I just got back from Castaic and the winter fishing today was 83 air temp, water 57, no bites.

Today was the anniversary of my PB at the Lagoon so I had to be there for a possible repeat.

I was sticking with the big stuff, and yes Frank if I had a fifteen pounder I probably would try to surf it home. Great suggestion. LOL

lol That's great... catch a ride on a toad.

So the goal is 15 lbs Geo???

Something I often think about is the "10 pound Bar" that seems to be the common number people talk about in books, articles, etc. There is a very broad stroke used to classify a trophy bass, when it really should be relative to the state where you live.

For example, I am more than half way through reading the book "Big Bass Zone" by Bill Seimantel... So far nothing earth shattering, but could be a wealth of knowledge for those who struggle to constantly locate and catch the larger/largest bass in a body of water. One of the things he talks about setting your own personal goals and building on your successes. If your biggest bass was 5 pounds, set your next goal at 6 pounds. When you beat that goal, raise the bar to 7 pounds, and so on until you get over 10 lbs. (not an exact quote, I'm going from memory).

I personally have made a practice of always trying to beat my own records (big LMB, big SMB, Largest limit, etc.) and I liked that Siemental tells his readers to make this a practice... it promotes higher achievement.

The bigger point I am driving at is to not get down on yourself if you are not measuring up to West Coast standards (no offense to our LEFT COAST friends, the rest of us suffer from "bass envy"). What I am saying is that if you are from Wyoming for example, where the state record is "7 lbs 14 oz caught by Dustin Shorma in 1992" and your personal best in Wyoming is 4.5 pounds, you are 57% of the way towards tying the state record. If your personal best in Wyoming is 5 pounds, you are 63% of the way. 6.5 pounds and you are 82% of the way. Remember to put things into regional or state perspective:

Using simple formula (PERSONAL BEST / STATE RECORD = PERCENT COMPARISON) you can see how you measure up in your state. To roughly convert ounces into decimal format, each ounce is ".0625" so 4 ounces would be 4 x .0625 = .25

Here are some examples:

NY State record LMB 11 lbs 4 oz (converted to decimal = 11.25) Example Personal Best 9.2 / 11.4 = .81 (81%)

CA State record LMB 21 lbs 12 oz (converted to decimal = 21.75) Example Personal Best 15.5 / 21.75 = .72 (72%)

MA State record LMB 15 lbs 8 oz (converted to decimal = 15.5) Example Personal Best 10.7 / 15.5 = .69 (69%)

Just something to think about…

You're right on as usual. In Iowa the state best is 10#-12 ounces-personal best-9# 0. Even a #5 bass is something to brag about here. In Missouri, my original home, a #5 wouldn't raise an eyebrow. My best there is 8# 2 ounces.

Good point Brendan. I also consider the lake that I'm fishing in. We have several lakes with in 45 mins. of each other and they all have very different weight records for LMB.

Yeah the goal is 15 pounds for me at Castaic Lagoon. I would like to catch one of those monsters we see Butch Brown pulling in off his boat from the shoreline.

Largest three that I I know of caught from the shoreline at the Lagoon are 18.5, 18, and 17.5, I'm sure there have been a few shoreline catches there that go over that.

One of my friends last year got one 14.75 from the shoreline at night on a swimbait. So we set the bar at 15, which of us gets a fifteen first the other pays $100.

Gentleman's bet.

My goal is to just get a DD! Hopefully I will be able to this spring or at least this year!

Ron, I like to check out lake records too... it's great when you can find out those types of stats.

Geo, as you already know, dedication and persistence will prevail... one day my friend it will happen.

If I was a betting man, I would bet that if you located a toad on a bed and stitched a 12 inch worm through that bed at night , you would have it hanging on your wall in the morning!

Good advice Frank. Yeah stiching a plastic lure through a bed real slow can surely do the trick.

One of the biggest shoreline catches I know of at the Lagoon was caught by a guy who had been scoping out this giant female. He was pitching out a salt and pepper grub and slowly crawling it through but the mare would always swim off when she saw him.

I was told that he cast the lure well out past the bed. Let everything settle down for about half an hour. Then from the beach, using a trash can as a blind, he slowly had stitched the grub back and she finally went for it.

That one was 18.5 lbs. Caught off the east shore around the launch ramp and docks.

Brendan you could not be more correct. Persistence is the key.

As a mater of fact one of my first fishing mentors told me the three P's of fishing.
Preparation, Practice, and Persistence.

And also about the big bass goals. I agree with that too. It is a little unfair for us guys who live near Castaic.

We're all spoiled rotten, we realize that, but it is exciting to know every time you make a cast there is a chance you will hook into one that will literally break your rod in half or maybe drag you into the water.

Keep this in Mind, I use it as my mantra.
"Luck occurs when Preparation and Opportunity collide"
I use it as my screen saver and keep a copy in my tackle box.