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Forum nameFreshwater Fishing in California
Topic subjectMy first bass!
Topic URLhttp://www.calfishing.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=3&topic_id=2874&mesg_id=2874
2874, My first bass!
Posted by SJ, Mon Feb-11-02 05:07 AM
It is with great pleausre that I can finally file a fish report on this board. I caught my first bass on Saturday (2/9) at El Dorado park in Long Beach. El Dorado has four small lakes and isn't known for much, but people actually do catch bass in there on a some-what regular basis.

Before I go into any details about my fish - I wanted to thank you all for your contributions to this board. I am a 40 year old fisherman, who has basically fished for trout his whole life. I ventured into this site early last year, looking for information on float tubes. The reports I read about bass fishing really peaked my interest. One thing lead to another and I bought my first bait caster (shimano curado) and away I went. I had some early frustrations on learning how to actually use my curado - but after practice and some friendly advice from this site I began to get the hang of things. I ventured out a couple times to try my luck and wasn't getting anything... but I kept on thinking about all the things I read on this site about persistence, confidence and everything else.

Well it finally paid off. Saturday morning I landed what I believe was about a 4 pound bass. I didn't have a scale, but he was a fat little dude with a very nice belly. I caught him from shore, throwing an old fashioned crank bait - parallel to the shore about 7-8 feet out. After bringing him in, taking a few pictures - I let him go. It all happened too quickly. I wish I had a scale, I wish there was someone there to take my picture with the fish, instead of me taking a picture of the fish in my own hand. I was so anxious to get him back in the water - it all went by in a flash.

What a feeling. I couldn't stop grinning the whole weekend. It was an honor to hook into something that was "home grown," as opposed to a fish that was pumped into a lake a few days earlier. I'm really hooked now.

One of the things I learned on this site is that so many of you go to fishing as often as possible - even if it's for an hour or two. I have adopted that philosophy as well. I used to think of fishing as an all day affair, but now realize an hour or two is better than no time at all. I really appreciate this site and hope I can make some more contributions in the future. In the mean time - keep those posts coming because I have so much to learn, it makes my head spin. You guys are doing a great job at educating new fisherman and teaching conservation and the great things this sport has to offer.

Thanks a million.