IcatchDinks

@Bluebasser86, what @Lottabass said! Peak memories being created for those boys.

@Zcoker , that's such a lovely sunset!!! And a great fish!

Took the two year old out to our favorite overpass today and caught a couple river smallies. One that he caught himself (and I played and landed), and one I caught while he threw sticks into the river. 13ish" and 15ish" respectively.

I would have been fishing every day this week, but work schedule us a bunch of overtime because they can't let us have a holiday without punishing us for it first. So, ten hour days in the hottest week of the year, and no time in the mornings to fish, and no energy left in the evenings. But usually I fish very early morning if I'm trying to beat the heat.

I recently had to cut back on my coffee intake. I no longer have any morning coffee, as I think it contributes to my migraines. And I only usually have a cup or two in the evening. (Caffiene never seems to keep me up at night.) I've found since cutting back, I actually enjoy my coffee more. Who knew?

I use a French press. It sounds fancy. It's literally the simplest and easiest way to make coffee.

Well, I got in some more fishing the last couple days. Caught a handful of tiny smallmouth on Friday. I'll spare you the pictures. They were not worth the memory they are currently taking up in my photos app. But it was fun to feel the tug, regardless of size. Then today, on a whim after a shopping trip, I decided to hit a retaining pond behind one of the shopping plazas in town here. It's crammed full of pumpkinseed and bluegill, and they're big enough that they will often hit my smaller crankbaits. I've only ever caught one other kind of fish: a tank of smallmouth last year. I walked out there with only a medium-light pole and one crankbait tied on. As I started fishing, I could see the shapes of some nice largemouth chasing after it, like they were protecting egg beds. They would chase it real aggressive, and then turn back after I had reeled it a few feet. Could not get them to commit. I finally hooked one after a poor cast fouled the line around the treble hooks. The strange action got the fish to bite, but also resulted in a poor hookup. It was nice one— probably about 2.5-3 lbs. But I couldn't manage to land him, he slipped the hook at the bank after a water churning fight. I finally ran back to the car and tied on a T-rig senko. First cast, and a big ol mama hammered it. I could just make out her shadow in the water as she struck. Best fight I've had with a bass in a long time. Of course, like an idiot, I didn't bring my scale or tape with me, and had to run back to the car for them. The fish was about 18 inches long, but she was so active it was hard to get an accurate measurement. She weighed almost exactly 3.75 lbs. I thought she might be heavy enough to become a new weight PB, but ended up being half a pound lighter than my current heaviest. Anyway, after all that reading, here she is:

Fish two and three for the year caught Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. Life is full and wonderful and I can't complain. But the fishing has seriously had to take a backseat this summer.

My two year old caught this nice little river smallie on Memorial Day. He got scared once we got it close to the bank (plus he's still a little guy), so I landed it for him. Although he didn't want to touch it, he now asks to see pictures of "my fish" every day. Life has been busy and I haven't had the opportunity to do much fishing. This is the only fish of the year to date.

I'm coming out of my winter hibernation, and loving all the fish pics! Went out to my local pond for the first time in 2026 yesterday, but everything is so overflooded by our non-stop thunderstorms and rain that I couldn't get so much as a nibble.

Was so shook by the Nix news that I forgot there was a whole other game being played tonight. Holy bloodbath! Poor Niners.

I don't remember.

I read. Alot. Now that it's too cold to fish, I spend almost all my free time reading and listening to audiobooks. I also write occasionally, mostly essays for myself. Just started this book tonight:

Haven't been able to do much fishing since September, and thus haven't been on the forums much. But it sure has been a joy scrolling through and seeing all y'all's awesome fish. There's some really beautiful bass in this thread. Thanks everyone for sharing.

Last Sunday was my son's second birthday. We've been sick for weeks, and are just finally getting our health back. So rather than tire ourselves out and test our compromised immune systems with a party that he most likely wouldn't remember or understand, I took him fishing. He caught his first ever fish all by himself. I made the cast, and kept my hands on the rod to steady it, but he reeled the crankbait in, hooked the fish, and then reeled it all the way in on his own. I had to give him many vocal encouragements to keep going. 'twas nothing more than a scrawny rock bass, but I was mighty proud of him. I caught a handful of small mouth and lost a couple more.

Yeah. I can't imagine targeting them. I'd prefer a rock bass to getting skunked, but I'm never trying to catch them.

Funny thing is, we both play but the prospect has never come up. We're too busy fishing. 😄

Spent yesterday afternoon on the lake with @Pat Brownthe bass were killing the buzz bait. I caught two, Pat caught five, and we both missed a couple. Loads of fun and perfect weather. I'll let Pat post his own fish, but here are my two.

I've been in North Carolina since Saturday. Didn't catch anything until last night our of a brother-in-law's farm pond. Couple'a dinks. Bro-in-law caught a slab of a crappie that I don't have pictures of, though. After the pond farm I did some night fishing with @Pat Brown at his pond. We both came up empty. But we're going out on the lake in a little bit, and hopefully our fortunes will change.

@TnRiver46 I've always struggled to catch fish from Lake Michigan when shore fishing. That bombing and dragging without any bites has been my experience for the most part. 😄 Well done! Beautiful fish!

@WaskaCrank12congrats on the new PB!!!!

I was just wondering the other day how you two were doing. I'm glad to hear that Lynn's health has been staying pretty stable. Thanks for the update. Praying for you guys.

Gotta grow my hair out again.

That's so awesome @Pat Brown! Congrats on the new place. That's super exciting.

This. Best day of fishing I ever had was in 2010 in Alaska. We drove for three hours, hiked for another, and finally reached a small, unassuming stream. Every cast, we hooked a grayling. And this was fly-fishing: a sport I had never before in my life tried. If your fly hit the water twice in a row without a bite, you were in a bad spot: there just weren't any fish there.