San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

So long San Diego bass fishing......sort of

Greetings all,

Having been a dedicated San Diego bass fisherman since the late '70s, I have finally escaped the beautiful Southern California weather for country life in Western Kentucky. We were able to close on a 25-acre, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and my favorite, 3-pond (largest 1.5 acres) property. This is our forever home and totally excited about the new adventure.

The funny thing, when my wife and I first visited the property, it was supposed to be a 30-minute visit. We stayed almost 4 hours, meeting the owners, checking out the home, and riding throughout the property. The best part was 30 minutes of fishing the large pond. I told the owner if I didn't catch a bass, it would be a deal breaker! I used his Zebco rod and reel and found the only plastic worm in his fishing box (he doesn't really fish). First cast, fish just about to rip the rod out of my hands! A couple of casts later, I succeeded in catching my first Kentucky largemouth! The original listing was for 11 acres and the large pond. By the time we left, he talked me into buying 25 acres and 3 ponds (at a great price!). 45 days later, it's our home!

Side note: I fished the big pond for an hour about two weeks ago and caught 20 basses (all in the 8 to 12-inch range). I did not see any fathead minnows or bluegills. The pond has channel cats up to 15 lbs. There are no visible habitats for forage fish or bluegills. Also, no sandy/gravel area for bluegills to spawn. So, it looks like I'll be busy building structure and restocking with fathead minnows, bluegills, and maybe shad. The adventure continues.

So if any of you Southern Cali types are going to be in the Western Kentucky area next year, let me know. Come by and fish and enjoy some BBQ! Besides, the Ohio River is only 20 minutes, and Kentucky Lake is 45 minutes. Lots of fishing!

When I visit San Diego, I'll get my bass fishing time!

I just got to learn how to post pictures.......soon to come!

Mel - Kahuna bass
Kentuckian Bassman

Very cool, and good for you! A definite change in lifestyle, but I'm guessing you'll love it.

That's awesome! Post some pics

Enjoy your life, Mel! I hope you document the development of your ponds and share it with us.

Excellent! we should have a "fishing in other locales" sub forum for people who went fishing on vacation to other regions and states, and ex-patriots who would still like to actively participate in the fishing report side of the forum.

Are those Kentucky Spotted Bass out there?

Very cool, enjoy yourself, thats what its all about!

TaBASSco wrote: Fri Jun 02, 2023 9:04 am Excellent! we should have a "fishing in other locales" sub forum for people who went fishing on vacation to other regions and states, and ex-patriots who would still like to actively participate in the fishing report side of the forum.

TaBASSco - That would be nice to have a sub-forum for fishing outside of San Diego. Also, most of my travels are international and I fish whenever I can. I'll leave it to the admin folks at SDFISH.org to consider.

Mel - Kahuna bass
Kentuckian bassman

Congratulations, Mel! Happy for you but sorry we never had a chance to meet in person and fish together before you escaped.

Blessings my friend, Alain!

Update as of 26 June 2023 - The pond has lots of large bluegills!

After a couple of weeks of fishing the pond, there is an abundance of bluegills 8 to 10 inches. Also, with the water level slightly down (2 feet), there are fathead minnows, and the bass are still that 8 to 12 inches. I've started to get habitats built up from dead tree limbs/large branches and anchor them down in the pond with cement blocks. Hope to get 6 habitats in the pond later this week. This should really help the baby bluegills and fathead minnows. In late July, I'll stock 5 to 7 lbs. of fatheads, which should make a difference in forage fish for the bass. Confirmed my plans with a local fishery biologist and he mentioned it should increase bass size in the next six months. He plans to stop by and check the water for any abnormalities.

Having some local friends come over to eradicate the channel catfish (at least some). Life continues in Kentucky!

Mel - Kahuna bass