10-10-2008, 04:31 PM
I also had that problem out here in the bass capitol of the world. On day while returning from Bakersfield back to my home in Anaheim, I pulled off the road to check out Lake Castaic. I never made it to the lake proper because there is an Afterbay below the lake. There was a dock with some fishermen on it and I strolled on down there to survey the locals. Most were junior high and high school students fishing after school. After a little small talk the pictures started popping out. Ten pound bass after ten pound bass! Lots of them, in fact all of them had landed giant bass and some had caught many. Kids! At the time most were caught on four inch Sassy Shads made by Mr. Twister. I had fished my entire life for bass and had hooked and lost a few monsters by my biggest landed was seven pounds. Long story shorter, That day I caught three over eight pounds and they didn't even garner a yawn from the local kids. The point being that you have to fish where there are big bass in the first place. Then you have to fish with gear that you can land them with. Three days later I landed my first over ten. I was fishing a heavy seven and a half foot flipping stick with thirty pound spiderwire and a new bait at the time, an AC lure, the original trout lure. Good thing I had the Spiderwire or I'd of lost that fish for sure. She (all big bass are females) ran to the tules and I pulled her out, she ran for a buoy line and I stopped her a foot short. She rocked me and I was able to pull her out, the spiderwire was frayed, but held. What a Magnificent fish! The last point I'd like to make is that you have to fish for big bass and pass up the numbers of smaller fish that you are used to. This means fishing outside and deeper than you usually fish with heavier line. It means after getting hit and sticking a big fish, committing yourself to land that bad gal. Reel hard and control you fish best you can, drop your rod when she jumps. Keep your cool like a poker player. Have a huge landing net nearby( They don't fit in regular nets ). Keep a camera and take some pics and a tape to measure the girth and length. Good scales are tough to keep around and I finally bought a quality Baby scale to check my fish. Then let that girl go because she might be responsible for many of the Big Bass Genes in that body of water. Here are a couple of pics, one big bass, and my two most consistent big bass lures. A five in Tiki Worm rigged weedless wacky, and a Strike King Redfish Special Zulu fished with a small jighead or weedless hook for surface fishing, they float.
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