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YOU CAN ALWAYS MAKE UP
FOR THOSE TOUGH DAYS!
By: Ron Wilson
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Norval in his new ride! |
October 28, 2004....
Black bass
professional fisherman Norval Pimentel and I pre-fished the
California Delta
for his upcoming
Nor-Cal Tournament of Champions event to be held there in a couple
weeks.
We launched Norval’s
new 2005 21 foot Patriotic red, white and blue
Stratos Bass
Boat powered by a 225 Hi-Output
Evinrude Motor at
Ladd’s Park in Stockton and headed north kind of down river and then a
right turn towards White Slough.
We made a couple stops
picking up several dinks and a couple small keeper bass but nothing that
would help in a tournament.
Heading outward to the
main channel through several sloughs stopping here and there and still no
fish that Norval was looking for, maybe the upcoming storm had them locked
jawed!
The new bass boat
rode Ok, top speed was 75 miles an hour with still power to go but Norval
is not pushing her yet as its still being broke in, fast, slow, steady, he
is mixing in all the speeds to get everything shipshape but I don’t think
it is completely dialed in right yet!
When you get that kind
of a powerful machine going through the water at high speeds you have to
have everything just right, Jackplate at the proper elevation, right pitch
on the prop, right amount of blades on the prop etc.
If I was going to buy
a boat I would buy a used one from a professional bass fisherman who plays
the game and knows what he is doing because by the time he gets done fine
tuning this and that and fishing in it for a few months he has the boat
all dialed in so that all you have to do is drive it and fish.
We headed down to
Franks Tract where we found most of the tournament angler’s that were
fishing that day. It looked like every tulle patch point had a bass boat
on it as we drove by.
We took a side slough
and started fishing against the wind, a dink or two and then Norval stuck
a 3 pounder. I took over the trolling motor duties to keep the boat off
the bank while Norval got on his knees to lip the fish and release her.
|
Cousin Blaine with a couple of pond toads! |
We worked our way
around Franks Track to the Hook Line and Sinker that is located at Russo’s
Marina. They now have a two lane launch ramp, so you don’t have to be
launched by a tractor anymore. I quit going there years ago because of not
being able to launch my boat when I wanted too!
We bought some fishing
equipment and some drinks at the hook and when I got back in the boat I
discovered I had no drink holder on my side, I complained to Norval to no
avail as he smugly said “I got one!”
Hey ladies keep this
in mind when your significant other gets his bass boat. It seems the new
Stratos design gives the driver the ability to drink and drive while the
passenger has to hang onto their drink and hope for the best!
I guess that’s what
the new foot braces are for so you can hold your drink and push your butt
back into the seat to keep yourself and your drink steady!
Well it doesn’t work
over waves as after a couple of them me and Norval’s boat were both
wearing some spilled sticky liquid!
By the time we got
back to Ladd’s we had made a wide circle of the delta without
accomplishing much at all, other than breaking in the new motor.
We had about an 8
pound limit of bass for the day. Norval has lots more pre-fishing to do!
We cranked, threw
Senko’s, Brushogs and spinner baited and still didn’t come up with that
one pattern to put the bigger fish in the boat!
After tough fishing on
the Delta, I figured I earned a well deserved trip to the pond with my
cousin Blaine!
Talk about aggressive;
I had several old
Keeper style senko baits lying on the deck of the boat. Within 5 casts
I had used 4 different colors to catch 5 fish.
“Just throw anything
out there and shake it across the moss and they will attack it”, I told
Blaine.
I was a little
disappointed that the young lad we were supposed to take out that morning
didn’t show up but it was probably for the best considering the weather. I
would hate to be responsible for getting him sick!
I was testing some new
line and hooks made by Mustad. I tied the new 14 pound test UL MAX line
directly to the 6 0 Siwash Mustad hook. I hooked a Keeper senko on it
wacky style and when that was torn I would insert it in the ends until the
bait was torn off the hook or shaken off!
In the first hour the
wind blew, the rain fell and the fish were dancing on top of the water
when hooked, it was a wide open bite like I have never seen this year on
the pond. There were lots of 2 and 3 pound fish caught with a few over 5
thrown in for good measure.
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This monster fell victim to a Keeper senko
style bait! |
I couldn’t believe the
knot strength of the new UL MAX Ultra Line by
Mustad, I landed quite
a few fish on it and never retied.
That’s great because
with the monofilament I usually catch a few fish and then one in the 3
pound class or better eats the bait and the line separates. I say to
myself, “Darn I should have retied my line after that last fish!”
Something else I found
out about the new UL MAX low memory line is that the 14 pound test line is
spinning reel friendly, I have just never grown accustomed to casting
reels, I guess that’s because I am usually in the back of the boat in
tournaments that I fish, so instead of flipping I have grown more
comfortable with pitching using a spinning rod and reel!
By 11 a.m. the wind
and rain drove us off the pond. Our hands were water logged and wrinkled
up and the wind was beginning to chill our bones, it was time for these
two Bass-A Holics to head for home and get some hot water on us to freshen
up and get warm! |
