"I was alone in the boat when I hooked the big bass," said Clark, "and fought it for over 10 minutes before I got it near the boat. When I saw the fish jump, my heart melted and I was wishing I had a buddy with a net to help me boat the fish. If I wasn't using a high quality rod like my Loomis, I don't think I would have landed it."

After weighing the monster fish and getting photos of it taken at the bait shop at San Justo, he released it back into the water. Although he hasn't broken the 10 pound mark since, one recent trip by Clark produced three fish weighing 9-3/4, 7 and 5 pounds.

Clark, who guides at San Justo, Coyote and other northern California lakes, is the big bass master at San Justo, but other anglers have also landed huge fish this year. For example, Joe Drewry of Hollister landed a 16.9 pound bass while fishing a blue and black plastic lizard on March 28.

The showing of big bass at San Justo is due to three major factors: (1) the pumping of nutrient-rich water from San Luis Reservoir into the lake, establishing a rich food chain; (2) the presence of the larger Florida-strain largemouth bass; and (3) regular plants by the DFG of rainbow trout, which trophy bass feast upon.

When I met Clark at the boat ramp, he warned me that the fronts of the past two weeks had made the bite bounce up and down. "The bite has been tough, but I still caught two fish this morning before you got here," he stated. "However, I think with this overcast weather, the bite should turn on around 10:00 a.m."

He started the day by scanning the spawning beds for big fish, but we couldn't find any large females. However, we saw some small males and females holding around spawning beds. He started fishing a Castaic bluegill pattern lure, while I started working a Texas-rigged nightcrawler with no weight through the spawning beds.

I hooked up the first fish, a hard-fighting 2 pound largemouth, on my Tica 7 foot spinning rod and Libra SA3000 reel, and put it in the livewell. While we were moving from spot to spot, I also hooked another fish about 1-1/2 pounds. One other boater was finding good action on top water lures, so Clark put on a floating Rapala.

"Cast it near the bank, twitch it and start ripping it when you get it about 10 feet from the bank," he advised. "You can get numbers of fish on top water lures, although don't expect any big fish."

After he caught several fish in the 1 to 2 pound range on the Rapala, we moved over to another spot and began tossing out Senkos and nightcrawlers with no weight. We passed a point past the dam and the bite heated up around 10:30 a.m. We both hooked several fish in the 2-1/2 to 3 pound class, along with some 1 to 2 pound bass.

By the time we finished fishing at 1 p.m., we had caught and released 15 bass to 3 pounds. Most of the fish were "tournament keepers" over 13 inches, with several undersized fish mixed in. One of the highlights of the day was when I hooked a 2-1/2 pound trout on a nightcrawler. Although we didn't catch a trophy - sight fishing was very tough with the overcast conditions and impending storm front - we had a lot of action.

Fishing for bass is good year round at San Justo, but Clark experiences his best action in the spring and fall. Plastic worms and Senkos are generally the most effective baits here. Some of the better worm patterns are brown/chartreuse tail and purple/chartreuse tail.

"Crankbaits in shad and crawdad patterns are good to use in the summer, but I don't fish spinnerbaits much at San Justo," said Clark. "With 15 to 20 feet of visibility and a good amount of fishing pressure, spinnerbaits aren't that effective."

As we bass fished, we saw trollers find solid rainbow trout action. Dennis Conley of Hollister and Ron Bevard of Seaside caught 17 trout, keeping two and releasing the rest, while trolling nightcrawlers behind Sling Blades.

Bank fishermen also landed some trout and bass while fishing from the bank near the marina and on the new barrier-free fishing dock completed in January 2002. Eddie Martinez of Hollister fooled a 2 pound largemouth with Power Bait, while Moises Gomez took a 12 inch rainbow from the dock.

The Department of Fish and Game plants the reservoir every year with 13,000 pounds of catchable rainbows, according to Sid Poe of the DFG's Silverado Fisheries Base. The DFG stocks 2,000 pounds each month from January through June and 1,000 pounds each month from October through December.

Big channel cats also reward anglers fishing San Justo. The biggest one that Clark ever landed was a 23 pounder that he fooled with a brown Keeper worm with a chartreuse tail several years ago.

Other species found in the lake include crappie and bluegill. However, the crappie fishing has dropped off in recent years like it has at many other lakes.

San Justo, a San Benito County Park, is located in the rolling hills at 2265 Union Road, Hollister, just off Highway 156. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation constructed San Justo as part of the Central Valley Project, San Felipe Division.

The lake is open Wednesday through Sunday, sunrise to sunset, from February 6 through September 3, and on weekends from September 4 through February 5. The recreation area is also open on major holidays. Big Red Concessionaires collects the fees and manages the recreation area.

The entrance fee is $5.00 per car. The fee for water craft under 13 feet is $2.00 and 13 to 18 feet is $3.00. The use of gas motors is prohibited, with only electric motors allowed.

For information on guided trips on San Justo and other lakes, call Doug Clark of Bite Me Bass Fishing Guide Service, (831) 673-0707. For information on San Justo Reservoir, call (831) 638-3300.