Old pics from the last BFL on St. Clair. Had a few fish come off but nothing crazy. Finished with 16-04 good enough for a check on the co side.

2 hours ago, GreenPig said:

Fished this morning from 4a - 10a and caught 2 Spots and a 6.08 LM.

Second Spot is what made me fall in love with them, imho that's the most beautiful freshwater fish at least in North America.    Great job!   

 

ETA:  disregard as I noticed your hat, War Eagle haha

Visited a pond I haven't fished in several months, and it turns out it was a good decision. Fish were aggressive, picking off around 20 in just a couple hours, all on finesse jigs. Best fish of the day was this greenie pushing the 5 lb. mark, but I also had another possibly big(ger) fish (never saw it) in the exact same spot as this one that tore off about 20'-30' feet of line against a looser drag before just coming unbuttoned. Needless to say, I'll retool and let the pond rest over the weekend, but I'll be revisiting it at the start of next week 

 

I couldn’t get myself going early, so I fished midday.  Not surprisingly, shade was the key.  The ol’ wacky senko tossed into shade or near weed edges worked well, plus a couple on drop shop including a few with the new Geecrack on a bubba shot setup… before a pike took it all.?  Didn’t feel like retying that so switched and picked up with a few on the frog, tucked up in weeds and shade against a rocky shore next to deep water.  The shallow pad spot I tried prior to that was empty.

Caught my first topwater fish of the year a few days ago at a pond I recently discovered. Might be one of the better public ponds in the area, especially when it rains. Also a nice 3.25 the other night at Ray Roberts. Have made a couple of trips to Whitney lately, seems like the bite starts at about 6:40 and ends abruptly at 8:20. But for that hour and 40, its game on if you can get on a school of stripers with a swimbait. We desperately need rain, Whitney is down 5+ feet from where I first saw it and a water emergency is in progress at Falcon Lake. Ray roberts actually has 8k acres higher surface area than Falcon does at the moment. Possum Kingdom has a fish kill that was either golden algae or runoff from putting out the fires. Many of the fisheries here are sustaining damage. Seasons can't change fast enough.

Just got back into fishing....obsessive type fishing at least after decades off due to adulting.   Sold a Nitro Bass boat years ago, but I grew up on the same private lake I'm finally able to fish again as an adult.   Got the little jon boat setup sans the most important feature a high quality sonar unit.   Anyways, first quick trip a few days ago.....a few bites, nothing hooked.    Then I get up early on thurs. morning to fish a few hours.....few bites, 3 fish lost at the edge of the boat (2 because of weak hooksets, 1 big fish because he broke the treble hook he was on).

 

This afternoon I sneak 1.5 hrs in and boat a nice little Alabama Bass, and chunk 5lb LGM.  Weeks leading up to this I was fishing the smallest of areas of this lake by bank at night, and caught 50+ fish b/t Spots and LGMs.....half a dozen 5lb fish, one 6lb fish, and a 8lb fish ten days ago that really lit the mania in me haha.     After the 8lb hawg, I knew I was going to sell my soul to a neighbor if I had to in order to gain boat access.      

 

I forgot just how hard so many aspects of fishing are, specifically fishing out of a big or especially a smaller boat.   Fishing in a jon boat in 3-5mph will give you a thousand-yard stare.  My goal for the next 12 months now that I'm peanuts deep into this madness we all chase is a 10lb LGM, and a 5lb Alabama Bass.   I have lots of work to do, but somebody is going to have do it

 

From today's breakthrough session haha....

 

Went to Baldhill dam in North Dakota today fishin for smallies and walleye. No walleye but i caught 3 smallies on spook, lipless crank and a chatter bait. I got snagged up on a dink smallie right on the shoreline and had to lay out on the rocks, put my arm into the water and dig him out.

 

 

I then got snagged, broke off a chatterbait and pulled out my terminal tackle from my carry pouch and reriged. I never wade or bank fish without terminal tackle on me.

 

So then i was going to put on an old 30 lb fluoro snelled leader that was pretty nicked up and then throw a square bill in around the rocks but decided to not chance it and put on an 80 lb leader. Good thing because i caught this dink.

 

This muskie fought for its life and at first i didnt know what i caught, maybe snagged a carp i thought. I wrestled with him for a few minutes and when i finally seen his sides i yelled out muskie!!!! I got him in without a net but did get a good braid cut on my finger from tryin to get him up onto the shore.

 

I then walked back to the big dam and caught 2 pike. The wife caught 18 smallies most all were dinks, 17 bullheads and 1 sunfish.

Whadda day, throttleplate!

Musky AND pike! Indeed a fine day! 

8 hours ago, throttleplate said:

Went to Baldhill dam in North Dakota today fishin for smallies and walleye. No walleye but i caught 3 smallies on spook, lipless crank and a chatter bait. I got snagged up on a dink smallie right on the shoreline and had to lay out on the rocks, put my arm into the water and dig him out.

 

 

I then got snagged, broke off a chatterbait and pulled out my terminal tackle from my carry pouch and reriged. I never wade or bank fish without terminal tackle on me.

 

So then i was going to put on an old 30 lb fluoro snelled leader that was pretty nicked up and then throw a square bill in around the rocks but decided to not chance it and put on an 80 lb leader. Good thing because i caught this dink.

 

This muskie fought for its life and at first i didnt know what i caught, maybe snagged a carp i thought. I wrestled with him for a few minutes and when i finally seen his sides i yelled out muskie!!!! I got him in without a net but did get a good braid cut on my finger from tryin to get him up onto the shore.

 

I then walked back to the big dam and caught 2 pike. The wife caught 18 smallies most all were dinks, 17 bullheads and 1 sunfish.

That's awesome.   The surprise and usually the size of fish below dams makes it easily some of the most exciting and fun fishing.  I've gotten myself into some super hairy spots fishing below dams.

Also we don't have those cool long slender yankee looking fish.....you're lucky

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Whadda day, throttleplate!

 

Thank you, when you least expect it, good things happen, i caught the musky on a small square bill. Runnin it over and smashin the rocks just off of this 2 foot wall drop which kicked up the current down from the main dam.

I fished from 6 to 10 this morning and caught 10 between 14 and 18 inches.    It's not a million degrees today.  I may go back later and fish some tonight.   

 

4 hours ago, throttleplate said:

 

Thank you, when you least expect it, good things happen, i caught the musky on a small square bill. Runnin it over and smashin the rocks just off of this 2 foot wall drop which kicked up the current down from the main dam.

I've never fished below a dam, but I'm sure I'd love it. Thanks for sharing the pics of the cool fish!

Took the canoe out on the river that runs through our property this afternoon for a couple hours. Caught 25 of these guys, from about 10” long to about 3lbs, lost a few more and probably spooked another 20 or so with the canoe. All came on a frog, or a Texas rigged Maxscent tube swam just off bottom. It’s amazing just how many fish are stacked in this 400 yd stretch of river, between a concrete lake dam and big beaver dam. 

Summer is for topwater 

And this pond is for dinks

 

Send rain

Took a solo trip out to some of the farthest out shoals on Georgian Bay this morning. This is right on the edge of the main open bay, salmon country. Took a little bit to find the right shoal, but once I did it was absolute pandemonium for over an hour. Fish on every single cast, and they were all between about 3-5lbs with the largest landed right at 5. Most came on a drop shot Maxscent Flatnose minnow, with a few on a Maxscent tube and several on a Rapala Scatter Rap crankbait as well. 

 

 

                                                   

Just got back from fishing under a bluebird sky for a few hours...caught some small ones on finesse stuff during the first two hours, but like a switch clicked, I caught two high quality fish within 10 minutes of each other right before dusk.   Both on a fat free fingerling, targeting points and riprap or weedless stretches of bank with deeper water nearby.   

 

Only weigh fish I think are over 5lbs, so the hawg got weighed and was 6.1oz, and the second fish/pic was b/t 3-4lbs if I had to guesstimate.     The bigger girl gave me such an incredible fight.....one of those fish where you pack up and just grin ear to ear on the ride home thanking God or whomever for such an opportunity.     That adrenaline rush is so, so very good and addictive.  Forgot just how much of a rush it is to be back into fishing.   Who still shakes while trying to take a pic after a hard fight and nice fish....this guys sures does haha

My love for river smallies continue to grow. Need to find the bigger ones.

37 minutes ago, Texas Flood said:

 river smallies

The best kind of fishing there is!

15 minutes ago, Basser2021 said:

The best kind of fishing there is!

Preach it brother!!!

Tad over 2 pounds and not happy! Caught on a Neko rigged worm in green pumpkin with a spinning setup. 
 

 

Just to clarify: The fish was not happy. No Happy meal for him! ?

RES do catch fish.

 

3 hours ago, sdw215 said:

Tad over 2 pounds and not happy! Caught on a Neko rigged worm in green pumpkin with a spinning setup. 
 

 

Just to clarify: The fish was not happy. No Happy meal for him! ?

Nice fish, and hello fellow Alabamian.    I'm in Hoover, nice to see a fellow member relatively close by me.   I just went out for about two hours because of the crazy drop in pressure and pickup in wind.   Caught one little spot.   I like to fish these extremes thinking I'm going to figure something out.....nope, never do lmao