They liked the one knocker spook in bone color this evening. The bigger fish hit it like a bowling ball

For the last week, plus last Spring I've been trying to learn how to sight fish......last 5 outings, at least 15-20hrs dedicated to visually looking for fish and beds, and occasionally pitching on them......lots of fish pitched at, every single fish wouldn't even so much as look at my bait.     

 

Finally had my breakthrough thanks in part to being stubborn.   After pitching and spooking fish after fish it happened, and it was one of the most exciting catches I've ever had.   Absolutely mind blowing watching her immediately spin on a dime the moment my bait hit the bottom, suck my bait in, lay the hammer down on her and watch her leap clear out of the water.    Managed to repeat it one more time visually, and then caught two in the blind(casted to areas I knew fish were likely spawning at but couldn't see) which were vastly easier to catch then the ones I could see.    Has to be one of the most thrilling ways I've caught a Bass.   

 

I make a couple of pitches and move on, I'm not a fan of pestering them or "bumping" the fish with baits.   Ethically speaking I don't see anything wrong with the practice in terms of catch and immediate release.   I'm really glad I got to see what it's all about, Bass fishing is endless and the wonderment is still just as good as it was when I was a little boy.   

 

My first sight fish 

 

Forgot to post up a 5.14 from two days ago......on the Damiki Vault.   I'm just going to start fishing the Vault year round.   

 

Alex, how do you fish your Damiki Vault?

 

Congrats on your sight fishing success and double congrats on your big-bellied girl!

I rushed to pack, went the wrong way to the lake, and forgot the kayak seat. Too beat up to fish right now. Leaving until another day

Thanks Katie!

 

I fish the Vault two ways, and while I have the 3/8th and 3/4th models, the 1/2oz is the deal for me regardless of depth.

 

1.) Deep fish in 15-30fow that I find using 2D Sonar, then I back off and make bomb casts with it, let it completely touch the bottom, then Yo Yo it a few feet off the bottom, and repeat.     True winter pattern usage.  

 

2.) Shallow fish and fish visually blowing up bait on the surface.... I make my cast to them or where I think they are, and upon touching the water I start a frantic Yo Yo retrieve.    That fish above came from less 3fow.    If you go fast enough you can Yo Yo a 1/2oz in the skinniest of waters I've found.  

 

I read your thread about when to start.......once that water gets 40d I'd give this bait a shot.    It keeps you moving and a bit warmer, you're going for a reaction bite with it instead of dragging around something slowly on the bottom so it makes fishing in those cold temps feel a bit more like warm weather fishing.   

Not to intrude, but I'll add another comment on retrieves with the Vault or other similar type blade baits. Take advantage of the holes drilled in the bait for where you clip to - they're there for a reason. One of my favorite ways to fish them is by clipping to the last/back of the 3 holes. This creates a very nose down attitude, and more drag, and you can easily slow roll or slow steady retrieve these things through just a foot or two of water without having to burn things, keeping the bait just off bottom and muck. Makes a big difference in cold water sometimes, especially with the lighter versions. I've caught tons of fish doing this in super cold water, often with ice still ringing parts of the lake. They also work surprisingly well in shallow river systems with current fishing them the same way for smallmouth 

I can't get fish to bite them on a steady retrieve, but they become magic on a Yo Yo.

 

Ultimately if you want to learn about them, Matt Allen at Tactical Bassin is about as good of a teacher of all things blade bait as you can find.  Lots of content.    

34 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I can't get fish to bite them on a steady retrieve, but they become magic on a Yo Yo.

 

Ultimately if you want to learn about them, Matt Allen at Tactical Bassin is about as good of a teacher of all things blade bait as you can find.  Lots of content.    

 

Interesting - I crushed them back in IN in shallow cold water with it. Largest was 8 pounds. I hop in deep(er) water, but slow and steady in shallow water, especially if that water is a little stained. One of the few moving baits (crankbait style) I can fish slow in as little as 15" of water. It's a Rat-L-Trap without the rattles, only better  lol. Always interesting what works or doesn't work for different people and places. Confidence or regional variability? Who knows...

Just a little guy, but first of the year just a day after ice out, ready to get to it in Wisconsin.oops , meant to put this on 1st of 2024 thread🤣

3 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I rushed to pack, went the wrong way to the lake, and forgot the kayak seat. Too beat up to fish right now. Leaving until another day

I’ve done that nearly every time I take my wife’s kayak, not used to bringing a seat in my canoe haha. I’ve sat on my cooler each time, not quite so comfy 

9 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve done that nearly every time I take my wife’s kayak, not used to bringing a seat in my canoe haha. I’ve sat on my cooler each time, not quite so comfy 

 

And last year, I once went paddling without a paddle. 

22 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

That fish is crazy Bob, it has to be almost a year old and still that size.   Should have thrown him in your slice of heaven pond 😁 

 

I always look at catches in terms of odds.....obviously a DD is like a lotto ticket win, but catching that fish had some extreme odds as well.     Outliers are the most fascinating fish to me.   

Actually Alex, that is not a recent picture. I felt I needed to contrast the huge bass caught by you master anglers, with the fish caught by us piscatoricley challenged mortals.

Best 3 of 10 today. A 3.28, 3.41, and 6.21

That's what I'm talking about, A TRUE GREENPIG, let's gooooooo! 😎

 

Awesome day! 

Way. to. fish, GP!

 

 

 

Picked off a couple bass this afternoon, but also picked off another big crappie - 3.50 lbs.  Believe that bite will be coming to an end very soon, then I can go back to focusing on green fish full time - hopefully before the post-spawners start grouping up. Had to downsize pics for size (MBs), but that last pic is an 18" Golden Rule, and if you look close, you can just see that number between his tail fins. He lifted his tail as the pic was shot. He was actually just a little shy of that mark.

 

 

 

 

I'm talking about @Team9nine and others here: You guys sure can fish. 

Gun Club again, overnight low of 42 daytime high of 61.  Overcast with light rain and winds out of the south.

 

Started out working the deeper waters NW corner of the pond. Last time I was here I spotted a couple of larger fish cruising the shallows near there.  
 
I tried the Spinnerbait first, slowed rolled it on the bottom, waked it near the surface  and straight retrieve in the middle of the water column, all for naught.

 

Suspending Jerkbait was next up but no takers.  By this time it had been around a hour so I decided to switch tactics and target the shallow water which I had had some success with earlier in the week, only this time I went to opposite bank.

 

Managed 4, with the spinner bait and the fluke splitting it 2 and 2.  I’m a bit of a Spinnerbait aficionado so I’m not surprised I’m catching fish with it, however the fluke has definitely performed better than expectations since I always thought of it as summertime bait.

I made my first March trip today.  I took lunch and was planning on fishing all day.  It was raining pretty hard.  I usually do really well in the rain.  I caught a White Perch on my first cast.  25 minutes later I caught a 16 inch Spot and decided to call it a day.  My rain coat gave up.  I was soaked basically to the bone.  I came home and took a shower to get warm.  I'm going to The Great Outdoors (a big local outdoor, tackle, gun boat store) and see what they recommend for a rain coat.  

 

@Woody B, I bought a used Gore-Tex raincoat and pants this winter for $35 total. I haven't used them yet, but they look like they were rarely used. You might want to consider the used option.

 

I might go fishing this week. Thursday looks doable, wind and temperature-wise. I've felt guilty this winter, enjoying all the fish pics and not contributing, so hopefully, I'll catch a bass this Thursday and finally have something to share.

2 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

@Woody B, I bought a used Gore-Tex raincoat and pants this winter for $35 total. They were $35 total. I haven't used them yet, but they look like they were rarely used. You might want to consider the used option.

 

I might go fishing this week. Thursday looks doable, wind and temperature-wise. I've felt guilty this winter, enjoying all the fish pics and not contributing, so hopefully, I'll catch a bass this Thursday and finally have something to share.

We'd appreciate the help.😁 Goodluck. 

@Woody B, I sprayed mine with that waterproofing stuff and it somehow worked, took a few tries tho 

I've sprayed it with various stuff.  It works 1 time after I spray is....most of the time.  I suppose I need to quit being a cheapskate and get a decent rain jacket.  I broke down a few weeks ago and got some gore tex bibs.  My legs were dry, except for what wicked down from up above.   

I had 30 minutes to fish before a thunderstorm and got one on the junebug magnum speed worm…

10 hours ago, GreenPig said:

We'd appreciate the help.😁 Goodluck. 

 

If the weather holds, I'm going to fish Wednesday in the middle of the day. I've never fished so early, so I don't know how it's going to go. I'm thinking of using a shaky head, jerkbait, and a fluke.