Lost some today because I was using too soft a rod for the red eye shad. But most importantly, this bass boat rolled up on me after finally sticking a dink. All he really did was backlash while throwing a senko, and then troll away. He said "it shouldn't be this hard" and I told him that it isn't that hard, especially when you don't get rolled up on by some guy in a bass boat with his sonar clicks. Cue the bass in the second photo, and the hasty exit of the inconsiderate boater. 

 

Shads are starting to move up for spawn, I had whole schools following my lipless around the ripraps. No predators to be found there today, but soon. Those summer pier nights are near. I finally gave in and bought a green pumpkin jig + trailer after seeing that one the other night.

Went fishing after work today, I have only been up 23 hours so far. Caught this one on a sungill fluke jr weightless on my bfs setup. They were shallow at Austin lake today and very skittish, but I put a pattern together to catch this tiny one. This park is very pressured so catching anything is a win. I hooked two smaller ones that got off before I could touch them.

2 hours ago, Fishlegs said:

That's a great fish even in lakes like Okeechobee, Guntersville, Toledo Bend, OH Ivie, Menderchuck, Baccarac, or Biwa! You caught it in Maine!

 

Pat Brown made the same point last year, that a bass like her is harder to grow in Maine. The water temp yesterday was 51 degrees and about ten days ago, it was in the low forties. Spring's a long time coming this far north. 

 

2 hours ago, thediscochef said:

He said "it shouldn't be this hard" and I told him that it isn't that hard, especially when you don't get rolled up on by some guy in a bass boat with his sonar clicks. Cue the bass in the second photo, and the hasty exit of the inconsiderate boater. 

 

When I fished the Mississippi River, I'd be sitting atop a school and setting the hook as soon as my bait reached their depth. First one boat would join me. Then another and another and another. Sometimes I'd be the hub of twenty boats, many circling me and staring because even atop the fish, they couldn't catch them. If they'd asked, I would have shared why I was catching them and they weren't, but they'd rather circle me and stare. 

Seasonably Cool & Windy on #lakemenderchuck this morning.

Of the couple of dozen landed, best two went 5.58 lbs & 6.48 lbs respectively.

A-Jay

7 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Seasonably Cool & Windy on #lakemenderchuck this morning.

Of the couple of dozen landed, best two went 5.58 lbs & 6.48 lbs respectively.

A-Jay

 

Huge brown bass, A-Jay!   

 

 

7 hours ago, thediscochef said:

I finally gave in and bought a green pumpkin jig + trailer after seeing that one the other night.

Greg Hackney approves of this message

spurt of the moment fishing trip.  I was able to get things done around the house yesterday and this morning.  Headed back to duck lake around 11:30 today. 

 

Had a pretty good day.  the bass and pike started out hitting a terminator spinner bait which,  i bought on clearance for $1.99 at northwoods.  I caught the biggest bass and pike on that spinner bait.  

 

So i’ve really like the idea of the carolina rig.  However, our natural weedy lakes kinda make it hard to do.  So i’m sure im not the only one to do this. I combined a free rig, mojo rig, and a carolina rig.

 

I call it the Michigan rig. i threw it in a 7ft MH fast mhx mb843 and my shimano slx sc bait caster.  the mainline ( probably use what ever you want) was 40 lbs braid run through the loop of a  1/4 oz pencil drop shot lead weight that i pour.  i tied a swivel with roughly 14-16 inches of berkley big game 12 lbs mono (. just what i had lying around) with a 2/0 hook.  For plastic i used a yum lizard and a summer craw bandito bug.  the rig worked really well and is basically weed less. the bottom of duck lake is all weeds.  I caught the biggest pike of the day on the rig and than one really nice bass and a couple smaller ones. I need to get something other than big game for the leader.  i might pick up some 12 lbs berkley xt.  im sure ill be able to use heavier weights. 

 

looks like at least on the duck the bass are thinking about spawning the water in this shallow lake was 58 degrees. seems like other than not spawning it feels like we are a month a head of schedule. 

Nice bag, Michael. 58 degrees? I envy you. You're about the same latitude as me, but the small pond I fished yesterday was 51 degrees. 

14 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Nice bag, Michael. 58 degrees? I envy you. You're about the same latitude as me, but the small pond I fished yesterday was 51 degrees. 

thank you. it’s been unseasonably warm here the last 2 weeks.  The lake  I was fishing on is a decent sized lake but, very shallow.  the deepest it gets is 10-12 feet.  However, the majority of the lake only anver only 2-4 ft deep. 

 

the lake i was on last weekend was only 50-52 degrees. 

Hot, sunny and almost calm. Fished 4 hours for 4 bites. Landed 3 - of course, the one I didn’t land was a 5 pound class fish or better. She cleared the surface on her first jump and that was that. Positive spin - learned a new big fish spot though.

 

 

On 4/17/2024 at 8:46 PM, ol'crickety said:

Here's a better pic showing her length.

 

That Bass is well over 7.  I caught one in March that was 21 3/4" and weighed 6.51.  It had a belly but didn't have the body of your Bass.  From the picture it looks to be over 22 inches also.   

@A-Jay  You ever catch any small SMs?  🤣

10 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

@A-Jay  You ever catch any small SMs?  🤣

 

Goby says "No"

 

 

17 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Pat Brown made the same point last year, that a bass like her is harder to grow in Maine. 

I would have to disagree with that part if you compare it to Knoxville, TN. They don’t grow like that here 😂. 5 fish stingers of 14 lbs will win you the bassmaster classic and they will all be smallmouth. Regular catches of 4-6 lb LM are non existent, and catching 30-40 LM is very rare 

 

I think your bogs are clearly good habitat for growing big fat bass 

1 minute ago, TnRiver46 said:

I would have to disagree with that part if you compare it to Knoxville, TN. They don’t grow like that here 😂. 5 fish stingers of 14 lbs will win you the bassmaster classic and they will all be smallmouth. Regular catches of 4-6 lb LM are non existent, and catching 30-40 LM is very rare 

 

Is that because of fishing pressure? Your growing season is long enough to grow them bigger. It's nearly late April and our nighttime lows are still in the thirties. Next week, there are a couple daytime highs forecast to only reach the low forties. So, summer is a long time coming when the North Atlantic is your neighbor.

 

Quote

5 fish stingers of 14 lbs will win you the bassmaster classic and they will all be smallmouth.

 

^This^ makes me concede your point. 14 pounds isn't much, not with all those skilled anglers fishing. 

@ol'crickety, I think it’s because a massive river with no grass is not well suited for growing large numbers of big LM. Fishing pressure would mean they are still there, just not biting. They simply don’t exist. 
 

good example of this point is chickamauga and guntersville. Same river with a bunch of shallow backwaters full of grass, people catch 10 lbers. 
 

growing season doesn’t matter if the habitat is not present 

Got it. 

Just a hypothesis, but sure seems that way 

It sounds right to me. Smallies and largies are very habitat specific. The lake where I bought property has smallmouth and largemouth. If I'm drifting over mud, which grows weeds, I'll catch largemouth. Then suddenly I'll be over rock and I catch smallmouth. It's amazing how they hold tightly to their preferred habitat. I don't catch smallies in weeds. I don't catch largies off rocky bottoms.

Seems like in NC, the fish relate to whatever they got.  I feel like something else maybe at play on the TVA lakes/river system that accounts for the smaller fish.

 

I catch fish in hydrilla, muck weed, snot grass, wood, rock, sand, mud, dead leaves, pads...blue water, green water, orange water, brown water, black water, clear water.....it seems like if they got food, they figure it out.

^yup! I can catch LM, SM, and spotted bass on consecutive casts to the same spot, they just want to eat 

32 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I can catch LM, SM, and spotted bass on consecutive casts to the same spot

 

So different than here. Maine is like NYC a century ago, where the Italians had their hood and their Irish had theirs and everyone stayed put. 

4 and 3 from a quick shorebanging session. They’re already starting to look thin. This years spawn might be in trouble with how fast the lake is dropping. Seen one bed in like 6” of water that will be on dry land soon. If they refill the lake the beds will be 6’ under. 

 

 

I know a guy who stayed out of work today and went fishing.   I.........I mean "he" caught 13 cookie cutter buck Bass.   First and last are pictured, which happens to be the smallest and largest.   I just couldn't find the Largemouth or even the bigger Spots.  Dolly (Yorkie) went with me.  I caught an 11.40 pound Blue cat on my 3rd cast.  (picture in other species thread)  She was really excited about it, but didn't care much about the Bass or Crappie (other species thread) I caught.   I bet I got 50 "taps" on moving baits with no hookups.  I suspect it was White Perch.  To me when they get schooled up hunting they look like Spots on sonar.   Water temperature was 69 last Sunday.  It's up to 73 now.