya what they want. And if they won’t hit the crank toss a white/chartrues blade, especially on the tulles.

Now, if all this fails, get out your white rat or frog and go get a sun tan!

Cooch

Here is the definition directly from their website:

Uvas dam and reservoir are located on Uvas Creek about two miles upstream from the intersection of Watsonville and Uvas roads in southern Santa Clara County. The Spanish name for grapes, “uvas,” is preserved in a number of place names, all apparently referring to the abundance of wild grapes. Uvas Creek got its name from the land grant Cañada de las Uvas (grape ravine) dated June 14, 1842. Uvas Dam was a part of the South Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District. It was completed in 1957. The reservoir’s capacity is 9,835 acre-feet of water. The surface area is 288 acres.

The only real negative aspect about this fishery, is that the water level fluctuates tremendously throughout the year. I feel that this plays a huge role in keeping the fish somewhat small here. I can say that they are very aggressive as the small bass were attacking my spinnerbait on the fall.

It’s a nice drive out here and being that it’s Calero and Chesbro’s next door neighbor you can easily fish all three in the same day.

An un-amused Largemouth Bass gives aquarium onlookers the gas-face.

Micropterus salmoides, or commonly, the Largemouth Bass, is a large freshwater sunfish native to eastern North America. Due to human introduction, its range has expanded greatly and Largemouth Bass now populate freshwater bodies in temperate regions throughout the world.

Most people think of the Largemouth Bass as an enigma, but really, it’s the most lethal predator that Mother Nature has ever assembled.

It is widely known that the Largemouth Bass is the most aggressive aquatic animal on Earth and can easily kick the crap out of any other fish species on the planet, including whales.

The Largemouth Bass is an ambush predator and uses its disproportionately large mouth to capture its prey, which includes smaller fish, frogs, crawfish, raccoons and Labrador Retrievers.

Largemouth Bass have a terrible sense of humor and only ever laugh at one thing: the sight of a baby duckling swimming last in line behind its mother and siblings, because all the Largemouth Bass can think to himself is “Dude, this is gonna be sweet.”

This photo is a hoax. The Shark has been superimposed over a Largemouth Bass about to devour the unsuspecting Airman.

Have you ever wondered why Great White Sharks live in the ocean? It’s because they know fresh water is inhabited by Largemouth Bass. And, unfortunately for the Great White, Largemouth Bass are starting to encroach on the Shark’s territory. Remember that photo of the Blackhawk helicopter in front of the Golden Gate Bridge with the Great White Shark jumping out of the water to attack the unsuspecting Airman? As it turns out, that photo was a hoax. The person who created that image actually photoshoped the shark over a huge, hungry Largemouth Bass. And by the way, I heard that the Largemouth Bass in the original photo actually ate the dude, then dismembered everyone else in the helicopter just for fun.

Scientists have long asked themselves, “What is the preferred diet of the Largemouth Bass?” Well the answer is simple: anything that it’s pissed off at. River-dwelling Largemouth Bass have been known to decimate entire herds of Wildebeests migrating across the Serengeti.

In the summer months giant Largemouth Bass spend lots and lots of time doing absolutely nothing. It’s as if they want to show off how chill they are by barely moving all day long. Unfortunately, that lethargy can turn lethal in a heartbeat as the Largemouth Bass is extremely short-tempered and will sometimes snap and indiscriminately kill every organism in sight just because his shade moved.

A super-agitated Largemouth Bass prepares to go on a rampage and kill every living thing within a four-mile radius.

In short, never let your children swim in Largemouth Bass infested lakes and rivers. While a Largemouth Bass has never been officially implicated in any drowning incident in U.S. waters, I’m pretty sure that they are responsible for virtually all of them.

An assortment of Huddleston's finest swimbaits.

Well, I’m not sure if I am 100% qualified to review the Huddleston Deluxe 8″ Trout, but since I’ve witnessed its potential first hand I guess that’s good enough. Not to mention, I’ve watched Butch Brown, like many of you out there, bring in absolute TOADS on this thing. And, I’ve thrown a few swimbaits in my time and there is nothing on this planet that is so life-like. Before I get into this review, please understand, that swimbait fishing is sort of like playing chess. You had better be patient, put in your time, and pay close attention to what the heck you’re doing.

The Huddleston Deluxe trout is one of the most sought after baits, especially around these parts. Once they made their way onto the Bassmaster circuit most bait shops had a hard time keeping up with demand. I would assume it’s because the quality is second to none. I mean really, the body, the paint, and the way this thing swims in the water make it the best swimbait I have ever laid eyes on. Every single Huddy I have owned has always swam true and straight. Just as my brother, and a bunch of the other Bassturdz about this thing and they too will attest that this is a great bait.

Click here for a close-up of the awesome detail.

Being that this bait is on the heavier side you are going to have to make sure you have the right setup. When I decided that I was going to commit to this thing I went out and bought a Byron Velvick Rogue Rod and a Daiwa Luna 300. It was a pretty steep investment but I had a few gist certificates that helped with the purchase. Then, after you have your setup complete, you need to learn how to “toss” throw these things. Thanks to our boy Jerbs and a quick day trip in his canoe, I learned how to use this thing pretty quick.

Huddleston has released a few other baits over the past year - a Shad and a 6″ Trout and I think there may be an albino version of the trout as well. I have the shad and the smaller trout but I haven’t had a chance to use them just yet. If they’re anything like their predecessor I’m sure we’ll all be happy campers.

Great bait and a reputable company. For more information click here.

I had a similar story, not like I was handcuffed or anything and going to prison, but I surfed a 50 year storm. With my fishing pole.

All my life I wanted to catch a big 10 plus pound bass. Not just catch a big bass, but a big bass on a trout swimbait. Knowing that fishing can produce a 50 year storm once or maybe twice in your life (but if you know what’s up, it happens frequently, I give those guys mad respect. Except those who take it to their heads.), I had heard from a close short hairy friend that an epic bite was on at a specific lake. I don’t need to say names because if you know, you know.

Minded this friend, had only been fishing for 1 year and caught a 45 pound bad during this swell. A 45 pound bag on jigs! Jigs! My whole life I wanted to get a bag like this, let alone one fish that was in this bag. Well, I decided to go out with him 2 days following his amazing day that probably will not be repeated for the rest of his life (scum bag).

On this day, I brought my Calcutta swimbait rod rigged with 25 pound Pline maxima and a 12 ROF Huddie.

We hit the spot where he hooked his fish with minimal luck (nothing, except he unbuttoned a toad earlier in the day) and decided to move on. Once we hit the next main lake point, I was determined to keep hucking that HUDDIE for one of these hungry pre spawn Florida strain largemouth bass. Low and behold, I got bit. I could not believe it. A bite on a hud! That was enough to get my heart pumping faster than I have ever experienced fishing. I love adrenaline, and this was the perfect fix. I keep saying, “I got bit on my Hud, I got bit on my Hud!”

The next cast was the start of the 50 year storm. My first HUD fish weighing 7.5 pounds. Best fight ever. Blissssssssss. I thought to myself, ”Wait, I read once where there is one big one, there is usually another”. Two casts later, new PB and my first 10 pound plus, a beautiful 10.5 pound bass.

Following that day was one month filled with the best fishing of my life. Multiple 9 pounders each day, a humungous bag over one weekend, and I experienced it with three of my best friends. Was it for the taking, I will never know…we were always the only ones on the water!

After thinking about he elements that made this happen, I figured out why it was my 50 year storm

• Lake closed to boats (except when you launch them by hand)

• Pre spawn

• Trout hungry bass

• Weekly trout plants

• No trolling motor so we anchored making no noise what so ever

• Many types of Huddlestons available at the local shop

• Proper gear investment before the storm

• Moon was just right

Without all of those elements being perfectly aligned, I would have never experience the bite I had. I actually do not know if it will happen again. Of course I hope it does, but I swear, I feel like I were to die now and look back upon my life, I could say I’m glad I finally accomplished what have always wanted to do with my life in Largemouth Bass fishing.

Be prepared for your storm. Have the right gear, go to the right spots, research, ask questions, and most of all, HAVE FUN! Thank you BazzTurdz.

About a month ago I was fishing with my brother and he had just told me the night before that he had bought a really nice bag from Wal-Mart. And the next day, while we were loading the Cretliner, I got a chance to look at it. This thing was nice, I mean REAL nice. It had eight large utility boxes, a built-in sunglass holder, and a small light for when you’re night fishing. I was dying to know how much he paid for it and when he told me I was shocked. Fifty bucks for this thing. WHAT! I paid nearly $70.00 for my Shimano bag that was more twice as small as the Okeechobee.

I just had to get one. The funny thing is that when Kevkc, my brother, and I were on the delta Kev liked it so much that he went and bought himself one a couple of days later. And today, I finally got out of the home office and headed to Wal-Mart. The first Wal-Mart I went to off of Blossom Hill was out. Bummer. I then made my way to the one off of Story and McLaughlin. I had my fingers crossed and lucky for me, they had one on the bottom shelf.

So after moving things around I can tell you this - this thing is awesome. And for the money it’s hard to beat. The boxes are huge and I can carry all of my stuff and then some. So if you’re in the market for a new tackle box you definitely have to give this one a look. I couldn’t find it in their online store and I’m not sure if they have a website or not so if you are REALLY interested then you should get into a store ASAP.

Nice bag, two thumbs up.

Note: My model is the T1200 Series

Before I headed to the delta to participate in the Future Pro tournament, I decided to give Cooch’s TNT Wadda Jig a try. In San Jose you can find them at Mel Cotton’s and they are usually well stocked. Anyhow, it was my first time using the Wadda jig, but hey, I was going to be fishign the delta and we all know what a stick Cooch is. I mean really, if this guy is killing it on the delta then he probably knows what he’s doing when he creates these things.

After opening the package I gave it a good look. I bought a few that had glitter on the heads with red eyes. Hooks were nice and strong - I’ve had problems with some of the Revenge hooks - and the skirt had plenty of girth. I also liked the red eyes, that gave it a stand out appearance that I think helped me hook quite a few fish during the tournament. The weed guard had plenty of strands and like I do on most of my jigs, I trimmed it to get a better hook set.

During the tournament, I threw this particular jig almost all day. I used one of my favorite trailers that didn’t really “match” the colors of the jig, but that’s the ticket sometimes. You have to take risks and change the game, and I did so that day by presenting a very unusual look. I caught more than ten fish on it that day and one of them was my new personal best (8.93 lbs).

Overall, I’d recommend this jig to anyone. Great design from a great fisherman who stands by his products.

Nice work, Cooch. See you on the delta.

Editors Note (07.19.08): I noticed that the black skirt loses its color rapidly and changes from black to gray, not sure why that’s happening. Another SJB Member and I were talking this afternoon and he too experienced the color change after one fishing trip. I plan on emailing Cooch about it.

Hey y’all, summer time is here and I’m sure hearing a lot from anglers through out the country who are struggling to catch bass. Most complain of not catching many fish, and the ones they do catch are always small. I have a few simple ideas I’d like to share with you that should improve your summertime catch rate, no matter where you fish for bass. As with most of my fishing, I like to keep things as simple as possible, I only rely on a couple of baits and three patterns. These baits have been very effective on bass in both the deeper ranges and shallows, as we move out of the post spawn and into our summer patterns. There are three things I tend to look for when approaching a lake this time of year, especially when the temps git up to and above 100 degrees outside.

First is, I look for those easy aggressive shallow fish. These are roaming fish in that 0-6′ range. Look for shallow flat areas in the backs of coves that have running water coming in. Also, look for shallow areas that the shoreline is peppered with docks. Either of these with a deep creek channel, within say 200 yards, can be a honey hole of a spot. Sometimes ya can strike a bonanza and find a few big ones up here, but for the most part, your gonna find smaller fish, and in numbers. But these are catchable fish that can make a poor day, a good one, unless yer fishing a tournament, then ya gotta adjust to other patterns.

The next thing I’ll look for, are weeds! Especially defined pockets and beds of weeds that are a little deeper. Find weeds that may have some relatively close access to deeper water, you’ll find larger concentrations of fish. Bass just love ta hang out in this kinda stuff in the summer time. It provides great cover, low light penetration and a higher level of oxygen than the hot, muggy shallows. Also, it harbors a good food source. It doesn’t matter where you fish, what lake or country, bass will use the weeds in the summer. I particularly like to find such weedy places in that 8-12′ range. The fish here will tend to be slightly bigger than the juveniles up cruising in the shallows. Also look for matted weeds on the surface, those that form a canopy and have open water underneath can harbor some of the biggest fish you’ll catch all summer.

The last place I’ll search for them is in that deeper zone around structural changes from 12-20′. In the summer time, especially out here in California, this is the range, most of our summertime bass will be found in, especially those bigger fish at 5 pounds and above. These larger bass, once reaching this size and age, just tend to spend more of their time in this zone on a daily basis through out the rest of their adult life. They are out there in a mode that I refer to as the recovery room stage. They’ve just gone through the most rigorous stage of their annual life cycle, the spawn. They are in a comfort zone down there. Yet they still are active and CAN be caught. They spend far less energy moving around down here and are least affected by the subtle and drastic frontal passages, that greatly affect the shallower fish, which we see through out the states, especially in the southern part of the US.

Keeping these three basic patterns in mind, I’ll use two basic baits that can be excellent in catching fish in ALL three of these patterns. A Jig and a Senko! Fishing the Senko weightless up in the two shallow stages is very effective. Not near as effective now than in the spring, but it is an effective, summertime bait. I just find that getting away from the dead sticking mode and fishing it slightly faster, tends to trigger more strikes as the water temperatures increase. A lift and jiggle retrieve works very well for me. The fish are gonna be in a more active, chasing mode than they were during the spring, at which time they were more in a predatory, protective mode of their hallways and bedrooms while spawning. Also, try fishing that Senko on your Texas rig in that deeper second and third zone. This is also a great option that should not be overlooked! This is a very versatile bait and you should experiment with it. Try tossing it on a C-rig, in and around the same grass ya cast to with the weightless rigs.

The Hula grub, is an exceptional choice of baits at this time of year. But unlike the way I fish this as a “One-Ton” in the late fall and winter, I’ll go more to the lighter weighted jig heads of 1/8, 1/4 and 3/8 oz sizes. And I’ll tend ta swim that bait more along the bottom, through and around the cover. Generally at this time of year, bass will tend to key on the various bait fish and bream we find in most of our reservoirs. These bream, gills and sunfish are now up there spawning themselves, as well as they are gorging on the various spawned fry found through out our lakes. They make for very easy targets and a fast meal for a bass. Hence the appeal of a jig at this time of year. I do tend to prefer the single tail Hulas during the summer, especially in the two shallower zones I mentioned above.

In that deeper 3rd zone, 12-20′, I will go with a 3/8oz double tail Hula. My favorite bait though, is a ½ oz, brown rubber jig with a 5″ single tail Yamamoto electric grape (164) or Indigo (209) grub. Bouncing these jigs down through the structural changes of this zone is very productive. You’re keeping your bait in the strike zone, of the bigger fish, for a longer period of time and, it allows you to cover quite a bit more water. The one thing that I always do while fishing the jigs in deeper water, is to constantly change my cadence of the retrieve. I feel this is very critical in triggering summer time strikes from bass. There is a point in time during any bass’ day that he is in a “positive” feeding mode. During this time, that bass will clock just about anything he sees which is tempting to his pallet. But when they are in that “negative” feeding mode, many times, different movements will trigger strikes at various times through out the day. There is no right or wrong way to bounce and hop this bait, as long as ya keep it moving at this time of year.

These are some of the things I have found to be very successful when fishing for bass during the summer months. The two baits I’ve mentioned, are two of my favorite baits to use, mostly because I can keep the bait in the strike zone for the longest periods of time. And they are very versatile in that it allows me to be creative in the action that I can put into these two baits in an effort to try and trigger strikes. Being able to be creative adds a whole lot more fun to your fishing in my mind. Also, bass at this time of year are susceptible to the big, bulky once a day meal. These jigs and the fat, 5.25″ ( 9 series) or 6″ (9L series) Senkos, fill a bass’ choice from your menu of baits.

There are two other tips I would give ya that have worked for me over the years. The first is taking these two baits with me and not launching or heading out to fish until 1 hour before dark. Fish through the night. You will find most times, your catch rate and success goes way up. And secondly, throw topwater and never put it down!

Try these simplified approaches that I use for some great summer time bass fishing. Keep A Tight Line!

Cooch

Note from San Jose Bass: Cooch was kind enough to allow me to share his article with you folks. Enjoy!

Last weekend Kevin Campbell and I participated in our very first “official” boat tournament. I don’t know what was more interesting, the fact that we both had never fished in an official fishing tournament or that Kevin had never fished the delta. And now, a week after our epic adventure, I am still on cloud nine. It was by far, hands down, one of the most memorable moments of my entire life. From launching the boat to walking up to accept our award, the entire time was something I will never forget.

To help paint a clearer picture, I felt it would be best if I walked you through the day as I viewed it. This will help show you exactly what happened - almost hour by hour. Grab yourself one of your favorite beverages, this article could be a little long.

Thursday (Two Days Until Tournament Time)

Our 55lb thrust trolling motor had finally given up so I had to install a 80lb thrust 24V Minn Kota that was handed down to us by my brother’s close friend. I spent Thursday evening installing the new batteries and relocating the battery charger. I had never wired up a 24V motor so I had to do some research. Lucky for us, everything turned out to be easy to install and since we didn’t have any time to test it out I just crossed my fingers and hoped that everything would work according to plan come tournament time.

Friday (One Day Until Tournament Time)

I think at this point Kev and I talked on the phone about 15 times. We both were excited and as soon as I was done with my real day job to-do list I headed over to Mel Cotton’s to stock up on some items. Kev had stopped in the day before, but I needed some TNT Wadda jigs and some other small items. I was only there for about 30 minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Should I get this, or that, no wait this, what about those…. I finally calmed myself down and told myself to stick with what I know. I had been to the delta a couple of weeks before and landed a nice fish on a jig and so I went with my gut.

My wife and kids were out of town with the Denali so we weren’t sure how we were going to pull the boat. Fortunately for us, Kev’s father-in-law was kind enough to loan us his Tundra.

7:00 p.m. - Kev drops by to make sure the Tundra hitch can pull the boat.

8:00 p.m. - I head out to buy a standard batter charger for the main battery on the boat.

9:00 p.m. - Set the charger on and start prepping my gear. I went with:

10:00 p.m. - Start making lunch for tomorrow.

10:30 p.m. - Hit the sack.

Saturday (Tournament Day)

After all the planning and stressing the day had finally come. Like I said in the introduction, I had never participated in a fishing tournament, so the nerves were definitely firing on all cylinders.

It was sort of funny, when I went to launch the boat the lady told me I had my straps on. And when we did launch the boat I lowered my engine a little too soon and bumped the bottom.

Hey, cut me some slack, I’m the new guy.

1:45 a.m. - Rise and shine. I got about 3 hours of sleep and I need to take care of a few things before Kev arrives.

2:30 a.m. - Kev is in the house.

3:15 a.m. - We leave San Jose and start heading towards Russo’s.

4:15 a.m. - Arrive at Russo’s and check in. We’re boat #85.

4:45 a.m. - We launch and wait.

5:00 a.m. - Bullhorn guy starts telling us how the launch order will work.

5:45 a.m. - Tournament started. We are in the 3rd flight and scheduled to weigh in at 3:30 p.m.

Once we launched, we both agreed to stay near Franks Tract. I had read that there was plenty of fish in that area and since I am most familiar with Franks, it was also the safest play for us. We immediately began to throw everything we had. I was working the jig and Kev was throwing senkos, jigs, drop shots, hudds, and everything else he had tied onto his eight rods.

7:00 a.m. - First fish in the boat. A small two pounder caught on a jig outside the weed line.

7:15 a.m. - Second fish in the boat. Caught on a drop shot.

7:30 a.m. - A monster, and I MEAN monster, of a bass hammers something in the weeds. The weeds/plants are too thick for us to fish.

8:30 a.m. - We move. My internal GPS was having issues. I had no idea where we were and I couldn’t find our location on the map. We agree to keep going.

9:00 a.m. - We turn some random corner and I noticed that there is a HUGE drop off. Water in front of the boat is about 3 feet. Water in back of the boat is about 25 feet.

9:30 a.m. - I lose a 5 pounder near the boat. I got a good look at it and it was a great size. The tournament pressure is getting to me. I was angry I had lost this one and I kept telling myself, outloud mind you, to let it go.

9:45 a.m. - Kev loses a 10+ on a drop shot. It cuts into the weeds and his line snaps. It was like getting hit in the stomach. We both need a fish, badly.

10:00 a.m. - Kev has one on, it shakes his drop shot at the surface. But WAIT! As his drop shot is falling back to the bottom it hits it again. Small 2 pounder, but at least it’s a fish.

11:00 a.m. - We work the shoreline like mad men. Kev is on the drop shot and I am on the jig.

11:15 a.m. - We catch fire. We’re catching bass left and right. Our biggest at this point is probably 4 pounds.

11:45 a.m. - We are culling.

12:15 p.m. - I land my 8.93 pound largemouth on a jig. I knew right when it hit that it was the biggest fish I have ever wrestled with. The hook plops out when we get her in the net, close call.

1:00 p.m. - We’re still hauling in fish and culling like crazy. We don’t have a culling scale so were guess-timating on what fish we need to move.

1:30 p.m. - The Bassturdz join us.

2:00 p.m. - Kev lands a couple of 6 pounders almost back to back on drop shots. One of them planted herself in the weeds. We are thinking about diving in to get her, since now we both agree that we are in the money. We work this fish for about 10 minutes using the boats trolling motor to pull her every which way. finally, she comes out. We net her and celebrate like there’s no tomorrow. I wish we had this on video, it would have made us both money.

3:00 p.m. - The bote has slowed down a bit and we start to make our way back to the weigh in. I lose another fish inside of Frank’s. This could have been the few ounces we needed to take second place.

3:30 p.m. - Weigh in time. Five fish 28.71 pounds.

5:00 p.m. - Results are in - we take 4th place out of 175 boats and collect $1300 bucks. We miss second place by less than a pound. First place has a 32 pound bag, they caught a 12 and a 10 in five minutes. Two kickers are hard to contend with.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen. The story of a lifetime, at least for me. The overall experience will stick with me for the rest of my life. I also have to hand it to the Future Pro Tour folks who hosted this event. They had a great setup and were very involved from start to finish.

For the record, Kev and I both used about 1/100th of the stuff we bought the day before the tournament. We used the techniques and skills we learned while fishing in our backyard waters. It was an awesome team effort and I look forward to the next one. I’m definitely addicted, now it’s time to win one of these things.

Tight lines.

Complete leaderboard can be viewed here.

I’d say I’ve learned 90% of what I know about bass fishing from my dad.  When you consider the vast foundation of knowledge it takes just to be a decent bass angler - setups, proper knots, reading water clarity, temperature, and current, understanding the bass’ life cycle and putting together a game plan to target them - that foundational knowledge makes up the largest chunk of what we all already know about our favorite pastime.  My familiarity with different lure types and information about our local lakes and the Delta came from my Dad, as well.  Growing up, and to this day, bass fishing has been, and is, our thing.  It’s what we spend time together doing, and so there has been plenty of time for that 90% of my current knowledge to be absorbed.  Of the remaining 10 or so percent of what I know, some came from friends and some came from my own intuition and experimentation, but that sliver of knowledge that has come over the years from total strangers is probably what has surprised me the most.  Those individuals with the desire to help out, pass along, and inform those with a bit less fishing experience do a great service to the sport and to the people they educate and inspire.

Now, I’m not talking about the tournament anglers whose income and reputation depend on their performance on the water.  Obviously they have some incentive to keep a few secrets.  Nor am I talking about club anglers who want to best their buddies, being tight-lipped about where they hooked the 9-lber yesterday.  But for most of us, the 98.5% who do this primarily for fun, sharing the wealth through passing on some knowledge that helps someone just getting in to bass fishing land their first bass or a new PB can be just as rewarding as sticking that fish yourself.

I first consciously recognized the type of stranger who was willing to share the wealth after a chance meeting on the Delta.  I was 18 at the time, fishing out of the first float tube I ever owned.   This guy was in his 40’s, fishing off an expensive bass boat, and was obviously a very good stick, as I’d watched him hook a number of quality fish on a topwater lure in about an hour’s time.

He soon quietly toed his way up to me and asked how I’d been doing.  I was having a tough time that day.  He flipped over his confidence bait, explained what it was and how to work it, and suggested I get a few.  The bait was the Fenwick Spittin’ Minnow, and he told me about how successful he had been with it.  I bought one the following day, and I still use it.  In fact, it’s tied on one of my rods right now.  Fenwick no longer makes this bait, but I still catch fish on it regularly using the technique that guy explained to me.  I never asked him his name, nor did he ask mine.  But the fact that he enjoyed sharing his knowledge with me stuck as a pretty admirable quality, and now that I’m that older, more experienced guy in the expensive boat makes me want to share what I can with younger fishermen… and continue to learn from all of you guys.

To me, that is really what this sport and this website is all about.

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