Bitethis

Nice report, thanks!

I know with the weather and water, fishing is a debatable subject right now...but I can't just sit at home anymore. Going to Sac after work, question for all you river rats is Steel Bridge or Taylor?

This really helps. 1 question: Do you think so highly of Flouro that you would flat out not reccomend mono? I understand the applicational differences of flouro vs. mono (I think), and appreciate the floating/sinking qualities, as well as the invisible underwater aspect of FC. Stretch no stretch....those are the big 3 for me. Line abrasion resistance seems to be better on Mono, imo. Bottom line...is it worth paying the extra for Flouro? Or is mono sufficient on the majority of applications (flouro only on ned rig!)

you put braid on all your reels, with a stren (mono or flouro?) leader?

So...I am a tackle junkie. I have accepted it, and re-sort and re-organize every winter. I am now finding that I have over a dozen different fishing lines on my reels, and I am having a hard time keeping up with which line is on what rod. I have mono here, flouro there, and braid on this. It is expensive to replace line, and a pain in the butt to remember whats on what. So...I am looking to downsize my line selections, and wanted input from the community on how to do so. Does someone have an easy way to categorize, downsize, and minimize all the lines? I currently use flouro on my bass gear, with the exception of top water rods. but i have different #'s all over the place. I would prefer a universal # for everything if that is somewhat reasonable. I have almost stopped using mono all together thinking i would catch more fish on expensive/invisible flouro. However, I got outfished 3:1 by my buddy last week and he was using 20# clear/blue mono....sigh. I have braid on my A-rig only. My crappie gear is all 6# flouro or 6# yellow mono and a ned rig set up with 6# flouro. Help me get rid of the 12+ spools of line.....

Fished the river south of Aldrich bridge on Tuesday, nothing but dink whites and a few crappie, several 15" lmb. Floated from steel bridge to aldrich. Caught more fish on the flats between river mouth and Aldrich bridge than I did in the river. White/Chart swimming minnow, white swimming minnow with orange head were my most successful baits.

when the baitfish are disrupting the surface, net a couple gallons in a bucket, and drift. Fail safe method for catching cats, I have never NOT caught a limit doing this.

FD's = Fish Daddy's. Rumor has it, some guy broke off from Cheddars and started FD's. I am unsure if this fact or not, but I can see the relation. The place is super clean, very efficient, and fantastic food quality. Their Chicken and Shrimp plate is phenomenal! They have fish, steak, shrimp, chicken, burgers, salads, pastas, etc. A little bit of everything, but their chicken and fish stand out as clear winners on the menu. Also, Dennys was just opened a couple months ago on S. Campbell, down the road from Academy. Parking would be tight with a boat, but if you like breakfast for lunch/dinner...its hard to beat:-)

not a bad haul, sir!

Green pumpkin jig, green pumpkin zoom craw. Dip the pinchers in orange spike it....game on. I like blk/blu for dirty and deep water

Thanks for replies everyone. $80 is most I've ever paid for a reel. So wanting my big boy purchase to be a good one...

I have learned to love centrifugal brakes. They help me avoid birdnest more than mag break systems I have used prior. However, I have been hearing alot about Diawa's Tatula and how advanced the magforce z brake system is. I have a BPS PQ and like it alot. I have been saving up for a year now for the curado I. Im looking for some insight from those wiser than I. I plan on buying another PQ at spring classic, and 1 of the nice reels that people with more money than I have talk about :-)

so just add my 2 cents since I started all this crazy-town-bananapants posting. I was just simply trying to inform those that may be interested that BPS has started their spring fling stuff. The BPS PQ reels are a good deal, if that is a reel in your price range. I have 4 kids, a mortgage, student loans, and other responsibilities. The fact I even get to fish is a luxury. $50 is something I can spend to ADD to my repertoire. I would much rather have a Chronarch, Curado, Winch, Steeze, or something else in the $200-$500 range because I know quality means a lot. If I could afford it, I would pass up on the PQ's and get a Curado. 2nd - I started my baitcaster experience with an Abu Blackmax. For me that wasn't the best reel to start with. I threw a bird nest every time i cast, despite the youtube training, expert advice, so forth and so on. I retired it...talked to a guy at basspro, as he was friendly, and recommended a PQ. Told me about how duel breaks would help me a lot, spent the time to explain setting it up. It was years ago...that spring I never threw one bird nest. I did learn more about baitcasters, how to use them, how to adjust, and I have a deeper appreciation for some of the high end gear. I also appreciate the guy at basspro working with me in person, explaining it, and selling me a solid reel for a novice like myself at the time. Lastly - I am not a guide, I am not pursuing pro angling. I do fish about 60-75 times a year though. For my availability, my use requirements, and my expectations - a PQ is my top choice. When the kids move out, my student loans are paid off, and I am in my 50s (that when the good life starts, so I have been told) I will go trade in every last one of my PQs for Curados. I trade in my browning and bionic blade rods for Mojo Bass. $50 for a PQ if your interested and it fits your needs, lifestyle, and fishing requirements. If not, they are doing a reel trade in and you can get a higher end reel that the rest of us wish we could afford!

I always look over there, and they charge $60 for them, all beat up too. Not a bad deal from March - January, but $50 brand new cant even be beat by the outlet.

Guy I talked to behind the reel counter said they are redesigning in 2016...so good hunch!

Looks like their Spring Classic details are up: Feb 6-15 Most notable deal is the Pro Qualifier will be on sale for $50! http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPageBasicC?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&appID=206&template=store-landing.cfm&storeID=01

Nicely done

I fished the 27th with the same results. Was a small local tourney...guy who won brought in 6 LM, 1 Walley, and 15 whites. Was culling LM and whites by 2pm...caught em all in the river (whites) and in the backs of shallow coves (LM). I was oblivious and didn't even come in top 5...ouch.

Good to know, thanks guys. Gonna go check em out!

Not sure I can buy that, as I consistently have success every spring (including this spring) and fall at stockton. It is just a matter of finding them. For example, last fall at this time of year, they were all the way back up in the river arms and I caught so many my arms hurt. I am not a biologist, nor do I work for the corps or Conservation; I would just have a really hard time believing that the white population has declined so much that there are not any to catch.

Anyone finding whites anywhere? I get the occassional 10" straggler...but I am looking for some considerable success. Also, any luck with the black bass in lower arms of the lake? Thinking of hitting this weekend and have been hearing a lot of Success stories.

I may incorporate something like this into my trips...I like that idea, never thought of putting fish on a stringer, in a livewell, but guess you could and would make counting easier! Thanks for sharing!

Put in at greenfield around 330pm, fished until 1030pm. Between my partner and myself we quit with 19 cats. Used shad for bait, was steady all day. Found most cats in less than 12' of water. Now, on to conservation tip of the day: I am a believer in conservation, and want my kids and their kids to enjoy what we have in our outdoors here. I believe conservation agents, for the most part, do a good job. I believe in our conservation rules and follow them and enforce them. With all that said...I was tired, as it was late when we got off the water friday evening, and failed to count my fish correctly. In the dark, I counted 10 cats in my livewell, 8 cats in my partners. The conservation agent that checked us, correctly counted 11 in my live well and 8 in my partners. He wrote me a citation for 1 over the limit. He was not a jerk about it or anything, he was just doing his job. I, however, felt like such a looser! I have been checked 100 times before, never violated length or limit. I was so dissapointed in myself for that. However, it was a good reminder to count with a flashlight. Also, I am now considering a counting clicker, but I think I would still want to hand count them too which negates the clicker, and what I forget to click? Anyways, hats off to the conservation agent for being a gentlemen and doing a good job, Kick in the a$$ to myself for being a lazy idiot. Lesson learned...now to see how much this is going to cost me.

Fished out of CC , hit water at 630 am. Fished rip rap with a pop'r and a spinner bait, 2 fish on the pop'r and nothing off spinner bait. Shad were everywhere! Went up lake a bit around springfield cove area, tossed a jig'n'pig and C-rigged a senko, caught a couple on the jig, nothing on the c-rig. Fished some deep water with a lipless Crank and a jig, caught a couple on both. Bass fishing was SLOW....so caught some shad and took to catfishing for an hour and a half, 6 in the boat. Died down, so went back to bass fishing and caught a few more on the jig, and a few more on a crankbait. was slow, and hot....got off water at 230 and drank 2 liters of water on the way home....wasn't until after dinner that I realized I hadn't used the restroom all day. Its that time of year, pack plenty of fluids, wear sunblock, and have fun!

I could be mistaken, the guy I was with told me it was chicken rock...I am more familiar with the area close to CC or Aldrich.