@gimruis Don't taze me, bro!

@PhishLI: Your first photo gives away your location. You are fishing in the Amazon rainforest. Or the Congo. 

Yesterday I took an impromptu detour and stopped by a pond I haven't fished since early spring. I only spent about 30 minutes before continuing on my way home, but landed one little guy. 

 

 

Then this morning I spent an hour and a half at my favorite pond, but only managed to land two similar sized fish. 

 

 

 

I did have a very nice fish on the line that would have made my morning, but somehow he spat my Texas rig, and I never saw him again. I don't think he even ever felt the hook, which doesn't make sense me. But I watched him spit it. I've never had a fish take an EWG into his mouth and not get hooked before, so I'm a little baffled by that one. 

4 minutes ago, IcatchDinks said:

I've never had a fish take an EWG into his mouth and not get hooked before, so I'm a little baffled by that one. 

 

I'm baffled that you've never lost a fish on an EWG before this morning. I lose them all the time on EWGs. I do fast hook sets so I won't deeply hook them. When I do catch them, I hook them right in the lip, but about half find their immediate freedom. 

Two and a half pounder choked down a Texas rig on an otherwise slow and windy day.

 

Also added a collection of BASS from a river trip last week.  I wasn’t going to post them because I had mistaken them for panfish 🙄

 

Lastly I snapped my Lews Mach 2 while caught in some rocks.  Pretty unbelievable, a situation I’d been in 1000 times and somehow, with 12lb test and drag set properly, the rod snapped more than 50% down just above the first eyelet.  Two years old almost to the day.  Happy it didn’t happen while fighting a fish.  Pretty wack.

3 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I lose them all the time on EWGs.

 

3 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

When I do catch them, I hook them right in the lip, but about half find their immediate freedom. 

Snelled straight shank is the answer. Roof of the mouth the vast majority of the time. Great hook and land %.

Tim, I'm so quick on the trigger that I figure I'd miss some with the snelled straight shanks too. I deep hooked one bass this year, but none in 2022 and 2023. One is enough. I can live with losing some to not deep hook another. 

 

@CastingClinic: I like the composition of your rock BASS photos.

8 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Tim, I'm so quick on the trigger that I figure I'd miss some with the snelled straight shanks too. I deep hooked one bass this year, but none in 2022 and 2023. One is enough. I can live with losing some to not deep hook another. 

Honestly, I don't recall ever gullet hooking one with a straight shank. 90% ish in the roof of the mouth, once in awhile through the gill plate or lower jaw. Most of the fish I lose on my flipping rig are dinks that come off while sailing over me on a slack line. 😂 I hit em as soon as I feel them also.

Tim, do you have a photo of one of your snelled straight shanks? Are you snelling them or do you buy them that way? Also, why snell them? Why not tie them directly to your line?

 

@T-Billy: Tim, I'm going to buy some right now. Can you suggest a brand and size?

34 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

I'm baffled that you've never lost a fish on an EWG before this morning. I lose them all the time on EWGs. I do fast hook sets so I won't deeply hook them. When I do catch them, I hook them right in the lip, but about half find their immediate freedom. 

I've lost them AFTER they get hooked. But I've never had one take the bait and not get hooked. 

8 minutes ago, IcatchDinks said:

I've lost them AFTER they get hooked. But I've never had one take the bait and not get hooked. 

 

Ah, I see. 

31 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Tim, do you have a photo of one of your snelled straight shanks? Are you snelling them or do you buy them that way? Also, why snell them? Why not tie them directly to your line?

 

@T-Billy: Tim, I'm going to buy some right now. Can you suggest a brand and size?

I like the 6th sense OX hooks. I get them at Walmart. Look up the Randall Tharp snell knot video on YouTube. I do it very similar to him, but I only go through the eye once. Never had one fail. 3,4, or 5/0 depending on the bait I'm using.

Thanks, Tim. All out of reactions and off to watch the video right now.

I also am all out of reactions, but I'm definitely gonna give Tim's Snell hooks a try. Off to YouTube and Walmart. 

2 hours ago, PhishLI said:

Don't taze me, bro!

 

No comment.  I'm finished with this thread.

Tim, that video is top-notch. Top-knot? Easy to follow and I'm going to start tying that knot.

Well I made it out to Meredith for about an hour. A 14 hour shoot day yesterday meant I missed the sunrise bite but in the hour I was there I still managed this smallmouth. Absolutely TRUCKED my swim jig the second it hit the water. I love smallmouth so much. 

 

Lake Meredith is absolutely gorgeous and I'm so happy I was able to experience it

This past weekend was a tournament weekend for the Kansas Kayak Anglers on Cedar Bluff Reservoir in western Kansas. It's about a 4.5 hour drive for me and another guy that lives close by, so we carpooled out in my 4runner since I've got a tandem trailer. It was about 10pm when we got to the lake. Too late to launch but not too late to walk down the ramp to the water (which is probably 15' below where it's suppose to be), and make a few cast. Only got one bite on my homemade blue bladed jig, but it was a promising sign.

 

Thursday morning we launched from the same ramp and I got work right away with a swim jig.

Immediately after releasing that fish, I flipped a Neko rig a standing tree and caught another nice one.

It slowed significantly from there until we got a good ways from the ramp. I started throwing a Choppo at the buckbrush and catching smaller fish at a pretty fast pace. The wind picked up strong like it always does though, and I started to get concerned about safety on the main lake and headed back for the ramp. Glad I did because I was eating waved by the time I rounded the point into the ramp cove. Had to stop and check out my favorite tree real quick on the way in. I'd caught 3 dinks off it on the way out, this time there was a much nicer fish waiting for my jig.

 

It was only 2pm but the wind was wearing on me and I felt pretty good about what I'd found, so I pulled the plug on the day and just hung around the campsite and catfished the rest of the day. Caught several nice channels that all looked like this one.

Friday there was supposed to be 20-30 mph winds, with gusts over 40. Derrick and I decided it wasn't worth it to even launch and instead drove around bank fishing. Caught a bunch of small fish, including one I think was a meanmouth, only the second I've ever caught in Kansas.

The winds were brutal all day.

Tournament day was going to be tough. Winds were going to continue to be strong from the south in the morning, then switch from the west and eventually be from the north by noon. I opted for the safer choice and launched from the south ramp, despite wanting to go out from the north ramp that was less protected. I had prefished mostly on the south side, but the north side seems to hold more quality fish. I had caught several nice fish in practice though, so I thought maybe I'd be okay. I wasn't. By 11am, I'd barely managed to scratch out 2 13 inch fish, 1 14, and 2 15 inchers. The wind had switched and was way stronger than they'd forecast. I texted Derrick and said I was going to the north side. We got back on the water just after noon. I thought about going to the dam to just salvage a decent finish off smallmouth, but I quickly vetoed that decision and shot across the waves to the timbered pockets looking for big largemouth. 

It wasn't long before my Choppo got sucked down by a 17 incher.

Right outside the pocket there was a point that had a clump of trees that I cast a big YUM creature bait in and got hit. I stuck another solid fish and flopped a 17.75" fish on the board.

I started alternating those baits and on another clump of trees on a small point, I got bit and the fish was immediately stuck. I could hear my line squeaking and could tell it was a heavy fish. My heart was pounding as I leaned against the tree. I looked and saw it was only 2.5' deep on my depthfinder. I put the spotlock on and was about to jump in when the fish popped loose from the tree and I scooped it in the net. The 20.25" fish made me feel like I was back in it.

I worked to the point and didn't get any other culls, turned around and was speeding towards the back of the cove, flipping clumps of trees as a I went by. I hit one of the clumps I'd caught a fish off of earlier and got bit, set into another solid fish. When it came up I couldn't see my bait, so I flipped it, and the bait popped out. Dumb mistake with the net sitting right there. I ran all the way to the back and realized the water was different and there weren't anymore clumps of trees. So I put down the flipping rod and started with the Choppo in the calmer water by the buckbrush. I told myself "I just need to find another dumb one". Almost immediately, the water erupted and I hooked into another good one. I fought it carefully, and it popped off as soon as it touched the net.

It was 2:13 when I released that 18 incher. I'd catch a few more little ones in that pocket but I couldn't cull the last 15" fish in my limit. I ended up with 88", which I thought might get me paid, but it ended up only being enough for 5th as the big fish were apparently biting. First place set a new club record with 95" and had big fish with a 21.25 incher. I was still very happy with my finish and the way I'd battled through the difficult day to end up with a respectable finish. The move faired well for Derrick also as he landed a 20" fish of his own and ended up in 7th place. 

 

I think @Bluebasser86's tournament accounts are thrilling. He's a good storyteller and I feel like I'm there. 

5 hours ago, gimruis said:

 

No comment.  I'm finished with this thread.

Anarchy!!  

30 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Anarchy!!  

 

"When non-bass pictures are outlawed, only outlaws will have pictures of fish other than bass."

--Cicero, probably.

Made it out to my favorite milfoil patch for an hour today before the weather hit.  Got 4, 3 on the chatterbait, 1 on the crush city mayor.

8 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Tim, do you have a photo of one of your snelled straight shanks? Are you snelling them or do you buy them that way? Also, why snell them? Why not tie them directly to your line?

 

@T-Billy: Tim, I'm going to buy some right now. Can you suggest a brand and size?

The best way that I can tell you about how to check to make sure if you tied the knot properly is to put a peg and tungsten weight on then snell your hook. To make sure that you did it right put the bullet weight directly against the hook and pull on your line and the hook should rotate up and not down, if the hook drops down you snelled your hook backwards and you have to redo it so that it goes upward and penetrates the plastic. I hope that this helps you out.

I got out on a work buddy’s boat today with one of the other supervisors who works 3rd shift like me after work. We got there and I started throwing a bone one knocker and caught the first fish and plenty more after that one, I lost count. One stuck two treble hook points in my hand while unhooking his little feisty butt. Got the points out and got him unhooked and on his way. I gave my one friend a white freeloader for his jackhammer and he did good with it. I caught the biggest skinny little fish of the day at 18” long and 2.78lb he was thin or it would probably be a 3.5-4 if I was lucky. I then decided to throw a jika rig and tried multiple plastics but no takers, I did manage to saw into my finger with braided line on hook set once yay. My last fish came on the chatter bait. It was a good day.

Give Murph a boat and watch out! 

 

Gotta figure out how to DS my pics a system says they're to large and won't let me upload any.