Most people will tell you that California has a lot to offer when it comes to freshwater fishing, and they are right. From lunker browns in the sierras to some of the biggest bass in the world, there are a ton of options for the angler. The articles below cover a wide range of topics from specific technique advice, to fishing philosophy, to what makes a good fishing lunch. Talk some time to read and enjoy!

Chris Zaldain - Year 1 Fishing the FLW National Guard: When FLW announced this new 2007 National Guard Series (Pro/Am style - $3,500 entry for a Pro - Guaranteed to fish for 3 days, top ten fish final day - Winner guaranteed $100,000 - etc..) I was all in!
California Quagga / Zebra Mussel Issue Tracking: The transport of quagga and zebra mussels to California waterways is fast becoming the biggest fishing issue in modern times. The purpose of this document is to keep track of developments with the mussels and their effects.
Striper Trolling 101: Trolling for Stripers in the Sacramento Delta: Wes Hamasaki details his techniques for striper trolling on the California Delta. The title is 101 but this is much more than a primer.
Buying a Bass Boat Out of State: Buying a bass boat out of state is a complicated process. Here's my story in hopes that you'll pick up a few tips and avoid some of the pitfalls I encountered.
Tradeoffs in Hooks: Bass anglers have the odds stacked against them. For example, a typical day consists of the alarm blaring at 3:15 in the morning often followed by a drive of more than an hour to your destination. Then, tack on eight hours of fighting wind, a bad bite and a couple of missed fish and your brain is bound to get a little fuzzy by the end of the day.
Please, Please, Please, Don't Catch the Male!: When the water hits 60 degrees Fahrenheit , the bass move into the shallows. This time of year is my favorite "Big Bass" time. There is no other time of year, that fisherman can pick and choose which big toad they want in the shallow. Over the years I've been told different ways to fish the bed.
Shimano Cardiff Series A Maintenance Guide: Detailed instructions for maintaining and servicing your Shimano Cardiff Series A and original Cardiff fishing reel. This article details the steps to disassemble and service the 100, 200, 300, 400 and left hand equivalent Cardiff models.
Shimano Curado Maintenance Guide: Detailed instructions for maintaining and servicing your Shimano Curado 200b fishing reel. Describes the steps necessary to completely disassemble and service your reel. This article also explains how to fix the "saggy thumbar" problem with the CU200B.
Calcutta TE Maintenance Guide: This article describes a complete teardown of the Shimano Calcutta TE (CTE) reel for service and includes details on specific modifications that can be made to this reel to improve performance. This article is highly technical and you should only attempt the steps detailed below if you are confident in your reel servicing skills.
Trophy Bass Care and Handling: Catching the biggest bass of your life can be a huge rush. Handling that fish correctly and watching her swim away can be a great feeling. Catching a fish again that you released previsouly will blow your mind the first time it happens to you. This article offers advice on how to handle and care for bass to ensure their successful release.
Swimbait Tackle - The Holistic Approach: What tackle to use for swimbaits is a big question when you first pick up the big bait. This article covers swimbait tackle with an in depth, holistic approach to help you elminate tackle failure as a factor in lost fish.
Predicting Weights of Giant Largemouth Bass: How to estimate the weight of a largemouth bass based on length and girth has been an age old debate among fisherman. The problem with many length x girth forulas is that they are based on data taken from relatively small bass. Terry Battisti has performed an extensive study of large bass weights vs length and girth and the results of his study yield what is likely the best measurement formula ever developed for bass over 15lbs.
Extreme Specialization: Typical tournament bass fishing advice says, keep it simple. Don't put too many rods on the deck. If you're a non-boater, don't bring too many rods period. Have a little bit of everything rigged up and ready so that you can cover a lot of situations.
Jig Fishing: A simple technique that can be very difficult to master. Jig fishing is an incredible tool for bass. Learn some basics as well as some of the more subtle tips and tricks.
Noise Factor: In the winter time there's not many people out on the lakes. Sometimes you can actually hear the quiet out there. The next time you hear it, take a good close listen because that's the noise that big fish hear when they are feeding. The more time I spend trying to catch big fish, especially largemouth bass, the more I realize that fisherman as a group are a very loud bunch.
Lunch Factor: Man I'm getting hungry. Yeah it's cold out here... Hey what did I bring for lunch again? hmm, looking in the cooler, diggin through the drinks ... ah damn, not the soggy triangle sandwich from the Quickie Mart!
Fishing Fast-Slow: Ever see a guy blaze by in a bassboat chucking a bait so fast it doesn't even look like he's really fishing? Ever draw this same type of guy in a tournament and feel like you can't even get a cast off before your line has a bow in it and you're out of the strike zone? I remember having these type of experiences. Took me a good long while to understand what was going on. There's more to it than just chucking and winding. I call it fishing fast-slow.
A Reason for Every Season: Fishing and the weather go hand in hand. I mean, we're outside after all, and what effects you most when you are outside? The weather of course. Sometimes you wake up and look out and think, ah ha today is the day when the fish will be biting. And over the years we all know that sometimes we are right and sometimes we are so so wrong.
18lber Odyssey: This is the story of my 18.0lb largemouth. Sometimes there's a lot more to catching a bass than just reeling it in. This was one of those days.
Learning From Fish in a Barrel: Fish are inexplicable creatures. We can't ask them what they are thinking, or understand how they learn. So we make up theories to try to explain their behavior. We hypothesize and generalize, and if the shoe fits, we wear it. It's not important if our theories are scientifically accurate, or universally applicable. It's important that the theories make sense to us.
Garbage: Take a room filled with fisherman and ask, "who wants to see garbage on the shore when you go to the lake?" No one would answer yes. Take those same fisherman and send them to the lake for a day, and what would be all over the shore when they left? Garbage. I don't know why, but fisherman as a group are some of the biggest litter bugs I can think of, and that stinks!
Throwing Out the Wolly Bugger: Digital photography, the internet, and glossy catalogs filled with pictures of fishing lures have changed the fishing world dramatically in the last few years. Anyone with a modem can get online and see the newest baits the minute they come out. Competing companies can view all their competition's offerings with the click of a button. For fisherman, there are new possibilities for comparison of fishing tackle, matching of tackle to real forage, and the overall ability to buy anything and have it at your doorstep just a few days later.
Writing Your Own Book: One of the most enjoyable aspects of fishing to me is the problem solving aspect. Catching fish is like trying to solve a puzzle that is always changing. How many times can you remember feeling like you had things all figured out and could catch fish at will, only to have something change, and then completely strike out on the next trip? That's the addicting part that keeps me coming back, and if you're reading this, spending the time online to gather info, you're probably in it for the same reasons.
Becoming a Better Fisherman - Part III: Sometimes it makes me laugh thinking about the fact that success in fishing, my passion and favorite hobby is largely determined by when a fish wants to eat something. You can do everything just right, but if the fish don't feel like eating during that one moment in time when your lure or bait passes by, you aren't going to catch them. It's a stupid thought, but one worth thinking about.
Becoming a Better Fisherman - Part II: Last time we talked about paying attention to detail as a strategy to eliminate gear problems. This time, let's talk about paying attention to detail on the water to build confidence and become aware of what conditions mean. There are some basic indicators you can look at every time you fish, but there are also a myriad of smaller indicators that can be just as useful as the obvious things.
Becoming a Better Fisherman - Part I: Why do people say that 10% of the fisherman catch 90% of the fish? I think it's because the 10% are fishing with an open mind, creating their own methodology while the 90% are trying to learn by observing, reading about the techniques, tackle, water etc that the 10% is fishing.
Internet Fishing: When I was a kid I used to get Field and Stream Magazine. I basically considered it to be the bible of fishing magazines. I would read them front to back when they came, and then read them again sometimes. After a few years, I realized that the same themes were reappearing year after year depending on the season. "Go small for big trout" or "Use Crankbaits in the Fall". I read the articles again, but by the third or fourth installment, it just didn't give me the same motivation to go out and try the things I read in the magazine.
Using Trout Plugs and Oversize Swimbaits for Bass: This article is all about targeting giant bass with giant lures. Covers rod and reel selection, lure comparisons, tactics and strategy. One of the first online articles on this topic.
Lake Shasta Bassmaster 2000: Another great first hand account of what it's like to fish a Bassmaster. This time on Lake Shasta, Matt reports in from a week of chasing spotted bass in the fall on this huge body of water. Drop shotting, spinnerbaiting, and topwater was the name of the game. Check it out...
Rob's 15-12 Largemouth Story: On September 10, 2000 Rob caught the big one he'd been after at San Pablo Resivour. Captured on film by Rob's wife Summer, you can check out the whole story and the play by play photography here.
Columbia River Bassmaster 2000: Matt Peters tells the story of the 2000 Columbia Bassmaster Invitational. A first hand account of what it's like to spend 10 days traveling, pre-fishing, and fishing in a Bassmaster tournament! A must read for any tournament fisherman.
Saltwater Swimbaits for Freshwater Bass: We all know that swimbaits are a great way to catch calico bass and halibut, but largemouth bass? This article details the use of saltwater type swimbaits for freshwater bass including gear, lures, and tactics.
Lure Fishing For Trout: Using lures for trout is a well covered topic. But what lures are you using? This article talks about using minnow type lures and spoons to target trout. Put something in your box that will help you catch that big brown on your next outing.
 
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