I went fishing with the kid again yesterday evening. We caught 20 in two hours, both largemouth and smallmouth, up to 17" with quite a few fat ones. I haven't caught a four-pounder or bigger in more than a week and I'm itching to do so, so I'll be going solo the next couple times. I focus better when solo and when the kid is with me, I'm tying his knots, unhooking his fish, untangling his snarls, freeing his lures from bushes, and so on. It's hard enough to land a bigger bass and harder still when I'm not actually fishing much of the time. I'm slowly teaching him to be more independent.

Incredibly difficult day out yesterday.  Slick calm.  Nearly bluebird skies most of the day.  96° that felt 136°

 

Managed to miss a total of 8 fish on the buzzbait.  I tried all manner or fast and slow hookset and they were just not committed to it.  It was always just swatting at it coming through the pads/grass.  Very frustrating.

 

Did end up catching a few on little swimbaits and the Hybrid Hunter again.  I caught my biggest of the day, an incredibly skinny/stunted 3 lb 12 oz bass.  Wish I had some snacks to give her before releasing her.  She looked hungry.

 

Jake also caught a slew of baitfish today, including a golden shiner, black crappie, channel catfish, multiple sunfish species, yellow perch and little tiny bass.

 

We also found a floating zombie bass that was close to 7 lbs.  Still fairly fresh being munched by turtles on the rip rap wall.  No obvious signs of cause of death.  Bummer.  She was very NOT stunted.

 

6 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

Managed to miss a total of 8 fish on the buzzbait.  I tried all manner or fast and slow hookset and they were just not committed to it.  It was always just swatting at it coming through the pads/grass.  Very frustrating.

 

I know ^these^ days, when the bass swipe, but don't bite. 

I tried to slow down in the pads with a frog and a worm but they 'wanted' the buzzbait more, IE, they reacted to it.

 

I may try the buzz toad today if similar conditions happen.  I'm hoping the cloud cover holds out and we get a stiff breeze before the storms hit tonight.

 

Could produce a giant very easily if everything comes together.

 

The days between stable weather patterns that are in line with seasonal trends are always the toughest and they tend to happen in late summer and late winter the most.

Geez @Pat Brown that one looks like it went through a meat grinder.

4 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

I tried to slow down in the pads with a frog and a worm but they 'wanted' the buzzbait more, IE, they reacted to it.

 

I may try the buzz toad today if similar conditions happen.  I'm hoping the cloud cover holds out and we get a stiff breeze before the storms hit tonight.

 

Could produce a giant very easily if everything comes together.

 

The days between stable weather patterns that are in line with seasonal trends are always the toughest and they tend to happen in late summer and late winter the most.

 

Pat, I appreciate your letting us look at more than your fine fish. You let us look into your mind too, unpacking why you throw what you throw. I'm fishing alone tomorrow morning and am hankering to throw a fluke. Do you think it's too late in the year to chuck a fluke?

Fluke is 365 day a year bait IMHO

Hey pat, ever try a ribbit toad or zoom horny toad when they won’t grab the buzzer? 

50 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Hey pat, ever try a ribbit toad or zoom horny toad when they won’t grab the buzzer? 

 

 

I think that's exactly what I shoulda coulda woulda done but i had a mental block for some old reason.  I think that toad gives em some meat to grab.

3 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

Managed to miss a total of 8 fish on the buzzbait. 

What's your set up? Including the lure itself

 

3 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

Fluke is 365 day a year bait IMHO

I agree 100%, sometimes it's hard to accept that there's a day the fish just say no to it haha

I hate flukes. Hate em. Can’t catch crap on them or jerkbaits, but I stink with both. Lol

3 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I hate flukes. Hate em. Can’t catch crap on them or jerkbaits, but I stink with both. Lol

4/o ewg on 30#braid into Lillie's, the bigger hook helps with weight. Don't even think about how to work it, sometimes let it sit sometimes move it sometimes wonder what the heck you're doing and why even bother fishing and then catch one and say "oh yeah, that feeling"

 

Don't tell anybody but throw pink

Jerkbait is one of those techniques I can catch a cold on a sunny day with.  It's just deadly.

 

Fluke I'm okay with but I know it works.

 

@Kites R4 Skyfishing I am using a 7'3 Heavy Fast action rod with an 8 speed reel and 40 lb braid.  Been slamming them on this set up the past couple weeks on the buzzbait.

 

The one I was using for the most part was the 1/8 oz Boogerman Buzzbait in a shad color.

 

It's caught over 10 fish recently and it's still getting blow ups left and right.  I don't know what it is about the boogerman but it gets bit.

@Pat Brown/ 1/8 huh, that's little. Into shallow cover or over deeper water?

 

I been buzzing a lot of this summer, lost 3 buzzbaits already. Gonna start making my own. How's the squeak on that one?

 

Heavy fast with braid, interesting. How's that heavy fast cast the light lure? I started throwing it on a mh moderate fast and a medium fastish (slow side of fast) with 12 or 15# Big Game and noticed more hook ups, also remind myself to point rod tip at fish before hook set, seems that extra second helps connect.

Hit headwaters yesterday, was a good day...got about 30 fish total, mostly 1-2lbs. Biggest was 4lbs off a bass pro boss glide bait. The others were on a magnum speed worm, junebug red. I missed a couple on a kietech swimbait, but it was getting bit towards the end. Wasn't super super hot either, around 90F, which is actually kind of cool for us. 

 

4 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

Fluke is 365 day a year bait IMHO

 

Well, then, it's FLUKE ON!

I've been away from BR and fishing for awhile. This is my first "Scorable Bass" for 2023!

A medical issue that got my attention! Gents, keep up with your PSA testing! Sure glad I did...

 

 

I didn't take a picture of my lone bass today.  I usually always take a picture of the first one.  This one was 10" or less.  It came unhooked when I boat flipped it.  It was flopping around on the deck,  I just took my toes and pushed it back into the water.  It was in my first dozen casts or so.  I figured I'd catch more.  I went to a different lake.  (Lake Rhodhiss, Valdese NC)  It's an hour North and in the mountains.  I figured the water would be cooler.  It was a couple degrees cooler.   The lake is full of laydowns.  The laydowns were full of bass, or at least fish that looked like bass on sonar, but they didn't want to move.   The water was quite a bit cooler on the upper end of the lake but the entire upper end was lifeless at least on sonar.   I also caught a 9 inch Crappie.   I won't be able to go next Saturday morning due to family commitments.   I'll probably go back to Lake Wylie Saturday night around 10 or so.  

 

@Pat Brown  I've always had trouble getting hook ups on buzz baits.   Can you use a treble hook where you're getting strikes or are the weeds too thick?  Owner makes some treble hooks with a big enough eye to use as a trailer.    

4 hours ago, Dominat0r said:

Hit headwaters yesterday, was a good day...got about 30 fish total, mostly 1-2lbs. Biggest was 4lbs off a bass pro boss glide bait. The others were on a magnum speed worm, junebug red. I missed a couple on a kietech swimbait, but it was getting bit towards the end. Wasn't super super hot either, around 90F, which is actually kind of cool for us. 

 

 

Hey, you caught a month's worth of bass using the DomMeter!

5 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

Jerkbait is one of those techniques I can catch a cold on a sunny day with.  It's just deadly.

 

Fluke I'm okay with but I know it works.

 

I would say I have the opposite problem.  I can’t catch diddly squat on a hard jerkbait but I do pretty good, including 2/3 my biggest fish this year, (the lone outlier was with a swim jig)on a fluke.

I don't know what clicked with the Jerkbait this past spring but I had multiple 20+ fish days in NC with it and that just doesn't happen often with any baits I learn.  Seems like when they're in the mood for that presentation, they really have a hard time resisting it.

 

Thing is I KNOW the fluke is the same.  I have done really well with it late in the fall on really calm days up shallow.  I just haven't put the time in to see what else it's good for.

 

@Woody B thing is, I have NOT had issues hooking up on the buzzbait in general, it's just been this past couple days on this one lake.

 

I think honestly, looking back on it/analyzing each bite/hookset, I'm fairly certain, even though I thought I was giving them enough time, you really gotta let em have it a second.  I find spinnerbait is the same way for me.

 

Also trailer hook is out of the question.  Snot grass around the pads is so thick you have to immidiately get that thing planing or you're gonna be totally covered in snot but they CRUSH that little guy burned back over tops of those pads above the snot.

 

Tried the buzz toad today and it just didn't get the blow ups my Buzzbaits got.  Still missed all 4 bites at the lake on the buzzbait.  Oh well.  I'm gonna really slow that hookset down tomorrow morning and see what happens (if I get bit before work)

@Pat Brown: I'm trying a buzzbait tomorrow morning for the first time for bass because of this conversation. I've caught muskies on buzzbaits, but never a bass. 

E/NE breeze today under mostly sunny skies as a ridge of high pressure sat over us. Temps have finally come down to something reasonable, too. Made a pass on the largest pond today and managed 8 bass, most all cookie cutter fish +/- an inch of the 13” mark. There were 5 other anglers there when I arrived, so the pressure might have played a part in the slower bite. Still felt good to swing on a few though after the heatwave kept ne off the water for a few days.

 

1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

I think honestly, looking back on it/analyzing each bite/hookset, I'm fairly certain, even though I thought I was giving them enough time, you really gotta let em have it a second.  I find spinnerbait is the same way for me.

 

Also trailer hook is out of the question.  Snot grass around the pads is so thick you have to immidiately get that thing planing or you're gonna be totally covered in snot but they CRUSH that little guy burned back over tops of those pads above the snot.

IMO, you need to slow your setup down just a bit in this situation, not your reaction time…or try this little trailer hook trick. It’s small enough it will pretty much come through whatever the main hook will, but is just enough added length to make a real difference (could even go smaller to a No. 2 or No. 4 limerick).

 

 

 

 

Well, I went back to the old pond this morning because it was raining all last night and fished the inflow at the lower pond and on my second cast a little out from the point on the corner of the inflow mouth she crushed it.  I gave her a solid second where I really took a breath and just waited a second and then reeled up and pounded it and there she was!

 

5 lb on the dot ???