shimmy

Ha. I will provide a drivers license next time to verify it is me as well. Funny thing is, i have all these on film since we always have a camera going, i just need to get my butt in gear and put together some more videos. Thing is, it is super addicting and time consuming...so, yes, i need to do it.

Been 8 months since i got to wet a line. Been dying to get out. I was able to get a 5 day trip underway to fish with the guys in our annual northern Minnesota spring trip. We fish mainly in the ottertail county area in various lakes. Fished from Wednesday to memorial day and had to head back to ol' Wisconsin on memorial day. Definitely long enough to have fun and get into some nice ones. We had no absolute giants this trip but got into a lot of fun ones. Wednesday's water temps were 55 degrees and much colder than i anticipated. Wednesday morning's boat was covered in frost which was also completely unexpected, So it was decision time and we had to pick one of hundreds of lakes in our area to fish which is oftentimes one of the hardest decisions to make when bass fishing. It is interesting how many of these lakes cycle from being great for a few years and then dead for a couple of years. Unfortunately, some of our bigger bass lakes have been on a steady downfall over the years which is always tough to see. So after a few lakes, we found a few that were hot for this particular temperature and got to work. We started to get into the better fish for these particular waters and enjoyed the beautiful outdoors. Temps changed from 55 to 63 in the coves by memorial day. The last few days were the best in that the bass started to come into the coves in more abundance. Jerkbaits seemed to be the ticket in the beginning and some sort of reaction bite which i had hoped for was not happening in the beginning. Eventually crankbaits started to get them which was always fun (e.g., 2.5 square bill). After a few days and fishing different lakes and varying water temps, we got a good rotation of lakes and had a blast. While walking to a lake, i found this little guy. Perhaps the smallest painter i have ever seen. Of course my girls wanted me to keep it after i sent them a picture so this little thing came home with me. And some more, We were fortunate enough to all get into some good fish. I only have pictures of my own, but everyone else got into some good ones as well. I finally got into a six+ pounder by the end which was a great way to end the trip. Altogether, i had 27 bass between 4-5 pounds, 4 bass between 5-6 pounds, and 1 over 6. Numbers wise, we never had an outing where you caught a ton but had a blast nevertheless. Big fish or not, it was just nice to be out on the water again. Troy

i was seriously afraid of where this thread was going...

That is awesome man. Not sure many here appreciated the rarity of a Minnesota bass over 6 and 3/4. Flat out awesome and nice to see the craw baits make an appearance. Troy

Heading out to Ottertail county in 6 days. Will spend 6 days of fishing and will give a report. Very excited. Should hopefully get into a few giants.

what was the temperature in the coves? 17 day trip sounds amazing.

geez, a 7ish pounder that short. Just awesome man.

Great fish as always. And what was the magic number for this shebiscuit?

Congrats man! Hootin and hollerin is mandatory.

Well, you have been there more than me so i don't doubt they are spawning still then. But, i will say, i fish yearly in Fergus Falls, MN which seems laterally identical. As i have found, the spawn is more times than not underway by memorial day weekend. Being in Fond du Lac and gauging the weather here, at the rate this temperature is going, i would guess that the spawn will begin by the 2nd to 3rd week. I have been to fergus falls MN several times due to time constraints at the 1st of June and often find i missed the initial wave of big girls to their beds. While spawning was still taking place, we always caught less big fish. But again, Minocqua could be a different animal.

yeh that sounds late. I would be guessing between the 2nd and 3rd week is when this will all start going down. Outside temperature is setting up to make it look this way.

Much harder to go to college if you don't go right out of high school. As someone a few months away from finishing a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, i will give you my opinion about college after my student loans are payed off in 200 years. One thing to consider, what you do now will greatly influence your kids in the future. Regardless of what you say, they will remember what you did as a young adult and they will use that to influence their decision (consciously or subconsciously). By all means, life is short, chase your passion, but don't be an idiot about it. Food for thought, a college graduate can always work in a blue collar job if they so choose, but a non-graduate cannot always work in a white collar field. Find out what you want and play it smart.

What a great post. Thanks for sharing. You should have gotten the spine back and mounted it

one of the shorter 24.5 inchers i've seen...5 and a half, maybe 6 pounds on the button.

Look forward to these reports every year. I want numbers!!! What were you all using that was working? More details!

Compared to northern pike, the bite can change in a day. We had one morning where we caught over 50 bass, several bigger ones over 4 and 5 pounds and only a few northern. Went back in the evening to kill em again and caught more northern than i ever have (50 plus) with only a few bass. Sometimes weird things happen on a lake where bass unanimously agree that it is not a good time to bite and a new species comes in and snips every one of your lures off for 4-5 hours straight. Went back two days later, and the bass were the only ones biting. Don't get discouraged. Literally the day of fish behaviors can change and there can be a shift in who's feeding. I don't claim to know why and could give you a bunch of regurgitated answers you see here online, but it is interesting how a northern pike and bass can collectively have completely different feeding patterns within a day.

Giant!!!!!!! Way to go man, always fun to see you catching a great fish.

however, he is holding it close in and it does have that width that could be good. I would guess anywhere between 4.5 to 6. Don't rule out a potential 6 quite yet. Big enough to keep a scale on you at all times, nice fish. I'm just glad you didn't get on here and start talking about how it was 8-9 pounds or the typical, "my buddy who caught an 8 saw it and said it was 2 pounds bigger than he had ever seen" type responses. Great fish, hope you keep catching them.

Just flat out awesome man

Raul, there has been a sighting nearby of a lurking moderator...The real question is, is Irene good looking?

the 6 i caught that day came on a pork trailer, but so did the plethora of 1 pounders

That lake is amazing looking and i know what your saying when you say the jig fishing looks like it should be good. I have only gone there twice and stuck one around 6 pounds with the jig, but then got a lot of dinks like you are saying. While i know very little about the reservoir, i would say that it is a tougher reservoir for whatever reason. The lake looks like it has incredible potential. Not sure what the key is there. But those little bass love the jig there

This was an interesting read. It seems clear that some take the perspective of "who cares what others do, doesn't effect me" while others including myself honor the weight system and appreciate the accomplishment of a good bass and it's honest depiction. Who is to tell me one way is better than the other??? Congratulations for being at peace for not caring if others lie about their weights and are unaffected by preposterous claims. That is your stance, not right or wrong. Just don't criticize others for enjoying the alternative side of bass fishing where weights do matter, calling out false weights is permitted, and the fun competition of monitoring fish weights and obtaining the rarely attainable giant in that body of water is enjoyed. Both perspectives are fine; i just get slightly annoyed by the potentially high and mighty responses implying that people should not worry about what others purport. That is your opinion, but don't criticize others for not having it, it does not mean you have achieved a level of maturity that other's do not have in fishing. Different things drive people in bass fishing; don't put a superior moral value to your stance.

Great fish A-Jay, that is awesome! Way to go man

Nice post spawner there, must have been a long fish. Congrats.