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Forum nameTrophy Fishing Forum
Topic subjectGoals for "this" new year of 2004
Topic URLhttp://www.calfishing.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=3521
3521, Goals for "this" new year of 2004
Posted by Fish Chris, Thu Jan-01-04 07:59 AM
I dunno' if I am the only dummy who got thrown off here, but I read halfway down the thread "Goals for the new year" thinking this was a "new" post...... and I'm thinking, "Geez, a bunch of the goals you guys are talking about, you already did this year"..... Why aren't you raising the bar ?

So anyway, I finally got down to mine and figured it out. Amazingly, the only goal I set, was the one I thought would be the toughest, that is, I did get my one bass over 17 lbs.

So basically, since I did not meet my other goals, I am simply going to go with my goals for 2003, but upgrade my "one bass over 17" to, "one over 19, which in fact, will be a new lake record, no matter where I catch it (up here in Nor Cal), also a Nor Cal record (unofficially, since there is really no official list) as well as a new PB.

So, my goals for 2004 are:
3 double digit bass in one day.
15 lb'er on night crawlers (did get a 14.1 this year on crawlers)
50 lb five fish limit.
30 bass over 10 lbs for the year. (good luck !)
One bass over 19'lbs

Oh, and aside from bass, a freaking keeper Sturgeon (first) then an over sized one (72" plus) !

Peace,
Fish

PS, Congrats to you guys who met so many of your goals in 2003 !!! Great job ! Hope 2004 is even better !
3522, RE: Goals for 2004
Posted by Jeremyfisher, Thu Jan-01-04 08:51 AM

With me being over here on the east coast, my goals have to be set lower than that. But I plan to spend about 80-90 days on the water this summer on a pretty good lake, so my goals should be respectable. I want to beat my PB of 14.4 by 1.8 lbs. That's the number one goal. I would also like to dominate my local club tournaments and place in the top 3. But that's secondary. I would like to catch a 5 fish 45 lb. limit in the early summer. I would like 7 over 10 lbs. And 80 over 5 lbs.

*16.2 lber (In my dreams!)
*45 lb limit
*80 fish over 5 lbs
*Top 3 in Bass Club
*7 over 10 lbs
*Put two of my friends on their first double digit
*Catch an 8 lb. Spot
*Catch an 8 lb. Smallmouth


3523, RE: Goals for
Posted by Josh D, Thu Jan-01-04 06:06 PM
All right it goes....


1.A new PB (Over 14+ would be nice)
2.Stick a double digit off my Generic trout!
3.Get a 35+ limit would be nice.
4.Learn how to bed fish better.
5.Fish more!!!! :D
6.Stick a 25lb.+ Halibut
7.Finnally get that 30lb.+ Salmon!

All in all 2003 was my best year yet. I asked for one double digit and ended up with 3. Maybe if I say I want 10 then maybe I would end up with 30! :7 LOL!!!

Great fishing to all in 2004!


Josh Declusin
3525, RE: Goals for
Posted by brian, Thu Jan-01-04 07:00 PM
Figure out a pattern to catch large size non-spawning san diego bass. Just one pattern that I can repeat more than once will suffice.
3526, RE: Goals for
Posted by BMXbasser, Thu Jan-01-04 07:04 PM
-get my first double digit bigmouth
-a 20 pound striper from Castaic
-fish atleast 100 days
-learn some new methods
-fish more lakes than just Castaic and Pyramid
-a five pound alpers trout on a fly rod
3527, RE: Goals for
Posted by swimbait, Thu Jan-01-04 07:22 PM
I like Brian's goal the best so far :) SD sucks :P

My goal this year is to catch a lake record. I don't care really what lake it's on, I'd just like to have a lake record somewhere.

I have a feeling this year I will catch fewer fish than ever, but I know if I gun for it, I'll get at least a few really big bites at some point. Just gotta hope they stay on the hook ( knocking heavily on wood ).

My other goal for the year is to keep stoking the fire on the website and offering up what I hope is some interesting and unique info.

I wish everyone the best of luck in their goals for the year.
3529, RE: Goals for
Posted by Carrot Top, Thu Jan-01-04 11:15 PM
My goals are:
1: catch more than 1 10 lbr this year
2: To catch a 10 lbr NOT in late winter/spring
3: Get out on the water more
4: Get another 13+
5: Catch 2 10 lbrs in one trip.

4&5 would be BIG bonuses
Erik P.
3530, RE: Goals for
Posted by calicokid, Fri Jan-02-04 12:20 AM
Here goes...

-Double digit from Guasti
-7 lb. plus homeguard calico on plastic or surface iron
-BH Skiff Trip
-Work on the Gamefish more if Danny gets it rebuilt
-Fish more & fish harder
-Hook more booger eaters on serious fishin

Jake
3545, RE: Goals for
Posted by hooksetter, Sat Jan-03-04 10:52 PM
I guess I will keep it simple.

#1-Pound the hell out of every body of water I can during the spawn and use up every vacation day I have doing it.

#2-Top my 15 lb. PB the only way I want to catch it...sight fishing.

Anything else will be gravy...LOL.

BMC
3546, RE: Hey hooksetter......
Posted by Fish Chris, Sun Jan-04-04 10:09 AM
Are you serious ??? Don't get me wrong...... I love bedfishing, and I'm likely to pound the heck out of them with every day of my vacation too.......
But I intend to pound the heck out of them until about November also, with any technique that is legal, sporting, and produces.

Anyway, there are a large percentage of bass anglers who do not have any problem with sight fishing, but there are enough of them that do have a problem with it, that those that don't, are not usually quite so open about it......

Personally, even as much as I like bedfishing, I really just enjoy catching big bass on any / all methods possible, at any / all times of the year.

Peace,
Fish

3547, RE: Hey hooksetter......
Posted by hooksetter, Sun Jan-04-04 08:08 PM
Oh yah Chris, dead serious. We all have our little fortay (...not sure if that is correct spelling..LOL) and sight fishing is mine. I would rather sight fish than do anything else, just what "I" like to do, even if there is a better bite going on at the time. It's suppose to be fun, and that is my fun, a pure addiction that sends my adrenaline pumping like nitrous through a big block. Don't get me wrong, I like a big bite on anything, especially a reaction bait, but man there is nothing that twists my heart into a knot like rolling up on a whale that looks gamey.
3551, RE: I hear ya'.........
Posted by Fish Chris, Tue Jan-06-04 07:27 AM
Although your apparently not too concerned with what the "non-bedfishers" think about it, if you ever do have one of them try to give you a hard time, you might consider telling them this >
Ya' know, I have never heard of a guy who put a lot of time into bed-fishing, who really learned how to stalk them, who really learned how to trigger a strike from the big ones, who ended up landing a bunch of real giants, and who then woke up one day and said, "Hey wait a minute, I have caught "too many big fish, too easily" therefore I don't want to do this anymore ! LOL :-) YEA RIGHT !

Same goes with live bait. The guys that knock these two techniques almost never have an extensive background of experience with them. In other words, they are going by how things "seem", instead of how they "really are" (or should I say, "how they have actually experienced it"). There loss.

Peace,
Fish

PS, I love "sight-fishing" also (not the same thing as bed-fishing).... that is to say, stealthfully sneaking around, looking for big fish, then presenting a bait or lure to them, at times and places far removed from the spawn. I have caught many big fish that I saw first, from June to November !

...... but every other technique which produces big bass is the BOMB too ! Don't really know if I have a favorite...... just whatever works best for me, at that particular time and place.
3555, RE: I hear ya'.........
Posted by hooksetter, Tue Jan-06-04 10:56 AM
Yah hit the nail on the head Chris, I don't fish for others or by their standards, only my own for that is all that matters. It's our freedom to critize by opinion, as well as ignore what is of no value to us. I appreciate someone's opinion against sight fishing, it is their right to decide, conversely, my soul joy in angling is sight fishing both zone fish and bed fish. It's a particular joy to find a zoner and get her to chow when there isnt' a bed in sight. I think a large reason I ignore anyone who opposes me being a sightfisherman, (like you said that's seeing fish, not necessarily bed fishing) is because it involves searching for big fish, not raping banks like many people do in the spawn. It's a matter or trophy hunting, not leaving a hook mark on every set of lips down the bank. This is the difference in my opinion, and of course, doesn't really matter what others think about it either way. In less than 50 days I'll be stalking and they can be drop shotting. As long as everyone is having fun and enjoy the freedom of life we have been blessed to enjoy, so be it.
3556, Well....
Posted by Jeremyfisher, Tue Jan-06-04 12:27 PM

Fish, you brought up an interesting point, and maybe your interested in hearing a little bit of a different point of view, or maybe not, but I'll say it anyway.

First of all, i've fished live bait before, and i've also bed fished. I have caught some really big bass bed fishing. I very rarely live bait fish and I only bed fish when im not in tournaments. That is my choice and each angler has a right to his/her own choice as long as they are staying within the law. But there is one scenario where I am really dissapointed live bait fishing is legal. We have guys that say hey i want to catch some big bass, and they go buy a bunch of shiners and with a little luck just start waxing some big bass. In the cooler they go. These fish would have never been caught by these guys on artificial lures. No skill involved whatsoever and we're damaging a big bass population because of live bait. I guess it all depends on how good you want your fisheries to be in the future. This kind of stuff obviously puts a big dent in the fisheries future. Plus, how do people attain satisfaction by throwing out live bait and reeling the fish in? Oh trust me, i've tried live bait and caught big fish, I have no satisfaction from it either. But ya know what? If fishing gets tough, I will probably still fish live bait this summer when I just need to put a big fish in the boat for a quick photo shoot and back to her home she goes. But back to artificials i'll go, because it is so much more rewarding to catch em' on something that is imitating the real thing. Go right ahead and fish live bait all you want, if it floats your boat. As long as you practice catch and release on the big fish, I'm not going to bash anyone if that's what they like to do.

As far as bed fishing. I won't go to far into bed fishing, but I'll say this: It is a thrill and a very fun thing to do. I do it, but I promise myself that after a photo shoot, she is going straight back. The reason I am such a diehard bass fishermen is because bass present a never ending challenge. Even when you think it is like shooting a fish in a barrel when they are on beds, it's not as easy as you would think most of the time.

I also LOVE sight fishing for fish all summer long for fish that are not on beds. This is probably one of the hardest but most rewarding techniques. These fish are simply either cruising or feeding and your having to convince them to eat. They will eat not because they are protecting the nest, but you fooled them into thinking they were getting a meal. That's one of the best feelings.

So with all this said, the bottom line to me is as long as you release the bigger bass, I believe it's fine to catch them however you want to (besides snagging).





3562, RE: Hello Bigreenjobass.......
Posted by Fish Chris, Tue Jan-06-04 07:20 PM
I certainly don't have any problem with you voicing your opinions.
Your reference to live bait fishing with shiners, sure sounded like Clear Lk. to me though.... am I right ?
Ya' know it's funny, of all the live baits I have ever used, I think shiners are just about dead last on my list. They are expensive, they are a pain to transport and keep alive, and in my experience the dinky little 4 and 5 inch things that they call "jumbos" seem to deep hook too many fish...... or miss them altogether ! I used them a few times to experience these things, but catch my own crawdads for free, which I feel are a better big bass bait anyway.

Where is the challenge in live bait fishing ? Well for me, it is in catching a trophy bass. In 2001 I fished Clear Lk. aprox 90 days and caught very close to 1100 bass (28 of which were from 8 to 9.8 lbs, but about 1/2 of these were caught on the Castaic trout), for about 5000 lbs. More than 1000 of those fish were caught on tiny live dads and micro-light gear (and I had a blast doing this I should add :-). But considering the fact that among all those nice bass, I did not catch a single double digit bass, NOT EVEN ONE, (always my ultimate goal) I guess it was very challenging...... in fact, it must have been "TOO" challenging !

The other thing about live bait that always surprises people who have not previously used it, is to have a big bass swim up and eye the bait, sometimes for several minutes, only to turn there nose up and swim away. If you have not experienced this in your live bait fishing, then again, that must have been at Clear Lk. with those overpopulated, highly competitive, 3 to 6 lb'ers, in which case, I have to agree, those fish are about as easy as it gets...... but are still fun on micro-light gear :-)

Take this any way you like, but after thousands of hours of live bait fishing experience, I am very positive that giant bass, day in and day out, are "EASIER" to catch on artificial lures. This is exactly why I use artificial lures so much more nowadays, and why I catch so many more big bass because of it. I guess one could take this to mean, artificial lures are less of a challenge. But this is OK with me, because if 15's ever become "too easy", I will have to shoot for nothing but 18's, and then 20's, and then the world record.

There are things about live bait fishing "which seem like they would be true"....... and then on the other hand, there is "reality".

Peace,
Fish
3563, RE: Hello Bigreenjobass.......
Posted by Jeremyfisher, Tue Jan-06-04 08:16 PM
Fish, I think we are basically agreeing with each other but not understanding that we are. First of all, I was refering to shiners here in FL. Shiners are just absolutely deadly in these FL lakes. Many times you can be fishing the same spot as shiner fishermen and not catch a fish over 2 lbs while the shiner fishermen are catching 8 lber after 8 lber. It sounds like these are two different live bait situations. From what I understand, artificials seem to outproduce live bait over there for you because you are fishing for trout eaters or bedding fish? This is just a total guess, but this sounds like it would explain why the artificials outfish the livebait. But live bait would beat artificals if you were allowed to fish live trout, right? These florida bass LOVE shiners probably as much as those cali fish love trout. Just a thought. But the bottom line is that different kinds of live bait are more effective in different places. The main point I was trying to make is that Shiners seem to produce average joe's alot of big fish while seemingly better fishermen can't get a fish over 5 lbs with artificials.

It seems that there are exceptions to everything regarding bass fishing. And I completely understand that live bait can get beat by artificials under the right conditions. Again, I think we have been agreeing vaguely the whole time:-)!

3568, RE: Well hey now Bigreenjobass.......
Posted by Fish Chris, Wed Jan-07-04 09:49 AM
I have to say, your post was "dead on" in a couple of respects ! (will get to those in a minute) and when you said you had used Shiners, you meant "SHINERS" ! Those Florida type are cool ! I would love to use some 10" to 14" Shiners for big trophy bass !
I was way off (about 5000 miles :-)) on my guess of your fishing at Clear Lk.

Yes, you are absolutely right that a live trout, would almost certainly out produce an artificial lure..... but of course they are "very illegal". Also yes, I do much better with artificial lures, than with live bait, while bedfishing too..... and I'll be the first to admit, during this time (and always depending on the receptiveness of that individual fish) I might be able to get them to hit a bottle cap with a hook on it, as it is not intended to look like a natural food item in the first place..... but rather, like a foreighn object intruding into the nest.

But back to the personal opinion part....... If I were over there in Florida, and were catching 8 lb'ers "too easily" with live shiners, I would simply start fishing more specifically for 10's, then 13's, then 15's, and on and on.... but that's just me, and I am pretty much of a self-admitted oddball in the first place :-)

Great fishing to you buddy,
Peace,
Fish
3574, RE: Well hey now Bigreenjobass.......
Posted by BassinPatrick, Wed Jan-07-04 02:18 PM
over here on the east coast,except in a few select lakes :), it is so hard to sort through the 8 lbers, it gets ridiculous. there are lots of bigger fish, i mean dont get me wrong, but WOW are they hard to get to. not like structure wise, but you have to get thru their sculls and fool them. so you are trying to fool an EXTREMELY well whitted fish, who is extremely reluctant to touch a shiner, for fear of being pulled out of its habitat, like it has seen dont to her biddies before. so rooting thru the dumber almost countless 5-8's, and then trying to outsmart the BIGGER way fewer bass would be an extremely hard challenge, and personally, i would rather just throw a 19 inch trout plug to get them! hell you would probably spend so much time and money tryin to get a bass thats over 15, you may as well just get a house in cali and have it MUCH easier. HEY chris i have an idea, if you liek a challenge, relocate to florida and try to get a 15....BWA HA HA HA!! lol...got carried away....good fishin yall...
-patrick
3576, RE: Well I hear you.....
Posted by Fish Chris, Wed Jan-07-04 03:59 PM
but my "challenge" is to get a 19 plus, right here in Nor Cal :-)

Fish