P.O. Box 324

Snelling, CA  95369

 

Phone: (209) 563-6573

Email:  bigfish@kelseybassranch.com

Web Site:http://www.kelseybassranch.com

 

 

 

FALL 2002 EDITION OF THE KELSEY BASS RANCH NEWSLETTER

 

 

KBR Members Tournament - The KBR Members Tournament will be held Oct 5th. This tournament, the first members’ tournament of its kind for KBR, is for members only.  1st Prize includes two KBR Individual memberships or one Corporate membership. Corporate memberships will be allowed one boat; Individual memberships must team. The 2nd Prize will be $500, and 3rd Prize $300. Big Fish winner will receive $100.

 

“Take the Members to the Back Ponds Day” - This is the third event scheduled to familiarize members with the different routes back to the ponds during the summer and winter months. After this, members requesting a special tour to the ponds will be asked to pay a guide fee. So, everyone interested in seeing the back ponds better come!

 

KBR Little Fish Transplant Program - All the fish caught during the tournament under two pounds will be placed in a holding tank and transported to the Spillway Pond. There will be a barbeque as well for all attendees. Please RSVP.

 

Member’s Clinic On June 22nd KBR went off great - The Stratos team was here as well as some of KBR’s best fishermen. The summation of the clinic is that KBR is a great place to fish, as “good as they get” according to Norval Pimental, and the aquatic weeds are helping to make it like that. Instructions and how-to-do-it with the weeds was the prime topic. This clinic is specifically put on to assist members fishing the Ranch during the aquatic weed season. I advise all members to attend next year’s clinic and I don’t want to hear any more weedy complaints!

 

The Aquatic Weed Situation - This year is not like previous years. For one reason or another, the aquatic weed requiem has been disrupted this year. The coontail, pondweed, and creeping water primrose just hasn’t faired well this year. What seems to have proliferated is filamentous algae and Lyngbya, a blue - green algae that forms the colonial mats in the bays of the lake. Every year brings something new from nature; aquatic systems do not remain static either. The algae seem to be smoother than the other aquatic plants. In any case, the members have been able to get around the lake this time of year a little easier due to less aquatic growth. Steve’s Bait Shack in Merced, 209-722-0800, carries trolling motor weed blades that virtually eliminate the need to clean your prop, even in the densest aquatic growth at KBR.

 

The Trouble with Senkos - The most popular lure going right now for bass also has the nasty habit of swelling up inside the fish. If swallowed, the Senko may plug up their digestive system, and if not passed through, can starve the fish to death. The Senkos, and several other lures, are made from a material that swells from the absorption of water. I don’t know quite what to do about this. We have many reports of large fish that are skinny. A few of these Senkos have been found protruding from the fish’s anus, just like a cork! I guess it’s just hazardous to be a fish, even one that’s catch and release. Should we ban Senkos and other lures made of the same material, or accept a higher mortality rate for the bass in the lake? Senkos work just like live bait - the fish are swallowing them deep. Using a barbless hook with a Senko and keeping a pair of long nosed pliers or hemostat with you in your boat helps.

 

                                                                                                Thank you very much!