Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

Larry Hemphill

That is one of the keys - eliminating unproductive water!! And there is a lot of that when the lake is near full or full!

Larry Hemphill

That is a true trophy from Clear Lake - what an accomplishment!!! She had no trout to feed on! A beautiful bass too - great marking for an old fish! I don't think I have heard of one that big for many, many years. Wondering if your lure was related to your name - Crawdad Dan - LOL!! Regardless, what...

Larry Hemphill

Jeremy at C&C Marine, Sacramento, is a great guy that I don't want to see too often - LOL!! He has always tried to keep my Ranger/Evinrude rigs in tip-top condition, and, because of that, never had a problem. I do the regular service visits and know I leave with an engine running in perfect cond...

Larry Hemphill

Sorry, I just saw your post. No one has the final answer to the spawning habits at Bullards Bar. Spots do spawn in deeper water, close to their best feeding area. The key is not how long a point might be, but is there a nearby quick drop to deeper water available? Unlike largemouth, trophy spots wan...

Larry Hemphill

I think you mentioned an important fact on your post - folks were working steep, shorter points. My biggest there, near 8 lbs, was caught just after post-spawn, a few eggs still coming out. She was spawning on a very steep point. There must have been a slight flat on that point. The big spots will s...

Larry Hemphill

Good job Kopper! I think your rankings are correct - with maybe one exception. I think I would rank Trinity as number one - just because it is out of the way, generally gets less pressure, a lower altitude (longer growing season), and very "thick" smallies that take advantage of a good foo...

Larry Hemphill

I never caught a smallmouth at Amador, but did catch a 2 lb spotted bass around 10 or so years ago. I was fishing alone at night. I got this real aggressive strike and great fight on a spunky "largemouth!" I netted it and then noticed something different which turned out to be several diff...

Larry Hemphill

Lots of good info, Robb! Amador was the first trophy bass lake in Nor Cal back in the 70's. Bass anglers would tow their rigs up on weekends from Southern Cal because the bass were so big and the bite so good. That was before all the big bass started to be caught in the San Diego lakes etc. The delt...

Larry Hemphill

All the lakes are in bad shape now until the weather settles down some. I think Berryessa would be your best bet, if you can find some cleaner water. Smallies get active in March and will start to move to the backs of coves. Smallies are found all over the narrows, in and around the coves. Also arou...

Larry Hemphill

My kids both followed the music part of my life (I was a public school music teacher) but not the fishing part. About five year ago I guided a mom and dad with their 5 yr old son in June at Berryessa. He brought his trusty Snoopy rod and reel with who knows what kind of line on it. He could actually...

Larry Hemphill

Lots more rain coming this week. This is why I tell people from all over the country, California is a state of "Feast or Famine." Anyone remember a "normal" precipitation year in California?? Either too much or too little. This weeks storms will be warmer which should help the sh...

Larry Hemphill

Does the lake have a name?

Larry Hemphill

If you had 2 of everything mentioned in these posts, you are good to go! You might consider going back to work - maybe to help you pay for everything - LOL!!

Larry Hemphill

I was hoping that most of you would have seen my warning about launch conditions at Bullards Bar. Be very careful, we are NOT experiencing a normal California winter, especially the last warmer than normal winters. Bullards will continue to have freezing weather conditions this next week, ice on the...

Larry Hemphill

Congrats Gary!! That's probably bigger than the one that broke your 25# test line at Oroville when we fished a warm spring afternoon in the middle fork, back around 1980. That was a big one too!

Larry Hemphill

Larry Hemphill

I and many clients and tourney guys stay at the Lake Point Lodge in the town of Clearlake Oaks. it is about 2 or 3 minutes to the Oaks public ramp. Rates are reasonable. You go right by Limit Out Bait and Tackle, so you can spend some money on the way!! If you want to go the north end, it is much cl...

Larry Hemphill

If you are considering a trip to Bullards Bar tomorrow - Tuesday, or Wednesday, and maybe Thursday - rethink!! It is snowing tonight and ramp roads will be iced up. You know the turns on both ramp roads. If you start sliding - it's a LONG way down!! Winter has arrived in the Sierras in a big way!! L...

Larry Hemphill

I was able to fish a club tournament there shortly after it opened, some 40 + years ago. It was pretty barren as nothing was build up around it, It was stocked with largemouth and I guess, smallmouth. I won the tournament with a 5 fish limit of largemouth - the biggest only about 3 lbs. Caught them ...

Larry Hemphill

Wow - great bass!! Brought back many memories of my biggest - also 14-2!! You don't know it yet, but you have a major problem now!!! Every bass you catch in the near future will be, or look like, a DINK!!! The next bass I caught after my 14-2 was 4 lbs. And yes, to me, it was a total DINK!! That pro...

Larry Hemphill

The voter guide from CTA, teachers union - recommendations for Calif assembly and senate

110 democrats

2 republicans

6 neutral

This does not include all elected offices - governor, etc, all democrats I think

Larry Hemphill

Wow! These are not posts, but essays - like we used to have to write in school. Just a few things to consider since the world will never return to the "good 'ol days!" It always moves forward - good or bad. I thought the posts were excellent however. Bass fishing has held up rather well in...

Larry Hemphill

I am older than a lot of you and well remember the family shows on TV that my generation grew up on. Ozzie and Harriet, The Danny Thomas show, etc, etc. The plots were often weak or silly, but the teaching of good values was almost always included in the subject of the show. Today - watch Modern Fam...

Larry Hemphill

First time for a serious problem with my web site - not the fault of W.B.com Should be up in a week or so.

If you want to talk to me, don't hesitate to call 530 674-0276

I know NONE of you will be out this week with all the rain coming - yea, right!!

Larry Hemphill

I love to see bellyboat photos! Reminds me of the hundreds of hours I spent bellyboating at the Yuba Goldfields (east of Marysville) during the '80's and early 90's! They weren't fancy - canvas over an inner tube. Talk about peace and quiet - AND great bass fishing most of the time. They were never ...

Larry Hemphill

Nights will still be good, but the huge 5 fish limits are nearly over, unless some things change. Too much relocation of bass in one or two areas of a lake, Clear Lake and Berryessa for example. Many lake operators are more interested in the trout population these days to bring in customers. Just re...

Larry Hemphill

Yea, I remember the Glow Boat!! When I introduced him to night fishing, I told him one didn't need too much light! I guess he forgot that part. He looked like a cruise ship more than a bass boat out there!!! We caught some nice bass in those days. I fear those days (or nights) are over.

Larry Hemphill

I think the best time to fish any lake during the winter - day or night - is during an incoming storm. The warmer air arrives first before the storm itself. The barometer is dropping. That has triggered some of the best winter bites I have ever had at Clear Lake - lots of 10 to 12 lb bass, and a 13-...

Larry Hemphill

Winter fishing at Clear Lake is not like other lakes that have spots and smallies which are more active in the winter. And Clear Lake water is very warm in the summer and can be VERY COLD in the winter. The cold air sinks into the "bowl" where the lake is - and can even have some snow in t...

Larry Hemphill

I normally would have some answers for you about Amador, but I haven't been there this year. Since it is late fall, I would just concentrate on the main lake points, or around the dam. The bass should still hit bulky dark colored plastic worms. Take a 10" Berkley Power worm and bite off about 2...

Larry Hemphill

Nice report! Happy clients!! Fishing reports are posted on the LAKE REPORTS section. You will get a good following from that section. As I understand it, the forum is for all general bass fishing subjects, including tournament results, political fishing news and observations, fishing company news, a...

Larry Hemphill

I don't know much about Meanmouth, but your fish is definitely not a largemouth. Looks like a smallmouth to me. Horizontal bars on the head, top fin connected, and smallie color almost all the way to the bottom of the fish. Largemouth are white on their bottom half and their top fin is in two sectio...

Larry Hemphill

Hope the seminar went well, and I am sure it did! I was planning to attend - thot it would be nice to support you and listen to a good seminar! To much going on at home. My last one was a dud - they did no advertising because of the new ownership - I guess. Very few folks. I usually have a good grou...

Larry Hemphill

Nice photo, Kent. That spotted bass sure has a big mouth - LOL!!

Larry Hemphill

Wow George, with that kind of lead in the tourney (first), you are sure to win! Or - were you last place? LOL!!!!
Seriously, thanks for the reply and have fun tomorrow!

Larry Hemphill

Even though the call to cancel the first day was absolutely correct, I can't imagine the letdown when everyone is sky high to get out there and DO IT !! I hope tomorrow will bring much better conditions for safe boating.

Larry Hemphill

Rich - were they released by the ramp or on the houseboat docks? Just trying to put together some ideas about tournaments and the impact of having bass only released in the back of the two long coves with tons of houseboat cover. I think that was a run-on sentence!!

Larry Hemphill

What resort hosted the tournament this past weekend at Berryessa?

Larry Hemphill

Though I don't tournament fish anymore - except Almanor in the spring - I really appreciated watching Scott's video. Watched the whole thing. Leaving other circuits to join MLF (something brand new) or NOT to join, must have been a major tough decision for some. Maybe not for some - exciting to be o...

Larry Hemphill

Thanks for the answer to my mental question!! I was really wondering how big she was. I was close in my guess - thinking between 12 and 14 lbs. The reason it is always hard to guess the weight of a giant bass is because there is another measurement that we can't see from a photo. That is the width -...

Larry Hemphill

No - not good. You only look like YOU weigh 20 lbs!! Seriously, great photo. I would have stuck the belly out another inch, but since you are holding her in a straight vertical position, we can see the top to bottom girth of the bass - and that is always what is impressive about a monster largemouth...

Larry Hemphill

They usually will move up some as the water cools, but still at 20-40 feet. They will follow their "food" fish - Kokanee!

Larry Hemphill

The lake may look like Shasta, but it is much, much smaller. It is a beautiful lake however, at the 2000 ft elevation. When you read about all the monster spotted bass caught there in recent years - including the current world record spotted bass, most are caught in the cold water months - December ...

Larry Hemphill

Congrats - beautiful bass!! I always perk up when I see or hear something about McClure since I fished my first tournament there about 40 years ago when I lived in San Jose. I always loved that lake - just something about it - maybe 9 pounders!! Fun to fish all the structure. If I may - one suggesti...

Larry Hemphill

Since I only fish the Lake Almanor Invitational Tournaments (April) with buddy Mike Sperback, I am not up to speed on the MLF tournaments. Looks like they are going to be very popular! When a bass is caught, is it weighed by an official in the boat and then immediately released? I've seen that on TV...

Larry Hemphill

I know that Jeremy Ransford of C&C Marine, Sacramento, has received praise for his fine work on our boats - boats that need to be in tip top shape ALL the time! I guide people from all over the world (Australia this week!) and need my Z521 Ranger/Evinrude to perform - always! Same is true for to...

Larry Hemphill

I have known Gary Dobyns for many, many years. We have spend countless hours discussing everything about bass fishing, as we team taught seminars in Sacramento and other areas for many years together. Lots of travel time in our trucks. He tournament fished and I guide, pretty much covering the whole...

Larry Hemphill

Remember, air temperature - and the barometer to some extent - will determine the condition of the bite. Other things matter too, of course. For example, folks will say the spring bite will turn on when the surface temp is 58 degrees, for example. BUT - what direction is the air temp going?? If the ...

Larry Hemphill

It came up a bit in the last 10 minutes - LOL!

Larry Hemphill

It is 2.25 feet on the Rumsey scale today. A little low, but fine for fishing.

Larry Hemphill

That is a tough question because baitfish are very mobile and move a lot - even in the same day. They tend to move shallow during the spring for spawning and then move out as most fish do when the lake begins to drop and the spawn is over. Bait fish are very active and moving all the time. They are ...

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