San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

Haven't been back to the lake since April 12 and boy did the water level rise. It takes a lot longer to get there than going to Lake Murray
and arrived a little after 6 a.m. As I parked next to McFish's truck, both he and Fisheromen already were out on the water. But wait, I
turn to the right and there was Jeromy aka @CorsoEnthusiast and Dan aka @Dannicus both getting their tubes ready to hit the water. It was a tough start as within minutes my IMA Skimmer hooked on to the rope on the front of my kayak. Thank you Dannicus for getting it off with your pliers. Then after that I started to get a little impatient as no strikes on the spinnerbait, under spin, topwater bait or jerk bait. I then started started trying a number of baits instead of just relaxing and was working worms in like they were crank baits...ha ha. Then it got worse as finally on my first bite on a creature bait, I lost the fish, my second bite on a senko, I lost that fish, and on my 3rd and 4th bite, I boned the hook set. Thank goodness things turned around a little as I slowed things down. I still missed a few more bites(maybe they were bluegill or tiny bass ..ha ha), but ending up landing 7 bass.
Almost all of the bass I caught were clones and not that big, but I was a lot happier catching some after a slow start.
It was fun seeing and chatting with McFish, Fisheromen, Dannincus and CorsoEnthusias Great guys and looks like everyone had a fun time.

Just a few pics(as I said they were not big) Oh yeah...I included this bonus pic as it reminded McFish of the days when
he wrote a horse bareback to the lake when he was younger.

Man, it was a party!!

You didn't get a picture of our covered wagon??? Parked it next to the chuckwagon ...

Yep, a clone kind of day!

Yeah, this morning there was a lot of clones on the chew.

What are you guys bitching about? We got to spend the day fishing! You should try ultralight gear. Suddenly those "clones" will feel a lot more exciting...but be warned... it's addictive and you'll never want to go back. Your old gear will feel like broomsticks and about as sensitive.

As I said on Jeremy's post thanks for showing me the ropes on one of my one of my new favorite lakes. Eagerly awaiting my invite to the beans and fart night extravaganza at the covered wagon hacienda.

Great report as usual, and as always, you figure it out.



Paul had a bitter sweet day there, I'll let him tell about it.

otaymichael wrote: Sat May 25, 2024 9:01 am Great report as usual, and as always, you figure it out.



Paul had a bitter sweet day there, I'll let him tell about it.

Rumor has it that he goes by the name, Dr. Hook now.

Dannicus wrote: Sat May 25, 2024 5:15 am What are you guys bitching about? We got to spend the day fishing! You should try ultralight gear. Suddenly those "clones" will feel a lot more exciting...but be warned... it's addictive and you'll never want to go back. Your old gear will feel like broomsticks and about as sensitive.

As I said on Jeremy's post thanks for showing me the ropes on one of my one of my new favorite lakes. Eagerly awaiting my invite to the beans and fart night extravaganza at the covered wagon hacienda.

The thing is @Dannicus, is that a few of us have been pretty spoiled in the past catching numbers of much
healthier bass at the lake. Even on slower days, there was almost always a few fat bass included in the catch. Yes, it is always fun to
be out on the water catching bass don't get me wrong, as there is never any guarantees in bass fishing.
I guess a few of us that who have fished the lake often may just have had higher expectations of pulling in some fatter bass.
Oh, by the way, you did not get an invite to the beans and fart night extravaganza because it was cancelled because McFish wanted to
watch the Yankees/Padres game instead.

I always wondered if I could yank a hook out of my finger with pliers. The answer is yes! OUCH!

On a Clone Day. I always try a little bigger, a little deeper, a little farther into the trees. The Big Big Gals are there, they aren’t always with the smaller Males. Sometimes it takes an expedition to find them. Sometimes you do, sometimes your buddies catch 14 Bass and you don’t. I love the way their mouths drop open when I kick out of the Cove with my monster out of 25 feet of water though!

bendopolo 44+ wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 6:05 pm On a Clone Day. I always try a little bigger, a little deeper, a little farther into the trees. The Big Big Gals are there, they aren’t always with the smaller Males. Sometimes it takes an expedition to find them. Sometimes you do, sometimes your buddies catch 14 Bass and you don’t. I love the way theirs mouths drop open when I kick out of the Cove with my monster out of 25 feet of water though!

Unfortunately, we can’t go deeper in the trees at the lake of D & K. Looks like there’s lots of trees at the lake you were at, but it’s not the lake we fished……where is that lake in LA?

Looks like a good time was had by all, even the bass. I sure do miss the days of the "clone wars" on that lake.

TaBASSco wrote: Mon May 27, 2024 5:46 am Looks like a good time was had by all, even the bass. I sure do miss the days of the "clone wars" on that lake.

It seems like going to yesterday I remember when I first joined the other Sdfish and used to read your reports and comments along with few others that fished Sutherland. There was some good times and not so good times fishing reports back then but always fun to see how you did. I remember seeing pics of very small bass at times and a few of you kidding around in the comment about it which was probably aka “clone wars” ..ha ha. I had not fished Sutherland for over 23 years and you and a few others helped inspire me to get up there and fish it again. I am so glad I did as in between the clones I have caught quite a few healthy bass over the years. I would always look around to see if you were there, but I never did ever meet you in person. Anyway, always wish you the best and tight lines always.

bendopolo 44+ wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 6:05 pm On a Clone Day. I always try a little bigger, a little deeper, a little farther into the trees. The Big Big Gals are there, they aren’t always with the smaller Males. Sometimes it takes an expedition to find them. Sometimes you do, sometimes your buddies catch 14 Bass and you don’t. I love the way theirs mouths drop open when I kick out of the Cove with my monster out of 25 feet of water though!

A clone day can be a good day, especially when the big girls don't want to play! Every time your line starts to move, you instantly think it could be the monster. Over the years, I've become more of a quantity fisherman because of that feeling you get when you feel that tick on the end of your line, not knowing if it's a toad or not! I've already caught my DDs, so I throw alot of finesse just to keep the fish coming, knowing that I can still hit a big one now and then! It's always interesting to fish next to Vinnybass, he throws bigger baits and averages bigger fish than me, but I like to frustrate him by getting more quanity! He might have the last laugh since he pulled a 9 plus out of DK a couple years ago!

Mcfish wrote: Mon May 27, 2024 8:06 am

bendopolo 44+ wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 6:05 pm On a Clone Day. I always try a little bigger, a little deeper, a little farther into the trees. The Big Big Gals are there, they aren’t always with the smaller Males. Sometimes it takes an expedition to find them. Sometimes you do, sometimes your buddies catch 14 Bass and you don’t. I love the way theirs mouths drop open when I kick out of the Cove with my monster out of 25 feet of water though!

A clone day can be a good day, especially when the big girls don't want to play! Every time your line starts to move, you instantly think it could be the monster. Over the years, I've become more of a quantity fisherman because of that feeling you get when you feel that tick on the end of your line, not knowing if it's a toad or not! I've already caught my DDs, so I throw alot of finesse just to keep the fish coming, knowing that I can still hit a big one now and then! It's always interesting to fish next to Vinnybass, he throws bigger baits and averages bigger fish than me, but I like to frustrate him by getting more quanity! He might have the last laugh since he pulled a 9 plus out of DK a couple years ago!

I agree with you. Fishing is like gambling to me. Every cast is like a pull of the slot machine, roll of the dice or fresh deal of cards. You just never know when you will hit that jackpot? I don't gamble, so fishing gives me that fix.

I normally (when I can make it out. I fish salt much more than fresh) split my days up. I will fish big baits for a bit and if the bigger baits are not producing, go to finesse. This is an old school strategy. I know you never know when they will turn on, so I am definite missing out on opportunities, but you need to catch fish too.

There's always those times when you start with bigger or reaction baits for the first part of the day, switch over to finesse and start roping them. You say to yourself, "Self, I could have 10 more in the boat if I would have put those 2 hours into the finesse bait instead of throwing that topwater......"

VinnyBass wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 7:09 pm

bendopolo 44+ wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 6:05 pm On a Clone Day. I always try a little bigger, a little deeper, a little farther into the trees. The Big Big Gals are there, they aren’t always with the smaller Males. Sometimes it takes an expedition to find them. Sometimes you do, sometimes your buddies catch 14 Bass and you don’t. I love the way theirs mouths drop open when I kick out of the Cove with my monster out of 25 feet of water though!

Unfortunately, we can’t go deeper in the trees at the lake of D & K. Looks like there’s lots of trees at the lake you were at, but it’s not the lake we fished……where is that lake in LA?

The World may never know???

If it were SD, I’d say Sloane