On 10/4/2019 at 2:56 PM, Catt said:

 

Lately I'm happy with one in a row!

 

Tough summer ?

Me too. I do alright when I can go but haven’t got out in a month or so. Of course you can always watch the tigers play. Seems like they might have a big game coming up next sat. ???

Was able to get out for a couple hours before dark. Not biting real good, but I was able to get 6 on this windy evening. Caught 5 on the watermelon red fluke and 1 on a cut off senko. Lost the best fish which was the first one that bit. This was the second biggest, which ain’t saying much. But I’m thankful to just get out!

My 6-pounder from just before noon Saturday. I caught it on a frog in the mess behind the boat. 

 

 

As so many have said, it's been a tough season for some unknown reason. It's only my third season but even then I could always count on getting some decent smallies on the home lake, but not in 2019. Finally got a couple last weekend. Not monsters by any means but enough to give a little hope and make for an enjoyable day. Trust me, compared to the rest of them, this one was big

 

 

Fished a benefit tournament Sunday. I had the 2 sons of the guy who the tournament was in memory of. They haven't done much fishing since their dad drowned this summer, so I think they were happy to get back on the water. They were even more excited at the end of the day when we'd squeaked out enough for first place and Cole (the younger boy with glasses), managed big bass of the tournament. We caught a lot of fish, but the big fish were nowhere to be found for anyone it seemed. In the end, they took home a good chunk of change and a bunch of prizes.

 

Monday I was greeted with bluebird skies, light NE winds, and chilly temps as a major cold front had pushed through this weekend. I really wasn't expecting much, but then I caught one on one of my first cast with a buzzbait, had a lull before finding another area with a few more biters, and continued to pick them off here and there. About 11AM I pitched next to a tree and stuck what I was positive was a catfish or big drum. It surged away and it was all I could do to stop it before it made it back to the trees. Then it was a strange, thumping headshake during the fight like a big drum rolling, but up popped a solid largemouth to my surprise. She fell for my trusty sapphire blue Big Bite Baits YoMomma.

I managed a few more little ones, one more pretty decent one, and a bonus fish to finish out my 3 hour tour. Weather was great, the dogs loved the cool air.

The wife had an appointment after work which meant a later than usual dinner and a quick sesh! Things got going quickly at dusk. Heard a loud pop and saw a swirl. Chucked a frog at the zone and it was on. She ran hard to the right but I turned her. Just like that she shook and spit the toad. It whistled past my head. I then worked my way towards more open water and chucked paddletails rigged weedless. Lots of hits but no hookups. Rigged up an open hook Storm 360gt jig head and a 4.8 Keitech. That was the ticket. A nice little chunk choked it, but then I had to go home. I was bummed. The bite was hot. We ate dinner, then I began plotting. I fed my wife a sob story about how it'll be raining for the next 3 days...She rolled her eyes, then smiled, which meant I could go! I connected with a wading bud and we hit it again at 11. Who needs sleep anyway? I rigged up a Berkley perch swimbait and went to work in a spot where the perch tend to congregate. The bass hit it hard and fought for every inch. Nice way to cap things off.

My biggest of the year. It came from the bank, no less. Finally broke the 20" mark. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Got out today 8-1. Boated 7 but only 1 topped 2 lbs that weighed 5-9 on a spinnerbait.

Finally got around to pulling out the “Ned rig” outfit again a month or two ago and have been throwing it in our ponds pretty much exclusively. Have caught a few hundred bass since doing so. Been a fun diversion from my boat trips which have all been after crappie. Still nothing but good to say on the YGK SS112 braid which I’ve also been throwing exclusively this whole time. Will definitely be picking up more for the bass rods (spinning) this fall.

 

Narrowly avoided the skunk right before dark 

I caught this 5 lb 7 oz fish on a black and blue Siebert brush jig and Rage Tail Craw in about 12 feet of water yesterday.  Every fish I have caught from this particular location on this lake has been over 3 lbs so it isn't too bad of a spot.

 

 

 

Not everything that a bites a Ned rig is a bass!!

 

 

 

 

 

Nice gusty day on Tuesday. I caught one right of the bat on a spinnerbait and thought it was gonna be game on!

Negative.

Had to work really hard to catch two more that wouldn’t have gone 12.

Brutal front hit, sitting right on top of us as of 9AM this morning. Light frost overnight; windy. Stopped at a pond late this afternoon anyway and managed 17 bass in a couple hours. A few trips back, I lost a real nice fish on "Ned." I was simply using a rod that is a joy to fish with, but isn't the ideal rod for Midwest Finesse fishing. So I switched outfits just to prove to myself I knew why I lost that fish and have gone 33 for 33 since - and all is right with the world again 

 

Not much, but it kept the skunk off of me.

Caught these 3 chunks today. Biggest one was caught on a Squarebill and the other 2 on a jig and craw.

I fished the last 3 hours of the day. It was partly cloudy and nice temps. Cooler than it’s been since late spring. One of those days that just felt good all around. I ended up with 18. Caught most of them on the June bug speed worm, including the two best fish that are pictured.

I also caught a few on the gold sparkle/red top fluke. I have a spot that also always holds fish right before dark. It’s the first eel grass bed for a while on my way home. I found an old 8 inch producto tournament worm, and picked off a few more, mostly on or near topwater with a medium retrieve.

The bigger fish have been hard to find lately. But The fall bite is improving anyway. 

 

Made a longer drive than I normally like yesterday. When you're driving 2 hours round trip to fish for 2.5 hours, it stinks, but big fish were calling my name. High hopes when I had nice dark, tea colored 60 degree water at the ramp, not so much when it was 52 and looked like coffee with a lot of creamer at my spot. Not a sign of a baitfish anywhere up the river where I went, but I squeaked out 4 bites and landed 2 of them. Both on a 1/2oz War Eagle, white with double gold hammered willowleaf blades and 4.8 speed shad for a trailer.

Nice ones @Bluebasser86! Theres a blanket of baitfish thick enough to walk on everywhere i go and i cant hardly catch a bass so .......

Managed to get in about 30 minutes between the drizzle and the intense winds tonight.

 

 

 thats funny as hell...issue is, i dont have alot of room on my customized green banana boat...battery is in the middle, GP has to sit on bow mount TM for pics...just wait till ya see my new creation next season, gonna be the ultimate backwater beastie ?

I dig it!

Good fishing tonight. The bigs came out to play.  Almost full moon. Prefront. Chucked several baits, but the Norries Spoon Tail Shad got all of the attention.

 

 

 

 

Another morning of not many bites, but the right ones. Just got this new Olive Shad RES 2 tap in the mail last week. It's test drive was successful in the form of one of the largest bass I've caught from one of the local lakes. Knew there was way too many shad grouped up in that funnel area to not be a fish on that spot.

I dig the hat.