I went out with my Grandson to Hartell lakes yesterday evening.  We didn't take a boat so I packed light.  When we got to the conservation area I noticed that I had left my craw and plastics bag at home so I was stuck with fishing what I had on my rods.  I had left my scale, my measuring tape and my scissors for braid in those bags at home too, but I did bring a box with crankbaits and terminal tackle and I also had a pair of needle nose pliers in my truck.  I had one rod with a jig and craw, a rod with a Biffle Bug setup, and a rod with a Senko type worm.  That was it for plastics. 

 

My Grandson tried pitching the pads with a senko but wasn't getting bit, and with the heat, he was getting a little frustrated.  The water drops off pretty quickly on the outside of the pads so I suggested to him that with the heat index around 100 degrees, he should grab a lipless crankbait and go out on the floating fishing dock which would allow him to cast toward the outside edge of the pads and fish the deeper water on that side.  The water at this place is clear and vegetation grows out past the lilly pads.  Within a few minutes he had landed a couple of healthy two pounders and his frustration had dissipated. 

 

 I started out pitching to some lilly pads near the bank with the jig and craw but within minutes, a bluegill had bitten off the claws so I had to switch to the Biffle Bug.  I was pitching holes in the pads and hooked this bass within a few minutes.  She was deep in the pads and it took a bit to drag her out and to the bank.  Anyway, as I said, I didn't have my scale.  I did measure her length against my leg and then checked that length with my tape measure when I got home so I have an idea of her possible weight. 

 

Having said that, I thought I would post this picture and see what everyone else thinks.  She wasn't the hugest fish but she was decent.  I held her out toward the camera just to make the guessing more difficult.  Her dimensions are such that it does make for a difficult guess in my opinion.  Hints:  She didn't have much girth but she was long.  Unfortunately, I will never know her true weight but that's ok.  If she had been close to a personal best I would be pretty upset with myself right now.  

 

Very nice fish

Nice fish!  Small mouth on her, not a big belly but seems to be long.  Held way out, I'm going to guess 4 3/4.  But that is a tough picture to guess off of! Congrats on the nice fish anyways!
 

Jeff

Nice Bass ~

 

I'm with 00 mod - looks like 4 3/4 to me also.

 

A-Jay

A-Jay and 00 mod, your guesses are right there with mine.  I'll give a little more info.  That fish was very close to 21 inches long.  If she had some belly to her, like a few weeks ago during the spawn, she could have been maybe near 6 lbs.  I usually guess a range when I don't have a scale so I put her at 4 3/4 to 5 1/4.