My fishing began as a child in small golf course creeks and ponds. Then later as I was old enough to venture farther out or with friends, larger lakes. Our target was often Largemouth Bass. By that time most of the salmon and steelhead fishing in central california had declined to almost nothing for all but the largest river systems. I was fortunate to have several good lakes in my area that had healthy populations of bass. Our story will begin in 1980 when my friends and I were first licensed to kill...fish.

Gung-Ho Bassmasters!

My father and I traveled to many of the great california bass lakes and we even had a super fast 20 foot bass boat that was sold shortly after moving to Oregon in 1990. I have seen all but the farthest to the South. Anything North of Bakersfield I likely fished it and have photos. The photos I am going to show here however are all from the earliest and most local memories of my fishing life.


By age 12 I was already well versed in bucketmouth extraction. I had already known for years that the female bass would start into the outside edge of the cat tails early each Spring and that if I could get a jig and pig over the back side of the bushes I could get a big one! I must have been awesome! LoLz.. Well I did get a few big ones over the years!



These photos are all from Echo Lake. Larger bass we caught in the spring before and during the spawn cycle. We never kept them : ) Whos we? Good question!



Long time fishing buddy and dear friend Matt Barrett! I spoke with him recently and he is living in Louisiana and still fishing for black bass and catfish. Me and this guy must have fished a hundred lakes and rivers together over a time frame of ten years or more. Man did we catch some feeesh! I would also note that the blond kid standing next to me in the first Largemouth photo was Matt's brother Jim, also a dear friend still, recently living in Seattle Washington. I have visited and fished with both of them within the last 5 years or so.



This one I dont know about. A smaller bass caught at a lake near dark. God only knows what lake : / Circa 1985 to 86-ish. The one below has to be my most embarrasing fishing photo ever.... the hat, the cig, oversized cat eyes glasses, the hair, *** is up with that doo eh? Cool Doo mang! Is what the Barretts would have said about this photo..





Then there is this.. Free drifting live creek dace on a fly rod in Calero Res. YeeHaw! man did we kill em, like 50 bass a day for weeks! We became very proficient in the use of a minnow trap in the local creeks that drain from these very lakes. The bass ate them minnows.. Both photos shown above are from Calero Res. located right at the gateway to Pacheco Pass Highway, that led to a golden lake far of to the East said to have the biggest fish ever! Surely bigger than any we had caught. Later in life we would become one with this magic place.



I am thinking Camanche? or maybe Lake Isabella further South..

When we got older and I got a license to drive, Matt and I became able to reach further out and more often. We spent alot of time at a lake named Gaudalupe. Many good times here, untold numbers of very large bass.. I caught one here one time so big that Matt Barrett was affraid to grab the lip on....it was huge. Most likely the largest bass I ever caught considering the size of the average bass shown here.






!16, foot loose and fishing free.. We had that sheet down pat! Punch the jig through the surface debree, dangle up and down.....Munch--Slam--hookup! Notice the Fenwick flippin stick with the Garcia baitcaster with flippin switch and quick change spool. They do not make them like they used to.

Pacheco Pass Highway

There was also an impoundment called San Luis Res. - Oniel Forbay which supplied much of the water to the California Aqueduct canals. This was the golden lake we had always dreamed of getting to know. This was significant because this also supplied large numbers of striped bass to canals connected throughout that portion of the state. San Luis is the fishery that I truely miss the most when I think of my times fishing while growing up. It was a warm open windy lake set in the rolling golden hills of Central California with untold numbers of trophy stripers that ran as large as those that live in saltwater. A 60 lb striper was taken from the lake during the period I lived there. More recently a 70! The lake is entriely fresh water and also supports American Shad, Largemouth Bass and white sturgeon!


Photo Source: Wiki - San Luis Res




My time here was always spent on the dam shown in the photo, in the background. Near the trash racks you can see about halfway across. In the evening striped bass would start to push the shad towards the surface causing great boils of predator and prey. As the warm golden "smog" sunset would set into place the best fishing would begin! Throwing large rebel and rapala minnows 7 to 8 inches long on spinning surf gear. If you could get to the boil you could get the bass. Large white bucktail jigs also caught alot of fish when there was no sureface activity taking shape.




My Father shown with typical dam caught schoolie striper. I certainly miss these times from my life. My father passed on after I returned from a somewhat recent trip to Alaska. I think he always enjoyed this lake as much as me.

If I was to return to California and to the area I grew up in. I would have a deep drive to hit the road and find the Pacheco Pass Highway once again. I would have to fish at this place again. It might not be the salmon and steelhead rivers of the Northwest I have long since conquered but it is where I started and In my life time still to me remains one of the best fisheries I ever been fortunate to know. I have some unfinished business to take care of there, involving a live shiner and a 40lb striper