I finally got back out today I was worried that I wouldn’t get to fish any before it got too cold out.  
 

Had a decent day though and what made it especially cool was that it was my first time fishing a Jerkbait.  I decided to try it out since it’s fall and what not.  It did not disappoint and while none of the fish I caught were very big I still had a blast.

 

I also learned jerkbaits can catch crappie as well.

 

 

On 10/15/2023 at 9:04 PM, The Baron said:

then about a 6-7# pike that came home for dinner.

I honestly don't hear of many people keeping northern pike.  Which is a little odd, especially here, given that the daily bag limit is 10, and they're very easy to catch.  I think the slime and the y-bones turns a lot of people off.  Everyone targets walleye or panfish to eat instead.

 

I don't mind them out of colder/cooler water but I will admit that I also have some trouble with the y-bones myself.  We have way too many small ones here and they need to be harvested more.

Managed to keep my grip on theses bronze beauties . . . 

A-Jay

On 10/15/2023 at 9:58 PM, AlabamaSpothunter said:

June of 2020 changed my life brother.......same deal, first and hopefully last kidney stone, nurses said child birth is the only thing comparable, took 4 rounds of IV meds to finally get me handled.   

 

From June of 2020 until today, I've never drank another thing besides water.....seriously 😁

 

Glad to hear you're better, and back at it!   

 

I've passed two; first one Jan 2017, second one August 2018. First one put me in the hospital.

 

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Managed to keep my grip on theses bronze beauties . . . 

A-Jay

 

The pattern on the right fish is unbelievable! SMB gets higher and higher on my fishing bucket list every time I see your bags, A-Jay. Awesome pic.

Second to last trip. I fish for the last time in 2023 tomorrow, launching around 9:30. It's so pretty right now, but it's cooling fast.

 

I paddled seven miles and explored a new river that flowed into today's pond. I caught 18, six on a Whopper Plopper, and a dozen on a crankbait, swimbait, and wacky worm. I did lose a four to five-pounder that spun my canoe in the river. I only photographed the last five bass so you could see what I was catching, but the highlight was the pond and river, right?:

 

 

 

 

5 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I fish for the last time in 2023 tomorrow

Yeah, okay. Can't wait for the report of your (next) final trip next week

 

Nice report though 😀

Mercury said it was a balmy 36 degrees out this morning when I stepped out the door at 6:30am, so naturally a topwater is the first choice. One bass on a popper before I had to leave for the day. Had a few others miss a pompadour and a pencil but I'm not complaining. I'm getting strikes. Confidence is increasing for Friday's trip to PK. 

Got out this morning about 7-12, caught 6 bass,1 each on a spinnerbait and buzzbait,and 4 on a double wide beaver with the best of those weighing 6-4. Heading home got the word I didn't need to pick up my granddaughter after school so I ate, grabbed my other battery and headed back out to another pond. Boated 8 more ,7 on the spinnerbait and 1 on the double wide that weighed 3-9.

21 minutes ago, keagbassr said:

Got out this morning about 7-12, caught 6 bass,1 each on a spinnerbait and buzzbait,and 4 on a double wide beaver with the best of those weighing 6-4. Heading home got the word I didn't need to pick up my granddaughter after school so I ate, grabbed my other battery and headed back out to another pond. Boated 8 more ,7 on the spinnerbait and 1 on the double wide that weighed 3-9.

I like your style ~

A-Jay

Almost didn’t go today, but glad I did. Didn’t expect a great bite given the sunny skies, light N breeze, and cool temps, and it wasn’t. But I did manage 11 fish in about 3.5 hours of fishing, including another nice one. Got a school fired up deep cranking and put a limit in the boat in about half a dozen casts - even got a double on one of those casts.

 

 

 

 

Some belugas, @keagbassr and @Team9nine!

15 hours ago, gimruis said:

I honestly don't hear of many people keeping northern pike.  Which is a little odd, especially here, given that the daily bag limit is 10, and they're very easy to catch.  I think the slime and the y-bones turns a lot of people off.  Everyone targets walleye or panfish to eat instead.

 

I don't mind them out of colder/cooler water but I will admit that I also have some trouble with the y-bones myself.  We have way too many small ones here and they need to be harvested more.

I typically only keep the odd pike out of colder water (let’s call that sub-60 degrees or so, but ones caught through the ice are best) as I find the meat firmer then.  I also feel better keeping a pike than a bass, as I’d always like to catch more bass and less pike  where I fish.  I’ll only keep ones between about 4-8#.  I fillet them like any other fish, y-bones and all, and take the skin off.  I then season with a generous dusting of Old Bay and some garlic powder.  Bake on a cookie sheet and then flake the meat away from the bones and use it for fish tacos.  My wife and I both like that a lot.  And honestly, with the cost of groceries these days I’m starting to wonder why I catch and release so much “free” food - especially with my wife always saying we need to eat more fish.  lol

46 minutes ago, The Baron said:

I typically only keep the odd pike out of colder water (let’s call that sub-60 degrees or so, but ones caught through the ice are best) as I find the meat firmer then.  I also feel better keeping a pike than a bass, as I’d always like to catch more bass and less pike  where I fish.  I’ll only keep ones between about 4-8#.  I fillet them like any other fish, y-bones and all, and take the skin off.  I then season with a generous dusting of Old Bay and some garlic powder.  Bake on a cookie sheet and then flake the meat away from the bones and use it for fish tacos.  My wife and I both like that a lot.  And honestly, with the cost of groceries these days I’m starting to wonder why I catch and release so much “free” food - especially with my wife always saying we need to eat more fish.  lol

 

Ontario pike are delicious. I tried the method for filleting the y-bones away, but you lose too much meat and I just eat around them. 

1 hour ago, The Baron said:

I’ll only keep ones between about 4-8#.

Thanks for the recipe, I will try it.  I'm open to just about any fish recipe that doesn't require it to be lathered up in batter or breading.  Most of the pike I catch aren't this big.  They are the 20 inch variety.  There is a slot restriction too, most of the state here mandates the release of 22-26 inchers and you can only keep one over that size.  I prefer to release the bigger ones and keep the small ones, since those are the ones that really need to be culled.

 

Pike are cannibalistic too, so big pike do a very good job of thinning out the smaller ones.

 

I truly think there aren't near enough people here utilizing this abundant, easy-to-catch resource.  Everyone wants walleye or panfish.  Pike aren't even on their radar if they're looking for a meal.

Haven’t been much lately but went long enough to get this one on a super fluke.

Got locked out of BR somehow. Hopefully I can retrieve my old status soon…

Welcome, @North Florida Mike! There was another guy who used the same handle and caught BIG bass, but he wasn't nearly as handsome as you. 

 

5 hours ago, gimruis said:

Pike aren't even on their radar if they're looking for a meal.

 

And that's cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. Pike are delish. 

Well, the fat lady sang and my canoe is up on the sawhorses in the garage. Last year, my final trip was a dangerous fiasco, as I launched on a windy, wee, November morning, my headlamp failed, and I mostly bobbed in the waves, catching two small bass.

 

This year, I ended with 20 bass, skittering around the river and lake like I learned in a video, paddling as much as casting, correctly assuming the bass were scattered. I marveled at the strength of the ones I caught and was reminded why I lost so many big ones in 2023, for if the smaller ones can fight like they do, many big ones of course overwhelmed me with hook-shucking weeds everywhere. I used my cell phone for the photos and I've tried and failed to get the bass pics to be vertical. Sorry. The fourth bass down was the best one.

 

I hope you enjoy the fall pics too. It's pretty here.

 

Now, it's time to make some popcorn and watch while the southern boys score touchdown after touchdown!

 

 

Great catch and pics ! Those bass do have similar color to most of the ones I catch. I was also hoping someone would post some fall color pics , and here they are!

 Thanks!

Okay guys, you heard @ol'crickety. Southern kinsfolk in this here God's Country, this is our moment. You all remember those Northern guys and gals catching fish after fish all summer while we sit scratching our heads right? It's time for us to flip the script! We must start landing bucketmouth after bucketmouth while those yankees accumulate bucket after bucket of snow. 

 

It's game time

 

P.S. I'll be your faithful benchwarmer since I probably am not fishing till January and I don't really know how to catch Texan bass yet anyways

@ol'crickety

 

Such beautiful scenery!  Fall is a tormenting time for me - I love the cooler days and the colours, but I dread what comes next. ❄️ 🥶 

 

Sadly, I’m likely not far behind you on packing things up.  I’m hoping to push a little later in the month before winterizing the boat and sealing it up until spring.😢  Every fishing day left for me in 2023 will be a blessing, sadly this weekend is forecast to be cold and very rainy. 😖

MUSKIES SUCK!!! 😂 7.5 hrs of chucking an A-rig and double 10's and all I got was one lazy follow and a tail nipped off to show for it. Fortunately I haven't lost my touch with the ditch pickles. I pitched up a limit of these lttle guys in about an hour and a half and called it a day.

 

1 hour ago, The Baron said:

@ol'crickety

 

Such beautiful scenery!  Fall is a tormenting time for me - I love the cooler days and the colours, but I dread what comes next. ❄️ 🥶 

 

Sadly, I’m likely not far behind you on packing things up.  I’m hoping to push a little later in the month before winterizing the boat and sealing it up until spring.😢  Every fishing day left for me in 2023 will be a blessing, sadly this weekend is forecast to be cold and very rainy. 😖

 

If I had a bigger boat, I'd keep fishing too, but when I tipped at the beginning of the summer and it was so, SO sudden, I've since felt the cold water beneath my hull more than ever. I want to fish next year and the following year and so on instead of dying to fish a couple more times this year. I'm not the strongest swimmer and being 67, I'm simply not strong. I'm happy you're fishing still, Baron. I love fishing Maine, but I love fishing Ontario even more. 

 

1 hour ago, T-Billy said:

7.5 hrs of chucking an A-rig and double 10's

 

^That's^ a man's chore (or a young woman's). I remember being so very sore from chucking musky lures. Hard to appreciate that fine bass when those even finer trees are behind you, Tim!

Finally got back out now that the last tax deadline of the year has passed. Caught this 2.5# on a shaky head off the backside of a point that was protected from the wind. Pretty much the only thing I have year round confidence in is shaky head on a point.

Otherwise a tough day with blue skies and minimal breeze, but a beautiful day and I'm so happy I got to be out there and relax after a tough few weeks for me so I'd honestly be content if I got skunked but I'm happy I didn't 😎

Got out for a few hours before work today ,caught 8 with a couple good ones , a 5-9 on a spinnerbait and a 3-10 on a double wide beaver.

On 10/15/2023 at 9:10 PM, PhishLI said:

This one was shaped like a flint arrowhead. God help me.

 

That's been me for the past 6 months after being a lifelong tea drinker. Who knows what actually got me though? I won't play with it again. Water or bust. What a long 4 days, man. Pain mixed with terrible anticipation, then holy mother of god pain as a crescendo.

Speaking of the debil, I was in the ER from about 1-5am this morning with another kidney stone......you can't describe that level of pain to folks who haven't had a stone.

 

Now the fun part of waiting to pass it, guess I got to make an appointment with the Urologist now, the thought of doing that again is unthinkable. 

 

Sorry no pics of the latest catch, haven't passed it yet 🙃