paul.

well, my new 9-5 topwater pb a few days ago sure didn't last long. ;D i busted that mark wide open tonight with a huge 10-15 caught on a big rapala x-walk. man i am tickled to death! this story actually starts back when it was cold outside. i was bait shopping at our gander mtn. in jackson and this bait really caught my eye. i love big topwater baits and it was love at first sight. this bait wasn't "cali big" but it was definitely "tennessee big" looking more like a striper bait. it's actually even categorized as a saltwater bait. it had good quality hooks, and i liked that big "sure set" in the back. it also had a lot of flash and some of the most realistic lookin' eyes i've ever seen on a bait. despite the $10+ price tag, i had to have it. honestly, i "just had a feeling" about this bait. i knew if it performed half as good as it looked, i'd be happy with it. it just had "lunker" written all over it. and i'll go ahead and admit it, walking baits are my topwater faves. i've been hooked since my first zara spook many years ago. fast forward a few months to tonight. the x-walk had been waiting patiently for its number to be called. i figured this evening it was gonna be money. after trying a few other things earlier with only small fish, i busted out the x-walk. first thing i noticed was how far this bait casts. i honestly coulda nearly spooled my cardiff on a cast if i'd wanted to i think). there is just something mesmerizing about that walking action, and trust me, this one walks like a champ. (although it takes some getting used to due to the large size and heavy weight of the bait.) well, after about an hour, i was starting to get a little disappointed. had i been wrong about this fine looking bait? then i finally got a hit. 2 pounder. well, at least i caught one one it. i decided to go back to an area i'd fished earlier with no success, a shallow grass flat, as darkness closed in. i've been fortunate enough to catch some fine bass there, and i was hoping for another. worked the area pretty thoroughly and then i made a cast to the edge where it starts to drop off into deep water. started that slow, deadly cadence that just drives the bigguns crazy. walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, KA-BOOOSH!!!!! the water just seemed to turn inside out with a monstrous strike. steel meets flesh. steel grips and holds. i knew it was a good 'un, but i wasn't sure how good until she came up for a jump. oh yeah, this one was a contender! well, played her real carefully even though i had 50 lb. powerpro on cause it was hard to see how i had this fish hooked in the fading light and i sure wasn't gonna let her jump again if i coud help it. during the battle, it was kinda hard to keep my composure. all that kept running through my mind was how thick and fat she looked when she jumped. but a cooler head prevailed and i was soon lipping this brute of a bass. after a quick ride on the digital scale and some pix, she was carefully released and i have been stoked ever since. so many of my hunches about lures have been off the mark, but man i am glad i got this one right. i definitely see more of these big x-walks in my future! all you other lunker junkies should definitely check 'em out! http://www.rapala.com/products/luresdetail.cfm?modelName=x-rap_walk_13&freshorsalt=Salt well, enough talk. here's the pic. i was happy to get this one and post her, cause my fishin' and my time on the br board is gonna be cut back some this summer due to my girls being outta school. but i'll try to make sure i still get on here every week to see y'all's awesome catches and say congrats. best wishes to all y'all for a lunker-filled summer. hope ya enjoy the pic.

what a fine trip!! pb's are great. congrats big time.

fantastic trip!!! congratulations to y'all.

rock on dave!!! way to whack 'em on the big rig. that'll be you one day out there in the bass boat i'm sure. ;D

thanks y'all. now that my daughters are out of school my fishin' will be cut back b/c i wanna spend time with them. i'll try to go with little emily when she wants to. and i'll try to sneak in a bassin' trip every once in a while to keep the rust off. maybe a little while this afternoon or tomorrow if i get a chance. y'all catch a biggun for me next time you're out there.

went with my little emily today. we caught 5 nice catfish and a whole bunch of feisty bluegill and warmouths. both of us had a blast. i'm so blessed to have such a fantastic lil' fishin' buddy. hope y'all are catchin' some too.

she sounds like a tough one. i'd suggest gettin' the male interested first. let him attack your lure or bait several times, but don't hook him. if she's gonna be catchable, that should get her interest and eventually she will come over and pick up the lure/bait once he drops it. i've even had the male take the bait several feet away from the nest before. the female would follow him out to see what's going on then attack the bait when he drops it. this should do the trick if she's gonna get interested at all. and regarding the use of live bait ask yourself this. do you wanna adhere to some abstract concept of fair play with this fish or do you want to actually catch her? if your answer is the later and it's legal where you live, use the bluegill.

real nice trip. good job man. nice kicker too.

way to figure 'em out man.

yeah buddy! boy that's a real nice one for light tackle. great job.

if you buy it, keep the receipt. ;D seriously, i had one and i took it back within a month. the twitchin bar would get stuck right on top of the line on the spool. it was a pain to unstick it too. >

man i hate you lost that biggun. still a good day though. you'll get her next time.

welcome home and thank you. nice fish.

that's great man. way to go.

excellent! way to go man.

hey man that's a great trip. glad to see y'all put the smack down on 'em like that. as far as your pix go, someone else may have a better idea but here's how to make 'em smaller. when you save 'em to "my pictures" right click on the image you want to re-size. choose "edit". then choose "image". then choose "attributes". you can re-size there. hope that works for ya buddy. keep on stickin' 'em.

yeah buddy!!! great trip, cool pix, and what a cute lil' bassn blvd jr. future hawg slayer.

great trip man. y'all whacked 'em for sure.

congratulations matt. you deserved to win. that was an awesome catch. thanks lee for your great idea of this tourney. and thanks to brent for providing prizes. real cool. 8-)

rob's in the house!!! congrats big time buddy on that hawg and new pb!

great job. jigs rock.

great job man. that's what it's all about.

that's fantastic. rock on man!

way to figure 'em out man.

man that's real cool. well, except for the part about prickers in the crotch, peeing your pants, and not having a scale. ;D seriously, great story and awesome fish. i wouldn't blame you for wantin' a replica of that one at all. glad you released her too.