BASS FISHINGBass Fishing Sports Blog

MINNEAPOLIS, MN. (Daniel Johnson, Missouri Sports Magazine) – FLW, the world’s premier tournament-fishing organization, announced today that it will continue its partnership with Pringles® for the upcoming 2012 season.

Professional angler Vic Vatalaro will once again represent Pringles® on the Walmart FLW Tour. Vatalaro has more than $800,000 in career tournament winnings, has 18 career top-10 tournament finishes and has qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup four times.

Through its sponsorship agreement, Pringles® will receive exposure across all of FLW’s platforms, including its tournaments and Expos, multiple websites, FLW Bass Fishing and FLW Walleye Fishing magazines and the “FLW” television show on NBC Sports Network. “FLW” is broadcast Sundays in high-definition (HD) to more than 559 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.

“we are thrilled to extend our partnership with Pringles®,” said Trisha Blake, President of FLW Marketing Division. “Their line of snack products are enjoyed by people around the world, and are a fantastic fit with the FLW family of sponsors.”

Pringles® offers consumers a variety of snacking options including Original Pringles®, Pringles® Multigrain, Pringles® Xtreme, and Pringles® Stix.

ABOUT PRINGLES® Over the last 40 years, consumers are “loud in like” for Pringles® … the can, its unique shape that cradles the mouth, that crunch, and the crisps’ unique taste and texture.  Over the years, the like of Pringles® has spread around the world and it is now available in over 140 countries.  for more information on Pringles, visit Pringles.com.

ABOUT FLW FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing unparalleled fishing resources and entertainment to our sponsors, fans and host communities. FLW is offering anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2012 over the course of 191 tournaments across five tournament circuits, each providing an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy — the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water,” through a variety of platforms including tournaments, outdoor expos and the world’s richest fantasy sports game — FLW Fantasy Fishing. for more information about FLW and FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FLWOutdoors.com or FantasyFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter and Facebook.

Tim Feller and Dean Belits, the 2010 Kings of the Glades, were second by eight-tenths of an ounce at 19.31.

both teams used jigs to catch bedding fish in the canals.

Roy Singer and Dave Walker were third at 13.01 and Singer had the big bass of 6.74, which he caught on the flats with a Gambler big EZ swimbait.

Tony Crowder and Dan Potts were fourth at 12.84. Dustin and Ron Royer were fifth at 11.35.

The final qualifier is may 6 out of Holiday Park. Visit kingoftheglades.com.

Fish of the Week

Sylvain Gingras, of Montreal, caught a 12-pound bonefish Monday fishing in Biscayne Bay with Capt. Jorge Valverde of low Places Guide Service.

Mark O’Connor, of Delray Beach, went fishing by himself Friday morning and caught a 36-pound bull dolphin trolling a feathered, rigged ballyhoo on Tupelo Honey II in 430 feet off Boca Inlet. he needed about 30 minutes to land the fish, which nearly spooled his Shimano Tiagra 30W reel.

Lynn Oreal, fishing on her boat miss Oh Reel, caught sailfish of 60.5 and 42 pounds using live goggle-eyes on balloon lines and kingfish of 10 and 15 pounds Friday in 100 feet off Fort Lauderdale. Bill Cuervo and Danny Leon caught several kingfish up to 15 pounds and a variety of snappers and groupers that were released.

after a slow day of trolling for wahoo and dolphin Saturday on A Bit Small, Steve Albertson and Dave Potter, of Hollywood, chose to do some deep-dropping in 600 feet off Fort Lauderdale on the way in. after the electric reel quit on the first drop, Albertson got out his Penn International 50 Wide outfit and reeled up golden tilefish of 14.7 and 5.8 pounds at the same time.

Mark Escobar and Greg Moule had a two-day total of 34.04 pounds and Escobar had the big bass of 8.91 to win the Bass N Fools monthly club tournament on Lake Toho. Tim Feller and Scott Crowe were second at 24.05, followed by Dan Stubbs and Mitch Grant at 23.69, Tom Trapani and Justin Falzetti at 21.77 and Mel Katz and Scott Krull at 20.32, which included the second largest bass at a 5.68.

Clay Silvers caught 4.62 pounds of fish Saturday to win the junior division of the Bass Fishing Kids Palm Beach Trail at Okeeheelee Park in West Palm Beach. Ryan Batezel was second at 4.53. Natalie Hawkins was third at 4.42. Jake Elsner had the big bass at 2.36. Kyle Beck won the small fry division with 1.59, followed by Maria Gibson at .75 and James Martin III at .59. A record 52 anglers competed. The next tournament is April 14 at John Prince Park in Lake Worth. Visit bassfishingkids.com or call 954-306-3441.

Published: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 8:37 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 8:37 p.m.

1 – around Lakeland, a 27-inch bass was released on Derby Lake at Tenoroc, probably over 10 pounds and unusually large for that lake, which has a boardwalk to fish off. Bass mostly 10-21 inches on 5, Lost Lake West and Hydrilla at Tenoroc on topwater early, then junebug worms and spinnerbaits in afternoons, reports FWC biologist Stephen Woodard. Bass active on Lake Gibson casting 10-inch Jethro black grape worms along grass lines and slow-dragging them, reports Bobby Blizzard at Huge Fish Bait and Tackle. Bass small slower and nothing over 4 pounds at Saddle Creek Park, reports Stacy Roberts at Phillips Bait and Tackle. Panfish “very excellent” in grass on east shoreline of Parker, Blizzard said, and size improving as fish become more active on red worms. Mouth of Crago producing bluegill, Roberts said. Bank anglers at Saddle Creek doing really good with crickets and red worms for buckets of tilapia, limits of medium-sized bluegill and catfish, Roberts said. Bluegill pretty good at Banana Lake. Panfish also picking up at Colt Creek in both numbers and size fishing structure with crickets. Panfish fair on Derby, Lake 5, and Picnic at Tenoroc. Several limits of channel catfish at Tenoroc in Lake B, where a few specks still coming in. Angler landed six channel catfish up to 3 pounds at Peterson Park.

2 – at Auburndale, panfish anglers targeting bluegill and shellcracker in grass/lily pads/reeds on Lake Rochelle and Lake Haines on red worms and crickets.

3 – at Winter Haven, Willard Combee boated a 9-pound bass in Sunday tournament on south chain casting Bitters trick worm (junebug with sparkle blue tail) around cypress stump in 4 feet on Lake Eloise, but nothing else over 4 pounds and only 12 1/4 pounds for winners. Limits of nice bluegill on Lake Eloise and Lake Howard, said Stacy Roberts.

4 – at Lake Hamilton, bluegill fair inside grass lines along with bass, but average size not as good as last week. Chain O’ Lakes Bait and Tackle in Dundee (863-439-3885) in closing its doors on Saturday.

5 – at Lake Marion near Haines City, group from Indiana caught decent numbers of shellcracker and bluegill on east and north shores Friday and Saturday, but there’s more panfish bumping lily pads than biting, reports Eileen O’Leary at Bannon’s Fish Camp. Boat had seven specks out deep Saturday.

6 – at Lake Pierce, anglers hunting for shellcracker and bluegill but haven’t found them yet, reports Jennings Resort. Specks hanging in there, with up to a dozen trolling deep water. a few bass but small.

7 – at Lake Hatchineha, bluegill coming on strong in lily pads across from Port, south of Port and going toward Cypress Canal on left, said Leo Cosce.

8 – at Lake Toho, bass tough on artificials, and nothing over 6 pounds on wild shiners, reports Cody Detweiler at Huge Toho Marina. But pros in BFL Gator Division tournament Saturday will no doubt find them. Limits of bedding shellcracker in 3-4 feet around lily pads and sandy bottom on red worms. Hardly any specks. Water temperature in upper 70s.

9 – at Lake Kissimmee, Cole Hinman and Brent Howlett boated a 9.42-pound bass in Sunday’s Accent tournament, where there were three six-fish stringers 30-31 pounds. Hinman was flipping bulrushes. John Harwell Jr. caught a 9-pound, 2-ounce bass over weekend, reports Leo Cosce at Camp Lester. Bass action quite good despite winds casting swim-baits (Bitters in Houdini, Marti Gras and shadow blue) and toads in 3 1/2 feet or deeper, Cosce said. Anglers watching for shellcracker to move into lily pads over weekend and through full moon, but they’ve only been staying for a day after new moon. Shellcracker doing real good on south end of Rabbit Island, reports Capt. Rob Murchie at Middleton’s Fish Camp. Nice bluegill in grass/lily pads on north end of Grassy Island, and both bluegill and shellcracker at Bird Island, Cosce said. Man and wife brought in 50 nice specks Tuesday and 32 Wednesday, Murchie said. Cosce said specks good at Osceola Slough and Grassy Island early, and full moon might be end of season.

10 – at Lake Walk-in-the-Water, FWC biologists shocked up 22 bass 8-12 pounds in deeper bulrushes in early March, so those are definitely worth a look. It’s shellcracker time with full moon coming next week.

11 – at Bent Lake at Babson Park, bunch of bass 8-11 pounds in past week, reports Cindy Ritchison at Bob’s Landing, and all were released. there was an 11-pounder on guide trip with Pete Matson for party from Iowa. Don Wilson of Ottawa, Ill., boated 8.30-pounder Friday, and on Monday a 7.50, 7.90 and 8.60 in 10-15 feet on shiners. Paul Mathias from new Columbia, Pa., landed a 7.90 Monday on shiner. Eugene Aiken of Kentucky had a 9-pounder and three 6-pounders Saturday and Sunday on shiners. And Howard Nalley released an 8-pound, 14-ouncer on a junebug red Senko in 10 feet Saturday. Some fishermen releasing 30-40 bass per trip 12-16 inches. Shellcracker only fair.

12 – at Frostproof, bass are becoming more of a numbers game, with good action on Lake Reedy on edge of grass lines and around open-water peppergrass on soft plastics.

13 – In the phosphate pits south of Mulberry and Bartow, the prime of bedding season is going by without any reports of trophy bass.

Football, basketball, baseball and … bass fishing?

High schools in South Carolina are bidding to make fishing an official high school sport, with teams, leagues and varsity letters. And with pro tournaments and television shows about fishing making it more popular than ever, some say it’s time for schools to recognize the activity as a full-fledged sport.

“They want their picture on the wall just like the football team and the volleyball and basketball and other state champion teams from Camden,” said Daniel Sisk, the fishing club coach at Camden High School in Columbia.

Camden is just one school among many around the Palmetto State that is working with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to make fishing a competitive sport.

“If it was recognized as a varsity sport, then your benefits would be you can letter in it, you can get scholarships,” said Camden Fishing Club member Catie Charles, a freshman. “But right now you don’t. you just go out there for fun and nobody really notices.”

No one is claiming fishing is as demanding as that other sport that counts ‘tackle’ in its lexicon, but the anglers say there’s more to fishing than sitting back and watching for a bobber to dart underwater.

“Fishing is a very demanding sport, both physically and mentally,” said Sisk “It’s very tough. “We aren’t going out and doing two-a-days as far as practice goes, but it’s eight-hour days.

“I heard that throwing 150 casts is equivalent to throwing 100 pitches in a game,” said Fishing Club member Carson Morgan. And, according to their coach, serious anglers often make 500 casts in a day.

For now, the students fish for fun on the weekends, joining the enthusiasts who pump an estimated $215 million per year into the state economy. But Camden students and their counterparts from 13 other schools have signed a petition asking the South Carolina High School League, which regulates school athletics in the state, to sanction the activity as a sport. They’re looking for at least two more schools to sign on before they submit it.

They have a key ally in the state Department of Natural Resources.

“I want to get as many clubs as possible so that the impact is like ‘Hey look! this really is something that a lot of kids can be involved in,’” said South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Director Lorianne Riggins. “There is a lot of interest here.”

In the meantime, the students will fish and hope that the state takes the bait.

The FWC advises boaters unfamiliar with the Stick Marsh to navigate to fishing locations with extreme caution because of the number of man-made and natural hazards present.

Facilities include a double-lane concrete boat ramp, air boat launch site, restroom and paved parking lot. Closest towns/cities are Melbourne, Palm Bay, Vero Beach, Sebastian and Fellsmere. no gas, food or bait is available on site.

Well loved sportfish include largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, black crappie and several catfish species. This water body is noted for its brilliant bass fishing because of the special no-harvest regulation on largemouth bass. the Stick Marsh is one of the top 10 trophy bass spots in the state.

This writer has fished this area a few times and always caught bass. but remember, anglers are obligated to use the catch-and-release regulations for largemouth bass. If you catch a large bass, take a photo and release it as this will make this place to continue to be a top-notch bass location for future generations.

Anglers are reminded to exercise caution when boating because of submerged and floating timber in the Stick Marsh/Farm13. We were not that cautious on our first trip to the Stick Marsh and the man who was acting as our guide was standing and telling us to be very careful when all of a sudden we hit a stump and out of the boat went our guide.

This is the time of year when a huge number of trophy bass – 8 pounds and over – are caught by anglers in this well-known impoundment.

Traditional spots to catch staging and spawning bass in recent years are in the north flow-way, Ditch 7, and northwest corner (the palms) of the Stick Marsh. Well loved spots in the Farm 13 section include the water control structure (S-96D) canal, levees or road-beds along submerged drainage canals/ditches, and the flooded timber in the flats south of Ditch 13.

Extreme caution must be used while boating in these areas because as water levels drop during the dry season, more stumps, logs, and canal berms will be just under the water surface.

Water conditions (temperature, flow, and clarity) will dictate lure selection. Golden shiners are the choice of many anglers when searching for trophy bass this time of year, followed by plastic worms (Junebug, tequila sunrise, and red shad colors), plastic swim baits, light colored spinner baits (willow leaf-style blades) and soft jerk baits.

As the water warms, it offers the opportunity to use top-water plugs and shallow-running crankbaits. Speckled perch are still being caught on minnows in Ditch 7 and Ditch 13. for more information on daily fishing forecasts and lake conditions for the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 and Garcia Reservoir, call Palm Bay Outfitters 321-952-4435 or Stick Marsh Bait & Tackle Shop 772-571-9855.

Chain Producing Huge Bass

We received some good bass-fishing reports during the week out of the chain. Ron Winters caught three bass with the smallest weighing 4 pounds and the largest 8 pounds while using large shiners in Lake Winterset on Saturday. Jimmy Allen caught his limit of bass up to six pounds out of Summit on live shiners and Billy Johnson caught his limit up to 3 pounds on plastic worms. so artificial lures are doing just as well as live bait.

Speckled perch are still being caught at night while drift fishing with live minnows. Plenty of action on catfish up to 6 pounds out of Lake may and Lulu while using cut-up wieners on the bottom. Anglers are also catching a few bluegills on fresh water shrimp.

On the Glide

What a fantastic two weeks of freshwater fly fishing we’ve had around Central Florida. I’ve been on the water nearly every day in the past two weeks and the fish have been very cooperative.

Mornings seem to be best right now, starting at sunrise until around noon, when it starts to get a small too warm. the afternoons can be good for the last couple hours before dark but, as my anglers found yesterday, you often have to fight the wind to get your flies into the right spots. I’ve been concentrating most of my fishing on smaller lakes and ponds in Winter Haven and Lake Wales, mixed in with a few days at Lake Simple down in Babson Park.

The smaller lakes and ponds are fishing extremely well right now. Last Monday, I had Shawn and his son Zac out for a Spring Break fly fishing trip. Zac hadn’t done much fly fishing but he quickly figured it out and caught a nice bluegill and smaller sized bass both on a white foam spider. It’s fantastic to see kids get into the sport and catch a fish on the fly.

On Saturday, I had Dennis and his son Jody on the boat for a quick morning trip and the action was fantastic on topwater flies. We mostly fished a size 6 yellow Sprog pattern. They both had plenty of bass and bluegill, and Dennis had a surprise when the first fish we pulled in that morning was a nice-sized crappie.

Your best bet over the next couple weeks is to get out early and fish smaller size 6-8 topwater poppers and foam spiders. I’ve also had some success adding a San Juan worm as a dropper 12 to 20 inches underneath to catch the fish that aren’t quite as aggressive. the last two weeks have been some of the best mornings of the year. I hope you can get out on the water as the next month or two is really as good as it gets when it comes to catching fish on topwater flies.

Get out and enjoy this fantastic outdoors of ours, take a youth with you and watch that smile on their face as they begin catching fish.

Send your stories to and if you would like a photo taken, give Bill Chestnut a call at 863-299-1331.

Outdoors Editor

Reno Reasoner has endured years of ribbing from his angling pals over all the time he spends in one particular cove at Thurmond Lake.

They joked that he should have his mail sent there – and later installed a mailbox on the remote shoreline, with “RENO” in huge letters that glow in the dark.

Last weekend, however, the joke went in a different direction, when the Columbia County angler’s not-so-secret honey hole produced a 10.22-pound largemouth that captured the Huge Fish prize in the Clarks Hill top Six Bass Tournament.

Reasoner, sponsored by his club, Belvedere Bass Busters, really finished up stuck at “the mailbox” after his boat battery died.

He did what any stranded angler would do – he called his wife and asked her to buy a new battery and deliver it to a family friend at the boat landing.

And in the meantime, he kept on fishing.

“I called Reno at 10:01 to tell him I was at Pollards Corner and would be there in a few minutes,” Angie Reasoner said. “At 10:15 his friend arrived at the dock to get the battery. when his buddy arrived at mailbox cove it was 10:22 a.m. and he saw Reno struggling to get this huge fish in the boat and hollering ’hold ’em hook!, hold ’em hook!’”

The giant fish earned Reasoner 10th place in the 126-person field, with a two-day weight of 27.22 pounds.

MATTHEWS’ PICKS OF THE WEEK

1. with warm weather returning, this weekend and into early next week is likely to be the first hot largemouth bass fishing weekend of the season as the fish flood into the shallows to start the spawn. while you can pick a lot of places to top this bite – from Santa Margarita Lake on the Central Coast to Lower Otay Reservoir on the San Diego border – the top pick remains the lower Colorado River from Lake Havasu south into the river backwaters all the way to Yuma. the action should be excellent for both largemouth and smallmouth bass in shallow.

2. the Salton Sea is easily the no. 2 pick. while the weather chilled the bite early in the week, the tilapia action was pretty much wide open late last week and the warm weather late this week and through the weekend should open this action up again. most anglers fish at the jetty at the State Park headquarters or from the free fishing jetty at the refurbished Salton Sea Yacht Club. the bite is pretty much exclusively on nightcrawler pieces and the fish are most half to 1 1/4-pounds.

3. the striper bite broke wide open in the California aqueduct at Taft this past week. while a lot of the fish are under the legal size limit, the action has been so excellent that getting a limit of legal fish has been pretty simple. the best bite has been on blood worms, but lure anglers tossing Lucky Craft LV 500s or similar baits were also scoring.

FRESHWATER HOT SPOTS

Trout: Trout action is excellent throughout Southern California with action at all of the stocked waters excellent to excellent with a lot of limits of nice fish, along with the chance at a trophy fish. top bets are western Riverside County’s Corona Lake, the Orange County trio of Laguna Niguel Park Lake, Irvine Lake, and Santa Ana River Lakes and both the High Desert waters of Hesperia Lake and Jess Ranch. In San Diego County, Poway, Jennings Cuyamaca, Morena, Dixon, and Wohlford are all pretty excellent bets. other top bets include all the San Bernardino County Park Lakes. Check the water-by-water reports for details, but the bites are excellent just about everywhere trout are planted now. the sleeper pick remains the Colorado River from Laughlin to big Bend where this season’s plants and holdover fish to six pounds are showing in excellent numbers. another excellent bet is the glide action in the Eastern Sierra’s year around waters – especially the Upper Owens on fish up to five or six pounds and the East Walker River.

Black Bass: the spawn is starting. This should be the first big weekend of excellent to excellent fishing with bass on beds at lots of waters throughout the region. It’s sight fishing time. Even on lakes were the fish are not on beds yet, they are up poking through the shallows and the warm weather through the weekend will make this bite pop. This is especially right in lower-elevation waters like Lower Otay, Perris, Diamond Valley, Casitas, and the whole lower Colorado River. Cachuma and Santa Margarita have also been improving. for anglers who want a big bass, check the DFG trout plants and hit those places planted this week with your big swimbaits.

Striped Bass: the top pick is easily the California aqueduct near Taft, which broke wide open this past week with a fantastic volume of fish and a decent number of quality fish. the striper bite has been honest at Diamond Valley this past week mostly on big swimbaits. elsewhere, the striper bites all are very spotty right now. there are still fish showing at all the usual places – Castaic, Pyramid, Skinner, and Silverwood – but there are two types of action. there are some bigger fish up chasing trout in the top 20 feet of the water column or in water from 40 to 80 feet hanging on structure or under balls of bait. It’s usually bigger fish on the trout and smaller, school-size fish in deep water where they are showing on cut baits. keep an eye on the trout plants and fish within the first two or three days after a plant. on the Colorado River, there has been a flurry of quality fish to 25 pounds or better at Willow Beach, and this may be the second-best bite going right now. Havasu is very slow in the main body of the lake and toward the dam and the fish are still focused on shad in a honest bite.

Panfish: the Salton Sea tilapia bite was producing 15 to 50 fish catches per angler this past weekend, but the cold Monday and Tuesday slowed the action some, but it has been warming again since with the bite steadily improving. It’s the top pick for the weekend. other panfish bites worth noting is a honest bite on redear and bluegill at Lake Perris and a budding crappie bite at Lake Henshaw. there have also been an increasing number of crappie being caught at Lake Hodges that bears investigating.

Catfish: the flathead catfish bite on the Colorado River seems to be tuning up early this year with several more fish from 10 to 30 pounds reported from Blythe south again this past week. the channel cats are also on a pretty excellent bite. outside of the river, most of the action has been very spotty, but there were some huge blue cats taken at Lower Otay this past week, including on fish over 25 pounds.

INLAND VALLEY LAKES

Cucamonga-Guasti: Excellent action on the planted rainbows with many of the fish in the two to three-pound. County fish are planted each week and the DFG also planted trout this week and two weeks ago. most trout are being reported on floating dough baits in rainbow and chartreuse with garlic. Inflated nightcrawlers with garlic are also a excellent bet and some fish are showing on the small trout jigs and plastics.

Prado: the trout fishing was excellent this past week with the best bite on PowerBait, inflated nightcrawlers, small trout worms, and small trout jigs. County trout plants are each week and the DFG planted this week and two weeks ago.

Yucaipa: Overall, the trout action has been excellent with county trout plants each week and DFG trout were planted three weeks ago. the best action has been on the small trout jigs and trout plastics, but the usual array of floating dough baits is also taking a lot of fish.

Glen Helen: Excellent trout action this past week. the county plants are weekly, and there were DFG trout plants last week and four weeks ago. Power Baits, inflated nightcrawlers, and small trout jigs and plastics have all be scoring fish.

Puddingstone: DFG trout plant again this week. the plants have been every week since the first of the year. the bite has been very excellent off the north shore and swim beach areas on small trout jigs, plastics, and especially floating dough baits. there has been a slow to honest bite on redear up to 1-8 on drop-shot nightcrawlers. Bass are honest and improving with a few fish on plastics. few catfish, crappie, or carp reports.

Mount Baldy Trout Pools: the heavily stocked pools are open every Saturday and Sunday. no fishing license is needed.

Seccombe Lake: DFG trout plants last week and three weeks ago. few reports.

SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS

Silverwood: the trout bite has been excellent around much of the lake with the main channel and Miller Canyon the hot spots for holdover fish and the marina, Cleghorn, and mouth of Miller for the fresh planters put in the by DFG last Friday (Feb. 24). best action on floating baits, small spinners, trout jigs, and trout plastics. Some of the better fish are pushing two pounds. David Hoch, Wrightwood, had a two-pound rainbow on a Roostertail, while 1-8 fish were caught by Steve Strong and a 1-8 topped off an eight-fish catch made by Larry and Bernadette Martin. Dennis Garrahan, Crestline, had a limit of five on Thomas Bouyants. the crappie bite has continued pretty honest off the marina docks on small jigs. Sherman Johnson, San Bernardino, landed five crappie to a pound off the docks. there has continued to be a honest bite on stripers with the best action on trout-like swimbaits or trolling small white flies, with some on cut baits. the dam area is best. the largemouth action is picking up, but most of the fish are still deep and showing on jigs and plastics off the points or around the marina.Manthony Dominquez, Hesperia, had a 2-8 largemouth in Miller Canyon.

Huge Bear Lake: the trout bite has been honest to excellent this past week with the top spots still the extreme ends of the lake – Stanfield Cutoff and the dam. Cold weather on Monday and Tuesday put a lot of sheet ice on the lake, but it should be gone by the warm weekend. the best bite is in 12 to 25 feet of water with floating baits, mostly Power Bait and Gulp!, on a three-foot leader. top flavors/colors have been garlic chartreuse, rainbow salmon egg, and chunky cheese garlic. Light fishing pressure.

Jenks Lake Region: Parking area closed, but anglers walking in have found pretty honest action on holdover trout, especially on small tube jigs. there was a light ice-cover at mid-week, but it should be gone by weekend. no DFG plants in over a month.

HIGH DESERT LAKES

Hesperia Lake: Trout plants are weekly and the action has been very excellent with a lot of quality fish from eight to 12 pounds and some bigger, but most anglers are getting nice stringers of fish averaging about 1 1/2 pounds. quite a few sturgeon continue to show from the 2,000-pound plant three weeks ago. these were all 15-pound class fish and up. they have mostly been showing on Power Bait, a bonus fish for the trout anglers. the catfish bite is slow.

Jess Ranch: Trout action was excellent this past week with anglers using PowerBait in spring green, rainbow, salmon peach and garlic, nightcrawlers dipped in garlic, and the usual array of small trout lures and jigs to catch fish. Hot spots included the eastern and western shores of lake 3 as well as the northern and southwestern shore of lake 2. Catfish up to five pounds were caught on shrimp and mackerel from the western and eastern shore of lake 2. top rainbow this week was a 6-3 caught by Maurice Dupleasis on rainbow PowerBait. John Marston, Fontana, had a 4-1, while Larry Pete, Hesperia, landed a 3-5.

SELECTED LAKES

Diamond Valley: the largemouth bass bite has been excellent on plastics and swimbaits with the fish showing in water as shallow as four feet. the swimbait bite is best after DFG trout plants, and there was a stock on Tuesday last week. the striper bite has been honest, but quite a few fish from six to 12 pounds are showing on big swimbaits after the trout plants. Also some fish still being landed on cut baits, but these are usually smaller versions. the trout action has been pretty excellent in the marina after a Mt. Lassen plant two weeks ago and the next Lassen plant is scheduled for March 15.

Perris: there has been a honest to excellent trout bite in the east end of the lake with a number of limits posted, mostly on rainbow garlic PowerBait fished on light leaders in the parking lots 11 and 12 area. DFG plants last week and three weeks ago. the largemouth bite has been steadily improving with honest to excellent action in 10 to 25 feet of water on plastics and nightcrawlers fished drop-shot style. top fish this past week was a five-pounder reported by John Lindsey, San Bernaridno, off the marina docks. Nate Dray had three bass to 4.6 pounds on drop-shot plastics off the marina points. the redear and bluegill are still showing in 20 to 25 feet of water on trout worms, dillies, and small jigs in the marina, off the island, and in the east end, but this bite is tough.

Skinner: the trout bite has been very excellent since the county plant this past week. the best bite has been on PowerBait in rainbow, garlic and corn. bright colors the best bet. best spots have been in the coves between Launch Ramps no. 1 and no. 2. John Ecker had four rainbows with his top fish a three-pounder. the largemouth bass bite had been steadily improving with fish moving shallower each warm day. Eric Stephans had a six-pound bass.

Elsinore: It looks like some of the bites are finally starting to turn around here, or were before Monday’s storm. the catfish were finally starting to show in better numbers, and a few bluegill were beginning to be caught.

Corona Lake: the action on rainbow trout remained hot over the past weekend, and hefty stocks of Sierra Bows this week should keep the action excellent right through the end of the annual tagged trout event which runs through Sunday Tagged trout are worth up to a $144 value. the bite has been excellent on a wide range of floating dough baits in bright colors. top fish this past week was a 9 1/4-pound rainbow landed by Shon Roberts that topped off a five-fish, 26-pound stringer caught while fishing from a boat. Ryan Shearer and Mike Merriam, both Yucaipa, had eight trout for 27 1/2 pounds, including a 7 1/2-pounder, while float tube fishing.

Evans Lake: Slow fishing with just a few bass on small reaction baits. Panfish, catfish, and carp all very slow.

Rancho Jurupa: Excellent trout action after a DFG and county plants last week. Next county plant set for March 9. top fish reported was a 4.16-pounder landed by Diego Rodriguez to top off his four-fish stringer, all on PowerBait.

Small Lake: Honest to excellent trout action with DFG plants this week and two weeks ago. A few catfish and bluegill also being landed.

Lake Hemet: the trout bite remains honest to excellent. most anglers fishing from shore are casting spinners or small tube baits, and bait anglers are fishing Power Bait. best trolling action has been from the point east to the marina. DFG plants this week and two weeks ago. Bluegill, bass, catfish and carp are all slow.

Santa Ana River Lakes: the rainbow trout bite has continued to sizzle. the big fish of the week was an 18-pound rainbow landed by Dave Holguin fishing a chartreuse floating bait at Levitz’ Corner. John Gguyen caught a 16-pound rainbow on a green plastic worm off La Palma Point. Nick and Robert Avemaria had 10 rainbows for a total of 28 1/2 pounds, topped off with a 10 1/2-pounders.

Irvine Lake: Trout action continues very excellent for both bait and troll anglers, but few big rainbow from this past week’s trophy plant have been landed. Hot top for bait anglers has been to fish an 18 to 24-inch leader because of clear water with PowerBait Mice Tails, traditional PowerBait in a variety of colors, and two-inch Gulp! Stout Trout Worms rigged wacky-style.

Laguna Niguel Lake: Heavy stockings of trout every Tuesday have made for excellent action here top fish this past week was landed by Brad Dew, a 14-pound rainbow landed on a nightcrawler from shore. Refugio Garcia, La Verne, had a 12 1/4-pounder garlic PowerBait.

Cachuma: A plant of 4,000 pounds of Calaveras rainbows went two weeks ago and the bite has been pretty excellent since, especially for trollers fishing in Santa Cruz Bay or Cachuma Bay to the dam.most of the rainbows are in 1-8 range, but Jameson McClellan had a limit of rainbows topped off by a three-pounder.

Casitas: the cold front on Monday knocked down the bass bite some (it was 29 degrees Tuesday morning), but the action has been excellent much of the past week with more and more fish moving shallow and thinking about the spawn. the warmer weather last week also started perking the redear and crappie action, but both species are getting very small fishing pressure. other species are also still very slow.

Castaic: the striper bite has continued to be very hit and miss, with a lot of misses this past week. the largemouth bite has been pretty honest, and more and more nice smallmouth have been reported on plastics and jigs in 30 feet of water.

Piru: very light fishing pressure, but the bass bite has been honest in deeper water with plastics, jigs, and nightcrawlers with fish up to four pounds reported in the past week.

Pyramid: Trout were planted last week and three weeks ago. the bite has been honest to excellent in the marina on PowerBait, nightcrawlers, salmon eggs, and small lures.

Barrett: the lake will open to fishing in may.

Hodges: there were 148 anglers who caught 103 bass to eight pounds, 89 crappie, five carp, and two bluegill this past week.

El Capitan: there were DFG trout plants this week and three weeks ago. there were 90 anglers checked who reported landing 106 bass.

Lower Otay: there were DFG trout plants last week and three weeks ago. there were 89 anglers checked who had 62 bass to 5.73 pounds, six blue cats, and two channel cats. there were also a few trout and crappie landed.

Upper Otay: there were 11 anglers who reported 27 bass to 4.65 pounds and two bluegill to .57 poundss this past week.

Murray: Pretty honest trout action and DFG trout plants went in last week and three weeks ago. the bass bite has also been steadily improving with some quality fish showing on bigger swimbaits. other species have been very slow.

Sutherland: Closed. the lake reopens March 17 on a Saturday, Sunday, Monday schedule.

Wohlford: Continued honest to excellent trout action with the last plant Feb. 15 and the next plant set for March 7.

Dixon Lake: the trout bite slowed a small with the last plant Feb. 15, but a plant next week of Nebraska Tailwalkers should kick the action back into gear.

Poway: the trout bite has slowed since the last plant Feb. 15 with the best bite along the north shore, in Half Moon Bay, and Hidden Bay. Catfish are honest off the log boom. other species slow.

Jennings: the trout bite has been very excellent for trollers using the drag-and-drop technique with a half a nightcrawler between Cactus Patch and Eagle Point.

Morena: Honest to excellent trout action on gold Kastmasters, nightcrawlers, PowerBait, Shad Raps, and spinners fished near the dam, in Paradise Cove, and Pumphouse Cove.

Cuyamaca: the trout bite has been excellent with a few limits reported. top trout this past week were a pair of 3-8 rainbows, one landed by Dustin Brown to top off his limit landed on nightcrawlers from Kitchen Cove.

Henshaw: the crappie bite is starting to kick into gear, and a honest number of catfish are also being landed. most of the crappie are in the one-pound range, while the cats have mostly been two to three pounds.

Lake Mead: the striper action has been tough with the best bite at night during dark moon phases under lights with anchovies or sardines under balls of shad. Some fish for trollers morning and evening. most fish under four pounds.

Willow Beach: the striped bass action has been picking up over the past two weeks and the action remains excellent with a lot of quality fish showing from mile marker 49 to marker 52.

Lake Mohave: the black bass are hitting soft baits when worked slowly especially on grass beds in 20 to 30 feet deep in the early morning with blue, black and purple and black grubs and worms. Some fish starting to go up a small, but the movement shallow for the spawn is still a ways off here.

Laughlin-Bullhead Area: the trout bite has continued excellent over the past week with a lot of planted rainbows at Davis Camp, Rotary Park, the Nature Center, and the ancient Bullhead City region. the fish are fresh planters up to holdover fish to four or five pounds.

Needles Area: very spotty fishing in this stretch of river. A few smallmouths are showing along rip-rap with the action better the further south you go.

Havasu: the black bass bite has steadily improved over the past week and a lot of the fish are already moving up into the shallows in a major pre-spawn movement of fish and some fish are already making beds. the smallmouth and largemouth are already showing up in four feet of water on plastics, reaction baits, and swimbaits.

TROUT PLANTS

San Bernardino: Cucamonga-Guasti Regional Park Lake, El Prado Regional Park Lake, Mojave Narrows Regional Park Lake.

Riverside: Hemet Lake, Small Lake.

Los Angeles: Castaic Lake, Cuddy Creek Pond, El Dorado Park Lakes, Elizabeth Lake, Jackson Lake, Legg Lake, Peck Road Park Lake, Puddingstone Reservoir, Santa Fe Flood Control Basin.

Orange: Centennial Regional Park Lake, Mile Square Regional Park Lake, Tri-city Park Lake, Yorba Regional Park Lake.

San Diego: Cuyamaca Lake, El Capitan Lake.

Imperial: Sunbeam Lake, Wiest Lake.

OCEAN FISHING REPORT

Long-Range Yellowfin: the fantastic tuna action has continued for the long-range fleet out of San Diego fishing the big yellowfin grounds off the tip of Baja on 18 to 22-day trips. the bite has continued about the same this past week, with most boats reporting 30 to 70 yellowfin per day. the average fish are 90 to 120 pounds with about 10 to 15 percent of the fish bigger, running from 150 to 250 pounds.

Mexican Rockfish: the anglers on San Diego-based boats making 1 1/2 to 2 1/2-day trips down into Mexican waters are seeing exceptional rockfish action with limits of quality reds and lingcod on most trips.

Rockfish: the rockfish, ling cod, and sheephead season opened all along the Southern California coastline on Thursday and, based on how excellent the action has been just across the border in Mexican waters, the bite should be excellent. Skippers are reporting huge schools of rockfish on the sonar at most of the usual spots.

San Diego: Even before the storm on Monday, the bite was very picky for the local half- and three-quarter day fleet. on Saturday, the Point Loma out of Point Loma Sportfishing was drifting for halibut with 16 anglers and they landed four halibut to 15 pounds, 17 sand bass, 12 yellowfin croaker, and four sculpin.

Lobster: the lobster fishing is still very excellent along much of the coast, but the San Diego twilight half-day boats are really cashing in.

Nearshore: Even with the better weather last week, the bite was still mostly all about sculpin for the Los Angeles and Orange county-based boats. there was a pick on bass and a few halibut, but the sculpin action has been the mainstay for these half- and three-quarter day boats.

Local Islands: there has been very slow action over the past week and both San Clemente and Catalina Island. In spite of lots of squid and generally honest conditions, the white seabass were absent this past week. there was a flurry of bonito action at Catalina during the warm weather late last week, a excellent sign that spring is not far off.

A vegan turned hunter reignited the connection between humans and their food sources and continued the dialogue begun by Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver in his newly released book, The Mindful Carnivore: a Vegetarian’s Hunt for Sustenance.

As a boy, Tovar Cerulli spent his summers fishing for trout and hunting bullfrogs. while still in high school, he began to experiment with vegetarianism. By the age of 20 he was a vegan. a decade later, in the face of declining health, he returned to omnivory, and within a few years found himself headed into the woods, rifle in hand.

Through his personal quest, Cerulli bridges these disparate worldviews and questions moral certainties. are fishing and hunting barbaric, murderous anachronisms? Or can they be respectful ways for humans to connect with nature (and their food)?

How harmless is vegetarianism? Can hunters and vegetarians be motivated by similar values and instincts?

In this time of intensifying concern over ecological degradation and animal welfare, how do we make peace with the fact that even by growing organic vegetables life is sustained by death?

Drawing on personal experience, philosophy, history and religion, Cerulli shows how America’s overly sanitized habits of consumption have disconnected us with our food, resulting in many of the spiritual and environmental crises we now face.

“Within these pages Tovar Cerulli navigates our role in the cycle of life in a way that is spiritual, intuitive, and profoundly real. By witnessing his transformation from staunch vegan to thoughtful hunter, we are reminded that mindful hunting not only makes us stewards of the land, but thoughtful eaters and more awake human beings. Bravo!”

Georgia Pellegrini, author of Girl Hunter and Food Heroes said, “Cerulli offers penetrating insights into not only where our food comes from, but what our daily dietary choices say about who we are as human beings.”

Hank Shaw, author of Hunt, Gather, Cook said, “A personal tale of how one man comes to terms with the meat on his plate and a historical look at humanity’s connection to animals. The Mindful Carnivore delivers new insight in the too often simplistic vegetarian versus carnivore argument.”

Novella Carpenter, author of Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer said,

“Entertaining and erudite. Cerulli’s refreshingly evenhanded tone allows readers to judge the author’s argument on the merits of his literary and personal evidence. Today’s noisy media environment often consists of rigid, uninformed viewpoints passed off as the sole truth. Cerulli provides a welcome antidote to the bluster.”

Use of Alabama rig illegal

in new Hampshire fresh waters

Anglers should be aware that the “Alabama rig,” a lure gaining popularity in the bass fishing world, is illegal to use in new Hampshire’s fresh waters, new Hampshire Fish and Game Department officials said today.

The Alabama rig generated national interest following a well-publicized win by a professional bass angler in a major bass tournament last fall.

Technically, the rig is not a lure, but an apparatus that allows an angler to attach and fish up to five lures on a single line, with the possibility of catching more than one fish at a time.

It is basically a castable “umbrella” rig, consisting of a hard body with a line-tie, followed by five wire strands in a fanned out design each with a snap swivel at the end. Anglers can attach a variety of lures to each swivel for a look that is meant to mimic a school of baitfish.

Following a tournament win using the Alabama rig, bass fishing websites, forums, and magazines abounded with stories touting the fish-catching abilities of the new tackle. The buzz has generated many inquiries to Fish and Game about the legal status of using the Alabama rig, or similar fishing rigs, in new Hampshire freshwaters.

The lure as originally made, is illegal in California, as well. It may contain three wire strands with lures attached, but not five like the original design.

Fish counts

Van Arsdale Fish Station: The Chinook season total stands at 2,436: 841 males, 360 females and 1,235 jacks.

A total of 97 steelhead entered the station this past week for a season total of 182: 70 males, 111 females.

South Fork of the Noyo River Egg-Taking Station: no coho entered the station this past week. Season to date total of 30: 9 males, 11 females and 10 jacks.

No steelhead entered the station this past week. Season to date total of 3: 3 males.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gary Roussan is an avid Willits sportsman and conservationist.

February 11, 2012|By Don Markus, the Baltimore Sun

Boyd Duckett grew up a NASCAR fan in North Carolina, played golf on some minitours in Alabama and Mississippi, and has spent the past decade as one of the country’s top professional bass fishermen. so he knows something about niche sports and their rabid fans.

Duckett and others involved in Major League Fishing — a new joint venture between the Outdoor Channel and 24 of the top fishermen in the country — are trying to appeal to more than the sport’s hard-core anglers.

“The competition in professional bass fishing is as great as any sport I’ve ever played. the problem is that we have done a horrible job as an industry in capturing that emotion and competition, and the characters involved in the sport,” Duckett said.

Duckett concedes that ESPN, which still televises the Bassmaster and FLW tours but no longer owns the rights to the broadcasts, has had a tough job marketing the sport.

“The playing field are these lakes that are so big that are in the middle of nowhere — most bass tournaments you have 200 guys, so who are you going to cover?” Duckett said. “I reckon that’s been the challenge for years with trying to televise these tournaments.”

Roger Trageser, president of the Maryland B.A.S.S. Federation, remains skeptical that Major League Fishing will succeed where others have failed.

“I’m a rabid football fan, and I can live somewhat of a fantasy football career through these players,” Trageser said. “I have a passion for it. I’ll watch any NFL game. I just don’t know what they’re trying to do will ascend fishing into a life realm.”

Trageser said he mentioned the Major League Fishing format to another local angler. while familiar with it, the angler was lukewarm to the concept.

“There wasn’t any kind of an interest,” Trageser said. “Maybe if you’re talking to guys like us who are so already ingrained in it that it seems like a waste of time. … When ESPN puts on the [Bassmaster Classic], I may watch it, but I’m not going to go out of my way to watch it.”

Major League Fishing commissioner Don Rucks said his organization is “trying to be a complement” to the existing tours and “expand it to outdoor participants that maybe don’t watch professional fishing. Maybe they’re gun guys, competitive shooters. to do that, we have to create an entertaining show.”

Rucks compares it to other reality television shows, such as”Survivor” and “The biggest Loser.”

“Our long-term goal is to expand the sport to people who never thought they’d watch it,” said Rucks, who has also worked on marketing of NASCAR events as well as college sports.

The first show, part of the Challenge Cup, will be 153 minutes long — more than three times the average 44-minute viewing time on what is being shown on ESPN and the Outdoor Channel. Subsequent shows on the Outdoor Channel will last an hour and be shown five times a week.

The series will debut Monday.

“One of the complaints was, ‘Why are you showing this on the weekend when I’m out doing it?’” said Rucks, a former executive on the Bassmaster Tour. “It’s not about just giving them a longer show. what you end up is seeing how the anglers play the game, how they find the fish, how they deal with the stress and things they never have had to deal with. We’re trying to disrupt them, to make them more stressed, and by making them more stressed, making them more competitive and making them figure out things a lot faster.”

Unlike other bass fishing tournaments, the anglers will not be allowed to get the feel of the lake for a few days before the start of competition and will not be allowed to get information about the venue before their arrival. the lake will be divided into six zones, and the anglers will not be told in advance which zone they will be fishing.

Each of the angler’s boats will have a real time scoreboard, with an official providing play-by-play. the former will be simple to follow: eight anglers at a time, with the seven- to eight-hour tournaments broken into three periods. Rather than giving points for each competitor’s top five catches, every fish caught will be added to the total.

The only catch is that, for now, there is no prize money, as Major League Fishing tries to build its audience and its sponsorship. according to those familiar with the venture, the Potomac River has been given “serious mention” as a future location.

Randy White, whose production company was tasked with putting together the Internet package that will be available starting Feb. 13 as well as the hourlong shows on the Outdoor Channel, compares the new venture to mixed martial arts and how that sport relates to traditional prizefighting.

“Boxing has been the mainstay for years, and people watched it, but when something new came along, all of a sudden that’s exploded and boxing’s kind of lagged behind,” said White, the lead producer on the series. “Not that we’re trying to do that, but we’ve changed all the rules. It’s bass fishing, but that’s where the similarity ends.”

Kelly McElroyStaff Writer Published: Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. last Modified: Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 10:34 a.m.

With such a mild winter on the bayou, anglers have found the fishing, both freshwater and saltwater lately, excellent.

“Take your pick. Freshwater, saltwater, we’ve got it all,” bill Lake with Bayou Guide Service said. “It’s about as good as it gets in south Louisiana for February.”

Warmer weather has kept the trout fishing turned on through the last couple of months, and the spawning season has hit for the freshwater fish.

“A lot of times when it gets really cold, and we have a really cold winter, usually the trout fishing slacks off,” Lake said. “We haven’t had anything slack off this year. Trout fishing has remained good throughout the whole winter. We caught 50 trout (Tuesday). We caught a bunch of bull reds on the coast and rat reds in the ponds. Freshwater fishing is fantastic. everything is working.”

Freshwater too is solid.

“We have been really tearing up the sac-a-lait and bass too, and we are just getting into the freshwater fishing,” Lake said. “It has been phenomenal over last couple of weeks. all the canals off Intracoastal between Houma and Gipson have been producing fish if you find clean water.”

Lake said the pattern of good fishing should continue as long as really cold weather does not hit.

“If we don’t get any cold weather, I am talking about Arctic air, nothing is going to change,” Lake said. “We are going to continue to catch fish right into the spring time. That’s what we’ve been doing all winter. I don’t see any change. this has probably been the best winter that I have seen in the last five or six years.”

Best spots: Lake Decade, canals between Dulac and Dularge and area duck ponds.

Best baits: Bunker and blue back swim baits, gold spoons and LSU Bayou Chub Minnows.

The Cajun Hog Hunters Bass Tournament will be held Sunday at Bayou Black Marina in Gibson and starts at safe light.

Two-man teams can sign up for $50 per boat before the event.

The fishing has been good of late.

“We have had a lot of cars in the parking lot this week,” Robbie Breaux with Bayou Black Marina said. “We have been getting reports of the back of the (Lake) Penchant area, the Brady Canal and Deer Island, and Stump Canal in Turtle Bayou. One guy had an 18-pound stringer and another guy had a 20-pound stringer.”

Anglers have been watching for areas of falling water.

“The water has dropped a good bit,” Breaux said. “Most fishermen are looking for the water dropping a good bit at certain points, and that’s where they’ve been catching them.”

Best spots: Orange Grove, 70-Mile Canal, the Copasaw and Blue Bird Canal.

Best baits: Jigs and plastic worms, spinner baits and white and chartreuse tube jigs.

Anglers can expect to catch red fish, drum and trout in the area in the coming weeks.

Best spots: Catfish Lake and sulfur mines in the Bayou Blue area.

Best baits: Plastic baits, gold spools and live cocahoe minnows.

Fishing for speckled trout in area marshes has produced in recent days. the fish have averaged 13-16 inches.

“I went out to Palmetto Bayou (Tuesday), and we caught 45 trout and one red,” Buggie Vegas with Bride Side Marina said. “It’s been good in the back marshes. the trout are starting to bite in the back marshes.”

There hasn’t been much offshore activity lately.

“The charter boats are just getting their stuff together. the wind has been killing them,” Vegas said. “I haven’t heard any reports.”

Best baits: Live minnows under a cork.

Best spots: Area marshes.