So as many of you throughout the United States is aware of, and of course us Californians, we are in the worst drought the State of California has ever seen. I, as many other residents and neighbors, stopped watering my lawn over a year ago now. My grass is dead and pretty much just dirt  in my front yard. The only water my plants get is from the five gallon buckets that we keep in our shower to gather the cold water that most would waste as they wait for their showers to heat up enough to jump in. Believe it or not, we actually gather almost 20 gallons per day doing this with a family of four! We even wash our cars with this "Reclaimed" if you want to call it, water. Its our way of doing what we can to preserve what little water is left in our Reservoirs. But if you watch the news, or pay attention to the weather reports, we are experiencing a much needed El Nino. For most of the State of California that means rain is coming, and LOTS of it!! In fact, the last El Nino we experienced caused severe flooding throughout most of the central state with our bulging rivers overflowing the banks and levees.  But to myself, and thousands of other fisherman in California it means an even better gift, the gift of warming oceans on our coast. 

   Why is this such a gift you may ask? When we experience El Nino weather patterns, it pushes warm water, and the big game species that thrive in it, from the south of Mexico into US waters. With that comes the most epic fishing one could ask for! In fact the rising temps have seen the Pacific Ocean waters of San Diego to Long Beach hit temps as high as almost 80 degrees. This has sparked one of the best tuna seasons that many anglers have ever seen in there lives! Bluefin, Yellowfin, Yellow Tail and even Wahoo have been caught in the local waters of Southern California. I have had the opportunity to fish this twice already this year. Once on an overnight trip, the other a 2.5 day trip.  Both trips we caught boat limits of Bluefin tuna in local waters. Normally when you jump on these long range trips you head south of the boarder with dreams of hooking into the shy and illusive Bluefin Tuna, or Wahoo. But both these trips, though leaving from San Diego, had us heading north up the coast as we slept through the night. The first trip surprised me when we awoke and saw land! I asked where did we end up going, and to my surprise the Captain said, That is Catalina! Are you serious I thought?  But as usual, the captain knows best, and before day could even break we were hooking up with a nice grade of  Bluefin Tuna.

   I had rigged all my Phenix Rods with heavier lines, thinking we would be heading south, but as mentioned, the Bluefin were extremely shy. After watching several people hookup on light line, I finally put my stubbornness aside and grabbed my Phenix Black Diamond PSW809H and rigged a 20lb Seaguar Blue Water top shot of about six feet. I also had to put away the 2/0 live bait hooks and actually barrow a size 4 hook. YES, I said a size 4!! When you think about it, I am use to using 3/0-7/0 wide gap hooks for bass! So for me to wrap my head around the fact that you can catch 50lb Bluefin on what looked like a tiny bluegill hook was plain mind blowing. But soon after switching I started to hook up. My first fish hit the deck at about 30lbs or so. The next broke me off as I forgot that you cant horse a tuna on 20lb test line! LOL we fished live sardines all day, and the lighter line helped them to swim more naturally and free. You could tell the minute you put your bait in the water if it was gonna get bit or be a dud. By 2:30 that afternoon the Captain announced that we had filled our limits and were gonna have to start the six hour drive back to Seaforth Landing. 

  My second trip, I once again thought I new what I was doing and had me rigging heavier lines again, thinking that with it being a 2.5 day trip we would for sure head south of the boarder. Lets just say, I'm never gonna try and guess another Captains thoughts again as we not only headed north once again, but we went past Catalina and San Clemente  islands in the night and awoke at an area know as Osborn Shelf, just off of Santa Barbara Island! This time, I was smart and started off right from the get with the 20lb Seaguar top shot to 60lb Seaguar Kanzen braid spooled on my Shimano Tranx. Again, I had this reel mounted on the Phenix Black Diamond PSW 809H rod.  For me, the day started slowly with a few pulled fish and a couple break offs. Again, trying to horse tuna on 20lb line is not the smartest thing to do! But even still, there were a couple of Phenix Pro-Staffers on the boat that had already landed half a dozen Bluefin to most everybody's one fish! Frustration started to kick in for me, how the heck can these guys be getting so many more bites then the other 24 people on board when were all standing side by side?!? So I finally, after about five hours of watching this show they were putting on,  told Ryan our pro-staffer you have got to show me what your doing different, or what were all doing wrong. I handed him my rod, he inspected it, asked what pound line I was using and once approved, grabbed a fresh sardine, hooked it up and tossed it out. After only about 30 seconds he says hold on your gonna get one here in a second. I started laughing to myself when sure enough, my lines takes off like a freight train hit it. He set the hook and handed me my rod. I was almost in such a state of shock that it was hard to fight this fish! The whole 20 minutes it took me to land this thing my mind was scrambling and rehashing what exactly just happened, and how the hell did he do that!! So I landed my fish, a smaller 25lb Bluefin and walked over to him and said do that again, but this time slower and explain. So he did it once again, hooked up a sardine, tossed it out, 30 seconds later after working his magic, BAM, hooked up again! This time I landed the fish pretty quickly another 25lbr and proceeded to do exactly what he showed me. I grabbed a sardine I liked, Hooked it up in a matter of one second, as he said everybody all day has been molesting the dang bait trying to get a hook in it, and every second that you have that bait in your hand means your less likely to get bit! I tossed it out, worked the bait like he showed me, and just as I was getting ready to tell him check this out, its doing like yours, BAM I hook up again! This time with pride since I did this one on my own. If there's one thing I've learned in my 40 years of fishing, is if you don't know something, don't be afraid or embarrassed to ask! It could mean the difference of you watching the show, or joining it. Needless to say, though we had another full day of fishing yet ahead of us, we had already limited out on Bluefin tuna for both days in the first day alone. So we decided to head back south and hit some local paddies for some Dodo, Yellowfin, and Yellow tail! This was much funner to me since my passion is bass fishing, and I was able to use a lighter rod, a Phenix M1 82H inshore rod with a small Lexa 300 on it throwing surface poppers and small iron at the schooling fish. They weren't giants by any means, smaller 7-15lbrs, but man were they fun on the lighter tackle and gear.

So yes, I am looking forward to the supposed extremely WET winter we are supposed to have! And the good Lord knows we need it! But I sure love the bountiful gift of fish that this El Nino keeps on giving. God Bless and Fish Hard my friends.
VBO

We all dream of fishing the Bass Masters Classic. I know its been my dream since I was about 16. Living in the West, I've never been fortunate enough to fish any circuits or events that would place me in the position to qualify for one though. Yet for the last several years, I have been able to attend the Classic and live the dream in a whole different manor. With my involvement in the fishing industry I have been able to attend the Classic Expo for the last 4 straight years now. I know, its nothing like actually fishing in it, but where else can someone with the passion for bass fishing that I have, get to spend 4 days talking to all the Pros, Anglers, and other manufactures that attend the Expo every year. The Classic Expo has turned into the iCast of Bass Fishing. So many manufactures debut new items like rods, reels,  tackle, and  boats. The Expo has grown to draw crowds that far exceed other shows throughout the country. And to think of a show being this big, with a focus on Bass fishing only, is nothing short of amazing. It all starts with the hosting city. I flew into Greenville SC and was welcomed at the airport by signs and crowds welcoming people to the Classic.  Restaurants, hotels, even gas stations are packed to capacity and aware of the reason all us fisherman have overtaken there town.  Everywhere you went there was the buzz of bass fishing, who would win it all, how it would be won, and how crazy these crowds are for a little green fish. You can see dollar signs everywhere you went that indicate just how big an impact the Classic has for the hosting city. The Expo itself was packed every day with people wanting to shop, check out new items, or get autographs and pictures with all the pros from B.A.S.S. and FLW that attend, and to chat with the legends of the sport that helped get it to where we are today like Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston, Hank Parker, Forrest Wood, and way to many others to type here. For me, to be able to share meals, conversations, and call some of these legends true friends is a dream in itself. But lets talk about the other side of the Classic for a bit. The anglers that get to compete are the best of the best. They are true Professional Bass Fisherman. They struggle all year, physically, emotionally, and financially to be able to qualify for a prestigious Classic birth. Then, with the biggest tournament of there lives in front of them, they have to not only compete with each other and the fish, but what mother nature has to throw at them as well. These anglers had to pre-fish in ideal conditions prior to official practice to only discover a bite that they knew would change drastically by the first day of competition.  During official practice they had to face extreme weather conditions that saw snow, sleet, freezing rain, and night time temps that dropped to zero degrees. Each morning it was a trial just trying to get to there boats, and then get there boats safely to the lake. They had icicles that hung from there boat covers, trailers, and trucks like big glass spikes ready to plunge the heart of the beast in a horror movie. Yet they endured this all with smiles and determination on there faces and in there hearts. They were the perfect image of Class for a Classic tournament. Those that did not make the final day cut, were at the Expo with smiles on there faces to work the other side of the industry, sponsor obligations. And as much as you knew they didn't want to be there, that they'd much rather be fishing that final day for there dream, they all made the crowds at the Expo laugh and share there stories of on the water experiences from the week.  Some, like Aaron Martins, who you knew were heavy hearted at the loss of his father, were still all smiles for the people and children that asked for his picture and autograph at the Expo. (My condolences go out to Aaron and his family in there time of loss of a loved one.)  So to all the anglers that fish at the Elite Level I say well done. You are living the dream for millions that could only truly dream about it. So live it to the fullest. To the thousands of Industry workers and Manufactures, its because of your hard work daily and at these shows like the Expo, that take you away from your families and friends for weeks on end, all year long, its because of people like you that have grown this industry to the level that its at. And because of your hard work behind the scenes, its allowed the thousands of anglers that fish for a living to do just that. So to you I say THANK YOU. And to the millions of anglers across this globe that have the passion for fishing that allows me to do what I do for a living I say God Bless YOU, and Thanks for keeping that fire burning in our hearts.

So its only February 3rd, and half the country is still frozen under sheets of snow and ice. So what on earth is Vince talking about spring fever for already you might ask? Well unfortunately here in California we have had a very mild and dry winter so far to go with our already  record drought  conditions we have been dealing with for the last several years.  Our day time temps for most of the state are on the rise, with some parts of the state topping out at 80+ degrees.  Here in the region of our beautiful California Delta, we are already seeing trees starting to bloom, and bees starting to pollinate. What this tells all of us knowledgeable anglers is that the big girls are on the move! As our water temperatures continue to rise, some of the biggest bass will be spawning in only a few short weeks  to a month.  So what does that mean for anglers on the Delta? time to start concentrating on transition edges next to spawning flats where the big ladies are starting to feed and fatten up after a winter of just hanging out deep and conserving thier energy. This is one of the best times of year to catch your biggest bass of a lifetime, but its not all lights out fishing. It will still be a bit tough going till our temps become more stable. So for me, that means fishing a bit slower still. I like to concentrate on bulkier baits like big jigs, 7" senkos, and lighter punch rig type flipping baits with only 1/2-3/4 oz weights rather than the typical 1+oz weights. These baits will make you fish at a slower pace, giving you the best odds of sticking a pig. Now they are not the only techniques that will be working. A lot of guys who have a bit more control will start doing good slow rolling a big spinner bait, swimbait or crank bait. But lets face it, if your only allowed to fish one or two days a week, put the odds in your favor and take full advantage of the baits that will increase your odds for that fish of a lifetime. Usually this time of year, darker colors like black and blue, brown, and watermelon greens or bright colors work best because the water will be stained from rain and run off into the rivers that feed our Delta. Especially since most of the vegetation and hydrilla have died off from the colder temps. But as I mentioned previously, this isn't your typical early spring. Our waters haven't gotten cold enough for long enough to kill back that vegetation, and our rivers haven't seen enough rain to muddy them up. So in many areas of the Delta the water is very clear with good visibility. For that reason I have been doing better with more natural colors like Sprayed Grass, or watermelon candy. And of course the best spring time color spinnerbait and crank bait red or crawfish colors. So if you're looking to stick a giant, get up off the couch where you've been hiding all winter, and give the early spring Delta bite a chance. I think you will be very surprised.