8 lb Spotted Bass!!!

Most people know me as a largemouth fisherman but once in a while I get the Spotted bass bug and I start heading to the foothill lakes in search of world-class Spots. Afterall, we live in California. We've got the current world record and I think everyone agrees it will be broken again in the next couple of years. It wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit if she happened to fall for my presentation.Frankly, it amazes me that more anglers don't fish for trophy spotted bass. The allure of the 10 lb largemouth distracts many anglers from the allure of a fair shot at a WORLD RECORD spot. How can you pass up that opportunity?

Giant spots, unlike giant california largemouth, will eat just about anything. Each year I'm shocked by the number of magnum spots we catch on worms, tubes, jigs, small topwater, and small swimbaits. It goes to show you that any weekend warrior has a shot at a magnum spot, no special equipment needed! So where should you go? It seems like the buzz these days is all about Bullards Bar but there are quite a few fisheries producing world class spots. Personally, I would say that Shasta, Whiskey Town, Bullards Bar, Collins, New Melones, Don Pedro, and Bass Lake, all have an equal shot at the next world record. All of these lakes have produced spots over 8 lbs in the last 12 months and most have rumors of 10+ lbers being secretly caught as well. Its up to you to pick the one you like best and put in a couple extra days this year. Good luck out there!

My largest spots this year have been caught on the following: -Dry Creek Tubes -Get Bit's 3 1/2" Tube -A variety of Swimbaits -River2Sea's "tuned" Rover The smaller swimbaits as well as the tubes were all paired with the Dirty Jigs HD Swimbait Head

Pre-Spawn Swimbait Fishing

I recently got back from a trip to Clearlake where I got to fish with my good friend Tim Little. We were able to find a great pattern throwing River2Sea S-wavers for pre-spawn fish that were moving up to feed on bait fish.

Early spring can be a difficult time to consistently pattern large fish. As the smaller males begin to move in to the shallows it can feel like the larger fish have disappeared all together. Throwing larger baits can be a great way to identify where the larger fish are located. Often times they will be holding in schools very close to the smaller fish. Using a bait like an S-Waver or other Swimbait allows you to intentionally target larger bites throughout the day. I've found that even when they are not willing to bite, large females will follow large swimbaits (6-10" long) to the boat, giving away their location. Once I've located these larger fish I visit them again during different weather conditions to try and fool them in to biting.

In the past I've insisted on throwing softbaits exclusively when the water is in the high 40's and low 50's but I've experienced days in the last 12 months that have caused me to challenge those beliefs. Even in cold water there is a place for slow, methodical hardbaits that draw up big bass. There will be more to come on this later.

Welcome to 2013

I got a little time to break away on the 1st to do some swimbait fishing on Clearlake. Welcome to 2013!

Matt Makes Kramer's Top 40

Top 40

Every west coast angler should know about "The List" by now. If you dont, you need to check it out. "The List" is a top 40 fishermen of California list created annually by outdoor writer George Kramer. The list has been pretty controversial over the years with anglers that were said to have been placed "too high" on the list or were "undeserving", as well as anglers toward the bottom of the list being "underrated". This always gives us California bass fishermen something to talk about every November (as if we don't have enough drama in this fishing world).

This year, our very own Matt Allen has made the top 10 on "The List" for the first time. Matt has been on the list a few times already, but this is the first year he has cracked the top 10. I wanted to congratulate Matt, as we all know that he has put in countless hours on the water and spent more time than most of us can possibly imagine coming up with new ideas to completely dominate Northern California as "The" trophy guy. You've earned it Matt, Congratulations on your first top 10!

You can see the complete list on Kramer's blog at: Kramer Gone Fishing

-Adam Hinkle Tacticalbassin