Turtle135

great looking fish! way to figure them out

nice job on the "brrrr" bass! that is one healthy looking greenie

17 feet deep. Zero cover where she was. I learned as much as I could about that spot. She was close to the creek channel (which drops down to about 23 feet). I think she moved up and out of the channel looking for crayfish (or something to eat) on that 17 foot deep flat. That spot was getting the full effect of the afternoon sun (right around 2:00 P.M.).

well done! that's the way to spend a nice December day

That will happen in winter. I only got the one bite today. Frequently when I get skunked in the winter I wonder how close I came to actually getting a bite. I always believe at least one bass took a look at my presentation. All we can do is just keep getting back out there and trying, keep after them!

Got back out on the same lake today as yesterday. We have had a 3 day warming trend here in Maryland and the water bumped up a couple of degrees to 42. Seems to have gotten a couple of them hungry! 3/8th ounce Black&Blue Football Jig with a Tiny Paca Craw trailer

those are two awesome fish, well done!

congrats on the PB! seeing the strike had to be just awesome!

You know for years of bass fishing from the shore and from a kayak I never carried a camera. Then I got into Musky fishing from my kayak and "getting that photo" was a big part of the game (catch - photo - release). Plus everybody wanted to see the Musky I would catch after spending days (sometimes weeks) trying to get one to bite. When bass fishing became my primary passion again I continued with the catch, photo and release routine. Setting the bass on a "hawg trough" (the ruler you see in the picture) for a quick photo is a pretty simple, repeatable method of documenting the fish for me. It is easy on the fish. The bass is out of the water for less than 30 seconds.

I fish from a kayak and I use a version of the Palmetto Kayak Fishing quick release anchor system (see the link). http://palmettokayakfishing.blogspot.com/2011/11/quick-release-diy-kayak-anchor-system.html What I like about it on the river is that I can deploy the anchor and not have my kayak connected to the anchor line yet. I can drop the anchor down with the float connected. Then after everything is squared away I can paddle back up to the float and then connect my kayak.

I do not carry a scale but I'm pretty sure she weighed more than one pound and less than ten!

Black and Blue 3/8 ounce football jig with a Tiny Paca Craw trailer. Water temperature was 40 degrees but it was a beautiful day out on the water today.

Smallmouth will be looking to get out of the current when the water temperature drops down below 40 degrees. They will gang up in "winter holes". Look for current protected areas with greater depth than the surrounding river. Dead drift a suspending jerkbait through those areas. Dead stick hair jigs, tubes, small paddle tail worms, etc. in those spots. The reason fisherman turn to hair jigs in the coldest water is that even when you have them motionless on the bottom there will be a tiny amount of movement in the hair from the current which the smallmouth can detect and that is enough to trigger a take.

One option for holding tournaments would be to score them by length (catch-photo-release). We do this in our kayak bass fishing tournaments. We get an unique ID that must be in the photo with the bass (and we have standardized with using the "hawg trough" for getting an accurate length measurement).

awesome largemouth, congrats! that is a great photo as well

I use Trilene Sensation 14 pound test or Trilene XT 14 and 17 pound test, I fish from a kayak so I just carry 2 or 3 rods. I'm looking for my baitcasting setups to be able handle everything from spinnerbaits to football jigs rather than to be technique specific.

that's a great fish, congrats! and a 20" girth means she has not missed too many meals in her life .... good for you for releasing her

good looking bass, congrats! nothing quite like getting on a good spinnerbait bite, keep after em

here was another Maryland bass from this past July, pretty good shape for a dog days fish but I would have liked to have seen this one back in March with a big belly

that is one nice smallmouth, I am more impressed by the length than the weight, that one has been around for a long time! well done!

Thanks. No weight. I have never gotten into the habit of carrying a scale. I fish from a kayak so it is generally just a quick picture on the "hawg trough" then back into the drink for them,

Well done! A bass when the water is in the 30's doesn't come easy but it once you get that first one you know it can be done. Now you just need to find some open water in January.

a couple of chunky Maryland prespawn fish

I believe that is a creek chub. http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/Fish_species/fish_conservation_profiles/creek_chub.php

The lake I fish frequently in winter has good clarity (probably 5-6 feet in the winter). Once the water gets down to 40 degrees or lower the only presentation I have had success with has been a jig on the bottom with a smaller trailer (Tiny Paca Craw size). Part of the issue is that the bass are almost always at least 15 feet down (usually more like 20 - 25) which takes many presentations out of the picture.