Giant Bass Crushing Swimbaits

What is it about the "tick" of a swimbait bite that keeps us coming back for more? There are a lot of other more productive things we could be doing but we find ourselves day after day, week after week, year after year, chasing big green fish around oversized ponds. Why? I don't know what it is for you but for me its got to be the hookset and the impact. In that moment I don't know if its a 2 lb bass or a 15 lb bass, it could even be an over-zealous catfish. But for that second, as I swing that rod up and to the right with all the force I can muster, I pray as fast as I can that when that rod loads up the fish will absorb the impact and pull back with equal force. That for me, is what its all about. Catching the fish, the photos, the videos, is all great but the thrill of the hookset is where all the adrenaline peaks.

There is nothing like slamming a hookset into a fish and feeling like you just hooked a brick wall. A fish so strong that you have to stop and look at the rod tip to make sure its not a snag. Then and only then does she start to shake her head and slowly make her way to deep water. For those that haven't experienced it, your turn is coming. For those that have, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

This video is dedicated to that moment of impact. These fish did exactly what I'm talking about. They bit hard and they battled harder. I hope you enjoy watching a bunch of big fish choking down swimbaits because that's what you're about to see. The main bait used to catch these fish was the 8" huddleston Deluxe. As always, the reel was spooled with braid and a 30 lb mono leader. The Rod was a Dobyns 807 Mag. These may seem like huge components to the average angler but look at how hard the fish are flexing the rod, its all about having the right tools for the job.

Jeremy Lin

Since the rest of the world seems to have “Linsanity” I thought it wouldn’t hurt to let it infect the TacticalBassin community a bit as well. I had the pleasure of fishing with Josh Fan and Jeremy Lin (The NBA’s newest star for those of you who may have been living under a rock) last fall. I thought the sports fans in the crowd might enjoy a quick clip from that trip. Here is Jeremy catching a nice Clearlake bass on a River2Sea Bubble Walker in the 128 size. There isn’t a lot of knowledge to be gleaned from this video but its still fun to see a guy like Jeremy getting out on the water and relaxing in the off season. Enjoy!

Cold Water Swimbait Fishing

Late last night I received a video from a member of the Tacticalbassin community. He sent it as a follow up to “Swimbaits Part 6″. He wanted to further show the power of swimbaits on small fish. You may recognize Ryan from previous videos as he contributes to the site on a fairly regular basis.

What makes this video unique is both the size of fish (fairly small) and the water temperature in which the fish were being caught. As you’ll see he was able to produce a small limit of fish very quickly using an Osprey Swimbait on a high-speed retrieve in 44 degree water. Yes, you read that right… 44 degree water thanks to snow runoff. So for those of you in the Northern states, this ones for you:

For those of you who are curious about the bait he is using, its an Osprey 6″ Tournament Talon Swimbait. The specific color appears to be Chartreuse Shad though I’m sure he could have done it with a wide range of colors. Here is a link to the baits direct from tacklewarehouse: Osprey Tournament Talon

I hope you understand the importance of this video. These fish were caught in very similar conditions to lakes around the entire Northern half of the United States. The water was cold, the fish were small, and Ryan wasn’t trying to imitate a trout. This can translate to nearly any body of water, you can make these baits work for you.
Last but not least, as a disclaimer… I too use the Osprey from time to time. Believe me, it will produce giant bass as well as dinks so don’t feel like you don’t have a shot at a big bass. On my boat this bait has produced fish under 2 lbs and fish over 10 lbs in the last two years.

Beware: Off-Limits area in the Delta

While on a recent trip to the California Delta I found myself in the middle of an unfortunate circumstance. It appears that I unknowingly fished in an area that is closed to boat traffic. When situations of this nature happen there are two options. The first and most attractive is to hide the mistake and hope other anglers don’t hear about it.
The second option is to step out and make an example of your mistake in the hopes that other anglers can learn from it and not fall into the same situation. With this post I am choosing the later.
Let me begin by stating very clearly that the small stretch of 7 Mile Slough that parallels the East shore of Brannan Island State Park near 3 Mile Slough is closed to boat traffic.
I’m sorry to admit this came as a surprise to me when an officer met me at the Brannan Island launch ramp to discuss where I had been fishing. The officer was understandably upset and I drove home with a hefty ticket in my possession.

I was quite surprised by the situation as I had never realized this area was closed. There are marked buoys at the mouth of the slough but they appear to clearly define a seperation between the swim beach and a boat lane. No other signage is present but that does not change the fact that despite the appearance, the entire slough is closed.
It seems that if I choose to fish this area again in the future it will be from shore. I hope my error finds each of you before you make a similar mistake.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter. Were you already aware of this off-limits area or does it come as a surprise to you? I hope that through this post we are able to have improved signage placed at the confluence of 3 and 7 mile sloughs to help prevent similar occurances in the future.