CaptainJoe

Am I fantasizing or are there bass on your camera, too? Captain Joe

d-h, What colors were your shad rap and rattle trap? I fished the docks on the opposite side where you fished and only got two keepers. Fished Bull Creek also and could not get a bite. Maybe I went too far back. The water was sure hot (80's). Thanks, Captain Joe

Bill, Sorry it took so long to reply. To busy fishing and entertaining visitors. I can attest to the fact that if you move by the lake, they will come. They came and more are coming. Anyway, not to argue the point about deep water bass fishing in CA. If you get Bassin Magazine, please see the article for May/June 2005, by Margie Anderson where she covers "Get Extreme" bass fishing to depths 80 feet with regularity. She discusses the use of downriggers to get deep and stay deep. The article also has a side bar on "fizzing" a bass to release the air in the swim bladder. Anyway, enough on this subject. Finally got to fish Grand Lake. What a lake. Too bad I could not land the fish I hooked. But, it was sure fun trying. Take care, Captain Joe

Bill, I must disagree with your statement: "The Florida strain is an extreme shallow water predator and simpley could not or would not adapt to deep water." This is simply not true. Most of the best bass lakes in CA (Casitas, Castaic, and almost all San Diego lakes) hold the FL strain bass. Casitas and Castaic, which I have fished for the past 8 years is over 200 feet deep throughout the lake. We routinely drop shot in 50 to 80 feet of water for the fish. Something else went wrong on OK, because FL strain bass live very well in deep water. Take care, Captain Joe

Fished the King this past Sat and Sun. Debris can be found from Lost Hill, pass the Viola Public Use Area, and really bad near Sweetwater Creek. It continues all the way up the river. I went as far as Jackie Hollow. Jigging laydowns was the only good pattern I was able to put together. Better yet, go to clear water on a cloudy day and throw Zara Spooks on pea gravel points. Be Safe, Captain Joe

Marty, Thanks for the fishing reports. They are really appreciated. I have two tourneys there this weekend. It will be my first time at Stockton. Really looking forward to it. What is the water temperature and the water clarity? I would assume that clear water is closer to the dam and dirty water in the river arms. What is the water clarity near the twin bidges? Any advice on this new lake would be appreciated. I will be pre-fishing this Thurs and Fri. Captain Joe

Bleeding Shiner, I agree. They will find her again. I fished most of those lakes (Cachuma, Castaic, Casitas) and with the clear water (16-20' sight), they can be caught. I once sat on a 20#+ for over four hours trying to get her to bite. I finally gave up. When they are that big, they are also very smart. During the other times of the year, it was common to throw 9" trout colored swim baits on salt water tackle since the State stocks the lakes with 9" trout as forage for the bass. There is not enough shad and other forage to feed the bass. Those bass hunters are obsessed with catching the world record. If you heard the ESPN story, they said that after "talking to their lawyer", they decided to release the fish. California law does not recognize a fowl hooked fish. The only option they had was to not submit it for the record and try to find her later. Lake Dixon is a very small lake and the big bass hunters are there every weekend.

Lowrance has come out with a new version of its MapCreate Software. It is version 6.3 and those of us with 6.2 apparantly cannot upgrade to the new version for free. This new version is a topo version and they claim it is a great mapping software. Does anyone have this software? Can you tell us about it and what you like and dislike? Is it worth buying? Thanks in advance, Captain Joe

I agree with the Southtown Grill in Hollister. Also, BT Bones on the Shepard of the Hills Expressway is also great. Ate there Friday night. It was great and live music, as well. Have fun,

Thank you, sir. Your thanks and comments mean so much. Semper Fidelis, Joe

Thanks for the welcome, Master Sergeant. Before I was a Captain, I was a Private thru Staff Sergeant and selected to Gunnery Sergeant when selected for OCS. Semper Fi, Joe

Thanks, Skipper. I appreciate the welcome.

For plastics and jigs, I have been using a BPS mono as a backing, then attaching 14 # Fireline. Then, I add a 4 foot 8# leader of Berkley Vanish. This setup gives me the Fireline feel and great casting, hidden florocarbon, and I do not have to change my line as often. Vanish is costly; however, I am only using 4 feet at a time. The Fireline last a long time and the mono backing keeps the Fireline from slipping. The backing and Fireline setup is included in the Fireline box. Good luck,

I am fairly new to the area, as well. Don't know much about the Nixa group, but Branson has a Bass Club. We meet the 1st Wed. of each month at 7PM at the White River Electric Company. Good luck!

Retired this past June and moved to the Ozarks. Finally, after 35 years away from my birthplace, I have finally found home. What a great place to be. Thank you for making the Ozarks so special.