Fishlegs

North, South, East, West...doesn't matter. That fish would make anyone, anywhere ecstatic @ol'crickety! That's a great fish even in lakes like Okeechobee, Guntersville, Toledo Bend, OH Ivie, Menderchuck, Baccarac, or Biwa! You caught it in Maine!

Wow! What a way to kick off the season!

Glad to hear the positive news @A-Jay. Thanks for sharing. @WRB Here's hoping the treatment has a positive effect, and that she will get to make the trip.

Skipjack are sometimes called Tennessee Tarpon down here. From P. 34 from the Angler's Guide to Tennessee Fishing (link) Skipjack Herring (Alosa chrysochloris) Other names: skipjack, river herring, hickory shad, Tennessee tarpon Skipjack herring prefer large rivers with clear, cool, flowing water. They are also common in large mainstream reservoirs where they can be found in the fast-flowing waters below dams. They feed primarily on fish, insects, and plankton, and often in schools, when they force groups of small shad to the surface. Skipjack herring are found mostly in Tennessee’s mainstream reservoirs and their larger tributary rivers. They are common in this habitat from Knoxville westward, excluding the Cumberland Plateau. They average approximately 12 inches in length and the range is 9-20 inches. The state and world record is 4 pounds, 3 ounces.

Nice one. Congrats!

Congrats on the catch. Hopefully, the first of many on the year!

A trip that inspires you to try to be a better person is truly a worthwhile trip. Thank you for sharing it with us. It sounds like you had a packed schedule, but did you get to catch any Japanese bass?

Interesting question. I’m no legal advisor 😂, but I’d say it’s about how your phrase it. You could say you caught 3 bass, or you could also say you had 4 hookups. Regardless of the number, it made a very cool story. I say kudos to you for it.

It's been a while since I've posted. I've had too much going on to fish much lately, and when I did get a chance it's been a struggle. Finally caught a few in the past week or so. No big ones, but any fish is better than a skunk. The fish on the left was caught on a day when my buddy and I caught 10. He caught a 4 lb largemouth, and a 3 lb smallmouth...which was his PB smallmouth! He was pretty excited, and I was excited for him. It fought like a beast. I think he may want to chase those brown fish more often now. 9 out of the 10 we caught that day were on rattle traps. Any color would do. Orange, red, silver, and gold worked. The LM in the picture was the lone fish caught on a TX rig. The fish on the right was caught on an quick 30 minute bank trip that resulted in 3 fish. 2 small largemouth, and the smallmouth pictured. The smallmouth hit a trick worm like a train. I thought it was going to be a lot bigger, but I'll take it. Just glad to get to fish.

That typically means a tree that has fallen into the water. They make good places for fish to hang out. Here's a link to a thread from a while back with some discussion about how to approach them.

It may not make you feel better, but I’ve struggled from the bank this year too. It’s not just you. I haven’t been able to fish much the past couple of weeks, but I’ve caught a few throwing rattle traps near the rocks, and paddle tails deeper. I typically have good luck with grubs, and craws, but it's been tough at my usual spots so far this year.

I just saw that. It had to be a released pet. There is a small population of gators in north Alabama, but Norris is hundreds of miles, and multiple dams from the closest population. I can't imagine a gator making it that far on its own. Still better watch out if you go swimming though! 🤣

We understand because we have the same problem. The solution is to stockpile places to store stockpiled lures so that when your lure stockpile is overstocked you'll be able to continue stockpiling. Any questions? 🤣

Good luck! You got this! We all believe that can hold your own with anyone!

Sometimes nothing works on those blowups, but like @AlabamaSpothunter said, I’m going to keep throwing at them until I’ve tried everything I have. I had some success throwing a white senko, trick worm, or other slow sinking lures into the middle of those type of blowups last year.

Maybe so. If that's the case I'm just thankful @thediscochef put a Thorogood song on there instead of a ballad. I might've lit a lighter and blown the whole place up! 🤪

The last thing I remember is seeing something about fiberglass vs composite vs graphite rods, but now I'm reading the @thediscochef's steak chicken song...which IMO works best if you read it in the style of a George Thorogood song. Did I pass out? How did I get here? 🤣

That sounds perfect! Congrats!

Am I the only one that's let down because he's human? I always pictured him as a monster fish catching cat with yellow sunglasses like his avatar! Just kidding, man! 🤣 Awesome fish...as usual.

Pay no attention to this people. It's really a map showing the density of the black drum species. 😉 @roadwarrior & @TnRiver46 I guess people are going to find out about our secret. We won't have the river to ourselves anymore...oh wait. 🤣

@AlabamaSpothunter That big one at the beginning hurt us all brother. I've got to hand it to you for sticking with it and having an incredible day when it was all over!

The temp hit 60 for the second consecutive day so I had to go to the river during my lunch break. I only get about 30 minutes of fishing by the time I get there, but it's so nice to get out on days like today. Catching a fish makes it even better. This is a spot that I haven't fished before, but I just might try this one again. Awesome fish, and great video @AlabamaSpothunter!

You can do a keyword using the "search by author" option. Do a search, then click "more search options", and select "search by author", and put your name in, and choose "all content". I got 22 results when I did that search using the keyword spinnerbait, and your username.

What makes you say that @Glenn? I bet there are a lot of people around here that would find that quite entertaining. 😊

I imagine acquiring that tidbit of knowledge came at a great cost to @TnRiver46!