fishingfrenzy

This year has been one of the slowest, least productive years for myself when it comes to bass fishing. I've been in a slump for the last several months and hopefully now it's over. I went out fishing with my dad for a couple hours today and caught this one. It weighed in at 4.8 pounds. Btw.. it was caught on a 7" senko, color #297

I wasnt calling those fish dinks, but I was saying that I've been catching a lot of dinks lately. I've gone out many times and overall, those 5 fish have been my biggest for this month. Yea those fish are probably pretty big compared to what others catch in my area, but I'm not exactly happy with them.

I have officially entered a fishing drought. Every time I go out I either come home fishless or catch a ton of dinks. This month have been tough for me, I just can't seem to really put it together. My biggest 5 fish this month have only been 4.4, 3.7, 3.6, 3.4, 3.2. I hoping that my time will eventually pay off and I'll stick a hog, but only time will tell.

Scales now-a-days are the most confusing things. Most are made of cheap flimsy plastic and aren't built very well. I spent $30 on a Berkley Tournament fishing scale (no offense to berkley, I love their products) and its been more of a hassle to function. I decided to buy the berkley over the rapala scale, mainly cause i heard that the berkley is more accurate and I have always had great experience with Berkley- Pure fishing. There just are some things with the scale, that I don't like but it comes through actual experience with the product. The biggest problem that I've come across is the hanger, by which you hold whatever you want to weigh. It collapses into the scale, but when you pull the hanger out, if its not set perfectly you get the wrong weight. I know for a fact that it's been giving me mis-reads on weight, cause i've put it through a couple homemade tests already. I have a doctors scale at home that I have filled up water jugs to several varying weights and then wieghed them off with my fishing scale. First attempt: water jug at 5lbs- fishing scale read at 3lbs 15oz. Second attempt: same results as first. Third attempt: fishing scale read as 5lbs 2oz. It took me 3 tries to finally get a correct weight, but when your on the water how do you know if your getting a mis-read. Maybe the 4lbs 4oz bass I caught yesterday, was really 5lbs 7oz. I don't know if all digital scales work the same way as mine, but I'm thinking about purchasing the rapala scale and seeing if my luck works with that one. Anyone had similar results as me with theirs?

I'm not trying to make this a bashing thread, but I just thought I would share my opinion. I recently bought some #12 Suffix Siege and am very unhappy with it. First off, I would like to state that this line is thicker in diameter than other comparable lines. I also tested the actual breaking strength and it didn't break until almost 16 pounds of pressure was put on it. I tested it on a digital scale and it way over shot the stated line strength, by close to 4 pounds. Although it does have good knot strength, as advertised, it is a stiffer line than others such as berkley trilene. It took sometime getting used to the line on my baitcaster, for it wanted to jump off the spool faster and was more prone to backlash for that reason. I also found that it is not very abrasive resistant. I bought the line, because I wanted to try something new and experiment with different brands. This may have been my first Suffix purchase, but it will most likely be my last. I'm not sure what other people's thoughts are on this line, but I thought that I would share my experience.

So many people that are sponsored compete in tournaments, how about the trophy fishermen....would a company be interested in only poeple that fish for quality fish but not quantity. For myself, I care more about the guy that consistently catches big fish then the guys who can catch say 20 fair size fish a day. I would probably buy a product that a guy like fish chris supports over the average tournament guy with patches all over his shirt. I am personally more of a trophy type fisherman, how would I be able to go about and talk to companies about free products and discounts since I've never competed in a tournament in my life. My own personal goal is to break the state record and set several IGFA line class records for my state. I have caught over 50 5+lbs. bass in my 16 year old life, with my PB at 8 1/2 lbs. Would this be good enough to be in contact with a company, or would they rather look at the guys out in Cali who catch 10 pound bass at the same rate as 5 pounders in NJ. I have thought about going into the fishing industry in the future and thought about using this as a stepping stone to bigger and better things, like maybe getting a job with a company.

Most of the fish here (nj) have finished spawning, well over 2-3 weeks ago. I found a new pond in my area and the fish were still on beds there. At first, I kept catching the little males but after a while I got the bigger females to bite. In an hour of fishing, I ended up catching 5 between 3 and 4 pounds. Not bad for my area, but I was still a little suprised at still seeing the bass on their beds.

I think that your scale was pretty accurate. Although it looks really fat, it just doesnt have the length. Looks like maybe a 20" max length. Nice catch though.

Nice shorts

I took one of my friends to a local lake and we just slaughtered them. We ended up staying on the water all day (7hours) and as a result I got burned from the sun a little bit too much. Anyways, we went out in my canoe and we each caught over 30 fish. I probably did more guiding for my friend, than actual fishing. As a result, my friend caught 2 bass that were some of the biggest fish he's ever caught. Mind that in NJ, a 5 pounder is considered a trophy. His 2 fish measured out at 22" x 15" and 21" x 14." He forgot his scale, but we used the fish calculator (provided by bassresource) and they came out 7.1 and 6.0 pounds. I know that some times different calculators provide different weights, but considering how heavy the fish were, I would say that it was about right. We took a bunch of photo's of the fish but they are all stored on my friends phone and neither of us have the right cables to upload them to the computer. I'll try to upload them in the future, but I just wanted to share about our fishing trip yesterday.

In NJ, between April 15 and June 15 all bass must be released. During this time though, people all know that female bass will be heaviest, from being filled with eggs. This is one of the best times to catch a fish, especially if in record contention. So what I'm being told, is that if I catch a bass thats of record size and don't immediately release it, thats is considered illegal. I thought that as long as the fish returns back to its body of water, it isn't considered actually keeping/harvesting it. For those of you that disagree with me, many many tournaments occur when fish have to be released. If catching a fish and sticking it in your livewell all day, then weighing it afterwards isn't then considered illegal, then what is? I see no difference between this and having it examined for the record books.

I must say... that is one funny looking bass you got there :

Hypothetically speaking... I just caught the biggest bass in my life, looks like a new state record. I'm at XYZ pond and now I have the fish at the shore. What are the steps to getting the fish officially weighed and certified. Also if I don't want to kill the fish, what should I do. Who should I call? Also if the fish was caught during a certain period, where all fish must be released, how can I get my fish in the record books if I have to release it. Also, what type of value does a state record hold...like sponsorships, endorsements, money, ect.

I would say right around 5 pounds...maybe a tad bit more, but pictures can really be deceiving for some fish are more solid than others. Like the fish in my avatar stretched out to 22" length and had a 15" girth, yet only weighed a tad over 4 pounds.

There's no way that fish would be over 5 pounds. Maybe 4 depending on girth and thickness, but most likely between 3 and 4 pounds. My best guess would be about 3 1/2 pounds.

lol...yeah, there are a lot of people like that around here. You just have to be careful who're around, the people at tranquility are very protective of their area....I've had my share of experiences with some people from there. Maybe some time, I could meet up with you and we could hit a local lake.

Those are some nice fish you got there. What lakes did you catch them from? Also, how did lake tranquility turn out?

I was looking at a reel primarily for swimbaits. Which would be a better way to go, a 300 or 400 series calcutta. And also would you think that a Daiwa Luna 253 would be ok with lures in the 1-4 oz. range.

Honestly, I would I would skip the legend tournament and get an cheaper rod like the Avid. I was in your same shoes last year and decided on dropping some money for a nice combo. I was originally looking at the Quantum Tour Edition reel and either a Kistler magnesium ts or Croix Avid. I ended up getting none of the ones that i had narrowed down and actually got a totally different combo than I had even anticipated. I found a Shimano Chronarch 100MG reel for $130, cause it was the year before's model and a GLoomis GL3 for $160 (after a coupon). I could never be more pleased with my setup and it is a dream to fish with. If I were you, shop around and see what kind of deals you can get on rods and reels from local stores around your area. Plus I would rather give the local guys the business over an Internet store.

Holy Smokes.... if only I could find a place like that out here. Is that one of your new baits you've been working on...sure looks like is a winner.

I picked up a Shimano Corsair 400 for $30. It's last year's model of the Corvalus, which is one step down from the Cardiff. In time, I will upgrade reels to a Calcutta or Luna. As for the rod, the Powell looks really nice but I think i'm gonna go with a cheaper rod for now. When I end up upgrading reels, I'll upgrade the rod as well. Now I'm gonna put an order into usacproshop and start off with a hudd and a mattgill. Later I'll order more, but I'm not gonna go all out at once.

I think that the swimbait gods are calling my name. I am naturally more of a trophy fisherman, then a limit type guy. Maybe next year or so, I might pick up a spinning combo. I don't care if I catch 1 fish for the rest of the year, but that one fish is gonna be all I want.

I live in northern-NJ, which really isnt a big fish area. The state record is 10-14, which is nothing compared to say florida or california. I would be willing to basically give up on other types of fishing and throw big swimbaits, like a hud, all year for a chance at the record. Finesse fishing is a great way to catch fish when they arent overly aggresive and finicky, but your chances at catching a big fish that way are slim. I just don't know which path I should take....plus I really dont hit that many big lakes, just more of remote ponds.

Since I got a chronarch 100mg and Loomis rod last year, I havent really gotten myself anything lately. I am split between 2 different combos, actually more like two different types of fishing. My baitcasting setup doesnt handle finesse baits all that well, so I was thinking about getting a spinning combo for that...but at the same time, I really want a swimbait setup to target bigger fish. My 2 options were an Airrus Puls-R (like the sexiest rod on the market) and a Daiwa Tierra or Sol, or a swimbait setup like a Daiwa Luna on a Okuma or other swimbait rod. I really can't make up my mind and the baitmonkey can't convince me to get both. If I go with the swimbait setup, I'd get some Huds, MattGills, MS Slammer, and maybe a blackdog shellcracker. What's your opinion on either of the 2 combos.

Its been a long time since I have really posted anything on here. Mainly from lack of time, cause by school and sort of a relationship with a girl. We arent dating or anything, just more of getting to know her as a person. So anyways, that really hasnt kept me from fishing all that much. The weather up in Northern NJ has kept me off the water for so long. I've gone out maybe 5 times this year...first time I got skunked really bad, mainly cause it was still too cold out. The water temps are in the 50's now and the fishing is starting to pick up some. Last Saturday, I went with my dad to ***** Lake and for the first 2 hours I managed to catch 2 two pound LM's and my dad caught nothing. It was starting to get late...maybe 7:15 or so, so we started to head back in our canoe. To get back to our car, we have to paddle across a couple hundred foot flat, which is really shallow. The deepest is probably 2 feet deep and it goes to about 6 inches in some places. We have been fishing this body of water for close to 6 years now and have never caught anything in that portion of the lake. Rowing across the flat, we saw some ripples of fish swimming away from us. Deciding to try fishing here...we stopped the boat and on the first cast my dad lands a nice pound bass. He was using a #3 Mepps aglia firetiger and I was using a Zoom junebug salamander with chartruese tail. First cast I land a fish, next cast so does he. For the next 35 mins. we were catching fish every other cast, nonstop. We both ended up finishing up the day with 25 fish apiece and the big fish (LM) going 7 lbs. It stretched to 21" length and 15" girth, but it was built like a football player...very solid. No pictures were taken, for we had forgotten the camera at home and all fish were released. We are going to try some new bodies of water that look promising around us, but we only hit the places where bigger boats can't go. Which keeps the fishing pressure down and makes it more fun for us