San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

This sounds strange, but I just did not feel like going to Lake Murray this morning(despite the fact they are biting)and decided to go down to the SD River.
I have not fished there since late June and lately it has just been too dang hot. I figured that I could fish a few hours this morning and get out of there before the heat hits. It was overcast when I arrived and I started throwing a variety of reaction baits for a while with no takers(but did have a small bass roll over my fluke). I then started flippin in heavy cover. What seemed like forever, I finally got a sharp tap and landed a small bass and so thankful I avoided getting skunked. Geez, I would never hear the end of it from @Mcfish who was fishing Murray this morning no doubt telling me(while laughing) that I should have gone to Murray. Anyway, I continued flippin heavy cover with Texas-rigged Super Brushhogs, 7" plastic worms, a Googan craw and then a Tokyo rig with a Rage craw. I missed one very nice bass in some branches after she jumped(bummer), but still had a fun morning and was able to land 5 bass,(topped by a 5.25lb’er)and then the heat arrived quickly and it was time to head home.

Small one liked 7" worm This small one like the Super Brush hog Tokyo Rig/Googan Kraken craw Healthier bass on a Super BrushHog 5.25lbs. Rage craw...oh yeah! Oh heck...same bass.....had to show my smile

What...no 6lber???? Thanks, you send me to Murray for a dink fest and then you go catch toads at the river!!! Yeah..that's what friends are for...to the moon Alice!!

outstanding work! It's hard to not do the things that are working and try something else, but you sure showed it does pay off.

Early release wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2024 6:30 pm outstanding work! It's hard to not do the things that are working and try something else, but you sure showed it does pay off.

I think being a little hyper might also have something to do with it.
Besides, I have lots and lots of lures that haven’t touched the water in a long time and figured why not get them out swimming again.

Nice job Vinny. You're always on fish brother. Murray has been kinda up and down for me over the last week, so I think you made the right call for sure!

Dannicus wrote: Sat Aug 31, 2024 3:00 am Nice job Vinny. You're always on fish brother. Murray has been kinda up and down for me over the last week, so I think you made the right call for sure!

More than a few guys have told me the bite is off and on at Murray. Yesterday I heard it was not good as told to me by another fellow
sdfish bud. Most of the bass are feeding on the millions of shad and trying them to single out a single lure sometimes is very frustrating.
I have thrown reaction baits so many times on active fish with not a tap and after several hundreds of casts, I feel lucky to even land a
bass at times. Look forward to seeing you out there on the water and soon I will be back to the basics of plastic worms and craw baits.
months ago I remember when I was landing a few fish only, you were tearing it up catching lots of bass with your BFS gear and baits.
Fishing is always a challenge, but a lot more fun when they are biting and we are catching them.
Tight lines always.

Nice

Fishtricks wrote: Sat Aug 31, 2024 12:22 pmNice

What’s nice is not having to pay for a fishing permit or launch fee. I could use that money for Tackle Warehouse…… ha ha

Hey....just curious on if others throw Zoom Brushhogs. They been around since 1977 and decades ago they were pretty darn
popular as a very popular type of creature baits. I remember using them back then, especially at El Cap and Morena
with great results. Then years later they(many bags of them) have just sat idle in my garage. It was not until months
ago this year, when I started tossing them more frequently with pretty good results. I guess to many they are kind
of considered an "old school" type of bait and just wanted to see if others still toss them or is there another creature
type bait that you guys throw? Any feedback will be great. Thanks.

VinnyBass wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2024 6:39 am brush hogs.jpg
Hey....just curious on if others throw Zoom Brushhogs. They been around since 1977 and decades ago they were pretty darn
popular as a very popular type of creature baits. I remember using them back then, especially at El Cap and Morena
with great results. Then years later they(many bags of them) have just sat idle in my garage. It was not until months
ago this year, when I started tossing them more frequently with pretty good results. I guess to many they are kind
of considered an "old school" type of bait and just wanted to see if others still toss them or is there another creature
type bait that you guys throw? Any feedback will be great. Thanks.

STOP!!! Don’t eat those for breakfast lol. I believe Corso Enthusiast is the brush hog maestro on this site. Gets em at El Cap with those among other lakes.

JWall wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2024 8:47 am

VinnyBass wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2024 6:39 am brush hogs.jpg
Hey....just curious on if others throw Zoom Brushhogs. They been around since 1977 and decades ago they were pretty darn
popular as a very popular type of creature baits. I remember using them back then, especially at El Cap and Morena
with great results. Then years later they(many bags of them) have just sat idle in my garage. It was not until months
ago this year, when I started tossing them more frequently with pretty good results. I guess to many they are kind
of considered an "old school" type of bait and just wanted to see if others still toss them or is there another creature
type bait that you guys throw? Any feedback will be great. Thanks.

STOP!!! Don’t eat those for breakfast lol. I believe Corso Enthusiast is the brush hog maestro on this site. Gets em at El Cap with those among other lakes.

Already had a biscotti and coffee for breakfast. Just an illustration of what I have been serving up lately....ha ha

I still throw them. I've cleaned up on tiny brushhogs and a pegged 1/16 oz bullet weight. I Texas rig them on a #2 light wire hook and throw them on my BFS gear. I think Vinny and McFish have seen me have success with that setup. I've even caught a couple of 4 pounders that way which is an absolute blast on ultralight tackle.

Dannicus wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2024 11:57 pm I still throw them. I've cleaned up on tiny Brushhogs and a pegged 1/16 oz bullet weight. I Texas rig them on a #2 light wire hook and throw them on my BFS gear. I think Vinny and McFish have seen me have success with that setup. I've even caught a couple of 4 pounders that way which is an absolute blast on ultralight tackle.

I remember you showing me those tiny Brushhogs and glad I never bet you money that they are too small to work or
my wallet would be empty. It's funny because some of the ones I have say Baby Brushhogs on the package that are still
3 times bigger they your tiny ones. I guess on your package it must say "Very Tiny Baby" Brushhogs....ha ha

Actually yep...Tiny Brush Hog right on the package.

Brush Hogs work and they are priced right too.

Nice day at the river! Congrats

Great job out there Vinny! I love doing the bait deep dive. Keep it up. That’s one place I’ve never fished. It always looks interesting. Cheers!

VinnyBass wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2024 6:39 am brush hogs.jpg
Hey....just curious on if others throw Zoom Brushhogs. They been around since 1977 and decades ago they were pretty darn
popular as a very popular type of creature baits. I remember using them back then, especially at El Cap and Morena
with great results. Then years later they(many bags of them) have just sat idle in my garage. It was not until months
ago this year, when I started tossing them more frequently with pretty good results. I guess to many they are kind
of considered an "old school" type of bait and just wanted to see if others still toss them or is there another creature
type bait that you guys throw? Any feedback will be great. Thanks.

Baby brush hogs are one of my go-to plastics. I always stay stocked with them.

The full-sized ones, not so much. The first pack of brush hogs I ever bought (circa 1999-2000) was full sized. I doubt I've bought a pack since.

I had some luck with the Berkley Pit Boss earlier this year.

There was a time, especially before I got the swim bait bug, the only plastics I fished were watermelon red flake brush hawgs… I won’t lie, there were quite a few bags of chocolate blue veins still in the garage on stand by. It is an amazing g bait. When the bite is tough, split shotting tiny brush hawgs can kill.