Biggest one at night so far, 3lbs 1oz. 

 

@AlabamaSpothunter

 

Alex, I was thinking about how quickly your beast reached the net. I think you got super lucky with her. No way would a bass that big be tuckered so quickly. In her fury, you got lucky and just happened to net her as she thrashed your way. Well, it wasn't luck. It takes a heckuva netting job to land a bonkers bass. Anyway, I love your videos and look forward to more. Thanks for releasing her so quickly! I try to do the same. 

2 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

@AlabamaSpothunter

 

Alex, I was thinking about how quickly your beast reached the net. I think you got super lucky with her. No way would a bass that big be tuckered so quickly. In her fury, you got lucky and just happened to net her as she thrashed your way. Well, it wasn't luck. It takes a heckuva netting job to land a bonkers bass. Anyway, I love your videos and look forward to more. Thanks for releasing her so quickly! I try to do the same. 

You're 100% right Katie, she was super green when netted, and thrashed the lure out of her mouth a few seconds after hitting the net.  

 

Early on I watched Tactical Bassin preach about wrenching these big swimbait fish in.....keep those hook points pointed towards you and always keep the fish moving towards you.   That works great when you hook them 15-20yds from the boat, but so many times like this fish they hit the bait within 5-10ft of the boat.   She ate it really close to the boat, close enough I watched the whole thing go down.  

 

With that 7'9 XH Mod Fast and 20lb Sniper, you can really muscle these fish.  It's a coin flip whether they're gonna throw those heavy baits once they jump.   Sure enough yesterday it was 1/2 once they jumped with that big bait.   

@AlabamaSpothunter:

 

Alex, the advantage of your videos is that I can watch different parts of action with different viewings. I saw you not reeling, but wrenching.

 

I struggle sometimes with my reel handle. It's so key that I keep the pressure on my bass because there's so little water and so many weeds. Sometimes, between being old and my heart beating double-time, my fingers slip off the knob. I hate when that happens. 

 

I don't expect I'll ever catch a bass as big as yours, but I'm sure glad you catch them! Your latest was a Lake Baccarac-sized bass.  

 

7'9? Man, that's a lot of rod! I've never owned one that long.

3 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

7'9? Man, that's a lot of rod! I've never owned one that long.

Some muskie rods are 9 feet long now.  8 footers are the standard.  I don't know how guys toss those enormous lures on 9 foot heavy action rods for hours on end.  They must be made of iron.

Just now, gimruis said:

I don't know how guys toss those enormous lures on 9 foot heavy action rods for hours on end. 

 

^This^ is why I quit musky fishing. I remember times when I'd been lobbing billy-club-sized lures for five hours and I'd just stop and sag for a moment. 

I'm the same way Katie, I'll get all excited and miss a turn on the reel handle, or I'll set the hook in the most awkward manner possible.   I'd pay a heavy tax for a few weeks at least if I fished in areas like you, as I'd lose lots and lots of fish with my current gear.   

 

I agree completely about the videos, without capturing the cast on film, I'd have no idea where I caught that fish.....I wish I could keep my composure better and remember the details of it all, but once I get the shakes, I become all floaty and details seem to fly out the window.

 

Perhaps the most important thing from yesterday is I realized these fish were likely coming up from 18-20ft hard cover rather than the 5-12ft hard cover zones I'd been hammering for weeks.   That whole area in front on me in the video is like "little Vietnam" underwater. 

15 hours ago, gimruis said:

Do us a favor and get rid of that metal j hook on your scale.  Please use a clamp instead.

 

Didn't see this before, yes, I have one coming.....I do take good care of them when I weigh them, not to damage their gills. The big one thats going through the mouth was a hole that was already there. I do not puncture them at all, ever. 

21 minutes ago, Dominat0r said:

Didn't see this before, yes, I have one coming.....I do take good care of them when I weigh them, not to damage their gills. The big one thats going through the mouth was a hole that was already there. I do not puncture them at all, ever. 

I'm glad you have one coming.  Those metal j hooks are an accident waiting to happen.  The older scales always came with them.  Most of the newer ones I see now come with a clamp instead.  I've had fish wiggle off the hook, smack onto the floor/ground, and knock themselves stone dead.

Got out today about 730-12 ,caught 8 bass 1 on a swimjig,2 on a buzzbait and 5 on a frog with one of the buzzbait fish the best of the day weighing 5-7.

1 minute ago, keagbassr said:

Got out today about 730-12 ,caught 8 bass 1 on a swimjig,2 on a buzzbait and 5 on a frog with one of the buzzbait fish the best of the day weighing 5-7.

Daygum stud, love those dark Bass you always post.  

11 minutes ago, keagbassr said:

 

I'm wondering what was on your shirt that you etched out of sight...

An unwelcome (on br) truth.

This morning was the guided trip that the wife got me for Yule. Slow, but did catch a couple decent ones. Both caught on a 3/16oz Black Owner Blockhead with a Green Pumpkin TRD dragged through weeds in 8'-10' of water.

There was also a couple 1# caught, a 2# pike and a pumpkinseed the size of a cup saucer...all on the Ned.

 

 

Had some fun this weekend.  No Giants but plenty of happy memories and some nice ones mixed in.

 

Caught a slab crappie and Jake asked if we could keep it and we had crappie fresh from the lake last night.

 

Forgot how good fresh crappie tastes!

 

Landed a 3.4 this morning on the sleeper craw, biggest I’ve caught at this little urban pond. 

18 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

This morning was the guided trip

I was wondering how that went.  That lake fishes TOUGH in the summer time with the clear water and constant pressure.

16 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

Had some fun this weekend.  No Giants but plenty of happy memories and some nice ones mixed in.

 

Caught a slab crappie and Jake asked if we could keep it and we had crappie fresh from the lake last night.

 

Forgot how good fresh crappie tastes!

 

One of the best things about this thread is seeing how many dads/husbands get their entire family involved in fishing.   Having somebody to share these epic moments with is priceless, having them being your wife, son, or daughter is vastly more priceless.    Some lucky dudes in this thread.

 

I hope to see Jake winning a Classic in about 15-20 years ?

23 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

This morning was the guided trip that the wife got me for Yule. Slow, but did catch a couple decent ones. Both caught on a 1/4oz Black Owner Blockhead with a Green Pumpkin TRD dragged through weeds in 8'-10' of water.

There was also a couple 1# caught, a 2# pike and a pumpkinseed the size of a cup saucer...all on the Ned.

 

 

I see why you married you her, beautiful fish! 

3 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I wish I could keep my composure better and remember the details of it all, but once I get the shakes, I become all floaty and details seem to fly out the window.

 

Gosh, no! Composure is for cool kids, too bored to be grateful for riding this rock around the Sun with a "Yee-haw!" Becoming floaty and shaky would make Walt Whitman proud of you. Here's Papa Walt writing about you, Alex:

 

"I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,
I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.

The last scud of day holds back for me,
It flings my likeness after the rest and true as any on the shadow’d wilds,

It coaxes me to the vapor and the dusk."

52 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Gosh, no! Composure is for cool kids, too bored to be grateful for riding this rock around the Sun with a "Yee-haw!" Becoming floaty and shaky would make Walt Whitman proud of you. Here's Papa Walt writing about you, Alex:

 

"I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,
I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.

The last scud of day holds back for me,
It flings my likeness after the rest and true as any on the shadow’d wilds,

It coaxes me to the vapor and the dusk."

Beautiful Katie!  Your positivity, and enthusiasm is only matched by your intellect. 

Front moving through again today. Made a pass on a micro lake with the big swimbait to see if they might be feeding with the combination of weather factors - just 3 bites, and none of them worth posting. Thought it might make a good test to go back through the area with a more standard approach, so switched to a finesse jig when I got home, then went right back out and reworked the exact same water. Nine bites later, including another near 5 lb. fish, and it just reinforced in my mind the dilemma I have with big baits ?

 

 

One of the big keys with these small bodies of water is focusing on little changes among them. Most all of these spots have now been treated for weeds and algae heavily, but this location has a bunch of nice green Chara (musk grass) growing out in deeper water. The stuff attracts crayfish, and bass, and the jig was probably an ideal bait for these areas. Neds are also a great option around this stuff.

 

 

Lastly, I caught this guy on a jig. Someone apparently caught him before, or he broke them off. A single hook, a split shot and a few inches of line. He was able to pass the shot and part of the hook. A simple surgical assist and he was off and swimming without the excess baggage. I see this somewhat regularly and it always surprises me how good fish are at self extraction of baits and hooks.
 

Just got a couple of casts in after the rain, but got a 3lbs'er, I know there is a 5-6 pounder lurker in there somewhere. 

My wife decided last week that she would like to do some fishing after a 4 year hiatus. I happily paid for her license and away we went. After going 3 days to close to 10 spots over the past week neither of us caught anything. That changed today when I finally caught one, was still upset that she hasn’t got one though.

 

The weather in TN has been close to perfect the past few weeks so it’s always nice to be outdoors and especially scoping out new spots to drop in my kayak.

@Team9nine, you've caught a string of big bass. Proud of you! Nice job as a surgeon too. 

2 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Front moving through again today. Made a pass on a micro lake with the big swimbait to see if they might be feeding with the combination of weather factors - just 3 bites, and none of them worth posting. Thought it might make a good test to go back through the area with a more standard approach, so switched to a finesse jig when I got home, then went right back out and reworked the exact same water. Nine bites later, including another near 5 lb. fish, and it just reinforced in my mind the dilemma I have with big baits ?

 

 

One of the big keys with these small bodies of water is focusing on little changes among them. Most all of these spots have now been treated for weeds and algae heavily, but this location has a bunch of nice green Chara (musk grass) growing out in deeper water. The stuff attracts crayfish, and bass, and the jig was probably an ideal bait for these areas. Neds are also a great option around this stuff.

 

 

Lastly, I caught this guy on a jig. Someone apparently caught him before, or he broke them off. A single hook, a split shot and a few inches of line. He was able to pass the shot and part of the hook. A simple surgical assist and he was off and swimming without the excess baggage. I see this somewhat regularly and it always surprises me how good fish are at self extraction of baits and hooks.
 

Great job helping that fish!   Really nice fish as well, beautiful and big.