Way to go, Murph (@Jmurphy87)! Plenty of bass and your third one is especially nice.

 

I caught a cold over the weekend and didn't fish on Monday, as I'd planned, but am launching at 5:00 tomorrow morning and will be fishing one of my best bogs. It'll be my first time to fish that bog in 2024.

 

Yes, Tim (@T-Billy), I will have a T-Rig in the canoe. Any suggestions on what soft plastic I should use? I'm also going to stroll, use a fluke, and, of course, use my Keitech. At some point, I'll try a Whopper Plopper, but it hasn't been warm enough yet for a surface lure to work. 

Murph en fuego 

49 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Way to go, Murph (@Jmurphy87)! Plenty of bass and your third one is especially nice.

 

I caught a cold over the weekend and didn't fish on Monday, as I'd planned, but am launching at 5:00 tomorrow morning and will be fishing one of my best bogs. It'll be my first time to fish that bog in 2024.

 

Yes, Tim (@T-Billy), I will have a T-Rig in the canoe. Any suggestions on what soft plastic I should use? I'm also going to stroll, use a fluke, and, of course, use my Keitech. At some point, I'll try a Whopper Plopper, but it hasn't been warm enough yet for a surface lure to work. 

Yeah I caught a couple more that I didn’t photograph, but there are healthy and swimming lol. Mostly a tube in yellow mustard and a 4” senko wacky rig. I threw a line through swim bait head before the pike stole it, I watched him run down current and knew that it would no end well and twang went the limp line. I did break in my 893c jwr NRX+ today and it felt superb and responsive. My fluorocarbon was from last year and a little bit unruly on my slx mgl but I made it work, heck I even hooked a piece of old rope in the river rofl. I just enjoy being out there and talking with fellow anglers that show up at the same spot that I am at, I also get intel on new spots so that’s good also. 

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

Any suggestions on what soft plastic I should use?

Try starting with a beaver type bait if you have any. If you don't, then get some. 😉  I like to fish it with fairly sharp "pops" most of the time and let it fall with just a bit of slack line. Sinker pegged.  Lizard are another good option in spring.

 I'm a fan of the Big Bite Baits "Yo Momma" when it comes to beaver type baits. They sell them on their website in 100ct bulk packs. Actually on sale right now. The 3" size will get you both numbers and size. They advertise it as 3" but it's actually 3.5".

16 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Try starting with a beaver type bait if you have any. If you don't, then get some. 😉 

 

I have a lot of those. For quite a stretch, I was buying pert near every bait that you guys were using to boat bass...in triplicate. Thanks for the "pop" tip. I'll do that. And the slack line suggestion too. 

Pulled the boat to a new lake in the metropolitans that held a lot of fish but nothing of size.

Still had fun on a wacky finesse worm.

Managed a 21.5 lb bag with just 4 brown Bass.

They were all pretty stout.

Dress Warm and Fish Hard

A-Jay

Nice colors on them

 

7 lb 6 oz NLMB on a Roma Trout today (it's a 7.5" wedgetail swimbait). Only bite in about six hours.

 

Fishing a main lake point in about 15 FOW, fishing it sort of slow on the bottom. Water has warmed up to high 50s/ low 60s in the last three weeks since I caught a swimbait fish (two skunk trips in that time).

 

I fish whenever I can. That means not very often. I still keep track of moon phases and moonrise/ moonset times. Interestingly, I caught the fish right at moonset. Of course, I have fished hundreds of times without catching anything around moonset time, so it probably doesn't mean anything.

 

Dobyns 867/ Calcutta 401D/ 25# PLine PF

 

 

4 hours ago, deep said:

Interestingly, I caught the fish right at moonset. Of course, I have fished hundreds of times without catching anything around moonset time, so it probably doesn't mean anything.

This gets pushed hard in the muskie world. I think there's something to it, but not always. I've seen fish suddenly turn on around moon rise/set and overhead/underfoot often enough to believe it has an effect, but it often seems to make no difference in the bite as well. 

 I get out when I can, and if I happen to be there when a lunar event goes down, I try to be on a good spot when it happens.

I think lunar cycles hit Bait fish more than bass and I think that you typically are going to see the effects more offshore on structure than near the bank....but not always.  There's times when you see it's effect up shallow.  Like during the spawn when the majority of the fish are shallow anyway.

 

Great fish and story @deep.

 

I bet if you threw a jig or a drop shot you'd catch a few more over the course of these long rare trips but I appreciate the big bait grind.  It's satisfying when you get one and that's a beautiful fish!

 

Nice stuff @A-Jay!  Glad to see you're back on em!

 

@Jmurphy87 and @TnRiver46 wrecking it out there also!

 

Have been busy with work but got an opportunity to meet up with fellow NC basser/forum member @FishTax / Jeremy for some night fishing last week!

 

Had quite a few frog blow ups but I think they were spawning carp!?!?  It was weird.  Definitely not bass.

 

I also had some bites on the drop shot but they were sheepish.

 

Caught my only fish of the night on the single Colorado and it was an absolute monster:

 

 

Fortunately Jake kept our spirits high by hooking into his new PB common carp on a piece of chicken liver!!!

 

 

Looking forward to more fishing with fellow forum members and hopefully better luck next time 😎👍🏼

 

We thankfully recovered somewhat at the lake the next day but giants have been hard to find.  It feels a bit 'post spawn funk'y already around here!

 

 

Got a feeling it's time to start fishing super early in the AM and throwing reaction baits again.

 

 

 

New PB at 4lb 1oz

 

Had a great day yesterday with everything seeming to come together.  Hauled in a 3lb LMB on top of this guy with a handful of other fish and a pike sized pickerel.

 

Went out with a game plan and didn’t talk myself out of it.  Went where I thought I’d find fish and found them.  Threw the lure that I thought would catch them and caught them.  Told myself nearly a dozen times “don’t leave fish to find fish” and it paid off.

 

Spinnerbait for the win!

Congrats, @CastingClinic!

 

Pat, I'm glad you fished with Jeremy. 

 

I fished this morning and expected to boat a nice bass or two, but mostly whiffed. I just couldn't find the girls and had to settle for nine boys. 

 

I got to see two cool things though on this rainy, cool morning. The alewives were running, so eagles and ospreys had gathered to gorge. I bet I saw 20 birds of prey. 

 

I also saw, at both the inlet and outlet of the pond, some kind of fish in the shallows thrashing at the surface. I don't think they were bass. They sure made a ruckus. 

 

I paddled about seven miles and am feeling it, but it was a good, albeit wet morning. I'll load a couple pics in a bit.

32 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I also saw, at both the inlet and outlet of the pond, some kind of fish in the shallows thrashing at the surface. I don't think they were bass. They sure made a ruckus. 

Carp spawn?

1 hour ago, hokiehunter373 said:

Carp spawn?

 

No carp in that pond, but there are white suckers. With alewives running and maybe white suckers shallow, no wonder it felt like an outdoor aviary and maybe that's the reason I couldn't catch bigger bass. The old, wise gals might have hunkered in the deep waiting for the dinosaurs to leave. I did see one raptor dive and arise with a fish in its talons.

 

Here are a couple of the boys. All were caught tight to emerging weeds. Sorry about the photo quality. It was raining off and on and the lens was wet:

I got myself into a dinkfest again today. I don't keep count on days like this, but I had a pile of 23 torn up Sweet Craws when I got done, and I caught another dozen and a half or so on a tube. The little 3" Venom stubby tube caught the best of the day 3.89# pictured below. It was the only one over 2#. Dunno where the girls went, but the shallow wood and chunk rock are loaded with bucks. Surface temp was 62 this morning before the sun came up, and we're headed toward the new moon. I imagine the gals should be showing up soon. 

Sounds a lot like my day, Tim. Boys, boys, boys. However, you did get to dance with one fine gal. 

I can show you an actual dink fest if you’d ever like to see one @T-Billy

17 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I can show you an actual dink fest if you’d ever like to see one @T-Billy

Hey now,

This is not the time nor the place for any of that type of shenanigans. 

😃

A-Jay

Went out to the public pond today to take my new spinning set up for a little test drive.

Managed to catch one little guy, but the rod felt and performed well.

After that my mission accomplished I was about to head home but before I did I made one more cast and to my surprise caught a rainbow trout.

  
Which was pretty cool because I then got to give my new fillet knives a test drive as well.

Half a dozen green ones to hand today on a pretty nice post front day, along with about 60 crappie. Lots of swinging given the conditions.

 

46 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Half a dozen green ones to hand today on a pretty nice post front day, along with about 60 crappie. Lots of swinging given the conditions.

 

And a new hole starting to form in the jeans. Definitely correlation with quantity of fish caught!

After seeing @bp_fowler's trout, I fixed myself a snack of smoked salmon on crackers. It was delish. Thanks, bp!

@ol'crickety

smoked salmon is smoking great

40 minutes ago, FishTax said:

And a new hole starting to form in the jeans. Definitely correlation with quantity of fish caught!

A little birdie told me the site police will be more lax with enforcement going forward, so I figured I could get away without having to photoshop the pic this time 😉