bendopolo2004
01-03-2014, 01:21 PM
4314743148Started off the New Year with a plumbing problem at my Dads place. After fixing a shower leak I found myself fishing Mission Viejo Lake. We usually don't talk too much about the lake as it is a paradise and what happens there is sometimes beyond belief. The fishing can be incredible. I was drop shotting trout when I nailed a small one. I never touch those trout, just use my hemos' to gently remove the hook with a little twist. Upon release this trout took off jumping for close to 50 feet. Then I saw a big meter mark twenty feet below the boat. I already had Yum swimbait on my ten pound spinning rod. So I just dropped it over the side and watched it swim down. The water is crystal clear and at the limit of my visibility, I saw a fish roll on that swimbait. I closed the bail and the line came tight. The fish ran straight down and took off towards the other side of the lake. There are no giant weedbeds this time of year and the wind was blowing me out into deeper water. Both good omens on a fish like this. Eventually I gained line. Then I got a look at my fish. I truly started to shake. I really thought this was the one, as Larry Dalberg says. After some tense moments near the boat I slipped the net under her. She weighed out at 16.75 pounds and was truly the fattest Bass I have ever seen. I used a rubber net and have installed a huge live-well to transport a record sized fish. I was very careful not to injure her and added a small amount of raw sea-salt to the water to aid in recovery. After weigh-in she was gently released swimming away at a fair pace, scaring the recently stocked trout in the Marina. Thanks to Tom, the fisheries biologist there and a true master of his craft, and to David one several of the lake employees that helped photograph, weigh-in and release this magnificent fish.