shimmy

Here with my brother in law and dad. Both are incredible fisherman. My peeping Tom picture As the week went on, we continued to catch a few 5 pounders and surprisingly not that many 4's. It was turning into a weird trip with the 4 pounders once again. My brother in law had already stuck two 6 pounders earlier in the week (he still has the pictures). I had yet to catch my 6 pounder and was getting a little worried. As luck would once again turn my way, i finally stuck the big fish of the week on our new lake coming in right at 6 pounds 8 ounces. She gave me one heck of a battle. I hooked her in about 8 feet of water about 40 yards away and she just kept digging. Best battle of the year for me. She was a beauty. Unfortunately i was by myself since my other family members were busy that morning so of course i had to verify it by weighing her on camera. I love the competitive nature of our fishing trips. I know other's don't need to weigh their fish but it just adds another fun element to fishing for me. She never jumped during the fight so i was still unsure if she was a northern or not. She was never making any 100 mph bursts so i was holding out hope for bass. She just looked so big in the net. The thing with MN bass, is they are usually short (under 22 inches) and built differently than other bass of similar weight. From the neck down with the 5+ fish, they are all solid. The no look The release, The swim away,

Had the opportunity to get out for about 4 days on a second trip but this time was able to see more family coming in. So of course, i spent my free time fishing. Had a blast out there but did not seem to catch as many big ones as my first trip. These trips are kinda special for me because Minnesota is such a fun fishery. The water temperatures this time around were mid 70's on most lakes we fished and some of the fish were completely spawned out on lakes where just 10 days prior were fat and full. Interestingly, one of the ten or so big bass lakes we fish, the big ones just started spawning in 75 degrees. I have yet to see something like this. The weather has krept up this spring and that is my only guess for fish coming in so late. Unfortunately i do not have pictures from family members who have some of the other big fish which includes several 6's as well but i will include some of the good ones i have. The lakes were beautiful and the big bass lures that seemed to work this trip were square bill crankbaits with some of the littler 5's and 4's coming on the worm, lizard, swimbaits, berkeley havocs, and jigs. We found a new big bass lake which was in Otter Tail County that we had never fished before and was blown away that this particular lake had many big bass. It is something, to fish an area for 30 years and discover a new lake less then 20 miles away. Gotta love this place. Our first two outings totaled over 200 fish in less than 8 hours. Just unreal. How did we go this long without knowing about a lake like this?! Kept wearing my dirty shirt to stick em, A fun jump And a little treat of a walleye coming in at 6 pounds 13 ounces. Picture doesn't do it justice. This thing was a giant for me. I am not a good walleye fisherman and do not catch big walleyes so this was a fun treat. another 5 lb crankbait bass more pics coming

i haven't fished it since late April due to graduate school and fishing in MN but plan on heading back out at the end of July when i have more time. The lake is pretty bad from shore so your kayak will do the trick. Beware of the crew team!!! They are everywhere at all times of the day and will drive right up on your spot without an apology. First and foremost, if your going to fish on the main lake, get an anchor. The wind there is ridiculous and i drop an anchor at every single spot i fish. When you launch at Mt. Hope road, start off going to the right if it's early morning and throw a smaller spook or a 1.5 to 2.5 square bill crankbait. Some water comes in on the right cove to the right of the mt hope launch ramp, but fish on the outsides of the cove fan casting until you go inside of it. Fish will stack up on the outsides and there are some good rocks you can't see. The cove is great. Wacky rigging a senko will work out there too. Throwing a spook in the morning along the weed lines along the lake usually gives me three bites or so and you can catch some good fish doing it. Then, you want to go deeper. Like Jon was saying, this lake is brutal because if you fish mainly shallow you will not consistently catch big fish (or maybe you can in the summer and i just stink at it). I actually started throwing the fat ika out there and kill them on it. If you can find the bridge in the middle of the lake, you can get into a few of them that way. I have caught them on a buzzbait before out over the top of the bridge. I took a buddy with me one time and he flipped out when i caught one on the buzzard there since he thought we were deep sea fishing. You absolutely need a depth finder. If you don't, your only chance is trying to drag a carolina rig to feel the structure and you'll end up wasting your time. This lake used to be amazing in the 90's but since the early 2000's has taken a hit. There are still a few big ones in there. In April, i went out 5 times and caught one over 5 and just one over 6, and a few over 4 pounds, but this lake has a ton of 4 pound bass. But, don't expect to get bit like you do in the ashburn ponds. It can be brutal without a depthfinder. Dragging a worm will work but i think crankbaits are your best bet. Maybe tie on three different depth crankbaits and pound the points, then back off and hit them again at different angles. If you can find the channels, you have a chance but even then, the bigger ones are hard to catch. What someone needs out there is side imaging. Because these fish move everywhere at all times, you really need a depth finder that can find them. If you hear fish jumping, it's probably going to be carp. If you're into swimbait fishing, get something that looks like a white perch. Oh, and there are small mouth in there. Caught one over 21 inches last summer on a top water bait. She was skinny though. The lake is weird. Not what it used to be. You may only get 3 bites, but you have a good chance that one of them will be over 4. Go get em.

welcome to the site. Fun fishing day. The Beaverdam down there produces big bass in the tournaments pretty consistently. It seems like a great lake to fish.

can't beat Minnesota. Well done, the wife usually wins as you probably already know.

goodness man. You are producing some serious big bass consistently. Wow.

not sure i quite get this. You had a bass 4.14 and you said you were ready to toss it back because it didn't look big? Shoot, any size fish 4.14 looks big. Plus at 16 inches...were you fishing the king fisher society in NC?

Well i must say, i appreciate how you adjusted the weight as opposed to going on some random tangent of how it was supported by another scale or person or poor camera angle. It's a huge fish. You found the issue with the scale and like a man, manned up to it. You sir, are the man.

Well comparing a mount to doing drugs are obviously going to be 100 percent different in comparison. Skin mounts are not a "mistake" nor are they synonymous with a negative connotation as you make them out to be. Yeh, the down side is you keep a fish. However, come on, everything about fishing puts bass in extremely dangerous positions as we yank their faces from their environment, hold them for pictures, stress them out, and most likely lower their longevity, if not kill them from over-handling. Taking a moral stance on it is obviously going to be ridiculous. If people really wanted to ensure that all of their big bass were caught again they would never take the fish out of the net that's still in the water after they caught them, not even for pictures. The issue i was making was people always have 20/20 hindsight when they are older and reflect back on stuff they have done and say, oh, i should never have tried this occupation, or i should have got more of an education, et cetera. However, it's important to note that you did what made you happy at that time. My thing is, i want whatever is the most authentic recreation of my fish, measurements, length, girth, head, skin, and all. Sam, we talk about fishing and more importantly, catching big fish because it does stroke our ego in a way. I really don't see how getting a mount is any different. It's fun to look at something you have caught. So here is my main question with replicas to date and maybe WRB can chime in as well. I noticed that you said you had your 19 pounder made from a plaster and had the taxidermist adjust the mold to get the specific measurements of your fish. My question is, how common is that to have a replica made where they can match your measurements perfectly as requested? My other obvious concern is that the mouth could be a completely different size than the replica; thus, for me taking away the individuality once again of the fish. But, maybe i am wrong on this? Thanks, Stay classy San Diego

Awesome fish!!!! Love the scale and everything.

great fish, definitely a monster and a true beauty, but i am getting this eerie feeling that you maybe perhaps by some minuscule chance did not actually weigh the fish... I know i know, "let the guy be", "he is excited about his PB", yadayadayada. Welcome to the forum

I will say this though, i wonder how many people who advocate for a replica have never had a real skin mount prior. It seems that many people will get that initial skin mount of their fish and then years later only get replicas and state, "i wish i never did the skin mount, replicas are the way to go." I think it is much easier to hold the replica stance once you have enjoyed the skin mount for all those years having no deviation from your big bass on your wall. I figure i willl skin mount my first big one and then replica the rest. I understand that replicas can look just as good, if not better. But it's not always about the look, it's about enjoying your fish, not something with close to very close measurements. I guess my point is best illustrated by someone who has never caught a 4 pounder and then catches one and gets extremely excited and mounts it. Then years later after having caught many 5's and 6's will probably not be as ecstatic when they catch a 4 and will advocate for others who catch a 4 for the first time to release them so they can get bigger to catch later. Getting a skin mount is a unique experience with your own fish skin and all! I figure If you have never done a skin mount, then i think you have more of a right to advocate for the replica stance.

There is no doubt that a depth finder can be a game changer. But, i would say the most important thing i have learned the past few years is refishing big bass spots over and over again while on the lake. Just letting a spot breath for an hour or two after we hammer it and then come back has worked miracles for me.

don't hate. You're just jealous because i know what smaller fish look like

Yeh, i agree with much of what you said, but again, there is a reason fishchris switches to the crawdad and big night crawlers for a reason to target the big bass on his finesse setup and it's not just because it is fun! Plus comparing your experience is slightly tainted since you have become a pretty sound swimbait fisherman the last few years and i highly doubt you have approached big bass at the dams and nicer spots where you are catching your 7's with the same vigor, patience, and determination as you did in the past with live bait. While i understand live bait will not always outfish artificial, there is NO debate whether or not live bait catches world record/state record size bass. End rant, sorry A-Jay, guilty for derailing. Whatever you do, we'll all be watching regardless. Go get em.

I agree. Don't do live bait!!! Stay strong! Live bait will obviously work anywhere, i just was hoping that this thread kept that artificial flavor where all credit of the big bass goes to the fisherman, not some crawfish with dance moves of his own. You imagine trying to determine who caught the bass? The crawfish would never let it go and would insist that you were merely just a means to get him in the water, you can't split the glory, would it be his PB or yours, it could get messy.

no, i'm just playing around. But there are big one's in that upper teens at Briery, just amazing.

it made these fish look like minnows. It was probably closer to 30 pounds but no big deal. I'm sure i'll catch her again, the lake isn't too big, just sometimes fun to target smaller fish for the fun of it. Plus, i was using a jig which very few bass fisherman use on structure so through old neural connections, she'll remember to instinctively bite it again at the same spot. The fish was pulling me all over the place, twisted line around me and started pulling my leg...But, i did the online weight test and her length and girth put her at least 30 to 35 pounds but, there are a ton of them in that lake that size so you just got to put your time into it. Every lake has big bass, we just usually only catch the 90% and not the 10%. Words of advice, location location location, feel like your going slow, slow down, watch your line, when in doubt set the hook, repetitive casts, last cast of the night, lake record, no camera, just let the fish tell you what they want, and establish a pattern. Good luck.

whether or not it makes a difference, i sike myself out every time i have tried it and fish way too insecurely to catch fish so i just stopped and tie everything direct. I just could not stop worrying about what it looked like and how it may change the action. The lack in confidence was not worth the switch for me.

In my novice mind i was having the same thoughts about 20 ft of water. While some big bass definitely occupy that depth year round, it seems that the depths between 10-20 are the most beneficial in that many of the huge bass we hear about are caught at these depths. This depth range seems to just carry so many big bass year round and seems more of a highway for prespawn, spawn, and postspawn than 20 feet. I agree that the 20 feet depth here is probably never fished by most anglers and you are targeting the potentially big bass that occupies that area without ever getting pressured, but it just seems that the 10-20 foot range would bring better results and increase the numbers of opportunities for big bass. I'm sure with ultra clear water this depth may vary, but even then, still feels like it may be a hair too deep. Again, i post this for debate sake and am not trying to come off as a guru. I do remember a lot of Catt's older posts discussing this money depth and it just seems from so many articles i read that the 10-20 would increase your chances. Thoughts? Shimmy

So in extremely windy days, my centrifugal braking system plastic pieces pop up. I usually keep two of them up but as i cast a lot into the wind the third and 4th one eventually pop up completing shortening my cast. Haven't had this issue with other centrifugal braking systems. Was curious what others have done to deal with it or what you would advise to do without affecting the casting distance. I just get tired of opening up the brakes and pushing the plastic brakes back down. It seems the springs are not strong enough to keep them down. Would it be bad to superglue two of them since i don't see myself ever using more than two? Any thoughts? Thanks

Thanks for the kind words. I am fully convinced that most here on Bassresource could pull off these numbers in MN. I am just grateful to have access to it like i do. Just imagine pulling up to a nice sized lakes with great structure, incredible picturesque scenery, no traffic, minimal farmhouses in sight, and you could potentially be the only bass boat on the lake the whole morning. Pretty much a formula for success and increased luck. Get the net.

Great catch amigo. I've seen a pic or two of bass weighed at or around 7 in those ponds. Go get em.

Kodak playsport. Unbelievable and endurable. Going on my 4th year with mine. The batteries last an hour and a half and are less than 2 dollars a piece. Not bad for an HD 720. I fish with guys using the Go Pro but the casing on the go pro make the sound terrible. The kodak is waterproof an the sound is much better than the go pro on rainy or overcast days. The whole setup is cheaper and has lasted 4 years for me. I just drill a whole in any hat and mount one on there. The batteries usually develop friction and the camera has difficulty reading it after 10 months or so, so i just get new batteries. Great set up, cheap, and is a better option than the go pro on overcast days. Now, on sunny days, the go pro is just better all around without the casing. ten cents.

*** 100%. Unbelievable rod. Cannot believe its price. Fished one this last week for 1/4 oz to 3/8 oz jigs and was blown away. I just don't think you'll find anything else in the price range as that. You can always get lucky with a veritas or a diesel but their durability is always questionable in my opinion. The *** feels like you paid for an incredible rod and then you're reminded that you paid little for it.