Personal Best

I managed to catch my personal best largemouth in last night's
tournament. It weighed in at 5 lbs 7 oz. I caught it on a 7-inch black
Power Worm on a shaker rig with a small worm rattle inserted in it.
The fish came out of 10-12 feet of water just after full dark
(approximately 9:15 PM). I had very few bites the rest of the night,
but that one bite was big enough for me to earn my first ever check
for lunker. I will post pictures over on abpf as well as Outdoor
Frontiers post haste.


Harry J aka Thundercat
Brooklyn Bill's Tackle Shop Fishing Team
http://www.geocities.com/brooklynbill2003/products.html
Share the knowledge, compete on execution.

Don't swell his head, he shook a worm : ) Nah just kidding the fish was a
nice one. I took the images and made him pose. Harry will definetly give
Warren a run for his money for best dressed ROFB'er. It was a tough bite as
I fished as an observer, I landed two fish and slept for a few hours into
early morning. But good to be back out on a big boat. The fish were there as
two members of that club brought in respective limits of 15 and 12 lbs. It
was all about location as they both caught fish on patterns that everyione
else was using



"Henry Hefner" wrote in message
...
Thundercat wrote:
I managed to catch my personal best largemouth in last night's
tournament. It weighed in at 5 lbs 7 oz.

Congrats, Harry. I checked out your pics and they look great. I'll try
to outdo you soon, I've got the Texas water advantage, but you've got
the knowledge.

I weigh in 12-16 lbs fairly often yet, still have not managed to win a
tournament. Its pretty disenheartnening when you bring in a nice bag, and
the first thing you see is an eight pounder on the scale.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...


Don't swell his head, he shook a worm : ) Nah just kidding the fish was a
nice one. I took the images and made him pose. Harry will definetly give
Warren a run for his money for best dressed ROFB'er. It was a tough bite
as
I fished as an observer, I landed two fish and slept for a few hours into
early morning. But good to be back out on a big boat. The fish were there
as
two members of that club brought in respective limits of 15 and 12 lbs. It
was all about location as they both caught fish on patterns that everyione
else was using



"Henry Hefner" wrote in message
...
Thundercat wrote:
I managed to catch my personal best largemouth in last night's
tournament. It weighed in at 5 lbs 7 oz.

Congrats, Harry. I checked out your pics and they look great. I'll try
to outdo you soon, I've got the Texas water advantage, but you've got
the knowledge.

Is that 12-16# for 5 fish or more Bob?

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I weigh in 12-16 lbs fairly often yet, still have not managed to win a
tournament. Its pretty disenheartnening when you bring in a nice bag, and
the first thing you see is an eight pounder on the scale.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...


Don't swell his head, he shook a worm : ) Nah just kidding the fish was
a
nice one. I took the images and made him pose. Harry will definetly give
Warren a run for his money for best dressed ROFB'er. It was a tough bite
as
I fished as an observer, I landed two fish and slept for a few hours
into
early morning. But good to be back out on a big boat. The fish were
there
as
two members of that club brought in respective limits of 15 and 12 lbs.
It
was all about location as they both caught fish on patterns that
everyione
else was using



"Henry Hefner" wrote in message
...
Thundercat wrote:
I managed to catch my personal best largemouth in last night's
tournament. It weighed in at 5 lbs 7 oz.

Congrats, Harry. I checked out your pics and they look great. I'll try
to outdo you soon, I've got the Texas water advantage, but you've got
the knowledge.

Just Five Fish Bags.

Although I must admit I only caught 4 fish saturday for a whopping total of
5.99 The previous weekend I weighed in 11.05 and 13.55 on saturday and
sunday respectively. Didn't make it in the money either day. I blew a
couple good crank bait fish on the saturday with 11.05 that would have
improved my bag by a couple pounds.

Next weekend I am fishing a club open with only a 3 fish bag.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
Is that 12-16# for 5 fish or more Bob?

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I weigh in 12-16 lbs fairly often yet, still have not managed to win a
tournament. Its pretty disenheartnening when you bring in a nice bag,
and
the first thing you see is an eight pounder on the scale.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...


Don't swell his head, he shook a worm : ) Nah just kidding the fish
was
a
nice one. I took the images and made him pose. Harry will definetly
give
Warren a run for his money for best dressed ROFB'er. It was a tough
bite
as
I fished as an observer, I landed two fish and slept for a few hours
into
early morning. But good to be back out on a big boat. The fish were
there
as
two members of that club brought in respective limits of 15 and 12
lbs.
It
was all about location as they both caught fish on patterns that
everyione
else was using



"Henry Hefner" wrote in message
...
Thundercat wrote:
I managed to catch my personal best largemouth in last night's
tournament. It weighed in at 5 lbs 7 oz.

Congrats, Harry. I checked out your pics and they look great. I'll
try
to outdo you soon, I've got the Texas water advantage, but you've
got
the knowledge.

So you're not just loosing with 12 pounds, you're getting shelled. Keep at
it. You need to find where the big girls live (possibly deep,offshore
structure?). A 20 pound 5-fish limit is pretty damn strong. What water are
these tourneys held on? I wasn't aware that AZ had such awesome bass
fishing.

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
Lately the winning bags have been over twenty. I'ld say the last 5 or 6
tournaments I have fished have had 21-22 pound bags for first. Three or
four tourney's ago we weighed in 16.5 for third with 2nd going a 19.05 and
1st going to over 22. I'ld say all season a 16 or 17 was the lowest 1st
place I have seen. May have been one or two lower back in January or
February.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
Good luck Bob. When you bring in 12 pounds what seems to be the average
winning weight?

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
Just Five Fish Bags.

Although I must admit I only caught 4 fish saturday for a whopping
total
of
5.99 The previous weekend I weighed in 11.05 and 13.55 on saturday
and
sunday respectively. Didn't make it in the money either day. I blew
a
couple good crank bait fish on the saturday with 11.05 that would have
improved my bag by a couple pounds.

Next weekend I am fishing a club open with only a 3 fish bag.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
Is that 12-16# for 5 fish or more Bob?

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I weigh in 12-16 lbs fairly often yet, still have not managed to
win
a
tournament. Its pretty disenheartnening when you bring in a nice
bag,
and
the first thing you see is an eight pounder on the scale.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...


Don't swell his head, he shook a worm : ) Nah just kidding the
fish
was
a
nice one. I took the images and made him pose. Harry will
definetly
give
Warren a run for his money for best dressed ROFB'er. It was a
tough
bite
as
I fished as an observer, I landed two fish and slept for a few
hours
into
early morning. But good to be back out on a big boat. The fish
were
there
as
two members of that club brought in respective limits of 15 and
12
lbs.
It
was all about location as they both caught fish on patterns that
everyione
else was using



"Henry Hefner" wrote in message
...
Thundercat wrote:
I managed to catch my personal best largemouth in last
night's
tournament. It weighed in at 5 lbs 7 oz.

Congrats, Harry. I checked out your pics and they look great.
I'll
try
to outdo you soon, I've got the Texas water advantage, but
you've
got
the knowledge.

The Colorado River above Imperial Dam.

Its a pretty good fishery, but you do have to take some time to learn it.
ABA, WON Bass, Yuma Bassmasters, Angler's Choice, Desert Bass, and several
out of town small clubs fish tournaments here regularly. I think there is
one or two others who fish here as well. Also, the classic for the ABA
aluminum boat series will be fished here.

I not would say we are getting shelled. I am in 2nd place in Yuma
Bassmasters because of consistency, and we finishied 10th for the season
(ended last month) for American Bass. I think I am currently running sixth
in the ABA aluminum boat only series for this reason.

For gernal fishing info, there atripers, LM and SM, and crappie ( I haven't
caught many but those I have were larger than I see on TV). There are some
big flatheads with 20-30 pound fish being caught fairly often, and the
record being over 60. Channel cats ae in abundance, and from time to time
you can get into a bluegill or sunfish bite with them all running a good
solid hand size.

I think that some of the really big pro series shy away becasue of the
distance to any really big cities, and because of the potential navigation
safety issues. Big is relative. Yuma proper has a population of around
80,000 and the region probably has a population over 100,000. I have
grounded solidly on a submerged sandbar once, and guys who have fished here
for over thirty years still have to be careful to avoid running aground when
a sandbar moves. Dragging your skeg when running up the river isn't even
counted as an accident. Dinged props are a regular occurence, and
backwaters can be a real trick to learn. Most good backwaters here tend to
be a little confusing. I have to visit a new area three or four times
myself before I feel really comfortable with were I am going and how to get
in and out in time to make weigh ins.

You like rocks? Rip Rap? Grass? Tulies? Heavy overhangs? Cane? Grass
Mats? Current? Cliff Faces? About the only fishing structure or cover we
don't have is really deep water, and lily pads.

It is a challenging area, but I have been fishing it seriously for only a
little over a year, and I rarely come in without a limit of LMs. On fun
fishing days I try to spend a little time learning how and were to catch
some of the other species as well.

I am sad to say on the day that Joe came out and fished with me I was not
able to put us on any really good fish. We just cast hit and miss acorss
one of the backwater lakes I have started ot learn. I still caught one
decent fish, and Joe caught three or four. That was in the dead of winter
on a cold day.

You might also be surprised about some of the canyon reservoirs around
Phoenix. Canyon, Saguaro, Bartlet, Apache, and Roosevelt all produce some
decent fish. Pleasant is a popular fishery as well int hat part of the
state, but it gets huge amounts of pressure from fihermen and pleasure
boaters alike.

You want to go large? Well, that starts with Havasu. It host more pro and
semi pro level tournaments than my area, and its not that far upriver from
Yuma. Maybe a hundred miles. Go up the Colorado River a little further and
you have several other intersting fisheries. I don't know that much about
Topock Marsh, but I hear it can be incredible. Go a little further and
there are good fish to be had above and below Davis Dam which holds Mohave
Lake. Then there is Lake Meade, not that far from Las Vegas. Meade hosts
the ABA Classic in October.

Of course the Grand Canyo is a good fishery, but I am pretyt sure that azrea
is more known for trout than bass as is Lee's Ferry between the Grand Canyon
and Lake Powell. Only a small part of Lake Powell is in Arizona, but if
that is not a world class fishery I don't know what is. I personally have
caught walleye, trout, huge bluegill, and decent large mouth there, not to
mention the stripers which abound and overpopulate through out the entire
lake.

I have refrained from commenting on huge amounts of the state, not becasue
those area don't have good places, to fish, but because I don't know them as
well. Oak Creek is a nice little stocker stream for trout. It is
beaughtiful country and the stream wil support trou on its own, but becasue
large portion of it are accessible it get a lot of pressure. That is the
onyl reaosn that is is stocked. To maintian the numbers for fishermen. Two
years ago a ten pound rainbow was caught out of it two years ago, and I know
a couple pools that are extremely inaccessible that have some several pound
trout.

The White Mountains are riddles with small cold water lakes and stream that
are know for having decent numbers of trout, and there are several decent
mountian lakes above the Mogollon Rim.

I could spend a liftime just trying to learn all the fisheries in Arizona.
I certianly could not become profficient and knowledgable about all of them
in a single lifetime.

Recently on my forums, I have been chatting with a fellow in another part of
the state who has found a put and take trout lake that has some really large
LMs as well. I suspect it is like many of the California lakes where the
bass have gotten big feeding on those 8-12" stocker rainbows. Better he
says nobody fishes for the bass in that lake. I'm goign to go visit him
when I get a chance.

I suspect that Arizona is like a lot of states in that it has treasures not
discovered by those who have not spent any time here.


--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
So you're not just loosing with 12 pounds, you're getting shelled. Keep
at
it. You need to find where the big girls live (possibly deep,offshore
structure?). A 20 pound 5-fish limit is pretty damn strong. What water
are
these tourneys held on? I wasn't aware that AZ had such awesome bass
fishing.

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
Lately the winning bags have been over twenty. I'ld say the last 5 or 6
tournaments I have fished have had 21-22 pound bags for first. Three or
four tourney's ago we weighed in 16.5 for third with 2nd going a 19.05
and
1st going to over 22. I'ld say all season a 16 or 17 was the lowest 1st
place I have seen. May have been one or two lower back in January or
February.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
Good luck Bob. When you bring in 12 pounds what seems to be the
average
winning weight?

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
Just Five Fish Bags.

Although I must admit I only caught 4 fish saturday for a whopping
total
of
5.99 The previous weekend I weighed in 11.05 and 13.55 on saturday
and
sunday respectively. Didn't make it in the money either day. I
blew
a
couple good crank bait fish on the saturday with 11.05 that would
have
improved my bag by a couple pounds.

Next weekend I am fishing a club open with only a 3 fish bag.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
Is that 12-16# for 5 fish or more Bob?

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I weigh in 12-16 lbs fairly often yet, still have not managed to
win
a
tournament. Its pretty disenheartnening when you bring in a
nice
bag,
and
the first thing you see is an eight pounder on the scale.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...


Don't swell his head, he shook a worm : ) Nah just kidding the
fish
was
a
nice one. I took the images and made him pose. Harry will
definetly
give
Warren a run for his money for best dressed ROFB'er. It was a
tough
bite
as
I fished as an observer, I landed two fish and slept for a few
hours
into
early morning. But good to be back out on a big boat. The fish
were
there
as
two members of that club brought in respective limits of 15
and
12
lbs.
It
was all about location as they both caught fish on patterns
that
everyione
else was using



"Henry Hefner" wrote in message
...
Thundercat wrote:
I managed to catch my personal best largemouth in last
night's
tournament. It weighed in at 5 lbs 7 oz.

Congrats, Harry. I checked out your pics and they look
great.
I'll
try
to outdo you soon, I've got the Texas water advantage, but
you've
got
the knowledge.

I can see the FLW holding a tournament in this area some day, just to
support the local Wal-Mart stores. There is a super center, and soon to be
a second wally world here. Personally i woud love to see the pros try and
figure out the bite here.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
The Colorado River above Imperial Dam.

Its a pretty good fishery, but you do have to take some time to learn it.
ABA, WON Bass, Yuma Bassmasters, Angler's Choice, Desert Bass, and several
out of town small clubs fish tournaments here regularly. I think there is
one or two others who fish here as well. Also, the classic for the ABA
aluminum boat series will be fished here.

I not would say we are getting shelled. I am in 2nd place in Yuma
Bassmasters because of consistency, and we finishied 10th for the season
(ended last month) for American Bass. I think I am currently running
sixth
in the ABA aluminum boat only series for this reason.

For gernal fishing info, there atripers, LM and SM, and crappie ( I
haven't
caught many but those I have were larger than I see on TV). There are
some
big flatheads with 20-30 pound fish being caught fairly often, and the
record being over 60. Channel cats ae in abundance, and from time to
time
you can get into a bluegill or sunfish bite with them all running a good
solid hand size.

I think that some of the really big pro series shy away becasue of the
distance to any really big cities, and because of the potential navigation
safety issues. Big is relative. Yuma proper has a population of around
80,000 and the region probably has a population over 100,000. I have
grounded solidly on a submerged sandbar once, and guys who have fished
here
for over thirty years still have to be careful to avoid running aground
when
a sandbar moves. Dragging your skeg when running up the river isn't even
counted as an accident. Dinged props are a regular occurence, and
backwaters can be a real trick to learn. Most good backwaters here tend
to
be a little confusing. I have to visit a new area three or four times
myself before I feel really comfortable with were I am going and how to
get
in and out in time to make weigh ins.

You like rocks? Rip Rap? Grass? Tulies? Heavy overhangs? Cane? Grass
Mats? Current? Cliff Faces? About the only fishing structure or cover we
don't have is really deep water, and lily pads.

It is a challenging area, but I have been fishing it seriously for only a
little over a year, and I rarely come in without a limit of LMs. On fun
fishing days I try to spend a little time learning how and were to catch
some of the other species as well.

I am sad to say on the day that Joe came out and fished with me I was not
able to put us on any really good fish. We just cast hit and miss acorss
one of the backwater lakes I have started ot learn. I still caught one
decent fish, and Joe caught three or four. That was in the dead of winter
on a cold day.

You might also be surprised about some of the canyon reservoirs around
Phoenix. Canyon, Saguaro, Bartlet, Apache, and Roosevelt all produce some
decent fish. Pleasant is a popular fishery as well int hat part of the
state, but it gets huge amounts of pressure from fihermen and pleasure
boaters alike.

You want to go large? Well, that starts with Havasu. It host more pro
and
semi pro level tournaments than my area, and its not that far upriver from
Yuma. Maybe a hundred miles. Go up the Colorado River a little further
and
you have several other intersting fisheries. I don't know that much about
Topock Marsh, but I hear it can be incredible. Go a little further and
there are good fish to be had above and below Davis Dam which holds Mohave
Lake. Then there is Lake Meade, not that far from Las Vegas. Meade hosts
the ABA Classic in October.

Of course the Grand Canyo is a good fishery, but I am pretyt sure that
azrea
is more known for trout than bass as is Lee's Ferry between the Grand
Canyon
and Lake Powell. Only a small part of Lake Powell is in Arizona, but if
that is not a world class fishery I don't know what is. I personally have
caught walleye, trout, huge bluegill, and decent large mouth there, not to
mention the stripers which abound and overpopulate through out the entire
lake.

I have refrained from commenting on huge amounts of the state, not becasue
those area don't have good places, to fish, but because I don't know them
as
well. Oak Creek is a nice little stocker stream for trout. It is
beaughtiful country and the stream wil support trou on its own, but
becasue
large portion of it are accessible it get a lot of pressure. That is the
onyl reaosn that is is stocked. To maintian the numbers for fishermen.
Two
years ago a ten pound rainbow was caught out of it two years ago, and I
know
a couple pools that are extremely inaccessible that have some several
pound
trout.

The White Mountains are riddles with small cold water lakes and stream
that
are know for having decent numbers of trout, and there are several decent
mountian lakes above the Mogollon Rim.

I could spend a liftime just trying to learn all the fisheries in Arizona.
I certianly could not become profficient and knowledgable about all of
them
in a single lifetime.

Recently on my forums, I have been chatting with a fellow in another part
of
the state who has found a put and take trout lake that has some really
large
LMs as well. I suspect it is like many of the California lakes where the
bass have gotten big feeding on those 8-12" stocker rainbows. Better he
says nobody fishes for the bass in that lake. I'm goign to go visit him
when I get a chance.

I suspect that Arizona is like a lot of states in that it has treasures
not
discovered by those who have not spent any time here.


--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
So you're not just loosing with 12 pounds, you're getting shelled. Keep
at
it. You need to find where the big girls live (possibly deep,offshore
structure?). A 20 pound 5-fish limit is pretty damn strong. What water
are
these tourneys held on? I wasn't aware that AZ had such awesome bass
fishing.

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
Lately the winning bags have been over twenty. I'ld say the last 5 or
6
tournaments I have fished have had 21-22 pound bags for first. Three
or
four tourney's ago we weighed in 16.5 for third with 2nd going a 19.05
and
1st going to over 22. I'ld say all season a 16 or 17 was the lowest
1st
place I have seen. May have been one or two lower back in January or
February.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
Good luck Bob. When you bring in 12 pounds what seems to be the
average
winning weight?

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
Just Five Fish Bags.

Although I must admit I only caught 4 fish saturday for a whopping
total
of
5.99 The previous weekend I weighed in 11.05 and 13.55 on
saturday
and
sunday respectively. Didn't make it in the money either day. I
blew
a
couple good crank bait fish on the saturday with 11.05 that would
have
improved my bag by a couple pounds.

Next weekend I am fishing a club open with only a 3 fish bag.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
Is that 12-16# for 5 fish or more Bob?

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I weigh in 12-16 lbs fairly often yet, still have not managed
to
win
a
tournament. Its pretty disenheartnening when you bring in a
nice
bag,
and
the first thing you see is an eight pounder on the scale.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...


Don't swell his head, he shook a worm : ) Nah just kidding
the
fish
was
a
nice one. I took the images and made him pose. Harry will
definetly
give
Warren a run for his money for best dressed ROFB'er. It was
a
tough
bite
as
I fished as an observer, I landed two fish and slept for a
few
hours
into
early morning. But good to be back out on a big boat. The
fish
were
there
as
two members of that club brought in respective limits of 15
and
12
lbs.
It
was all about location as they both caught fish on patterns
that
everyione
else was using



"Henry Hefner" wrote in message
...
Thundercat wrote:
I managed to catch my personal best largemouth in last
night's
tournament. It weighed in at 5 lbs 7 oz.

Congrats, Harry. I checked out your pics and they look
great.
I'll
try
to outdo you soon, I've got the Texas water advantage, but
you've
got
the knowledge.

I meant big name pros.... There are certainly plenty of guys who qualify to
be called pros who fish this area.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I can see the FLW holding a tournament in this area some day, just to
support the local Wal-Mart stores. There is a super center, and soon to
be
a second wally world here. Personally i woud love to see the pros try and
figure out the bite here.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
The Colorado River above Imperial Dam.

Its a pretty good fishery, but you do have to take some time to learn
it.
ABA, WON Bass, Yuma Bassmasters, Angler's Choice, Desert Bass, and
several
out of town small clubs fish tournaments here regularly. I think there
is
one or two others who fish here as well. Also, the classic for the ABA
aluminum boat series will be fished here.

I not would say we are getting shelled. I am in 2nd place in Yuma
Bassmasters because of consistency, and we finishied 10th for the season
(ended last month) for American Bass. I think I am currently running
sixth
in the ABA aluminum boat only series for this reason.

For gernal fishing info, there atripers, LM and SM, and crappie ( I
haven't
caught many but those I have were larger than I see on TV). There are
some
big flatheads with 20-30 pound fish being caught fairly often, and the
record being over 60. Channel cats ae in abundance, and from time to
time
you can get into a bluegill or sunfish bite with them all running a good
solid hand size.

I think that some of the really big pro series shy away becasue of the
distance to any really big cities, and because of the potential
navigation
safety issues. Big is relative. Yuma proper has a population of around
80,000 and the region probably has a population over 100,000. I have
grounded solidly on a submerged sandbar once, and guys who have fished
here
for over thirty years still have to be careful to avoid running aground
when
a sandbar moves. Dragging your skeg when running up the river isn't
even
counted as an accident. Dinged props are a regular occurence, and
backwaters can be a real trick to learn. Most good backwaters here tend
to
be a little confusing. I have to visit a new area three or four times
myself before I feel really comfortable with were I am going and how to
get
in and out in time to make weigh ins.

You like rocks? Rip Rap? Grass? Tulies? Heavy overhangs? Cane?
Grass
Mats? Current? Cliff Faces? About the only fishing structure or cover
we
don't have is really deep water, and lily pads.

It is a challenging area, but I have been fishing it seriously for only
a
little over a year, and I rarely come in without a limit of LMs. On fun
fishing days I try to spend a little time learning how and were to catch
some of the other species as well.

I am sad to say on the day that Joe came out and fished with me I was
not
able to put us on any really good fish. We just cast hit and miss
acorss
one of the backwater lakes I have started ot learn. I still caught one
decent fish, and Joe caught three or four. That was in the dead of
winter
on a cold day.

You might also be surprised about some of the canyon reservoirs around
Phoenix. Canyon, Saguaro, Bartlet, Apache, and Roosevelt all produce
some
decent fish. Pleasant is a popular fishery as well int hat part of the
state, but it gets huge amounts of pressure from fihermen and pleasure
boaters alike.

You want to go large? Well, that starts with Havasu. It host more pro
and
semi pro level tournaments than my area, and its not that far upriver
from
Yuma. Maybe a hundred miles. Go up the Colorado River a little further
and
you have several other intersting fisheries. I don't know that much
about
Topock Marsh, but I hear it can be incredible. Go a little further and
there are good fish to be had above and below Davis Dam which holds
Mohave
Lake. Then there is Lake Meade, not that far from Las Vegas. Meade
hosts
the ABA Classic in October.

Of course the Grand Canyo is a good fishery, but I am pretyt sure that
azrea
is more known for trout than bass as is Lee's Ferry between the Grand
Canyon
and Lake Powell. Only a small part of Lake Powell is in Arizona, but if
that is not a world class fishery I don't know what is. I personally
have
caught walleye, trout, huge bluegill, and decent large mouth there, not
to
mention the stripers which abound and overpopulate through out the
entire
lake.

I have refrained from commenting on huge amounts of the state, not
becasue
those area don't have good places, to fish, but because I don't know
them
as
well. Oak Creek is a nice little stocker stream for trout. It is
beaughtiful country and the stream wil support trou on its own, but
becasue
large portion of it are accessible it get a lot of pressure. That is
the
onyl reaosn that is is stocked. To maintian the numbers for fishermen.
Two
years ago a ten pound rainbow was caught out of it two years ago, and I
know
a couple pools that are extremely inaccessible that have some several
pound
trout.

The White Mountains are riddles with small cold water lakes and stream
that
are know for having decent numbers of trout, and there are several
decent
mountian lakes above the Mogollon Rim.

I could spend a liftime just trying to learn all the fisheries in
Arizona.
I certianly could not become profficient and knowledgable about all of
them
in a single lifetime.

Recently on my forums, I have been chatting with a fellow in another
part
of
the state who has found a put and take trout lake that has some really
large
LMs as well. I suspect it is like many of the California lakes where
the
bass have gotten big feeding on those 8-12" stocker rainbows. Better he
says nobody fishes for the bass in that lake. I'm goign to go visit him
when I get a chance.

I suspect that Arizona is like a lot of states in that it has treasures
not
discovered by those who have not spent any time here.


--
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** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
So you're not just loosing with 12 pounds, you're getting shelled.
Keep
at
it. You need to find where the big girls live (possibly deep,offshore
structure?). A 20 pound 5-fish limit is pretty damn strong. What
water
are
these tourneys held on? I wasn't aware that AZ had such awesome bass
fishing.

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
Lately the winning bags have been over twenty. I'ld say the last 5
or
6
tournaments I have fished have had 21-22 pound bags for first.
Three
or
four tourney's ago we weighed in 16.5 for third with 2nd going a
19.05
and
1st going to over 22. I'ld say all season a 16 or 17 was the lowest
1st
place I have seen. May have been one or two lower back in January
or
February.

--
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** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
Good luck Bob. When you bring in 12 pounds what seems to be the
average
winning weight?

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
Just Five Fish Bags.

Although I must admit I only caught 4 fish saturday for a
whopping
total
of
5.99 The previous weekend I weighed in 11.05 and 13.55 on
saturday
and
sunday respectively. Didn't make it in the money either day. I
blew
a
couple good crank bait fish on the saturday with 11.05 that
would
have
improved my bag by a couple pounds.

Next weekend I am fishing a club open with only a 3 fish bag.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
Is that 12-16# for 5 fish or more Bob?

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I weigh in 12-16 lbs fairly often yet, still have not
managed
to
win
a
tournament. Its pretty disenheartnening when you bring in a
nice
bag,
and
the first thing you see is an eight pounder on the scale.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...


Don't swell his head, he shook a worm : ) Nah just kidding
the
fish
was
a
nice one. I took the images and made him pose. Harry will
definetly
give
Warren a run for his money for best dressed ROFB'er. It
was
a
tough
bite
as
I fished as an observer, I landed two fish and slept for a
few
hours
into
early morning. But good to be back out on a big boat. The
fish
were
there
as
two members of that club brought in respective limits of
15
and
12
lbs.
It
was all about location as they both caught fish on
patterns
that
everyione
else was using



"Henry Hefner" wrote in message
...
Thundercat wrote:
I managed to catch my personal best largemouth in last
night's
tournament. It weighed in at 5 lbs 7 oz.

Congrats, Harry. I checked out your pics and they look
great.
I'll
try
to outdo you soon, I've got the Texas water advantage,
but
you've
got
the knowledge.

Awesome rundown Bob, THANKS. I think of cactus & rattlesnakes when I think
of AZ. I've been enlightened thanks to your detailed post & I appreciate
it.

Consistency is great when competing in a points circuit - sounds like you've
got a firm hold on rounding up a limit.

Thinking back on how we started this conversation though, I believe your
gripe was that you hadn't won a tourney yet. In using the term "shelled" I
was refering to losing by 40% (give or take) of the winner's weight on a
regular basis. I am just suggesting that, while you certainly are on fish,
that you are not on the "right" fish. Now, for having only a year's
experience on the water you are doing exceptional by bringing in limits
regularly. The guys that are pulling 4-pound averages however, are
obviously doing something differently, right?

Warren


"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I meant big name pros.... There are certainly plenty of guys who qualify
to
be called pros who fish this area.

--
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"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I can see the FLW holding a tournament in this area some day, just to
support the local Wal-Mart stores. There is a super center, and soon to
be
a second wally world here. Personally i woud love to see the pros try
and
figure out the bite here.

--
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** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
The Colorado River above Imperial Dam.

Its a pretty good fishery, but you do have to take some time to learn
it.
ABA, WON Bass, Yuma Bassmasters, Angler's Choice, Desert Bass, and
several
out of town small clubs fish tournaments here regularly. I think
there
is
one or two others who fish here as well. Also, the classic for the
ABA
aluminum boat series will be fished here.

I not would say we are getting shelled. I am in 2nd place in Yuma
Bassmasters because of consistency, and we finishied 10th for the
season
(ended last month) for American Bass. I think I am currently running
sixth
in the ABA aluminum boat only series for this reason.

For gernal fishing info, there atripers, LM and SM, and crappie ( I
haven't
caught many but those I have were larger than I see on TV). There are
some
big flatheads with 20-30 pound fish being caught fairly often, and the
record being over 60. Channel cats ae in abundance, and from time
to
time
you can get into a bluegill or sunfish bite with them all running a
good
solid hand size.

I think that some of the really big pro series shy away becasue of the
distance to any really big cities, and because of the potential
navigation
safety issues. Big is relative. Yuma proper has a population of
around
80,000 and the region probably has a population over 100,000. I have
grounded solidly on a submerged sandbar once, and guys who have fished
here
for over thirty years still have to be careful to avoid running
aground
when
a sandbar moves. Dragging your skeg when running up the river isn't
even
counted as an accident. Dinged props are a regular occurence, and
backwaters can be a real trick to learn. Most good backwaters here
tend
to
be a little confusing. I have to visit a new area three or four times
myself before I feel really comfortable with were I am going and how
to
get
in and out in time to make weigh ins.

You like rocks? Rip Rap? Grass? Tulies? Heavy overhangs? Cane?
Grass
Mats? Current? Cliff Faces? About the only fishing structure or
cover
we
don't have is really deep water, and lily pads.

It is a challenging area, but I have been fishing it seriously for
only
a
little over a year, and I rarely come in without a limit of LMs. On
fun
fishing days I try to spend a little time learning how and were to
catch
some of the other species as well.

I am sad to say on the day that Joe came out and fished with me I was
not
able to put us on any really good fish. We just cast hit and miss
acorss
one of the backwater lakes I have started ot learn. I still caught
one
decent fish, and Joe caught three or four. That was in the dead of
winter
on a cold day.

You might also be surprised about some of the canyon reservoirs around
Phoenix. Canyon, Saguaro, Bartlet, Apache, and Roosevelt all produce
some
decent fish. Pleasant is a popular fishery as well int hat part of
the
state, but it gets huge amounts of pressure from fihermen and pleasure
boaters alike.

You want to go large? Well, that starts with Havasu. It host more
pro
and
semi pro level tournaments than my area, and its not that far upriver
from
Yuma. Maybe a hundred miles. Go up the Colorado River a little
further
and
you have several other intersting fisheries. I don't know that much
about
Topock Marsh, but I hear it can be incredible. Go a little further
and
there are good fish to be had above and below Davis Dam which holds
Mohave
Lake. Then there is Lake Meade, not that far from Las Vegas. Meade
hosts
the ABA Classic in October.

Of course the Grand Canyo is a good fishery, but I am pretyt sure that
azrea
is more known for trout than bass as is Lee's Ferry between the Grand
Canyon
and Lake Powell. Only a small part of Lake Powell is in Arizona, but
if
that is not a world class fishery I don't know what is. I personally
have
caught walleye, trout, huge bluegill, and decent large mouth there,
not
to
mention the stripers which abound and overpopulate through out the
entire
lake.

I have refrained from commenting on huge amounts of the state, not
becasue
those area don't have good places, to fish, but because I don't know
them
as
well. Oak Creek is a nice little stocker stream for trout. It is
beaughtiful country and the stream wil support trou on its own, but
becasue
large portion of it are accessible it get a lot of pressure. That is
the
onyl reaosn that is is stocked. To maintian the numbers for
fishermen.
Two
years ago a ten pound rainbow was caught out of it two years ago, and
I
know
a couple pools that are extremely inaccessible that have some several
pound
trout.

The White Mountains are riddles with small cold water lakes and stream
that
are know for having decent numbers of trout, and there are several
decent
mountian lakes above the Mogollon Rim.

I could spend a liftime just trying to learn all the fisheries in
Arizona.
I certianly could not become profficient and knowledgable about all of
them
in a single lifetime.

Recently on my forums, I have been chatting with a fellow in another
part
of
the state who has found a put and take trout lake that has some really
large
LMs as well. I suspect it is like many of the California lakes where
the
bass have gotten big feeding on those 8-12" stocker rainbows. Better
he
says nobody fishes for the bass in that lake. I'm goign to go visit
him
when I get a chance.

I suspect that Arizona is like a lot of states in that it has
treasures
not
discovered by those who have not spent any time here.


--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
So you're not just loosing with 12 pounds, you're getting shelled.
Keep
at
it. You need to find where the big girls live (possibly
deep,offshore
structure?). A 20 pound 5-fish limit is pretty damn strong. What
water
are
these tourneys held on? I wasn't aware that AZ had such awesome
bass
fishing.

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
Lately the winning bags have been over twenty. I'ld say the last
5
or
6
tournaments I have fished have had 21-22 pound bags for first.
Three
or
four tourney's ago we weighed in 16.5 for third with 2nd going a
19.05
and
1st going to over 22. I'ld say all season a 16 or 17 was the
lowest
1st
place I have seen. May have been one or two lower back in January
or
February.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
Good luck Bob. When you bring in 12 pounds what seems to be the
average
winning weight?

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
Just Five Fish Bags.

Although I must admit I only caught 4 fish saturday for a
whopping
total
of
5.99 The previous weekend I weighed in 11.05 and 13.55 on
saturday
and
sunday respectively. Didn't make it in the money either day.
I
blew
a
couple good crank bait fish on the saturday with 11.05 that
would
have
improved my bag by a couple pounds.

Next weekend I am fishing a club open with only a 3 fish bag.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
Is that 12-16# for 5 fish or more Bob?

Warren

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I weigh in 12-16 lbs fairly often yet, still have not
managed
to
win
a
tournament. Its pretty disenheartnening when you bring in
a
nice
bag,
and
the first thing you see is an eight pounder on the scale.

--
** FREE Fishing Lures
** Weekly drawing
** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"alwaysfishking" wrote in
message
...


Don't swell his head, he shook a worm : ) Nah just
kidding
the
fish
was
a
nice one. I took the images and made him pose. Harry
will
definetly
give
Warren a run for his money for best dressed ROFB'er. It
was
a
tough
bite
as
I fished as an observer, I landed two fish and slept for
a
few
hours
into
early morning. But good to be back out on a big boat.
The
fish
were
there
as
two members of that club brought in respective limits of
15
and
12
lbs.
It
was all about location as they both caught fish on
patterns
that
everyione
else was using



"Henry Hefner" wrote in message
...
Thundercat wrote:
I managed to catch my personal best largemouth in
last
night's
tournament. It weighed in at 5 lbs 7 oz.

Congrats, Harry. I checked out your pics and they look
great.
I'll
try
to outdo you soon, I've got the Texas water advantage,
but
you've
got
the knowledge.