When we arrived under cloudy, slightly breezy, 60° conditions I had hopes it would continue to be a hot bite. But, when we began to see big schools of Shad everywhere I knew it would be tough to catch them on lures … which is all we use. After getting no topwater or plastic bait love, I decided to tie on a small Shad-imitating hardbait. That was the ticket, as my third cast with it got absolutely crushed. After a nice tussle that had me thinking 4-5 pounder, I was able to lip, pic, and release this stout 3+ pounder.

We cruised around to some other likely spots and I actually missed another biter on the same bait. Then, we hit an area that Rick said would definitely produce a fish. Boy, was he right! I casted the hardbait parallel to the bank and, about halfway home, my bait came to a sudden stop. Another fish that decided to fight above his weight-class annihilated the bait. A sporting battle ensued before we stopped for this meet and greet.

Meanwhile, Rick was only able to manage a couple of non-committal bites before he was able to score his lone skunk-buster that he wouldn’t let me photograph. I still say it was big enough for a pic, Rick! I nailed one more that was truly too small for photographic fame before we finally had to call it a day. Turns out, after talking to a few folks who were out there that day, it was a nearly non-existent bite and that we should have been proud of getting three keepers.

As I headed home, that thought was going to have to keep me satisfied, as I lamented that my tourney partner for the American Bass Anglers (ABA) Piru Summer Nights Series, that was set to start the next evening, had recently bowed out. However, the next morning I was surprised to see that a last minute response to my plea for a new teammate had been answered on the Wester Bass website. I quickly called and made plans with my new-found friend, Randy “Tiny” Brandes, a veteran of the So Cal tourney scene.

My tourney partner Randy “Tiny” Brandes with our first fish of the competition.

Not too much time passed before I was able to get off the schnied with a 2 pound crankbait fish. I soon followed that up with a modified Carolina-rig skinny fish that was clearly recovering from the spawn. Meanwhile, Randy continued to have problems getting fish to stick with several that missed the hookset, and a couple that came unbuttoned soon after the battle began. Soon, the “missitis” became contagious as I had a couple come unbuttoned and a few that missed the hook completely. Finally, I nailed a nice 2.75 pounder on a spinnerbait and another decent fish on a crankbait. From there, our disease continued to rear it’s ugly head as I had a nice fish on the crank break free near the boat and we both missed a few more fish.

We did weigh-in a 5 fish limit and only missed a check by less than a pound. Which had us both wondering what could have been if a few more fish stuck … but, that’s fishing. It did give us confidence that we should improve as we come to know each other better, as well as learn the new terrain we will be fishing on this water-starved lake. All in all, a couple of fun days fishing … and, best of all, I’m in the Piru Nights Series with a fun new partner!

With the wind and overcast, we both tried several different reaction baits, to start. Jeff got some blow-ups on a jerkbait while I got two huge noncommittal followers on a swimbait. Finally, after missing a blow-up a short time before, I got a small keeper that broke the ice on a top-water pencil bait. It didn’t take long for Jeff to follow up with this nice 3.5+ pounder on a jig.

Once the darker conditions of the morning wore off, we started fishing small plastic baits and began slamming fish. Most were in the 2 pound range before I was able to nail a nice 3+ pound fish along a cove bank. Unfortunately, it was gut hooked, and after utilizing the “gut-hook trick” she required a quick release – so, no pic.

When we got to the back of that cove we saw our first bedding fish of the day. We both took our shots at it and were about to give up. But, first, I picked up a rod with a Gambler BB Cricket on a Cave Custom jighead and finally got this stout 3 pound-class bed-guard to inhale it. After a quick tussle, we posed for this pic and then went our separate ways.

We got one more spawning fish and then spent the rest of our day whacking the 2+ pounders on small soft plastics. We ended the day with well over 20 fish between us and stopped counting after 16. Our best 5 came in at a respectable 14.5 pounds … not bad considering that the day before, a big tourney was won with about 13.5 pounds. If we can recreate some of the magic we found, we might be able to have a good finish come Saturday. We’ll see!

We arrived to mostly cloudy skies, a slight breeze, 60° temps and clear water. Immediately we found numerous fish either on beds or setting them up. I was primed to try something new as a “teaser” bait … my new favorite hardbait, the Yo-Zuri Sashimi Suspending Jerkbait. I have been thinking all Winter long that it would be the ideal set-up bait to drive the Bass crazy before closing the deal with something more finesse-esque. Fortunately, I was wrong … turns out it is also a great “closer” bait!

On one of my first casts to a big bedding pair, this nearly four pound male couldn’t stand having a Skeleton Perch version of the jerkbait hovering over his nest, feathered tail pulsing, quivering from the occasional subtle twitch. He inhaled it and gave me a tough battle before surrendering to a lip and pic. Great markings, don’t you think?

I quickly walked him down the bank a bit for the release, and then returned to target the bigger female. It only took one attempt to get her to attack the bait. She promptly tore off several yards of line and dogged me hard until I could get her turned. I was making great strides when she suddenly turned for another run – I suddenly heard a very loud “SNAP”. Yep, she broke my beloved big-fish-catching BPS Bionic Blade clean in half. Fortunately, the Yo-Zuri 10# Hybrid line held up and I was able to get a grip on this 5-5 beast. While I am smiling about the fish in the picture, my heart is breaking on the inside, as I have caught everything from a 7.5 pound Rainbow Trout, to a 5+ pound Spotted Bay Bass, to several 6+ pound Largemouth bass on that rod … and, you’re correct in thinking that I’ve already ordered a replacement. (Note to Cavewoman: They’re on sale right now, honey! ).

I tied this new killer spawn-bait onto a rod that was still in one piece and nailed another 2.5 pound chunker that was guarding his lair. Shortly thereafter, Bob got ahold of his first fish of the day with this nice 3+ pounder that eluded him on the hookset several times. By the way, for size perspective, Bob is 6′ 4″.

The rest of the day, I used the Yo-Zuri Sashimi Suspending Jerkbait to rile up bedding bass. If they didn’t hit it directly, it got them charged up enough to quickly strike a drop-shot soft plastic bait when thrown to close the deal as a follow-up bait. All of the fish who committed to it fully inhaled the bait, making the concern of hooking site-fished bass inside the mouth irrelevant. It’s going to take a few more successful outings on other bodies of water before I can say this is a reliable technique. However, if today was any indication, it could become a major part of my spawn-fishing arsenal.

I picked up several more in the 3+ pound range before enticing this 4 pound classer with a Roboworm in Oxblood Light Red Flake. We finished our 3.5 hour session with 23 fish between us, with nearly all of the fish coming in over 3 pounds. Best part of all, the spawn is just in it’s earliest stages. The coming days, especially with the full moon next Wednesday, should provide even better action … which is what this time of year is all about! If you want your best shot at some large Bass, perhaps even the fish of a lifetime, this is the time to get get it done. Don’t let this one pass you by … it’s setting up to be epic. If you aren’t well versed in bed-fishing techniques, be sure to check out my bed-fishing primer “Wake Up! It’s Bedtime!!“.

Caveman with saltwater rock star Jimmy Decker

Caveman and Yo-Zuri Regional Manager Christopher Bishop

(L to R) Mark “Chief” Torrez, Jarrett Edwards, Bobby Barrack, Mark “Caveman” Avery

After an intensive discussion regarding the tenuous California water situation, we made a few more quick stops, including one with finesse fishing Godfather Don Iovino (who we almost didn’t recognized clean shaven and minus about 50 pounds!), and the obligatory stop at Rick Grover’s Angler’s Marine display. Unfortunately, time constraints didn’t allow us to stick around for the Fishing Hall of Fame induction presentation to the legendary Mike Folkestad. Nor were we able to cover the entire show in our allotted time. But, that’s just how huge the Fred Hall Show truly is.

For those of you saying, “Sounds great, Cave. But, now we have to wait until March 5-9 2014 to check out this incredible show!”, I remind you that the the San Diego edition runs this Thursday through Sunday (March 21-24) at the beautiful Del Mar Fairgrounds. And, yes, it is well worth the trip!