The Hunt For Big Fish with Larry Dahlberg

Hello.New to this forumLive in Castaic,Cal..Many double digits.Have you heard of or know of a swimbait imitating carp.I know certain colors and hues,I've seen very large Largemouth's engulf smaller'8-10'' carp. Big fan of your work..

I have often wondered that myself - LOL. I have seen Tiger Muskies munch on small carp and leave the Trout and Bass alone, well at least at times.

there's rumbling's about a bait like this being developed from japan..

I think that if you caught a small carp, then used RTV to mold it, the next step would be either make it a hard or soft bait. If soft, using paddle tails would work, as well as hydrodynamic flutter.

If hard, a profile with a lexan home made bill would work.

Airbrush the pattern on, dip is a coat of Alumisoft, enjoy. OK guys, let me know who catches the carp first. LOL

Not meaning to bash California but I know there are many wildlife laws and particular rules like no personal boats on many waters. Are there also laws against live bait such as carp or sunfish? It doesnt seem that using live bait is very popular for bass out of the south.

When the Quagga mussel first showed up out here,there were a few lakes quarantined or using the lakes rental boats,but now they've set up inspection and cleaning stations at some of these lakes.we use live bait at times,dipnetting for shad ,using craws or small perch,mostly plastics and jigs though.BUT,pretty soon here I'll throwin the" divin frog" for some of double digit Castaic Lake bucketmouth.That thing looks Awesome,and my tackle box has a few waiting

Fishing with live bait is a problem for most western states, at least west of the Rocky Mountains. Montana is split, Colorado is split, and these are just the states I know of where the East side of the divide allows live minnows but the West Side does not.

The reason for this is not that they are prudish, or arrogant, but it is a matter of trying to stop the spread of invasive species. Fishing with live bait has been done so much in the East that every water has every type of minnow or crayfish known to man in it already. If you will, from a management point of view, East of the divide is a lost cause.

On the West side of the divide, they still have some hope. The idea is that if you don't allow legal use of live minnows, you are not going to get the transfer of carp, or other invasive species, from an infested water into a non-infested water. The problem is that a lot of non-legal fishermen do it anyway. Also, for anyone that has bow-fished carp in the spawn, you know that the eggs stick on everything, including ducks and other water fowl. They then fly to the next lake, taking the eggs with them. Same thing happens with weeds.

I have fished with live minnows myself in Eastern Colorado, and in Arizona. They were great for Walleye and Crappie, and for Catfish as well. But I now live West of the divide, so that is a no no.

I fear that in the end, all that is happening is that they are delaying the inevitable. But for now, every year fewer and fewer live bait options are being allowed. The sale and use of Leaches is prohibited in Idaho and Washington for fear that they might spread VHS disease. The transport of Waterdogs is also prohibited, and for the same reason. You can fish with crayfish only if you catch the crayfish in the body of water you are fishing in.

One additional thing. Fishing for Bass has become a C&R thing for so many people. On many of the fishing forums I am on, even mentioning you kept a bass will get you flamed. I know of one guy that caught and kept a trophy and it was as if he killed the Governor. As we all know, unless you fish with circle hooks, bait caught fish are often gut hooked - this does not go well with the C&R mentality we are in.

So, Henry, it is not really a California thing, but a Western thing. They are probably tilting windmills, but for now, Go Don Go!

Have you tried the Shack Attack Suzie Sucker. They make a 6" swim bait and some really good copies of carp and suckers. The bait is intended for muskies but I think the big ole bass you have out west would gobble them up.

thanx "box" .the brown and red copper look pretty good.gonna get a few..

Robo
Please let us now how they work on bass. I also just picked up a 9.5 inch "shadzilla". They are hollow on look to be very versatile.
Good luck.
Erik

Henry Schmidt wrote:
> Not meaning to bash California but I know there are many wildlife laws and
> particular rules like no personal boats on many waters. Are there also laws
> against live bait such as carp or sunfish? It doesnt seem that using live
> bait is very popular for bass out of the south.

Have you seen any of the video items produced on Lake Okeechobee, FL? The primary means here for guides in particular are the large shiner minnows. There's nothing wrong at all, to me, using a live forage as bait. Here in Georgia you'd be amazed at the Bass you can catch with live shad or Blueback Herring. Each state has regulations that you must adhere to but don't let the purist mentality keep you from fishing live bait. Ask yourself, did our fishing forefathers have Rapala's?

Best Regards,
Jerry Adams