The Bass Bite

[John H]

The bass bite is a real mystery to me. I have watched the tide, the wind, the moon and the weather looking for what makes for a good bite. A couple of times I thought I had it figured out but I didn’t. There seems to be a mysterious force driving the bite. I Have fished the same tide at the same time of day with similar weather several times and sometimes they are on the prowl looking for a meal and sometimes they are nowhere to be found. I guess you just have to go or you don't know.

I was not expecting much today but they were definitely on a good bite. I had concluded the summer bite was done and it was time to look for a steelhead but maybe not. I do have some non-bass fishing planned so this could be about it for Mr. LMB for a while but the rods and kayak have not been put away so we will see.


A couple of nice ones in the net.

http://i.imgur.com/V6ifcSN.jpg (https://imgur.com/V6ifcSN)

http://i.imgur.com/9qHub9M.jpg (https://imgur.com/9qHub9M)


Releasing a good top water fish.

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

http://i.imgur.com/tlF9jv6.jpg (https://imgur.com/tlF9jv6)

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

http://i.imgur.com/wSit4gk.jpg (https://imgur.com/wSit4gk)


It is all fun and games until you have to drag your boat out at low tide. Not quite an ordeal but hard work.

http://i.imgur.com/xxp2HFo.jpg (https://imgur.com/xxp2HFo)

Loaded up and ready to head to Circle K for a soda or maybe a gallon of milk.

http://i.imgur.com/Povs7gw.jpg (https://imgur.com/Povs7gw)

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Sweet......



Andy told me that the best top water days he ever had on the Delta for LMB was when there was ZERO wind......like a mirror.

[John H]

The less wind the better for sure. They also seem to like some tidal current. Falling tide seems to be better than rising tide but I am not sure of that. High tide is not great but there are a couple of shallow areas they seem to move into to feed when the water is deep enough. I have found that they move around a lot. I used to think they had a spot and sat there 24/7 but now I think they move around to take advantage of tide depth and current and move to feeding spots when they want to eat and lay low when they don't. With the fly you have to find them in the feeding spots. If they go deep or into the weeds and are not feeding you really can't get at them. I think with the gear fishing you can bounce the bottom and get your bait in front of them wherever they are but that is no fun so who wants to do that anyway.

[JohnR]

John, do you mostly fish while sitting, or do you feel comfortable standing in that Hobie?

[BS]

Loaded up and ready to head to Circle K for a soda or maybe a gallon of milk.

AHHH HAAAA HAAAA HAAAA !!!!!!!!!!!! :D:D:D

You're killing me John. :D:D:D



Nice pics of some bruisers there. :cool::cool::cool:



Bob

[John H]

Bob - I liked your bluegill and catfish report but it was overshadowed by the milk consumption. I would like to get some catfish. The biggest bluegill I ever caught was back in the day when I sneaked into the golf course pond at night.

JR - I do stand up and cast sometimes. It is very stable and I am comfortable standing. Long casts with sinking lines work standing up but then you have no boat control and drift around. Mostly I sit and cast because I use the pedals to move along the shoreline while I am casting. I can use both hands to cast and reach down and adjust the rudder to stay on line. You do have to cast to the left as a right hander. Casting to the right is possible but difficult and you can’t strip well so you don’t cover the water nearly as well. I often fish up one side of the slough casting left and fish back down the other side casting left.

[Darian]

"The biggest bluegill I ever caught was back in the day when I sneaked into the golf course pond at night." LOL!!! I thought I was the only one who did that sort of thing. ;) I've really enjoyed you photos/reports.

Regarding Black Bass in the Delta, a guide once told me that Largemouth Bass hang around the tulies near a steep, rocky shoreline in channels. The tides change their position in relation to the tulies. On an incoming tide, the Bass tend to station themselves inside of the tulies (between the tulies and the bank). On an outgoing tide, they tend to position themselves on the outside. That bit of info might explain why you're able to do well on some tides and not the other. I've attempted to position my boat so I could between the bank and the tulies on outgoing tides and vice versa on outgoing. It's worked well for me over the years.

Keep those photos/reports coming.... :cool: