Jfish

My information is based on fact and expert opinion. Fact: The lake record is 55-8. Expert opinion: Allan Cole recently assessed so cals striper lakes and commented to me that Silverwood has the biggest striped bass in Southern California. Do I trust his judgement based on his track record of catching big fish?-you bet. I was stoked you got a 23lb fish and apparently you were too-you submitted the info to outdoornewsservice with pics and all. They published it. Your sharing your information with the most read fish report in so cal but your worried about a specialty forum made up of mostly bassers? Isn't that you burning your own spot? c'mon. That makes no sense. I can't fish at your lake because you put in a lot of time there? This mentality of me me me....has nothing to do with swimbaiting and pursuing trophy fish. I personally like to share what I know with people that have a passion for it. Old timers did that for me and I appreciated it...guys like Gregg Silks , Del East, Allan Cole. These guys were fishing your spot in the 70's, 80's and 90's....I was there starting back in 92 so yeah I'll exercize my right to talk fishing with who I want and fish where I want. Silverwoods no secret to anyone who's interested in stripers and been around so just relax and practice a little more respect. JK

True Ben, these fish can be close to impossible to catch at times.

I'm with Geoff for west coast trout or hitch based systems. The big females are sluggish and not willing to chase much but they need some good meals prior to spawning. As a matter of fact I would say from now until the spawn is THE ABSOLUTE BEST TIME to present a big bait with the chances at a real bruiser. If there's a time to get brave and throw a 12" lure it would be now through March IMO. After the spawn I will throw something about 6" in a perch/bluegill pattern as they seem to be really angry at the bluegill and the trout became much less relevant to their daily foraging habits. In the summer its perfectly normal to get a big fish (5lbs and up) on a smaller bait because they are more accustomed to eating them and their metabolism demands that they eat more...which means they have to chase more and be less selective....bla bla....think I'll go fishin' now! HA! JK

Thanks guys. The fish was pretty fat for its length. The lure is mine...I call it the S-Bomb or Piece of S*** depending on whether I'm getting fish on it. Yes, it is something I throw mainly for stripers. I've caught bass on em' before but I just went to the lake to test the action of this particular plug (barely a coat of white primer no paint job). I tossed it a few times to check out the action and wham it got smacked. Typical, fish have their own agenda. JK

Got this one today at a city park lake in OC. Bout' 7lbs.....guessin there may be a few of them dfg stockers in that belly....crappy phone cam on this one.. JK

I've been using shimanos for years and consider my 400's absolute workhorses. How would you guys that own TE's compare it to the good ole 400. I've heard lots of good and a few negatives about the TE's...one is that they don't cast quite as well...lets hear the truth...

Big game....cheap and strong.

I'm biased towards a topwater style approach so bear that in mind. Depending on the forage in your bodies of water I would (will) be slow rolling a BAA or Wake Jr with some subtle twitches here and there but for the most part lazy wounded and slowwwww. The bass are moody and finicky in the still cold water but a slow wounded fat profiled bait will get some of the bigger females to commit. I really like scent in cold water too to help these not so aggressive bass to make up their minds. A slow rolled hudd or slow sink freestyle will also fit the bill. For me its a prime time for big and slow. JK

They can be frustrating, elusive, and even the best go through streaks of skunks. It took me a long time to start getting em'...to be honest I spent 9 months at Silverwood my first year before I got my first one. They move around and change habits a lot more than bass do. At DV they have been tough lately even right after the plants. That just means they are getting ready to go off again. The shad are deep right now (thats their primary forage) so the stripers tend to follow suit. They will come up and cruise the shorelines to find trout but its all time and place. Concentrate as much as possible during low light periods ...early and late....clouds.....wind also breaks up light and can get things going. Of course, if you can fish the day of or first few days after the trout plant that helps. U can do everything right and sometimes they won't show or bite. If your consistent they will start falling. It will happen... JK

I like bass but them stripers keep you on your toes way more. The next bite could be 3lbs or 30lbs plus and I like that unknown. You go with your little citicas and your gonna get left lookin' at an empty spool. Straightened hooks...busted split rings...snapped lines.. You have to go through your gear and make sure its rock solid or you'll be punked. (And thats still no guarantee!) You guys already know that though! HA! They taste pretty good too...tacos anyone! Seeing pictures in the marina at Silverwood in maybe 92 is what got me started in swimbaits. Haven't put em' down since. Spending a night pounding the shore at the wood' will weed many guys out...its cold, its often nasty, and the fish aren't easy to say the least. JK

While I mostly throw for bass because they are the only plug biters in the local lakes closest to my house, I'm curious how many other heads in here like to chase them stripes? If anyone wants to chase em' at the wood' in the dark ninja style lemme know....its payin' dues there but there are legit 50 plus lbers in there.

It sounds eerily like conversations w/my girlfriend....wow I'm f#####!!!

Patents are used to resolve some of this business but as Nico said it doesn't mean the originator truly gets the credit. The egos and business side gets much uglier out west. East coast striper guys have been building the same baits for years...they all sell a pencil popper, darter, a danny style plug. They may point to their superior craftsmanship but I don't know of so much squabbling over design. I would say if you are motivated by business and you have your own design element thats unique apply for a patent. Huddleston did. Black Dog did. Allan Cole did. Gregg Silks did. Remember all the blatant AC Clones? Not so much now. Did these guys really invent these designs in all their details...who knows but they were the first to step up and claim it for their own. I'm going to patent a live trout and put an end to it all! JK

Bait makers are like rock musicians...steal a little here...a little there...add their take and you have a new song. Everything evolves in good ways and bad. You have entry level and you have obsessive level. I have a ton of baits from old to new and when someone approaches me about getting their first swimbait I usually point to something reasonably priced to match their level of interest. If the notion here is that you have to buy highly detailed custom baits to not be a poser thats ridiculous. As long as the thing swims decent and you fish persistently you will catch fish. The guy with the $35 Spro thats at the lake everyday will catch more and bigger fish than the guy that shows up with his $300 Tool once a week. Would he catch more with the tool if he fished as much...maybe. They are just tools and noones got a lock on it. If it displaces water and has a hook on it...it will catch fish. I've never met a bait maker that didn't think they make the best baits around. Period. Knock offs are sometimes easy to spot and sometimes harder to spot and sometimes we really don't care. Is a BBZ a Rago Baby Tool....it most definitely appears to be. Is the Spro a good value for $35. I think so. Is the Punker the first walk the dog bait with a fishy profile? I doubt it. Many a musky gliders...A Sammy?. Sometimes its a matter of someone taking a design and catching fish on it to bring on new demand. Is an MS Slammer an AC Minnow knockoff...even had a boot tail back in the day. Probably. Would I pay nearly double for the knockoff than the original? Lots of people do and don't give it a second thought. Does anyone care that almost everyone makes a boot tail swimbait? Nope. Slug-go style baits...nope. Senkos...nope. There are WAY too many swimbaits on the market. I think it hampers fishing because especially for the new guy he's always thinking...if I just had this or if I would have used that I would have got bit and he's out spending money instead of making more casts. Truth is he just needs to spend more time with a FEW baits. Its absolutely redundant and ridiculous for example how many lipless jointed plugs are on the market right now, essentially they all perform very similarly in the water....get past the fins and the paint and tails....form fits function. No lip...ballast weighted...3 or 4 joints...trout or other baitfish profile...its all the same juice. From a fishing perspective it makes no sense to have a Rago Tool/Raptor/Smoothie, BBZ, Freestyle, Tru Tungsten, Nate Bait, Bull Shad, Snack Trout, Tail Wagger, Rock Hard Trout, HPH, etc. etc. Maybe have a few sizes and colors and thats it. They are all variations or evolutions of the Triple Trout. If one of those baits was made before the triple trout came out...then I'll take it back. Is it the best one of these baits....I don't know. Things evolve good and bad and the fish don't care. They bite when they want to. Lets catch some damn fish! JK

Nope...they threw for about thirty minutes and scattered. I've seen the same thing from shore to the west side of the launch ramp....standing shoulder to shoulder from shore...8" punkers on every rod....they get em'.....not my style of fishing but they do get bit.

Be careful tapping it or forcing it. I've had wooden baits I've built and secured the bills with super glue and the bond was so strong that the bill came out with a large section of wood and essentially destroyed the bait. If its Mickeys baits the polyurethane wont do this. It can be tricky to remove em' without damaging the finish. If it wont pop out with the hammer and towel....cut it off and carefully grind the rest flush. Another method I've used on Mickeys baits is take a thin bladed hack saw and cut along both sides of the groove holding the bill (using the bill as your guide) and then grab the bill with some vice grips and give it a few bends and it will pop free without much force. You can fill the void with 5 minute epoxy (clear or white) or plastic filler to eliminate the empty slot. Which bait and whats the purpose? JK

Well the warmer weather is one of the benefits of living in so cal....the flipside is that when they start biting there is A TON OF PRESSURE and word travels fast. Its almost hilarious really...I remember in the mid-90's when swimbaiters were a rare breed and you might have a handful of guys tossing plugs around quietly going about their business. I was at the launch ramp at DVL a few weeks ago when the trout truck pulled up and as soon as they started pumping trout in at least 20-25 lunker punkers took flight all landing within a 50 yard radius....its crazy sometimes. More to the point, I don't know if were in prespawn yet but I do know today is the first day I had a few big grabs on a wake bait in quite a while. Love that wake jr....clack clack..hopefully this stable warm weather will keep on keepin' on....

Been out checking some of the local spots (city park lakes) here in OC. (So Cal). I did notice a few cruisers nosing around the bank. Pretty skittish but bigger females nonetheless. Could some of these spots be showing the first sign of PRESPAWN? My first big fish swimbait fish last year was Febuary 8th and I felt like that fish was definitely a prespawn female beefing up for the spawn. For me the PRESPAWN lends better to my style of fishing which tends to be big wakebaits. Do you guys here in so cal think it could be starting????? JK

I was on a good 7" slammer bite last year and felt like the baby wakes would be a more refined alternative. That wobbling clacking mess of a slammer on a slow steady retrieve is what I hoped I could get out of the baby wake with a much more realistic profile. It doesn't do that very well. Its a much tighter, faster, subtle wiggle....however, the Wake Jr pushes a lot more water and the tail and joint clack real nice...it also does very slight directional changes even on a slow straight retrieve that I believe helps trigger followers to commit. I think the baby wake was designed with a lot of rod movement in mind (tricks). Most of my bites come on a slow steady retrieve, no fancy footwork, and the wake jr. does it all. When the fish are smashing a 7" slammer the wake jr. will get bit for sure. I think you can get a few colors right now and they are worth the bucks. JK

I think its a good exercise in discipline and taking the pressure off yourself to constantly decide can be a good thing. With so many sizes and styles of baits out now lipless swimmers, surface walkers, lipped wake baits, rubber baits....trout imitators, bass imitators, bluegills, rats, snakes....in a multitude of finishes....and sizes...rates of fall...plastic...wood.....it can be absolutely overwhelming when its time to pick up your rod and head out on the water. If the point of your exercise is to learn to fish wake baits I would probably choose a more generally appealing size like the wake jr. because you will catch a lot more fish (including some big ones) and your confidence will grow only with successes. However, if your point is to commit to a big bait to get a big bite then more power to ya! Best of luck. JK

Fish at least one more hour after I've passed the point where I have had enough for the day. (or night). I think mastering persistence is a habit that really produces results. I don't know how many times I've been surprised by a blow up or big grab long after I've shut down for the day. The story of Allan Cole (AC Plugs), catching the Nevada State Striper record after 15 straight days of skunks (would send most guys searching for another hobby!)...is frustrated and just about to leave for the day and at 12:00 noon WHAM! 63lb state record fish!! He said he was literally in shock. Who wouldn't be. Its the struggle to succeed...I've noticed regardless of lakes or lure selection the guys that get the good ones consistently are the guys that fish harder than anyone else. This frustration during slow periods often sends our minds looking for "magic lures" and silver bullets when its really more about staying persistent, flexible, and having fun knowing that it will come. 1 Striped bass over 30. 100 LMB over 5. 1 trout on a swimbait.

Wakebait fishing is by far my favorite style of fishing and I force the issue year round and in my opinion there is a dramatic difference in activity depending on season (and water temp). I would say generally it can be really effective at least 9 months of the year here in So Cal. I would say the time of year we are in now is one of the least productive wake bait times. Based on my fishing results last year, the absolute best wakebait bite occurred about a week or two post spawn through early fall. The absolute peak for me was in June-July. Warmer water definitely stimulates a bass to eat a lot more and they chase a lot more....the bait (and bite) is more surface oriented...You can get em' in cold water (I always have a rod with a wake bait) but I would say right now your time is managed more effectively spending most of your time crawling Hudds on the bottom or jig style fishing a mission fish....some of the biggest fish of the year get caught this way. Trout plants and other factors can change this temporarily but generally they don't want to move far and they are bottom huggers in colder water. J my 2 cents

Them Slammers really don't look that great in the water. They swim nose down and then kind of jackknife at the joint. The paint jobs are primitive and the clear coat...well its not much of one if its there at all. Further, its basically an AC Minnow...the original slammers had that AC boot tail on them before Allan threatened to enforce his patent. They had buckhair tails for a while until everyone went to the rubber fin tail. Enough criticism?? The good....that fat little 7" bait has put more fish on the bank for me of all sizes than any other swimbait in my box. I fish it slow and exaggerated and it really does excel as a wake bait. Small fish love it, average fish love it, and big fish love it.... I really hope it doesn't catch on because noone else throws em' where I fish and thats fine with me. During post spawn through fall when the bass key in on the bluegill its my go to bait. I estimate I caught 25 fish over 5lbs. on it between June-August on OC City park lakes. Very underrated bait. I do prefer its wider wobble over the baby wake...it seems to have more action at slower speeds IMO. With that said I have been working the Wake Jr into my routine and its probably the best swimming wake bait I've ever seen. In fairness, I haven't given it enough time to make a performance comparision but will have wait as dead of winter doesn't make for the best wake bait fishing.