A 10-pound yellow on bass gear is like hooking the bumper of a garage truck!
In Baja, some anglers live for jumping stripers, casting iron into boiling yellowfin or stopping on floating debris and catching dorado until their arms get sore. Others get off on the sound of a reel screaming as a wahoo rips for the horizon. And then there’s adrenalin jolt you get when pez gallo charges your bait just beyond the surf.
All that stuff is cool — really cool – and I love it, but my absolute favorite thing to do down there is to mess around inshore with freshwater bass gear.
The shallow rocks, beaches and kelp lines on both sides of the peninsula harbor a mind-boggling array of finned critters of all shapes and sizes. Many of these species are too small or not good enough table fare to be targeted by other anglers, but who cares? They bite, burn line like crazy and pull a lot harder than anything you’ll find in a lake or river back home.
In the South, White Bass are extremely common — and popular sportfish. Here on the West Coast, however, they only exist in a couple lakes…Having never fished these exotics in their native lands, Reilly and I decided to see what all the hype was about, so we put the super secret, under-the-radar FishWithJD skiff in the water and went on a little fact-finding mission. Bottom line: while not huge, these little critters that look like mutant striper x crappie hybrids are a blast to catch…
As many of you know, we here at FishWithJD are suckers for a couple things: Boats and good, fresh ideas. Well, when we stumbled upon Klamath Boats’ latest creation, the 16-foot Swimbait Boat, we kinda thought it was the best of both worlds.
The slick little vessel is an entirely new take on the two-man bass rig. It’s economical to run, costs less than $10K and, thanks to the high bow design, the SBB can handle infinitely rougher water than a traditional bass boat. It’s also so light you could probably tow it with a golf cart. Cool idea, huh? Here’s a closer look… [click to continue…]
We’ve been out scouring the West Coast sportsmen’s shows this winter, in search of the coolest new fishing stuff…and let me tell ya, brother, we found plenty! From boats to plastic baits and everything in between — there’s a lot of stuff out there that you just may need.
Okay, shameless self-promotion time! For those of you within driving distance of the Sacramento River, it’s time to start thinking about that spring striper trip! Here’s a little video from last year to get you juices flowing.
Fishing will be heating up in March and will last into May (at least)…don’t miss out! I just so happen to know a good fishing guide if you’re looking to go the guided route…
RoboWorm’s new 5″ and 6″ Ocean Swimbait tails look to be just the ticket for anglers looking for a quality bait with which to tackle stripers, halibut, calicos and all sorts of other rough and tumble saltwater and inshore critters….without having to break the bank.
But that’s in the package, how do they fish?? We found out… [click to continue…]
Striper fishing in California’s Central Valley can be an emotional roller coaster at times. The highs can be so sweet, but then the lows can come outta nowehere and kick ya to the curb. Unlike other anadramous species like salmon that pretty much head one direction — upriver — stripers can disappear overnight and you’re never sure if they went up or down.
Here’s a glimpse of the beauty of striper fishing…the chaos, excitement and, in this case, family bonding, from a recent trip of mine…
So, what’s the best color for a swimbait for striper fishing? Well, here’s our no-frills, super-easy to follow, at a glance guide!
Keep ‘er simple, that’s what I say! In general, go more subtle in clear water/sunny conditions and brighten everything up on dark days or in murky water.
