San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

At around 7am, I decided to get another day of fishing in before the weekend.
It was great running into and chatting with fellow SDFish member @Spektrum at the
boat ramp getting his tube ready for action. This morning I wanted to start off
with something different instead of fishing my usual pattern out in the middle of the
lake and far from shore like I have been doing the past several months. So I started
working a Jackall Gantarel(bluegill swimbait) closer to shore. About 45 minutes later,
I landed a skinny bass on it which was exciting. Wished it was bigger, but still it was
fun. Tossed it another 20 minutes or so and then of course went back to my usual pattern.
Was able to pick up a few small bass here and there and then ran into @Spektrum who was
also picking up some bass. I landed some more small ones fishing a little deeper. Still not
much surface action as in previous trips. After venturing out to even deeper water, it
started going off around 11:45. I mean It was crazy as I was catching bass after bass as the surface was exploding with wolf packs of bass here and there. I mixed it up with reaction baits and if my cast was anywhere near them, I would get hooked up quickly. It was so much fun and It was like all the bass in that area were suddenly on the chew. I picked up bass on back to back casts 2 different times. Almost each top water stirring for a while there, I was landing another bass. I tried to leave a few times but just had to stick around longer to pick up a few more bass here and there after the busting pretty much stopped. I think I had 4 or 5 come unbuttoned, but ended up landing 17 bass. I was pretty lucky to be at the right place at the right time.
A few pics:
Crowded as usual...ha ha This bass was obviously hungry A bunch of these... And I also caught the largest bass
McFish caught on his last trip to Murray

My second largest....

Man you are the ADHD fisherman…never the same lure in two different pictures

PS I’m starting to think Murray hired you to drum up business

JWall wrote: Fri Oct 18, 2024 9:18 am Man you are the ADHD fisherman…never the same lure in two different pictures

PS I’m starting to think Murray hired you to drum up business

I like to try different things even if one is working well. I never put any time in swimbaits so I tossed that bluegill bait for a while and got a fish so that was fun. Then I went out later to deeper water and tried jerk baits, large flukes, paddle tail small flukes, hover rigs/basstrix, different size blade baits, a crank bait, a few tosses of a spy bait and a few different hard topwater baits. I guess I sometimes get bored and just try different baits just to see if I can catch bass on them. McFish watched me one time at Sutherland and I switched
baits off and on that I was throwing that he said he needed a calculator to keep up. I think mixing it up at times when there is a slow bite helps pinpoint what the bass are willing to eat. But I still mix it up often with a good bite just for fun. Maybe being an only child explains a lot of my strange fishing habits...ha ha

I think the skinny one missed the memo that all the shad are in the middle of the lake and it's an all you can eat buffet=)

Nice report and thank you!

KillinTime wrote: Fri Oct 18, 2024 12:12 pm I think the skinny one missed the memo that all the shad are in the middle of the lake and it's an all you can eat buffet=)

Nice report and thank you!

Yeah, he was one slender bass that could easily fatten up for winter if he just moves away from shore and runs into one of the many shad balls that are all over the lake.

I have a theory that on a full moon the fish feed all night and take it easy in the morning and then fire up in the afternoon and evening. Then on a new moon you get an awesome morning bite because there's no shadows for them to feed at night with.

I always though that the fish feed all night on a full moon also and you may get some really early, but I never arrive too
early anymore in the morning. I fish after a full moon or a new moon and not sure half the time if it affects the fishing,
but if it does, of course I blame the moon..ha ha
The only thing that I do feel is pretty darn true is what my old fishing buddy Joe told me when there was Santa Ana winds....
"When the winds blow from the east, the fish bite the least." That one was pretty darn accurate.

Jimbo said, nothing matters. 10lbrs bite 24/7-365 at Murray.

camobass wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2024 8:20 am Jimbo said, nothing matters. 10lbrs bite 24/7-365 at Murray.

I always forget about that huge bass slayer. I guess because I never actually met him even though he said he was there
on days I was there fishing. One time he told me he would be wearing a red jacket and the coves near the baseball field
and I still never once saw him there either. I know a lot of fishermen and people at the lake and worked at the lake, yet
not one even seen or heard about that guy catching all of those giant bass. Too bad his phone did not have a camera on it...ha ha
The man, the Myth!

That was a very entertaining thread. Self proclaimed legend of Murray.

Jimbo..a legend in his own mind...

camobass wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2024 8:31 am That was a very entertaining thread. Self proclaimed legend of Murray.

I need to go into the concession stand for my permit, instead of always using the iron
rangers I can see his trophy that hangs up on the shelve to remind everyone that he was
the greatest huge bass slayer in the history of Lake Murray. He caught so many
that he did not even take photos of any of them.