Fishlegs

Yesterday was a frustrating day so I needed to unwind after work. I headed to the bank even though it was sprinkling rain, and I had less than an hour before dark. I really wanted to try out the double fluke rig that roadwarrior used once when we were fishing last fall. Yesterday was my first time to try it, but it will definitely not be the last. I got it rigged up, and made a cast. I had two different colors tied on. White in the front, and baby bass in the back. I learned quickly that it's not the easiest rig to cast. However, on the second cast I hit the spot I was aiming for, and to my surprise I caught the little largemouth in the picture below. It hit the white fluke on the front. I don't know if it was the color or location that made it hit the one it hit, but it's always fun to catch fish on a new technique. I appreciate @roadwarrior introducing the idea, and giving me setup tips. Soon after I caught that one it started raining harder so I got under the boat cover on the dock I was fishing on. I didn't have enough room to cast the double fluke rig under there so I tied on a watermelon senko. On the second cast I got another little largemouth. It was about the same size as the one I caught on the fluke. I hung around in hopes of fishing more, but the rain stayed steady until it was dark. As I waited I tied on a black & blue jig. I knew I needed to make two more casts even if it was dark. After all, the second cast pattern was obvious. I tossed the jig in the water, expecting nothing, but this time the hit came on the first cast. The smallmouth hit the jig as soon as it hit the bottom. I was wet, but I was happy. It was a nice way to end a frustrating day. I started not to post pictures, but dinks have been getting some love lately. I'm also glad it was dark by the time I took the smallmouth picture. Let's just say I am trying to avoid any run-ins with the BR haircut police. ?

Congrats on a great year @ol'crickety!

Wonderful news! Hopefully things continue on this positive trajectory! We're pulling for y'all!

@T-Billy

Congratulations! I always enjoy your reports, and watching your videos. I also like how the awards are shaped like the state. That's cool.

For real. I've just about fallen in the water multiple times from this. Sounds like someone dropping a bomb in the water.

I can catch rocks with any lure. Nobody taught me how. It's just a natural skill I possess. ?

Great article @ol'crickety! Made me feel like I was there.

Congratulations! I didn't fish much for a long time after my kids were born. I was too busy reading books, playing games, hanging tire swings, putting toys together, learning how to ride a bike, coaching ball teams, going to music recitals, etc. They're older now so I get to fish more. I love to fish, but I wouldn't trade a minute of the time I've had with my kids. My (unsolicited) advice is to fish if you can, but don't miss the kid stuff. Seeing them experience the joys of life, and making memories with them has been better than catching a PB...at least it has been for me. Congratulations, again!

I think you're going to like those trick worms @ol'crickety. They dart & dance through the water so nicely. I use both kinds of hooks, but I prefer the offset round bend for trick worms. I prefer the EWGs for thicker plastic lures. Good luck! No surprise that @Glenn has a good video about trick worms that you might enjoy. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/trick-worm-floating-worm.html

I got to fish for the first time in almost a month on Friday. We were pretty pumped because this time of year has given us some pretty fantastic days. We hit the lake excited about topwater blowups, and catching fish cast after cast. We spent the first three hours of the day going to all of our favorite fall spots without seeing a single shad feeding frenzy, a single school of fish, or getting a single bite. My buddy turned around and asked, "What do we do now?" I thought for a minute, and told him that we should explore new water since our favorite spots were not producing. That's what we did. We only saw one shad feeding frenzy all day, which turned out to be white bass...sigh. But then a stroke of luck turned the day around. My friend was quickly reeling in at the end of a cast, and a fish hit his lure. Then on his next cast he tried cranking the reel as fast as he could turn the handle, and caught another one. It was on then! Turns out that we were fishing too slow. In spots neither of us had ever fished before we ended up catching 10. Eight of the ten were caught on a lipless crank burned as fast as we could move them. I caught one spotted bass, and the rest were cookie cutter largemouth. Nothing big, but the adjustments turned a frustrating morning into a decent afternoon. The picture below shows a cove we found where the path of a storm passed through back in the spring. Obviously that's not an easy spot for a lipless so we switched to soft plastics. We had no luck until I remembered that everything we were catching them on earlier in the day was using very fast moving bait. I decided to try the heaviest worm weight I had in my bag and boom! I picked up a couple more in the laydowns due to the faster fall rate. I had never heard of fall rate, and the difference it can make until I joined BassResource so thanks to y'all for that tip!

Those mean little fish are the ones that grow up to be the beasts we all love.

I’m a fairly new BR member so we be never met, but I’ve heard some great stories about @Big-O that I’m sure would be great to hear from the source. @roadwarrior introduced me to the rage tail line, and I’m hooked. They’ve become some of my favorite lures. Thank you on behalf of the fishing world.

I haven't been able to get on here much this week, but I'm trying to catch up. A little belated, but Happy Birthday @ol'crickety!

It depends on who I’m with. My friends who don’t fish see the fish I catch and think I’m an expert. The people who have actually fished with me…well, it’s probably safe to say that they don’t share that opinion. ?

Sorry about your dad. I lost mine to lung cancer several years ago. All I can say is it takes time. You never stop missing someone who meant so much, but the feelings change over time. I used to get upset every time I thought about my dad after he passed, but at some point the sadness that overwhelmed me changed to happiness when I thought of him. It took several years for that process to happen, but now I cherish the thoughts that pop up rather than dread them. Many people have similar experiences, but your journey will be different. Be patient, and give yourself some grace during the process. Hang in there.

Great fish @T-Billy and @RyAxion

@T-Billy It might just be the lighting, but that first picture reminded me of a barracuda with the silverish color. All cool looking fish!

Congrats on a great day!

Are those fish, or butterballs? Wow!

I am nowhere near the level of someone like Tom, but I have lost more big fish than I like to admit. After I lose a big one I try to evaluate what happened, learn from my mistakes, make gear/technique adjustments, and continue to try. You appear to have all of those traits. The thing that I think has helped me the most is being on the water with people who are better fishermen than me...like @roadwarrior.

I love that cold weather hat @T-Billy, but an autographed Bill Dance hat is even better.

Very nice!