Lower Otay 3/1
 

The rain was coming down pretty hard overnight but that didnt scare me off, i was determined to hit the water and battle hard to get some bass. My thinking going in was to rig up the spinnerbaits to mimic a scattering baitfish looking for cover, bouncing it off tree branches, throwing them deep into the tulees and working them out, and targeting heavily vegetated areas for the hidden bass waiting for the ambush. Lesson of the day was finish retreiving the lure ALL THE WAY back to me. I had a cast that only went about 15ft from me cause the braid to leader knot hung up on the tip guide and dramatically shortened my cast with the spinning setup. As im reeling it in i had a fairly decent sized bass follow it almost all the way back to me but i pulled it out of the water before giving it a chance to bite. Smh. Switched to the baitcaster with the larger spinner and started pulling it through heavy cover and wham! Pulled up a 3# and the day officially began. Started moving around to similar areas like that one to see if thats where they are hanging out and sure enough i catch two more 3 pounders and a 2 pounder before deciding to call it a day. Rain didnt bothr me too much, i actualky enjoyed it. But the wind really picked up after 11 and thats when i knew my day was coming to a close. Dont have any pictures, the rain+wet hands=uncooperative touch screen phone lol.
Oh! And on a side note, as i was on my way to where i planned on fishing i marked two HUGE fish on the ff. It was about 20ft deep and one was a full arch and the other was a 3/4 arch, im told that the 3/4 arches are catfish? Either way it made me excited to start what was a really great day on the water

There are some big whiskers in Otay. I need to head out there with the mackerel chunks. Mike

Found a pattern and exploited it. Nice. Too bad about the wind, but at least you got a few.

Helpful hints?
 

I have'nt been LMB fishing in no lie, probably over 20 years. I would like to hit up Otay tomorrow but I'm torn between SD Bay for a "but and Otay for a LMB. I'm pretty dialed in on the 'but fishing but not too confident with LMB since its been so long. I am a plastic worm girl (we used to stitch them along the bottom back in the day...) but I could use some pointers on a go to method to start with.

Thanks!

J

I would fly line a senko and completely hide the hook and toss deep in the tules.

With another rod I would do a drop shot worm roboworm.

If you have another rod then use a roboworm and use a few split shots to fish them a little deeper, you can also start fly lining the roboworms also first and then switch over to the split shot worms.

Fished tidelands today actually. caught a little spotty and that was it. No luck on the hali bite today. Im going to fish otay this upcoming wednesday if you care to join me.

Go to Otay tomorrow!
 

I wish I could go Wednesday, but I gotta work. Good luck. I will let you know how I do tomorrow.

J

I haven't quite made the transition from the old school plastic worms to senkos and roboworms, but I have plenty of the old stuff. I have never drop shotted but heard it is a great technique. I think I know how to rig it but how do you fish it? What kind of hook? Any worm hook?

J:cheers1:

Ive started using the spinshot hooks that VMC makes and i like them. I prefer wide gap worm hooks

Here is the drop shot rig: http://www.netknots.com/fishing_knots/drop-shot-rig/

EWG offset hook in 4/0 is good for senkos.

Here is info on the senko and I fly line them, wacky rig, or texas rig them with a bullet weight and peg it.

http://www.bassdozer.com/articles/senko-gary.shtml

Good luck.

Hey Janine! I have a short video using Senko's around tules. As long as the hook is embedded in the plastic, you should be good to go. It shows how close you can get to the sticks without spooking a hungry fish. The further back you get w the worm, the better your chances. Good luck getting the fish out sometimes...but it's all about the bite anyways, right? Good luck! Jim

https://www.youtube.com/embed/PyNzXAg73Ig"

Little rusty...
 

OMG! I forgot how much work this is! I managed one today, on the drop shot no less! Little rusty spent way too much time working out the kinks but hey, my first LMB in the yak. Havne't caught one of these in quite some time. Made my day.

J

Well done!