We rolled into San V completely blind, which in hindsight may not have been the best tournament strategy, but the bite was as tough as a $2 steak. Results reflected that. Somewhere around Carlsbad, while watching traffic come to a full stop for absolutely no reason, we started reminiscing about better times, and the more successful ventures of late 2025.
“Told you we should’ve just fished the jetty instead of driving all the way down to San Diego. Would’ve saved gas, time, and at least three years off our lives. Plus those SBB are actually fun once you figure them out.” I told my tourney partner.
And honestly… facts. I had spent the better part of late 2025 getting dialed on Spotted Bay Bass and becoming adept on falling on my ass on the jetty. As long as there was moving water, you could throw basically anything and get bit. These fish single-handedly helped cleaned out tackle boxes by eating plastics I hadn’t thrown since Reagan was in office. Very willing fish. Angry. Scrappy. Average around 2 lbs — which is respectable, considering that was almost our total weight for the San V tournament.
Normally, I would had spent my days fishing my local pond, as it serves as my retreat from my 'busy' WFH schedule. But, for some reason, the bite never really took off, especially for the larger specimens. I did tango with a few of them but nothing to really keep me going back like years past.
Our bass club also helped out at the Cast for Kids event at Lake Silverwood. Pretty humbling experience. Anyone who’s volunteered knows you usually end up learning more — and somehow having more fun — than the kids do. Solid reminder that fishing isn’t always about tournaments, graphs, or arguing on the internet.
Fall also meant our annual trip(s) to Lake Nacimiento up in Paso Robles.
We always say we’re only going once, but we all know that’s a lie. We usually end up there three or four times before the year’s done. Anyone who’s fished Naci knows you’re not hunting giants, but when the spotted bass bite is on, it is on. And when the white bass show up, it becomes controlled chaos. What both these fish lack in size they make up for with pure aggression and zero manners.
We even fished a new lake this winter, which was a nice change of pace. Completely different deal — fish buried in the sticks in under 8 feet of water, dead middle of winter. Just days earlier we were fizzing smallmouth out of 60 feet at Lake Pyramid. Not having to stare at forward-facing sonar all day felt downright therapeutic. And to think we used to just drive past this lake day in and day out while referring to it as its more "Smelly" nickname.
Anyway, hope everyone finished the year strong, survived the holiday boat ramps, and got to enjoy the World Series. I know I did.
Here’s to 2026 — more fish under the tree, and fewer wrapped around it.
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