but first let me say, I am probably the least competitive guy that anybody will ever meet..... If I was trying to "beat" somebody, I would fish Tournies.
Just out of curiosity, what is the highest number of double digit bass that you guys have ever heard of being caught in "Nor Cal" by any one angler...... that you could believe, or should I say, that was verifiable ???
I know there must be some of those So Cal boys with close to 100 over 10 in a year. Heck, I have heard of those guys getting 9 (Troy Folkestad) and 13 (now I forgot his name) in one day !!! Incredible !
But I am wondering about up here in Nor Cal. I'm up to 15 now (in barely 4 months, with 7 left to go), and seriously thinking I could make it to 20 or more ! I wonder if that would be close to some kind of unofficial record ?

Anybody ?

Peace,
Fish

I think you have a long way to go. Larry Hempill comes to mind when you talk about many big fish over ten. But there are plenty of guys up north who caught a lot of big fish as well.
P.P.

Hey Fish boy in NorCal,

Did you finally figure out the missing piece to the puzzle and land yourself a few bigun's? And now in your mind you are just the absolute Big Bass Catchin' Bombass Shiznik's...Well, i'm here to tell you first of all just because you catch a handful of so called trophy bass and think you have trophy bass hunting down pat, you couldn't hang in real tournament bass fishing where the tournaments are held on real lakes not in some small norcal farm pond or reservoir, so you better be glad that you're not competitive cause your bubble would be burst on your very first cast! Oh yeah, us "So. Cal boys" can really open a can of whoop ass on those bigun's, i myself have figured out the equation when it comes to big bass, that's why i only fish tournaments now...because when it comes right down to it...all of the boys who think they can fish and catch trophy bass all year long get weak in the knee's when they can't even catch a limit of small one's especially when there's money on the line!

Peace Out

Hawg R.I.P. Hunter

Sorry Hawg hunter
But!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mike Long Has a killer Tourney History, and is one of Best if not the best. big fish Man!!!!

Don't you guys just love it when you write something totally innocuous and you get a response like that....I'm always left wondering and rereading my post to see what could possibly elicite a response like that .....hmmmm?

Yeah fellas, I think before you go ripping into Fish Chris you might just want to think about what you are saying. Chris does not profess to be a tournament fisherman. He's not interested in the least. He's into catching big bass and he's been going it all year to the tune of 15 fish over 10. That's a great run of it in any book. He's caught some on bait but the majority on lures. Sometimes I myself get a little jealous when Chris is out catching the toads during the week, but the bottom line is that he's catching them. And quite frankly, I don't know of anyone in Nor-Cal ever who has caught 15 over 10 in one year. I'm sure it's happened at some point but let's get real. The guy is on 'em and that's that. Take it easy.

-Rob

I don't have anything official, or condescending like Hawg Hunter, but four or five years ago Mike Reynolds caught 7 or 8 fish over ten pounds in two days of pre-fishing at Clear Lake in April. I know he caught quite a few more during the tournament and pre-fishing season at Clear Lake, The Delta, Don Pedro, and I think even one at Shasta.

Now Mike is a friend, and I trust whatever he reports to me, and he is on the water pretty much as a full time job. Opportunity lies mainly with those who are out there chasing trophies all the time, like Fish Chris. There is no reason, with the fall trout plants still looming, that Fish Chris couldn't end the year with over 30 ten pound plus hogs, and I, for one, would be pretty impressed and respectful of that feat.(and jealous)

Tom Jolin, Jim Reese, Steve Sapp, Gary Dobyns, Larry Hemphill(good choice), Dee Thomas(in his prime) and Robert Lee all come to mind as possibilities for catching 20+ ten pound bass in one year in Nor Cal, but these are just guesses. I'm sure there are some Clear Lake guides who have possible caught that many toads in a year.

This is all speculation, and I say Fish Chris, keep sticking and reporting them. There are many of us out here rooting for you every time out.

>Hey Fish boy in NorCal,
>
>Did you finally figure out the missing piece to the puzzle
>and land yourself a few bigun's? And now in your mind you
>are just the absolute Big Bass Catchin' Bombass
>Shiznik's...Well, i'm here to tell you first of all just
>because you catch a handful of so called trophy bass and
>think you have trophy bass hunting down pat, you couldn't
>hang in real tournament bass fishing where the tournaments
>are held on real lakes not in some small norcal farm pond or
>reservoir, so you better be glad that you're not competitive
>cause your bubble would be burst on your very first cast!
>Oh yeah, us "So. Cal boys" can really open a can of whoop
>ass on those bigun's, i myself have figured out the equation
>when it comes to big bass, that's why i only fish
>tournaments now...because when it comes right down to
>it...all of the boys who think they can fish and catch
>trophy bass all year long get weak in the knee's when they
>can't even catch a limit of small one's especially when
>there's money on the line!
>
>Peace Out
>
>Hawg R.I.P. Hunter

Hey Hawg R.I.P. Hunter,

I can't believe your post. First of all tournament bass fishing is a totally different pursuit from trophy bass fishing. Chris isn't looking for money or fame, he just enjoys catching and learning more about big bass. More important, he's happy to share his experiences and methods with all who are interested. There are many bass anglers that frequent his message board just to learn more about trophy bass fishing and they have improved their catch rate because of it.

I find your unwarranted attack on him and trophy fishing enthusiasts in general to be in bad taste.

Good luck at your next weigh in................Ed

for all the positive responses. As for the negative one.... well, let me just put it this way, one thing I have learned in life, is that positive things happen to positive people, and negative things to the negative ones.
A couple years ago I might have allowed myself to get into a big back and forth match with "haters" like that guy, but now I have come to realize that it's not worth my time. Just way too much positive stuff to focus on..... like trophy bass :-)
I also know that the more known I become, the more of that type of garbage I will have to endure. I know that if I was a "nobody" who had accomplished "nothing", the haters would not waste there time on me. Look at all the slandering that the king, Mike Long takes...... and why should that be ? He is a super nice guy, and the most successful trophy bass fisherman that has ever lived ! Hmmmm.
Although I don't feel a need to defend myself with "Hawg RIP Hunter" (probably not his real call name, but we have his IP #) I believe that anyone who knows me, can attest that I really do like to help people to be successful at this sport which I love so much.
Am I proud of my trophy catches ? Absolutely ! After 6000 hours on the water in the last five years, I feel like I have earned the right to be proud !
Do I think I am all that and a bag of chips ??? Hardly. I tell people all of the time that "ANYBODY" can do it...... then, if they are interested, I proceed to show them how. Why do I care so much about the next guy ? Because I strongly believe that what goes around, comes around. The more helpful I can be, the more big bass I will catch.
Oh, and one other very important point I want to mention here...... there are several "great trophy hunters" up here who are just not as fortunate as I am, to be able to spend as much time trophy hunting as I do ! Swimbait, your number of giants, in relation to the number of days you have been able to spend at it, is just flat amazing !!!

Great fishing to all of you guys,
Peace,
Fish

PS, Larry Hemphill e-mailed me this morning to say that I might have it for most double digit bass in Nor Cal in a year. He said he would look into that. In any case, I'm shooting for 20 :-) Wish me luck.

Hey, that's an awesome feat, whether it be in NorCal or SoCal. And by what I've read in your posts and seeing your character as a person come out, it couldn't have happened to better guy. Of course unless it was me.......lol. Why can't we all be as talented and fortunate enough, to not only rack up all that quality time out on the water but to put ourselves and our "know how" in the position to hang those trophy girls, such as you have Chris!? Congrats on your most admireable and most envious of accomplishments.

P.S. Hey, don't worry about any of the negative posts you may get. There's always a bad apple somewhere in the bunch. Law of averages, that's all. And as for the NorCal/SoCal thing, yes we have awesome bassin' down here, but combine that with the awesome bassin' up there and that pretty much makes California THE premiere bassin' state in the whole U S of A. Let's just all be fortunate we live in this most wonderful of states, in this most gracious of countries!

PROUD TO BE A CALIMERICAN!!!!!!!

GO BRUINS....GO RAMS....GO FISHING....!!!!
FLOWING THROUGH MY VEINS!!!!

GO BRUINS....GO RAMS....GO FISHING....!!!!
FLOWING THROUGH MY VEINS!!!!

Fish Chris, let me start off by saying that i think that your are truly one of the best trophy anglers out there. I have been bass fishing for quite a while and i still have yet to break into the double digit catagory. That is one thing i think trophy anglers have in common its the admiration of their peers. But for some reason you get all the haters from the tournament scene. Why is that? Thats one of the reasons why I think ill never go the tournament route even though i think about it sometimes, its because of guys like that Hawg guy. I wonder if that guy even has any fun fishing w/ an attitude like that. Well all I have to say is Fish Chris your the man and keep on them, like MVBRUIN says man keep representing the west, cali and all of us that are behind you brother.

Tsunami