Breaking Bass

[John H]

I have been doing daytrips for bass over the last couple of months while doing my part to slow the spread of C19. I got a fish picture or two on some trips and none on others but eventually accumulated some good shots. I usually do a trip photo post but I decided to shake things up and make a project out of getting bass photos. No big fish were caught and the fishing was never on fire but it was usually at least okay. The bite was slow early in the season but once the water warmed up it seemed like the bass got on the job and started biting. I did some shore walking with my dog, some tubing and some kayaking. Almost all the fish were on Clousers but a few were on top water. There are a couple of phone shots and one Go Pro shot but mostly I used the Olympus TG-5. I had a lot of fun with it and seem to have worn the same shirt everyday but I washed it so don't worry. Hopefully you are safe and healthy and we will soon be moving beyond the local and taking more extended trips.

https://i.imgur.com/D9Fcx4x.jpg
Nice bass on the chartreuse Clouser.

https://i.imgur.com/DMCsOl7.jpg
Great reflections next to the kayak.

https://i.imgur.com/eEGPOH2.jpg
A spotted bass. I think this is the best looking fish.

https://i.imgur.com/Mv4uWF9.jpg
Another nice one next to the kayak.

https://i.imgur.com/HR4CCkG.jpg
Good head shot.

https://i.imgur.com/nICOu33.jpg
Beautiful day on the water.

https://i.imgur.com/f3IWx28.jpg
Heading for the depths.

https://i.imgur.com/hY2QWlZ.jpg
A good looking bluegill.

https://i.imgur.com/zQUYnWk.jpg
The controversial pike minnow.

https://i.imgur.com/bLUm2OE.jpg
Smallmouth are aggressive biters and strong pullers.

https://i.imgur.com/Yh2Ca8G.jpg
Light colored fish.

https://i.imgur.com/C5jabMo.jpg
My dog is visible on the far shoreline.

https://i.imgur.com/gYTdEdi.jpg
Zipping off across the sand.

https://i.imgur.com/PLivctG.jpg
A black crappie. Good looking fish.

https://i.imgur.com/wkCWzNH.jpg
My dog shot on the over-under dome.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Inspiring.....thanks John.

I believe more article are written, more boats are sold and more tackle is sold for bass than any other fish.

I guess it is because it is the most available sport fish, year round?



I fish for them all Winter, daily, here in Florida.

[Carl Blackledge]

John, Your having way too much fun.

Carl

[John H]

Carl - Bass fishing is hard work but somebody has got do it. We can’t have fish swimming around out there not getting caught every once in a while. Wherever there are fish we need to have an angler on the job. I am doing my part to make sure the waters are covered.

[John H]

I caught this guy today. He gave my deer hair diver a long inspection from about three inches away. I gave it a twitch and he sucked it in. There are a lot of rejections in bass fishing so it is nice to see one look it over and take it.

https://i.imgur.com/r6y7jZK.jpg

[John H]

This one made the mistake of snacking on my Clouser this afternoon. Seems like I should have gotten a few more like it but no. Not sure what happened. Maybe they were just not around.

https://i.imgur.com/HbE8fft.jpg

[Odonata]

Those are some nice fish ! Good to see someone is getting after it.

[John H]

New bug on the menu today. I made a couple like this a few years ago and never used them. I dug it out of a box of unused flies and think it might be a good one. Lots of follows and a few grabs. I might try tying a couple of other versions. This was not the biggest fish of the day but the only photo and it shows the new bug well.

https://i.imgur.com/fpWXbqm.jpg

[Tony Buzolich]

John,

With the TG-5, how are you getting your shots centered. I have the same camera and a lot of mine are way off center when I can't look at the screen. When this happens I have to guess where I am and then later crop the picture to get the best pose or frame.

Especially when you take the camera underwater. You can't be sticking your head in the water to look at the screen and still get such good pictures.

Any suggestions besides take a lot of shots and do a lot of cropping?

Great pictures. Tony

[John H]

Tony - Take a lot of shots and do a lot of cropping. I take a boatload of bad shots but some of them work out. I do have a wide angle lens that makes it a lot easier to get the fish in the frame especially underwater. The lens add on is kind of a lot to get into but it does help. There is a thread a couple down where we talked about that.

[John H]

I did some boat fishing today. I would say better fish today than photos but here a few. I am pretty sure this is my first carp on a fly rod. I used to catch some carp bait fishing for catfish but that was way back in the day. If I could get carp figured out that would be some fun. They are big and they pull hard.

https://i.imgur.com/kbYNkp0.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/rNc8ZYv.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/yQticgg.jpg

[OceanSunfish]

Great picture quality. You could hold fish at the edge of the water in my street gutter and make my "street" look like a world class fly fishing destination. Bravo!

[John H]

Sunfish - That is pretty funny. I can picture a guy wearing all the fly gear and smiling and pretending he got one in the gutter. I love the big sky with the spring clouds and the mountains in the distance. I had some condensation in the lens which is a bummer to find out when you get home and check out the photos so I was griping about that a little.

[Tony Buzolich]

One more good question. On the carp picture, you're holding the fish with both hands. How did you accomplish that ? Or did you teach your dog to use the camera ? :)
Tony

[John H]

I wish that dog could take photos. She is good at chasing squirrels and getting humans to scratch her but that is the limit of her skill set. My boat buddy took that shot. He got some pretty cool GoPro shots of that carp. Maybe he will post them.

[John H]

I got this on to come out of the stick pile he was hiding in for the Clouser. It is cool when you see them come out and chase down your bug.

https://i.imgur.com/73vor2q.jpg

[Ryan]

John your pictures are amazing! You really have this shot down to a science. Good for the fish keeping them right at the water, and a nice discreet way of taking pictures. Was nice fishin with you the other day!

[k.hanley]

Artistic. Respectful. Top notch John.
Much appreciated.
Cheers, Ken

[Larry S]

Thanks, as always John H. Smallmouth bass have been a favorite for years. Love how
they'll return after a "hit and run."
A friend and his daughter were recently fishing the Imperial Valley canals
and caught a number of them.
Thanks for the canine shot. Such a "royal" look!
Best,
Larry S

[Jcolin]

Beautiful photography John H. Id like to catch a carp someday, did it hit a clouser? Shallow water?

[John H]

J - I would like to catch another one. I have read you have to find them grubbing around on the bottom and throw something in front of them like you would for a redfish or a drum. I never see them feeding so I have not had the chance to try that out. It grabbed the float 'n fly as it is called. I may try that on them again.

[John H]

New bass fishing venue today. Plenty warm out there. I had to drink the extra large soda on the way home. I am feeling like it might be getting close to trout fishing season for me. An insane evening caddis hatch on the Pit sounds pretty good. It would be nice if some campgrounds opened so I had somewhere to stay.

https://i.imgur.com/91fVbqu.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FH8ChaC.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ydLAbOq.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/HfR5cLD.jpg

[John H]

Here is my boat as I get ready to haul it over this beaver dam in my quest for bass. Sadly my big effort was not rewarded with a big bass. Seems like the big effort always goes unrewarded.

https://i.imgur.com/nBt7efh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ZJ1u8nB.jpg

[steveg137]

Here is my boat as I get ready to haul it over this beaver dam in my quest for bass. Sadly my big effort was not rewarded with a big bass. Seems like the big effort always goes unrewarded.

https://i.imgur.com/nBt7efh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ZJ1u8nB.jpg

As always top posts John great work !

[OceanSunfish]

I think the Bass you're holding took offense to your report....... ;)

[John H]

I could not resist another day of pond fishing. Winds were light and some late morning clouds got the top water bite going. Pretty fun day of fishing.

https://i.imgur.com/sijgPtJ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/fRYMRE5.jpg

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thanks John....One of my favorite things is top water large mouth bass.


There are tons of fun videos we can watch about top water bass with a fly rod:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aycwYTd-CyY

[John H]

Ryan Williams just put up a top water video. That guy can seriously fish. His skill level is impressive.

https://youtu.be/jqog6_BmNDw

[John H]

I found some cagey bass a while back and could not get them to bite. I figured my best chance to get one of them would be evening top water. I got one. A lot of effort for one fish but it felt pretty good.

https://i.imgur.com/Q2S0SI8.jpg

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

John, I prefer to fish top water as most other probably do too.



As it gets warm in the summer that evening bite can be good, especially for larger LMB.

[Jay Murakoshi]

John, are you doing the actual shooting. If so, what type of camera are you using, or is it a smart phone. If it's mounted, what type of mount.
I'm getting back into photography since I can't catch any fish :-0, I use to do a lot of photography, I did shoot a lot of weddings before I got tired of the mothers and mother in laws demanding they wanted this photo and that photo. I also did all the developing and color printing in my own dark room. way back when you really had to know photography. You didn't get a second chance with film.
OH by the way fantastic photo's

[John H]

Jay - I pretty much shot all those with Olympus TG-5 in one and and the fish in the other hand. The carp was shot by my boat buddy while I held the fish. The dog I shot on the GoPro. I have a Nikon 610 I use a lot but did not use it here. I think I bought the Olympus after I saw you mention it in a post. I had a film SLR for a few years right before digital took over. That was a whole different game. I imagine shooting weddings could be stressful. I knew someone who shot weddings and used the term bridezilla.

[Jay Murakoshi]

I still use my TG-4 at places like CI, Aitutaki and Baja. I also use it sometimes at the lakes around here but never seem to get any fish photo's, I wonder why. Oh yeah, I don't catch anything to photograph. I use a "gorilla" tripod. You can adjust it to many different angles. Once I spot carp on the surface or subsurface, I start running the video making sure I stay within the frame. I have a lot of video from my carp adventures but have never posted any. Going in the morning to see if the carp are coming out to play.
I was a GoPro dealer for a couple years and then shred away from them. Been thinking about buying the new 8 series since I can get a good discount where I work.

[John H]

The striped bass were upset that they had been left out of the Breaking Bass post so in the interest of fair treatment of all bass I decided I would let them in on the fun. I saw that Jeff C was wrapping up the shad season so I figured it was a good time to float the AR and try for a striper. A few of the line sides were caught, some shad were spotted and hooked, the wind blew us all over the river, the bike shuttle was successful and nobody broke into the car. Pretty good morning on the AR.

https://i.imgur.com/h7MJ5K1.jpg

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

After the Shad are gone, I think July/Aug are good Striper months in the A.

I think this will be Andy's main focus till Fall.

[John H]

I have had my eye on some Delta kayak fishing for bass for a while. I scouted a spot in May that was close to home and looked like I could drag my boat in and out. I finally got down there and found the wind and tidal currents in the Delta are formidable. You can really get spun around and blown around while trying to make a cast. I went early in the morning for the topwater bite and to try to dodge the wind. I caught a few bass, missed a big blow up, lucked into a 30" topwater striper and did not hurt my back dragging my boat around. I think the ideal fishing window for me is no wind, if that ever happens, and a morning high tide. Fun stuff.

http://i.imgur.com/1HG5lC2.jpg (https://imgur.com/1HG5lC2)

http://i.imgur.com/E0kKzNM.jpg (https://imgur.com/E0kKzNM)

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Nice John.....did you use Google Earth to find that spot?

[John H]

I used to go there 40 years ago and sit on the bank fishing with clams for catfish. Funny how it took a global pandemic to get me back there. You can see it pretty well on the satellite image. Lots of chop on the water in the image from wind which I guess is not surprising.

I should mention what I ate on the way home - a fig bar and some iced tea. Very tasty.

[BS]

I used to go there 40 years ago and sit on the bank fishing with clams for catfish. Funny how it took a global pandemic to get me back there. You can see it pretty well on the satellite image. Lots of chop on the water in the image from wind which I guess is not surprising.

I should mention what I ate on the way home - a fig bar and some iced tea. Very tasty.

Saw this before your edit............................................ kewel !!!! :cool::cool::cool:


Bob

[John H]

I got back to the Delta today. I had my game face on for the wind this time which basically means I fished the shoreline the wind gave me even if it was not the best shoreline. I caught fish but it sure seemed like I covered a lot of good shoreline that did not have any biters. I fished mostly at high tide and am wondering if the fish don't move up with the tide and were too deep to come up for my bug. I guess I need to spend some time on it. You cant master Delta bass fishing in two trips.

If anybody has some Delta bass experience and wants to pass along some of their wisdom I would love to hear it.

http://i.imgur.com/iK8X8Wr.jpg (https://imgur.com/iK8X8Wr)

http://i.imgur.com/VcO3yd3.jpg (https://imgur.com/VcO3yd3)

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Andy Guibord and I got to fish with Kevin Doran when he was still guiding.

KD said May was his top month for top water LMB in the Delta.

Andy said his best day ever had absolutely no wind, breathless.

Another protege of KD's, Gary Hinman, said his best day was in August?

I think April through October could all be very good for top water LMB in the Delta.

I think the tides are important so I would talk with Andy about that.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Y0wmSr0Tg&t=119s



Kevin Doran was the best LMB guide for top water but is retired.


Andy Guibord, Maury Hatch, Brice Tedford and Steve Santucci are the best bet now for LMB in the Delta.

______________________________

Personally, I only fish top water for bass.....actually I mostly fish top water for all fish.

[John H]

I fished stripers with KD several times and bass once. He was really into the top water. We fished the swimming frog the time I fished bass with him. I always felt like he had a plan for getting the stripers and that we were heading to some super secret spot that could potentially be loaded with fish. He would watch the sky for overcast conditions and if it looked like striper top water might happen we would put the Clousers away and head for Mildred Island. We got a topwater striper there once. It followed the fly a long way and nipped at it several times. You had to resist setting until he really took it.

[John H]

Here is my new bug. Hopefully I can get a five pounder to commit to it.

http://i.imgur.com/RAVL2HN.jpg (https://imgur.com/RAVL2HN)

[John H]

I tried out my new bug and I am declaring it better than my old bug. It is on a bigger hook so I have more bulk and I stacked the hair rather than spinning it which gave it more density. It makes a lot of noise and bubbles which bass like and has some longevity. It even caught some fish. Windy out there.

http://i.imgur.com/LwLbavA.jpg (https://imgur.com/LwLbavA)

http://i.imgur.com/D4BTj2t.jpg (https://imgur.com/D4BTj2t)

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thanks John...........Top water fly fishing for Large Mouth Bass is one of my favorite things to do.

[John H]

I watch the wind forecast in the Delta and it seems to be the restriction on fishing down there for me. The forecast today was 22 mph out of the west at sunrise and building as the day went on. Wow! That is tough for topwater bass in a kayak so I went to some sheltered water instead. I put my new bug to work looking for fish and he found some. If you want your bugs to take care of you, you better take care of your bugs.

No five pounders but maybe someday. Bob's quest for the Pyramid ten pounder was ultimately successful so I have some confidence.

http://i.imgur.com/QLkEL39.jpg (https://imgur.com/QLkEL39)

http://i.imgur.com/3dKR0g6.jpg (https://imgur.com/3dKR0g6)

[BS]

No five pounders but maybe someday. Bob's quest for the Pyramid ten pounder was ultimately successful so I have some confidence.



Love the Breaking Bass reports John !!! :cool::cool:

You should have confidence ............................... but only if you've had a "Santa Sighting" out there on the Delta. ;);)

By the way, nice looking flies you're tossing to the "bucket mouths". :D:D
Are those "Bass Bombs" ??? :rolleyes::rolleyes:

You'll get your big momma' soon John, I can feel it !!! :cool::cool::cool:



Bob

[mogaru]

Thanks John H. You really make the best posts/fishing reports in the whole site. Very entertaining. I have fun just by reading your post.

[OceanSunfish]

The Kayak approach is especially intimate and you are one with the surroundings too.

On that note, it's amazing how many Kayaks are being sold and have been sold of late!

[EricO]

Gotta say John, your fly is pro tied...very impressive. I gave up on stacking deer hair years ago.
It's not one of my gifts. ;)

Nice job and report.

Eric

[John H]

Ocean - The kayak is a good way to go. You have to pick your spots but you can get right in there on top of the bass. There are a bunch of kayaks out there. I have been disappointed to get into some small spots and find a kayak guy already in there. There was a guy earlier this year who I think had his wife drop him off so there was no car at the put in but then I would find him in there getting after my bass. I gave him the stink eye to let him know he was not welcome on my water. I joke about the stink eye but I was not real talkative.

Eric- The deer hair tying is tough. That photo looks good but if you get the fly in your hands you can see some things that need work. It will still catch a bunch of fish. I watched a video by Steve Potter who I think is from Lodi. He made it look pretty easy. He was tying at the ISE this year but I was not there the day he was.

Windy in the Delta today. I had to fish the few spots where the wind was not blowing but I did find some fish. I am going to try to catch some bass in Oregon next week. We will see how that goes.

http://i.imgur.com/bsYwCc4.jpg (https://imgur.com/bsYwCc4)

http://i.imgur.com/9t4AaAD.jpg (https://imgur.com/9t4AaAD)

[John H]

I watched another tying video. My daughter asked me what I did before Youtube and I told her I had books with pictures and recipes. I still have a stack of fly tying books but I don't use them any more. The guy I watched this time was really good but a little too meticulous for my tying purposes. you learn a lot watching someone tie that way and you can keep what you want from what he is doing and pass on what does not work for you. I incorporated a few things he did and came up with this. It seems like most tiers on Youtube don't put legs on. They are a hassle but I think they catch fish so I am going to stay with them for now. My bugs have really improved in the last two weeks. Now I just need a five pounder to crush one of them.

http://i.imgur.com/dPHFew7.jpg (https://imgur.com/dPHFew7)

http://i.imgur.com/VW019V5.jpg (https://imgur.com/VW019V5)

[John H]

I mentioned that I was going to Oregon to try for some bass. I thought I would report on how it is going. The report is it is not going well.

I got about 70 miles from home and my 2000 Tundra died on 1-5. I coasted safely to the shoulder and got a tow back. It turns out the radiator and the timing belt went out simultaneously. Either one of those would have killed the trip but fate wanted to make sure I did not get there and dropped them both on me. I opted for the repair rather than junking it and getting a new rig. For some reason I want to drive around in a scrappy old rig rather than a comfortable and reliable new one. Hopefully that works out.

Seems like the last five months has been a series of plans not working out. Maybe this is the end of the line for Breaking Bass. We’ll see.

[BS]

I mentioned that I was going to Oregon to try for some bass. I thought I would report on how it is going. The report is it is not going well.

I got about 70 miles from home and my 2000 Tundra died on 1-5. I coasted safely to the shoulder and got a tow back. It turns out the radiator and the timing belt went out simultaneously. Either one of those would have killed the trip but fate wanted to make sure I did not get there and dropped them both on me. I opted for the repair rather than junking it and getting a new rig. For some reason I want to drive around in a scrappy old rig rather than a comfortable and reliable new one. Hopefully that works out.

Seems like the last five months has been a series of plans not working out. Maybe this is the end of the line for Breaking Bass. We’ll see.

AWWWWWWW............................crap John. :mad::mad:

I hear ya on the "last five months has been a series of plans not working out".

I just spent a ton of cash on preventative maintenance on my 20 year old scrappy Jeep too.
I've been kind of quiet lately due to spending my fishing money on vehicle maintenance.
I'll be DONE with all of the PM by next week..................hopefully. :confused::confused:

Hopefully, loosing the timing belt in your truck didn't wipe out the valve train $$$$ :(:( Been there and done that one. :mad::mad:

The thing about driving around in our 20 year old heaps is that insurance is cheap, and they're paid for !!!!!!

Oh, at least you didn't receive a Jury Summons on your birthday like I did last week.
61 years old, fat as a pig, eat like a horse, and smoke like a chimney, and they insist that I show up to a crowded/confined area during this pandemic...........bastard sons of bitches. :mad::mad:

Sometimes it feels like "if it weren't for bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all".


Hang in there John !!!! :cool::cool:

We all will wait for your next installment of "Breaking Bass". :D:D



Bob

[Odonata]

Great looking bugs and nice fish, too !

[OceanSunfish]

I trust you'll find a away to keep "Breaking Bass" going! It's been a sanity check for most of us.....

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I trust you'll find a away to keep "Breaking Bass" going! It's been a sanity check for most of us.....

My thoughts exactly......

[John H]

The truck is back on the road and seems to be running smoothly. It has a new timing belt, radiator, windshield, headlights and tires. That puts me back in the boat hauling business and on an American River float. I never do well for stripers there but it is a nice morning float that is close and I usually do catch something. We caught this one which was not the biggest fish in the river but I like the picture and it pulled hard. We had a bigger one up to the boat but lost it on a barbless hook I had straightened out several times. I guess I should have changed flies. We also had a ten pounder follow to the boat and not bite. That would have been a score.

https://i.imgur.com/zQZaq0i.jpg

[Dick]

John--- Your photos are great! Thanks for posting them.
Dick

[BS]

The truck is back on the road and seems to be running smoothly. It has a new timing belt, radiator, windshield, headlights and tires. That puts me back in the boat hauling business and on an American River float. I never do well for stripers there but it is a nice morning float that is close and I usually do catch something. We caught this one which was not the biggest fish in the river but I like the picture and it pulled hard. We had a bigger one up to the boat but lost it on a barbless hook I had straightened out several times. I guess I should have changed flies. We also had a ten pounder follow to the boat and not bite. That would have been a score.


Good to see you back out fishing and reporting again John !!!!!:cool::cool:

Was your pictured striper the 5#'er that Santa was suppose to bring you ??? ;);)

Keep up the "Breaking Bass" John, we all love seeing what you've been up to.........even when you've been faced with adversity. :D:D


Bob

[John H]

Bob - That striper was no five pounder but they sure do pull hard. A little adversity has made me appreciate cruising around in a running truck even if it is a little long in the tooth.

I dodged the wind this morning and got a couple nice bass and a pike minnow on the topwater bug. First pike minnow on the surface for me. Not exactly on the bucket list like the permit or the 100 pound tarpon but that is okay. If I was starting a native species bucket list the topwater pike minnow would definitely be on it.

The morning topwater bite window can be short. It seemed like it lasted about an hour and then shut down. If you are going out to fish morning topwater do not show up late.

http://i.imgur.com/08cL6Z4.jpg (https://imgur.com/08cL6Z4)

http://i.imgur.com/CiSUFAs.jpg (https://imgur.com/CiSUFAs)

[John H]

Just to shake things up I tried the evening topwater bite. Fish were caught and it seemed like the bite went on a little longer than the morning bite. I had a huge blow up that I did not hook and thought for a while I had missed megabass but it was a horizontal attack which is unusual for a bass. Northern pike attack horizontally and bass attack from below so it is usually pretty easy to tell the difference when they grab. This blow up was horizontal and it missed the bug which I don't think a bass would not have done on a blow up like that. Anyhow, my conclusion was it was a big pike minnow and not a bass. I sort of feel better thinking that I did not miss my shot at megabass but you never know.

I like this picture and you can see the chartreuse/yellow bugger pretty well. It is a big fly with a steep nose so it makes a lot of noise. It does land upside down more than I would like. I think when they are top heavy or don't have a flat bottom they do that. I might trim it down and see if that helps.

http://i.imgur.com/mgy7lJg.jpg (https://imgur.com/mgy7lJg)

[John H]

Winds were light in the Delta today so I drove my long-in-the-tooth truck down there and did some fishing. I was able to stay out a little longer than usual because the wind did not beat me up, take my lunch money and send me home. I hooked a big one early and lost it. Without doubt the biggest largemouth I have touched. I got a couple of good looks at it and have a guess at the size. Easy come, easy go.

I did land a bass a little bigger than the regular size range and got a striper on a current seam when the tide turned and started to head out. The topwater bite ended pretty abruptly but it took me another hour to give up on it and switch to the Clouser. Pretty fun day.

http://i.imgur.com/7Gc5h4i.jpg (https://imgur.com/7Gc5h4i)

http://i.imgur.com/iA686Rv.jpg (https://imgur.com/iA686Rv)

http://i.imgur.com/1HzXWdG.jpg (https://imgur.com/1HzXWdG)

[mike borba]

Like everyone else I really enjoy your posts and pictures!

[John H]

I have been fishing in the Delta close to Rio Vista which I think is one of the windiest places in California. When you can see about 500 wind turbines from where you are fishing you can be certain you are in a windy spot. I figured I should try a less windy spot so I checked out a map, scoured the internet, drove around a little and found a spot near Stockton. The wind was pretty manageable so that was a success but I must have been fishing the small fish habitat because that is mostly what I got. I will have to poke around a little and see if I can find the lair of the bruiser.

A cargo ship went past me. Those things a scary up close. They move a lot of water and make almost no sound. It is amazing something that big could sneak up on you.

Not much of a picture today. My line got wrapped around a log as I was getting my camera out and it was quickly a big mess I needed to get out of before something bad happened like a broken rod.

http://i.imgur.com/Lzn8Awx.jpg (https://imgur.com/Lzn8Awx)

[John H]

This is a good looking topwater largemouth. A sharp picture can be hard to get when the light is low. This was 8:17 PM according to my camera. That is a little past the limit of good light but you get what you get sometimes. I might try the flash next time.

http://i.imgur.com/uNXd7Ur.jpg (https://imgur.com/uNXd7Ur)

[Odonata]

Super nice shots !

[John H]

Light winds and a falling tide made for good Delta conditions this morning. I caught a bunch of fish, missed a few good blow ups, lost a nice one at the net, got a couple sharp pictures and swung by Circle K for a giant soda.

When I got home I put the kayak in storage and put the bass rods in their tubes. It has been a long run of bass fishing but I think this is the end of the line for Breaking Bass. Almost five months of bass on the brain. I had fun posting, learned a lot about bass fishing in our area and made a serious upgrade to my top water bugs. Good times for sure.

http://i.imgur.com/FSQV98Y.jpg (https://imgur.com/FSQV98Y)

http://i.imgur.com/bLKQBeH.jpg (https://imgur.com/bLKQBeH)

[OceanSunfish]

Hey John, Thanks so much for sharing the incredible images and experiences these past few months. Just awesome to check in every day and find a great documentary. So, what's next? We'll have to put our collective heads together and come up with a title to the next adventure! "Better Call Sole"? Probably not..... not heard of a Flounder taking top water dear hair patterns. ;)

[BS]

Light winds and a falling tide made for good Delta conditions this morning. I caught a bunch of fish, missed a few good blow ups, lost a nice one at the net, got a couple sharp pictures and swung by Circle K for a giant soda.

When I got home I put the kayak in storage and put the bass rods in their tubes. It has been a long run of bass fishing but I think this is the end of the line for Breaking Bass. Almost five months of bass on the brain. I had fun posting, learned a lot about bass fishing in our area and made a serious upgrade to my top water bugs. Good times for sure.

As always John, THANK YOU for posting your adventures.
It's a shame that "Breaking Bass" has come to an end for, not only you, but all of us.

I also looked forward to checking up on you daily here to see how the bass were treating you.

As been said many times before, your reports and pictures have helped to keep us somewhat "even keeled" during these current times........................... lots of bad JuJu going on in the world nowadays. :(:(


Whats next ??????? :confused::confused: The "Steelhead Saga" ?????? :cool::cool:

Once again John, THANK YOU for the mental medicine !!!!!



Bob