Pre-Spawn Crazy Bass Bite

First Bass of the season (4 1/2 pound)

The larger sample of Week 2 bass

Last week I injured my hip while playing soccer. Since then I have unfortunately been unable to play any sports, resulting in a severe case of boredom. After slogging through a week of school, my dad offered to take me bass fishing at nearby Foothills Park. Fishing: Preparation for Life and Explosive Big Bass Action are two other posts that I have written that sum up what Boronda Lake is like. It's a meager shallow pond where foliage grows in abundance along the bottom. And yet, it can be home to some of the best bass fishing in the area to those know know it's secrets......

The smaller of Week 2 bass

Many mice inhabit the reeds

4th and 5th bass of the season (14 - 16 in)

Largest bass of my life (25 in)

Unfortunately, after six years of fishing the pond, I am still a budding Boronda angler. But to minimize my inadequate experience, I try to maximize every possible advantage. This means using a float tube to probe the backside of tules where no angler can fish, being on the water as the sun sets below the horizon, and using the bait that other people are catching with. The float tube is a major edge over other fisherman. Bass feel safe in places they have never been

caught in before, and since anglers cannot reach the backside of tules and structure in the middle of the lake, they are more willing to bite in those areas. So last week, I kicked my way around Boronda lake, trying to see if I could hook into a pre-spawn bass.

I fished Boronda three days in a row, then hit it twice the following week with a  #4 bait-holder hook pinning a blue senko rigged wacky on 8lb. test. So what did I catch? Well on the first day, I pulled in a four-and-a-half pound bass as the somber light of a dying sun turned the numerous mosquitos into aurora dust. Elated by my catch I went the following day as well, and landed three largemouth bass, one right after the other under the starry sky. One of the bass weighed in at five pounds (don't worry I released all of them). The other two averaged about fourteen to sixteen inches, and I lost another one about the same size. But my dad suddenly encroached on my spot and tussled another five pound brute to the net. After some speculation, I realized his fish was bigger. In order to maintain my pride I was going to need to pull in an even heftier beast.

Intense stare-down with  a deer

And so I pleaded with him to take me the following day. But the bass suddenly went on lockdown due to the fact that five of their brethren had already been caught in the same relative location. As the moon rose to a luminescent peak above and I was forced to evade the occasional ranger patrol,  I wallowed in despair. For I knew my father was going to take the title for largest bass. Confident that we were going to get skunked that night, my dad dragged his float tube to shore and walked to the car. I was left alone in darkness so complete I could hardly see the handle of my reel. I cast my Senko half-heartely into a dense clump of weeds and let it sit. And suddenly the water erupted with the thrash of a colossal bass. My reel began to overheat and malfunction as the bass towed me around the maze of reeds. Struggles with bass are brief and vicious, but soon I had the tremendous head of the monster at my net. And then it breached the surface, and the hook pulled loose from the jaw. I watched it flop...... straight into the net. Luckily, the fish landed in my outstretched net, and I was able to land it. Regardless, my father was shocked when he returned to check on me. I don't know how heavy the bass was, but I would guess it was around 7-8lbs. It was 25 inches long, and plump with numerous sunfish. To date it is the biggest bass I have ever landed.

2nd and 3rd bass (5 pounders)

I visited the lake the following week, and my father and I pulled in a combined total of three bass on day one. However I managed to land only one on day two. All four fish were average, 12 - 14 inch bass. The time of the immense giants was over, leaving in their wake only memories and photographs. But the reason I was able to fish that many days in a row was because of my hip injury. Originally I had thought it would have been a negative thing, and there were some consequences. I could not play in my soccer game or participate in the opening week of track and field. Conversely, I experienced one of the best fishing trips of my life and landed the largest bass of my short career. This has lead me to believe that life is always in the gray area. There are positive points, but there will always be negative points. You will always have to make compromises, but if you recognize the positive side of things, one can lead a much happier life

Fish total: 10 bass, four in the five pound range
Tackle: 8 lb test, #4 bait-holder hook, blue Senko rigged wacky, bait-cast reel
Air Temperature: 59 - 65 degrees