ELK GROVE BASS CLUB INVITES YOU TO JOIN

Join now for the 2010 season that starts in January
We fish every 3rd Saturday of the each month, 100% payback, non-profit club, Home of the Pounder Pots!

QUALIFY for the JACKPOT ROUND (TOC) at the year-end not by being the BIG STICK but by PARTICIPATING IN EVENTS, fish 9 out of 11 and you QUALIFY no matter how you do in the events, what a concept! PARTICIPATION! And even you can only muster attendance to 8 events you may pay for the 9th and still qualify for or JACKPOT ROUND!

ACCUMULATE stats during the year for our 5 CASH AWARDS CATAGORIES including – ANGLER(s) OF THE YEAR (most points), MOST FISH, MOST POUNDS, BIGGEST FISH and BEST AVERAGE (over your best 4 events)

During the year we pay approximately 75%-80% of tournament fees back as tournament winnings, the BALANCE of ALL monies is paid back at the year-end to the Five CASH AWARDS and to the JACKPOT ROUND. The more you fish the better your chances of collecting one or more of the 5 awards, just by PARTICIPATING you qualify for the Jackpot Round which is paid on a 70/30 split for first and second places. We also have a $20.00 option for each participant that pays the FIFTH PLACE team or individual!

Membership is $45.00 per person.

EGBass promotes a learning and friendly environment where you know the other members by name. You have a voice in a club that’s heard and our paybacks are some of the best and your chances are better because you’re not fishing against 100 other boats. Remember it’s non-profit! EGBass is reserved for approximately 25 teams. Each team (in the money, approx. 1 in 4) is giving a chance to tell its days events at weigh-in so everybody learns and teaches, camaraderie and competition!

Check us out at elkgrovebass.com and/or call Joe at 916-869-1581, e-mail us or leave a message and we will get back to you real soon. The annual sign-up meeting where every paid member gets to put their pick in the hat for the water picks is November 10th, Tuesday at Steve’s Place Pizza on Truxel Road and I80 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm…….check us out at Elkgrovebass.com for more information

ESTABLISHING A WINNING PATERN TOO LATE

On October 17th Elk Grove Bass held its monthly tournament at Lake Oroville. My partner Brent and I were the weigh masters so we were the first boat out. I was amped up! Another circuit with twenty boats launched just before us so I was nervous somebody would be on our spot. We made our run deep into the south fork and were relieved that nobody was fishing it. I made my first cast with an Ima Flit rip bait and buttoned up a slot fish. Several cast later with no more bites I decided to go with my Oroville confidence bait, the Darter Head. The first hour of the tournament we struggled to get a fish in the boat. I noticed there was a lot of baitfish busting on the surface and I know that Fall is the time when the bass will push the bait back into coves and start feeding heavily on them to fatten up for the winter. So I switched over to a topwater sammy and on the first cast I had missed a solid fish. The bass completely missed the bait on the strike. I figured I was on to something. Fifteen minutes later I buttoned up our first fish over 15". She weighed 2.36 lbs! Great fish! A couple cast later I missed what was probably the biggest fish of the tournament. Must have been a largemouth! When she struck my topwater lure I was looking off to another spot where baitfish were busting on the surface. It sounded like a big ole Delta Bass slammin a frog on a hot summer night. Anyways, the fish would not strike again. A few cast later I buttoned up another bass over 15". At this point we had two fish over 15" and one fish under 12" and the sun was on the water. I knew that once the sun hit the water the baitfish would go deeper and so would the bass. I realized after my second fish that I should have been throwing my topwater sammy all morning long. Oh well! Another lesson learned! As the day went on my partner, Brent, boated our three fish under 12". Together we caught a lot of fish but it doesnt help when their in the slot. When it was all said and done we ended up in 6th place with five fish for a total 6.10 lbs. The winners had 9.55 lbs. I wish I could go back in time and fish that tournament over again. I can almost gaurantee I would have had a massive bag by Oroville's standards.

Next tournament is 3rd Saturday in November at Clearlake and im swingin for the fence!

DROP SHOT PULLS QUALITY FISH IN THE DELTA

Last Saturday I had the chance to do some fun fishing with my roomate John in the Delta. We missed the first hour of morning bite but i'm glad we did as the winds were high and it was real cold. We started Drop Shotting with 6" worms in 20 feet of water for the first couple hours with no luck. I decided to try punchin with my new Paycheck Baits Skirt. After twenty minutes of punchin I hooked up with my first punchskirt fish. It wasn't very big but a nice 2.5 lber none the less. Caught a few more small fish later in the day including the one above at our last spot. That one was caught on the trusty Drop Shot.

I caught my first punch skirt fish and had an overall good day on the water!

A BIG FAILURE AT LAKE CAMANCHE!

Last Saturday was Elk Grove Bass Club's September tournament at Lake Camanche and boy did we struggle. My partner Brent and I had hopes of placing in the top three as we had a great day of prefishing that prior Sunday.

We started the tournament in an area the size of half a football field on the east side of the lake. It was filled with offshore rock piles in 8 to 20 ft of water. We threw topwater plugs right off the bat to see if we could get some actively feeding fish in the top of the water column. After making ten casts or so with no blowups I decided to go with my tried and true darter head setup. I thought for sure I was going to get a quick limit of fish. I was wrong! We fished that spot for a little over an hour and a half before moving.

Our second spot was to a bank that had a lot of rock structure and held some bigger spotted bass in it. We fished up and down that bank for another hour or so with no bites. I was getting nervous! On our third move I decided to fish a spot we hadn't prefished in hopes of getting lucky and what do you know....first two casts came through with two fish. I was feeling a lot better! I thought we were going to catch a limit there but that was not the case. In hind sight we should have fished that spot longer! It was an offshore drop off that went from 8-14 ft of water down to 40 ft! Great structure! Oh well.

We made it back to our first spot in hopes some of the bigger fish became active. Didn't happen. Although I did manage to pull one more fish off it. We ran to a few more spots in the last hour and a half of the tournament and failed to boat two more fish.

Even though we ended up at 6th place, all in all it was a great day of fishing. I can't get enough of the competition so stay tuned for the next tournament at Lake Oroville in October. Should be a good one!

PROMOSING PREFISHING AT LAKE CAMANCHE

This past Sunday I was able to get out to Lake Camanche to do some pre-fishing for our tournament this Saturday. We were on the water by 7:30am and in a short period of time was able to put together a couple spots that may pan out for me on game day. The wind was blowin about 10mph and it was off and on cloudy and sunny which probably helped in catching this 4lb Spotted Bass. This Spot was 1 of 2 that I caught last Saturday along with 1 Largemouth. I ended the day with 3 fish weighing just over 10lbs. Not bad for not hammering my spots! I don't want to unveil the baits and techniques I was using until after the tournament. I'm sure it will be a good one! I think the winning weight should be around 13-15 lbs unless someone comes in with a swim bait hog! We'll see! My next post will be after the tournament with the winning strategy and results! Until then keep those lines wet and practice catch and release.

THERE'S A NEW MARSHALL IN THE DELTA

That's right! I will be a Marshall for the Bassmaster Elite Series tour being held in the California Delta March 11 - 14, 2010. I am so excited to be a part of this tournament. It's like going on a guided trip with all my fishing heroes at once and watch them duel it out on the Delta. I have so much to learn about fishing the Delta and am hoping to take a few tips from this experience to share with you!

I GOT THE MOJO BABY

The new line of St Croix Mojo Bass rods are off the hook. The price points are great at anywhere from 90 -120 dollars per rod. If you're like me then 2-300 dollar rods are out of the ball park. Finally, we have a solution that does not sacrafice quality. These rods are technique specific (pitchin, flippin, crankin, etc.) which takes a lot of the guesswork out of it. I had purchased two rods before my last tournament at the Delta and could not be more pleased. I have the slop-n-frog rod and the pitchin rod. I am so pleased with my new rods I have vowed to complete my boat deck with all Mojo Bass rods. You can purchase these rods online at Tackle Warehouse. To be honest I think they really have the mojo!

LOW WEIGHTS AT DELTA TOURNAMENT

Last Saturday 8/15/09 Elk Grove Bass launched out of B&W Resort! It was a zoo! There were three clubs launching at the same time. We launched around 6:15am. Unfortunately we were fishing a slack tide. I started off throwing a spro bronzeye frog and within the first 15 minutes I boated our biggest fish of the day. A 4.11 lb Largemouth Bass. What a nice fish! With plenty of time left in the tournament I felt confident in our chances to hook up more quality fish. After missing a few on his frog my partner finally buttoned up a 14" fish. We had two in the boat before we made our way to the next spot. I decided to dropshot for a bit whith no luck. We moved again and started throwing frogs in the boat docks. Over the next couple hours I boated two more frog fish. We needed 1 more! Unfortunately we could not muster up another one. My partner was a little disappointed as he missed several fish on his frog. Oh well! It happens! We ended up in 4th place with 8.65 lbs. With one more fish we would have squeeked by the winning weight. Winning weight had 10.11 lbs. Next tournament is at Lake Comanche and i'm due for a first place victory.

DARTER HAS BEEN MY GO 2 JIG HEAD

Easy hook setting and less snags is why I go with this Gamakatsu Darter Head. Darter 26 has a weedless option if you are fishing wood cover or light weeds. Each Darter comes with NS Black Gamakatsu hook and two tapered keeper rings that hold the bait firm without tearing it apart. Available in a 2/0 with a 1/8 oz. head, 2/0 hook with a 3/16 oz. head, a 3/0 hook with a ¼ oz. head and a 3/0 hook with a 3/8 oz. head. I typically use the 1/4 oz. head for most applications. It has helped me place in the top 4 in several tournametnt this year.

HOT AND COLD AT LAKE AMADOR

Elk Grove Bass held its July tournament at Lake Amador on Saturday the 18th. The temperature was extremely hot and the fishing was cold! 12 boats showed up at the tournament and I was fishing for the first time from my new, but old, 1983 Champion Bass boat. I was really excited to fish my first tournament in it. We started at safe light and worked a rocky point on the south side of the lake. Boated my first fish within ten minutes on a Gamakatsu Darter Head with a 7" trout pattern Keeper Worm in about 10ft of water. The fish weighed approx 3lbs. Great start! Unfortunately no fish for the next 3 hours. At 9:30am my partner boated a 1 pounder on a drop shot rig with a 3" shad pattern plastic down about 18ft. Feeling a little better with two in the boat but I knew that was not going to cut it. Thought we had something going so we attempted to dropshop some more fish with no luck. Weigh in was at noon and it was 11:10am with only two fish in the boat. Had to bounce! I was determined to get more fish! Went to the only point on the lake that did not look likely to hold any fish. First cast on the point and I buttoned up a solid 3.5lber. Now we had over 7 1/2 lbs in the boat and I knew that would be competitive based on how slow the fishing was. So the end of the tournament came around and what do you know, my partner and I take second place! Tough tournament but it was fun as always.