Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

well just got back from don pedro and lunched out of mocasin and went to woodscreek.......not even a bite,we fished senko's, rattle trap,drop shot, brush hogs, crank baits, and nothing,nothing at all,so now we are going to go to san luis resevior on wenesday and try for some stripers......

dude...what was up with pedro this year? I really don't get it...late spawn, everything spawned out in a few weeks becasue of all of the weird weather? down cycle? I know that compared to previous years this year has been tough on a number of different bodies of water but pedro has been just plain horrible all year for me and everyone i've talked to.

WELL;
For the 6 years I have lived hee , all I have been hearing is, all the tournaments will not have affect on Lakes.
Well looky here.
The bass tournaments; pressure, the Skiers, the weekend anglers take !!
Plus the fact they (DFG) planted 100's of 1000's of trout this year, why would you eat a plastic bait, when you have Fliet Mignon swimming by you hour after hour and then the fact that now the Fliet Mignon is in deep water !!

This now gives you all a good reason to come and fish our tournament Oct 18th; so we can help to restock this lake with Bass and not trout...

Thank you
JIGS

Phil wrote:WELL; For the 6 rears I have lived hee...

Damn, Jigs - I didn't know that's how you roll. Hahaha! just kidding.

I am not sure if buying some bass for this lake is not a big waste of money. I was at Fleming Marina a couple of days ago and saw hudreds of 3 to 5 inch bass swiming around. The pressure problems at this lake is all the meat fisherman from the valley. There are lines at Fleming every spring with these guys filleting away. Last winter at Mocassin fish were stacked on a rock pile and the same guys was there almost every day for months taking a limit home. Many of these fish were big. You guys down there (Modesto area) know this clown and look the other way.

frankc wrote:well just got back from don pedro and lunched out of mocasin and went to woodscreek.......not even a bite,we fished senko's, rattle trap,drop shot, brush hogs, crank baits, and nothing,nothing at all,so now we are going to go to san luis resevior on wenesday and try for some stripers......

If you make it to San Luis fish the big lake not the Forbay. I was there Saturday and nothing is going on at all plus call 1-800-805-4805 it's been extremly windy over there. I went ahead and launched but is was blowing about 30mph.

Also the Basalt launch was not useable you may have to go over to Dinosaur (sp) to get in.

Mike

I think Don Pedro has been pretty tough for a while now. It seems more affected than its nearby neighbors New Melones and McClure.

I know that McClure has as many tournamnets as Don Pedro. And I assume that fishing habits are similar with regards to catch and release or harvest. BTW I dont think Harvest should be villanized, for many its part of what fishing is about. I catch and release everything but trout and salmon, which I Harvest 1-2 times a year. Last thing we should want is more rules, unless we really need them.

Planting Bass Fry is a mistake, they are food not future mega bass...if bass are planted I hope they are at least a year old first.
Notice that Bass colored zara spooks kick butt? yep...bass Fry are food. If you want to plant fish food....trout are probably cheaper.

I expect the Waterskiers and summer boating to affect fishing pressure, and maybe areas like woods have been hit too hard as anglers concentrate thier efforts in the 1 or 2 best areas.

Its also very likely that dramatic changes in water levels have messed the spawn up , at McClure they seemed to have spawned very deep this year. I though that Don Pedro had been more stable, but I haven't fished there ina while.

what fishery management ideas do you think have worked elsewhere?

Johnny C wrote:I am not sure if buying some bass for this lake is not a big waste of money. I was at Fleming Marina a couple of days ago and saw hudreds of 3 to 5 inch bass swiming around. The pressure problems at this lake is all the meat fisherman from the valley. There are lines at Fleming every spring with these guys filleting away. Last winter at Mocassin fish were stacked on a rock pile and the same guys was there almost every day for months taking a limit home. Many of these fish were big. You guys down there (Modesto area) know this clown and look the other way.

well John; Yet again what if Don Pedro had never planted all these years, where would you think we would be then.......fishless maybe ?? I also know a person who takes at least 2000 Crappie a year of 14" or bigger out of here and so did a friend of his........This year they are complaining of very bad Crappie fishing. I looked at him and said WELL!!!Huh!! I also know Bass fishermen and Guides that use the lake for their gain and make money off the bass, but do they plant or do anything to help restore the fish ??? HUM???

How about all of the rest of you stay off Pedro for one year, I will post pictures to show you how well the new managment plan is going!

Seriously Tournaments hurt as much if not more than a couple of retired guys eating fish, social security does not pay much and people have to eat! I think it is just the natural cycle that all lakes go through, do not read too much into a couple slow years!

Yea Pedro has gotten pretty tuff the last couple years and who knows why. I don’t buy the water skier problem; they can actually make some areas very good to fish. I used to sneak up there throughout the week and have a heyday but the last few years, February through May the fishing pressure mid-week has been crazy. The lake fishes pretty small anyway and the clear water with relentless bed fishing probably don’t help. The lake will come back, the fish are there we just gota catch em.

Johnny, I know a hell of a lot of Bass fisherman not only from the valley, but up there in crank country too and I don’t have a clue who you are talking about. Drop the fat bassturds name unless you are BS’n

RMARX, what do you know about Pedro anyway? Oh I forgot




Now get back to work

RMARX wrote:How about all of the rest of you stay off Pedro for one year, I will post pictures to show you how well the new managment plan is going!

Seriously Tournaments hurt as much if not more than a couple of retired guys eating fish, social security does not pay much and people have to eat! I think it is just the natural cycle that all lakes go through, do not read too much into a couple slow years!

HOPE THAT MEANS I WILL SEE YOU HERE OCT 18TH ???

i agree with Johnny, the bait barn sold thousands of dozens of minnows this spring, you think those guys are releasing their fish?those meat eaters will keep a pregnant fish without a second thought, 5 for them, 5 for junior, 5 for wifey. then the water level comes up n scatters what few fish are left.

a few years ago Camanche did a plant; but instead of buying 10,000 fingerlings, they bought 1000 2-3 lbers.

The problem with Pedro is all them DAMN swimbait fishermen. They are catching all them big fish and they end up on somebody's wall!!!

it is definetely not because of fishing pressure. this lake has always been "over fished" and it wasnt a problem before w/the pressure. look @ lakes back east that have a big "fun" event on one of their lakes. they pull in a few hindred "teams" and the fishing is still good. it definetely isnt because of the pressure. the biggest thing is the fluctuating water. since this place overflowed, t.i.d is too scared to have it happen again. therefore, as soon as the lake gets water, they get scared, and suck it all out.
pedro will be back, and when it is, all you guys can go back to about the "SWIMBAIT GUYS"
jamie and i actually went out sun morning( w/all the skiers) and she had a field day on the spook.. the fish were just boiling all around the boat, and she had a few close to 4lbs, and i had a 5 1/2..... hope there still there for poe mans fri. night

RMANZO wrote:it is definetely not because of fishing pressure. this lake has always been "over fished" and it wasnt a problem before w/the pressure. look @ lakes back east that have a big "fun" event on one of their lakes. they pull in a few hindred "teams" and the fishing is still good. it definetely isnt because of the pressure. the biggest thing is the fluctuating water. since this place overflowed, t.i.d is too scared to have it happen again. therefore, as soon as the lake gets water, they get scared, and suck it all out.
pedro will be back, and when it is, all you guys can go back to about the "SWIMBAIT GUYS"
jamie and i actually went out sun morning( w/all the skiers) and she had a field day on the spook.. the fish were just boiling all around the boat, and she had a few close to 4lbs, and i had a 5 1/2..... hope there still there for poe mans fri. night

I personally agree with the top water (buzzbait for me) my engine is finally painted, with any hope, i will make the next Poe Mans (????????)
Phil

Ron C wrote:

Phil wrote:WELL; For the 6 rears I have lived hee...

Damn, Jigs - I didn't know that's how you roll. Hahaha! just kidding.

Ron, I'm just learning how to not type with all caps. Spelling is next Ha ha ha ..........Thanks

You are missing the point..It is more than minnow fisherman. Most are split shotting and shakey heads. I see them all the time. There are many of them. What hurts with the tournaments, seminars and these web sites is that we teach these guys how to better catch the fish they are not releasing. If you think total release dosen't help look at Salt Springs. I did a seminar and one of the veiwers thanked me by sending me a picture of 15 bass on a stringer from Pedro using a technique I taught them. It made me sick. It seems like we spend more time ripping the guy who keeps the one fish of a life time and not the guys who keep limits of the one to five pounders all through the spring.

The cranksters up here fish Melones..HAR!!!..The guy works at Gallo that rapes Mocassin and the lines for fish cleaning are at Fleming where the valley people luanch. Its funny that when I talk to guys from down there they agree with me. Why should I BS..You know when I take people out who all let there fish go, I have been asked why I don't say anything on the forum about these guys and I tell them that I will just get slack. Hell lets just plant bass so it can be welfare fishing like our wonderful trout fishing.

And Phil I have let enough fish go in this lake to breed enough for everyone to catch. And by speaking out about people abusing the resource is doing something.

Do I understand you correct then Johnny. Do not plant bass ? Is this correct. I can't count the times Peggy has come home from work at Don Pedro to tell me of the huge bass heads that the fisher people have tried to stuff down the garbage disposal, and the tons of them in the garbage cans and left lying around. Sure the cure is catch and release. but people keep telling me to shut my mouth, they paid a license to do so and by god they will do it.
How do you win this ?
So we plant and hopefully some survive for us that love to catch and release ??

Thnk you
Phil

i dont know if you guys noticed, but "ANYWHERE" on the lake there is brush or trees, there are "THOUSANDS" of bass fry. "EVERY YEAR" on this lake you see the same thing, "THOUSANDS OF FRY".
there is no shortage of bass in this lake, "PERIOD"!!! as for the fishing pressure everyone wants to blame it on,"NO WAY". in the past there were tourneys all the time that had over "100" boats. nothing gets that much participation anymore... "I GUARANTEE" there is less fishing pressure now, than ever. i know, i live here, fish the lake @ least 3 days a week, and "pressure" is not the problem...
anytime you read or see a bass or flw event where there is "TOP NOTCH" talent, they have the hardest times when water fluctuates..period!!! if you dont have stable water, the fish are unstable........ think of the "stable" water years @ pedro... the fishing was good!!!! gotta go.. see ya on my water

WELL THEN I GUESS I SHOULD YELL ALSO, AND TELL DON PEDRO RECREATION FACILITY DO NOT WASTE THEIR MONEY AND NOT PLANT BASS, MAYBE PLANT TREES OR BASS HABITAT ?? WHAT YA THINK ?? THAT YA'LL THINK THERE'S ENOUGH BASS IN THE LAKE NOW FOR EVERYONE. I HAVE NO PROBLEM DOING SO . AND JOHNNY AND ROBERT THE NO PUND WAS MEANT TO EITHER OF YOU ABOUT GUIDES AND TAKE ETC. I KNOW OF A GUIDE PERSONALLY THAT TAKES BASS, CRAPPIE , TROUT ALL HE CAN BUT WILL NOT MENTION NAMES. SO IF YOU TOOK OFFENSE TO IT EITHER OF YOU, I APOLOGISE............(SPELL CHECK)??
YOU GUYS ALMOST MAKE ME SORRY I EVER GET ON A THREAD AND SPEAK UP !!
JIGS

I've fished Pedro about 7-8 days this year, the bite was tough every time, the water level was coming up over a foot a day. I also think a lot of lakes are fishing tough because the water level hasn't been stable at all this year, or the last for that matter.

With that said, it can't hurt to plant bass.

it can never hurt to plant bass... my point was the water fluctuation is the main reason for the tuff bite. suspended fish are the tuffest to catch and when the water fluctuates, they suspend... i have caught more fish when my bait is "falling"(and phil, i'm not yelling) lately, than ever. the fish are suspended. i have been taking my under water camera out, and there are bass every where..... problem is, there are soooooo many shad for them to eat, their stuffed full.... phil, it is a great thing to be stocking these planted bass every year, and i am glad we @ least have the oppertunity for that program here....

[quote="RMANZO"] the water fluctuation is the main reason for the tuff bite. suspended fish are the tuffest to catch and when the water fluctuates, they suspend...quote]

Yea if you are fishing the bottom. The argument to that is with our electronics and the availability of crank baits, jerk baits, swim baits, drop shot and top water lures we would have seen better tournament weights the last couple of years.

Maybe it a combination of a lot of things, including the fish eaters that work at Gallo wonder if they have a fish fry at their company picnic and do they drink red or white with their fillets probably white port that is

Phil, respectfully... Planting small bass at Don Pedro is like adding sand to the beach.

Pedro is a screwed up lake to begin with but it's not an unhealthy lake. Pedro is just weird because there are big zones on the lake that are nearly devoid of life. It makes fishing there confusing.

Think about it, how many other lakes are there in California that are larger than 10,000 acres, have no grass beds, and are predominantly largemouth? There's none that come to my mind. So it's a weird dynamic there, and because the big fish school at Pedro they were very vulnerable when swimbaits came along. We had our fun in 05 but that deal will never be the same again.

Now the big schools are broken up from the pressure, but the bass aren't all dead and gone. They're just a lot harder to get. It's not Casitas where there are bass of all sizes all around the lake. It's not McClure where there's 10 million spotted bass to keep everyone entertained and thinking fishing is pretty good. It's Pedro, the big barren screwed up lake where the water goes up and down 100 feet in a year. The massive trout plants this year didn't make things any easier either. Tons of food makes bass hard to catch, especially if there's 20 foot visibility.

I could go on and on. But whatever. If you want to do something to make fishing in general better, I think you'd be a lot better off adding cover in the zone from the high water mark down to where the trees start. Give the 4 to 12 inch bass a place to live and hide and get bigger. About 6 years ago lake Chabot used to fish a lot like how Pedro is fishing right now. Then they put Christmas trees in the lake. Now you can actually catch some 1 to 4 pound bass there. It makes for better entertainment when you are busy striking out on big bass. Most guys just want those keeper sized bass, and Pedro could grow them in bigger numbers if there were more places for them to live besides barren rock banks.

What's sadder than the tough fishing the last few years at Pedro is that people (probably tournament fishermen, let's be real here) were stupid enough to transplant spotted bass in to the lake. What a waste! I still think it's only a matter of time before that lake sees a whole lot more spots in it. The last 2 trips I did there we caught more spots and smallies than largemouth. Lame.

I think there is a combination of to many adult fish being taken (and Robert is right this has happened for years) and the fish are follwing the new abundance of shad. They have been following the bait at Pedro and Melones since last summer. And all the points that Rob has made above are right on the money.

UpriverLMB I would like to say that the second biggest fish killer lives right by me here in Sonora. When the bite gets tuff at Pedro he goes Melones and kills them. Sad thing is that he does catch fish pretty good. He fishes the Ambassador night tourny every year.

I agree with one thing, it is a shame that the spot population has grown. I wouldn’t blame tournament guys for this though, what can be transported 5-10 at a time? And to go through the time and effort of entering Pedro after fishing McClure for that. Or to walk a bucket down from 132 and dump it into Rogers? Spots have been in Pedro for many many years, maybe they spawn deeper and have been less affected by the low water years. There a heck of a lot of them at fleming though. Maybe jigs stocked Spots when he thought he was stocking Floridas.

upriverLMB wrote:I agree with one thing, it is a shame that the spot population has grown. I wouldn’t blame tournament guys for this though, what can be transported 5-10 at a time? And to go through the time and effort of entering Pedro after fishing McClure for that. Or to walk a bucket down from 132 and dump it into Rogers? Spots have been in Pedro for many many years, maybe they spawn deeper and have been less affected by the low water years. There a heck of a lot of them at fleming though. Maybe jigs stocked Spots when he thought he was stocking Floridas.

Now thats just not nice at all there . At a dollar an inch, I don't think Spots would cost that much anyway. They are a trash fish I heard one year at Shasta back in the 80's ! But then I also heard the same thing about trout !!

one thing last said then I drop it. Yearly we try to help Lake Don Pedro Recreation Facility stock bass. I know they have been for numerous years before I cam here they put $ 5000 worth of bass in the lake. Lots of them fingerlings and some in the 8 to 12 inch range to help the faster growth rate. Now with that said, I think had they not been doing this for years and years and years, the weekend angler would not be harvesting limits to take home and some left for us catch and release fisher people.

THE END

JIGS

When are bass fisherman going to figure out that spotted bass are in my opinion are the ONLY problem when you are discussing this stuff. Introducing spotted bass in a canyon lake is creating a disaster in waiting------usually 12-15 years. Usually in this period there is good quality fishing, record catches etc. Then a big change occurs, smallmouth disappear, largemouth numbers and size decline, then, as time passes the spotted bass quality and size decrease. I live in Fresno and have not fished at Millerton or Pine Flat in several years. I quit going to Pine Flat several years ago after 10 trips with nothing over 1.5 lbs. Several years ago I wrote an article about this that I was going to submit for publication when my computer crashed and I lost it. One of the magazine guys I talked to about this article said to "be careful, a lot guys of like to have 100 fish days". What? This mentality is what I don't understand.

phil instead of largemouth plant go buy about 50,000 spotted bass and plant them that will give them something to talk about

I agree, spots are the only problem. there’s plenty of fish in pedro there just doing something different this year.

Iv seen the whole moccasin bay a soup of bass fry. billions and billions of fry. woods, big creek, ramos and 49er get the same way.

jigs it feels good and lay people appreciate what your doing so do it! its good press. just know people like me who see bass by the thousands at pedro don’t think its a big deal. truck load of "sand on the beach" is a good analogy.

Im getting married the 10th put plan on being back in time to support your effort. please dont cancel

Joe Bruce wrote: Im getting married the 10th

Jigs:

I hate to tell you this but planting bass aint gonna help. Bass reproduce just fine in Pedro, and for every bass caught and killed two more pulled off a successful spawn. It is very rare that a bass population gets so low that supplemental stockings are needed to boost the population. The only thing your stocking will help with is 1) public awareness, and 2) injecting more pure Florida strain genes (assuming the the stocked bass are pure) in a population that likely is mostly northern/Florida hybrids.

So, get off the "we need stocking to help the Pedro bass population since its so low" stool, you are incorrect and its getting annoying.

Guyle wrote:

Joe Bruce wrote: Im getting married the 10th

It all come's down to the fact we cant keep our lake's at a level pool. I cant say much for Don Pedro but San Antonio has not had any consistant level in year's.

When it does get to the high point for that certain year they start draining it. How can this not have an affect on the fish. When I started fishing this lake in the early 70's it was killer up until about 1995 and it was allway's full.............DROUGHT.

It is structure and BAIT that will help not planting.

Phil, planting Bass with new traits can only be good for Pedro, Everyone has their own thought on Pedro, but maybe people should be doing All Of Them.

If moving a few spots over in livewells & ice chests can cause Spots to become intrenched in Pedro, over a 10 or 15 year period, then your planting Bass now will surley help in the long run.

Good luck and if I'm not in Fl. I'll try to make your T.

Phil you know Bryan and I will be there! I am a Biologist as well so I have to say Steve and Rob are both on the money! Aside from helping inject some pure Florida genes into the system a small plant will have little effect on the fishery in the short term. Years ago we use to add Xmas trees to the lake and plant grass and willow / poplar seeds and trees in the cuts and creeks while the lake was down so when it does come up the fry have places to live and it gives the entire food chain a boost. There is absoluetly not a lack of fish at Pedro it is just a tough lake to fish and always has been. In fact the only anomaly's have been the years where fishing was easy, and like Rob say's those days of multiple giant swimbait fish are a thing f the past as there are too many guys on to it now, it will still happen on ocasion, I only had one trip last season where I had a forty plus pound limit, but we just happend to hit it right. As far as eating bass go I keep a small limit almost every trip, I do not keep anything over three pounds, but I like to eat Bass, I was raised fishing minnows and crawdads from the bank. The meat fisherman do not have anymore detrimental effect on the fishery than tournament guys do, in fact I would think the tournament fisherman even though they practice catch and release have a much greater inpact on the fishery as the average tournament angler does not have a clue how to propperly handle fish, especially deep caght fish and there are multiple tournaments on the lake every weekend from January to May. The bite will get better we are just in a down cycle on all of the motherlode lakes right now it happpens every few years. As far as spots in Pedro go, bring it on they are a great fish and I would welcome another good spot fishery right in my back yard, but like LMB said I have been catching spots and smallies in Pedro for over twenty years, in fact there are some downright huge spots in Pedro if you know where to look!

RM

p.s.

Congratulations Joe sounds like everything is going well for you and that is awesome! See you on the water!

Congrads Joe !! Will be glad to see you, Marxmiller and Mansor Oct 18th, just for the fun of it, thats what its all about, love to give you guys the money and free breakfeast, lunch, and prizes. My pleasure God willing I wont get snakbit before this tourney again......If so, Berserk Baits and Peggy will make sure it happens, no cancellation this year...............Maybe if all goes well and you guys like the food etc, we'll do it agin in the winter / spring, forget the plant bass issue ok,,,,,,its a fun family oriented day....and Steve, show up, take the money if your that convinced about Pedro, I would love to write you a check !!!!
all for $100
Phil Hill (JIGS) Rod, would love to have you here my friend. How about this Friday night Poe-Mans ?????

A limit of one to three pounders are five fish that never became any more than that. Catch and release works. Ask the trout guys in Idaho and Montana who still catch wild ones. No knock on you Robert but our fish and game is full of biologists and fishing in this state is going down hill fast.

No problem John! I agree catch and release does work, but there is nothing wrong with taking a limit home to eat. It's all good!

Planting cages or trees might be a good idea.....the cages are used in some lakes by bass to spawn, and trees, brush piles are used by fry to protect themselves. Better habitat would produce more and bigger fish.

Johnny, Marx, Mansor; It seems to me and please correct me if I am wrong, But during low levels we have seen the past few years, There seems to be alot of brush and trees that we do not see when the lake is up. A lot of places for the fry and small fish to hide in ??? Lots !

Yea what Phil said

Seems to me that fishing is little off on just about all the lakes through out the state. Sure some guys get on 'em but overall I'd have to say that everyone I've spoken with, regardless of where they're fishing, has said the same stuff and that is that the fishing is a bit tougher then the previous season.

So to me that only leaves one possible option for 'the problem' and that is the weather we've gotten for the last couple years. Heck, we're finally, at the end of August, experiencing what I what I would call normal Hot August, only even now the nights are cooling down rather quickly. Last couple days it's gotten up around 100 around my home but when I first moved out here it would be like this and hotter all month long and into September. And the nights didn't cool down as quickly either. Then you get a couple days of warmth and BAM, it's followed up by temps 15-20 degrees cooler then the norm.

To my untrained mind, the weather is the culprit if everyone on every lake is experiencing an off bite.

sTony

I am with you sTony, the weather pattern is a good reason to suggest. I fished my first draw tournament on Pedro in 1978 when I was a senior in high school and have experienced many low and fluctuating water years fishing the lake, some of those years we absolutely raped em. Most of us that know the lake agree that it will come back strong, conservation will do nothing but help (go get um Jigs). Eating a limit every time you fish the lake won’t, unless you’re a biologist and the fish are spots

I cant even catch a limit this year so the fishery is safe from me for sure! LMB, your fish taco recipe is AWESOME!!
Thanks for sharing! HOLY **** 1978!! I can envision you out there with a 5'5" pistol grip rod, and Bell Bottoms!!