Started the year off with a PB spot. We don’t grow them like TN and AL lol. Caught on a 3/4 oz single colorado spinner bait. Weighed 3.57lb

First largies of the year, went back to my roots of fishing and hit the creek!

 

 

On 1/21/2021 at 3:48 PM, JoshFromBolo said:

First largies of the year, went back to my roots of fishing and hit the creek!

 

 

 

That first picture makes that bass look like he is having an elimination problem. LOL

5 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Makes me miss creek wading. Used to catch a lot of smallies that size. Lots of fun.

31 minutes ago, The Bassman said:

Makes me miss creek wading. Used to catch a lot of smallies that size. Lots of fun.

I was actually boating, but I know whatcha mean . Could have easily waded if I had waders

Yesterday I was fishing with Pepe Le Pew. Not even a nibble. Same pond. One day later. Big difference! Started casting a variety of lures but all they wanted were weightless Zoom Trick worms. Color wasn’t important. Caught them on Pumpkin and Green Pumpkin Magic. Hooked 9 and boated 7. No big gals but still a blast. My normal methods (slow drag or hopping it across the bottom) didn’t get one bass. I got the first one (smallest one that I didn’t take a pic of) when the wind picked up and my boat started drifting. I had the worm out and it dragged along and that’s when it got hit. So I started sweeping the rod slowly and that’s what they liked. None were deep. All were no more than 2’-4’ from the bank. 
 

FYI- the one with the little blood was fine and was released with no issues. 
 

Tried out my new Daiwa Fuego CT on the Fenwick HMX HF rod. I tried that Fishlab Bio-Gill swimbait. It casted that perfectly. Also tried a Mann’s Jelly Worm TR with a 1/4 oz weight. Casted that fine as well. 
 

One picture worthy fish today. Caught on a BFE in Hematoma off an old submerged pond dam with a tree on the dam. 4-10.

 

Wife says I should pick a different hoodie, I just told her it must be lucky.

Caught several on a houdini super fluke in one of my work route ponds...

8 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

Caught several on a houdini super fluke in one of my work route ponds...

Workin hard! You remind me of me 

FINALLY got the 2021 bass skunk out of the 'yak! Had been bass skunked a couple of January outings dealing with pretty cold water (37-39 degs), so I was happy to catch this first guy, even though he was a dink.

Caught him on a ned rigged grub slowly moving through a creek channel where I was marking fish pinned at the bottom.

 

Switched it up to a blade bait with short flutter/drops and caught this 17.5 incher who had thick fishing line coming out of his anus that you can see in the second and third pics. Poor guy had been living like that for some time based on the condition of the line.

 

I tugged on the line a little bit and a snelled hook eye appeared. I worked it carefully and was able to extract the rusty hook and get him back in the water. Amazing how the hook and line could pass through all the way to the end. Glad I could get it out for him. He did me a solid with a winter bite, I did him a solid, man and fish living in harmony!

 

Kept using the blade bait but no more bass, only a little perch.

 

Had to call it a day so I loaded up the kayak but wanted to get a few more casts in, and pulled in this additional bass with the ned rig.

 

All in all a pretty good cold winter day for me! Being a pretty new bass angler, and with most of my previous catches coming from moving baits, I think the skunk days have been extremely valuable for actual skill development. I have had to exercise extreme focus on what the bottom-contact lure should normally feel like and what a bite is not. My feel and intuition have definitely improved through the slow times. There have been a few occasions where I knew something was not normal so I set the hook and pulled up a little bit of line that I had snagged and it was causing my lure to move differently. This feel and awareness is something I did not have a year ago. For the bass above, I did not feel any obvious bite (I did with the perch!), I only felt slight weight or unusual tension when moving the bait and my hook set was quick and almost involuntary given the combo of stimuli. So, I'm happy to see progress and catch some winter fish! Still seeking that first jig bite, and hoping for an active spring.

It was an itty bitty dink, but I'm on the board for 2021! This is my first ever January bass.

1 hour ago, Fishlegs said:

It was an itty bitty dink, but I'm on the board for 2021! This is my first ever January bass.

The first of many 

17 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

The first of many 

Hope so, but I don't go very often in January. It was 65 degrees and sunny here so I had to. I will be happy if I get to post on this thread half as much as you do this year. Please send a few down the Tennessee River for me.

2 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

Hope so, but I don't go very often in January. It was 65 degrees and sunny here so I had to. I will be happy if I get to post on this thread half as much as you do this year. Please send a few down the Tennessee River for me.

I like to skip the sunny days and fish the rainy/snowy ones . Not much competition 

 

well truthfully I fish them all but the nasty days have better success

5 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I like to skip the sunny days and fish the rainy/snowy ones . Not much competition 

 

well truthfully I fish them all but the nasty days have better success

Good point. Not much snow down here in the AL portion of the TN river, but we get some uncomfortably cold rain in January. Maybe if I'd get out and catch some I'd change my mind.

7 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

Good point. Not much snow down here in the AL portion of the TN river, but we get some uncomfortably cold rain in January. Maybe if I'd get out and catch some I'd change my mind.

I’ve fished down that way a time or two, it’s a lot easier here where the river is small

and the wind doesn’t make 3 foot waves haha

Haven't caught many the last couple weeks, typical wintertime stuff. The other typical wintertime things are happening like big fish biting too though, and that's what I'm out there for. 

One was a 7.22lb fish, second(ish) fish over 7 I've caught already this year. I say secondish, because I'm 99.73% sure it was the same fish as the one I caught on 1/2/21. Both blind in their left eye, both missing a chunk out of the top of their tails, and pretty distinct lateral line markings.

Top is from the 2nd, bottom is last week. 

Catch and release is soooo important with big fish like this. I don't care if it's the same fish, I caught it on 2 different days so I'm saying it's my second over 7 for the year ?

 

Then I had a 5.09 on one of the new Ott's Garage Rapala's. Only fish I got to catch on it before it blew up because it got snagged...

 

Then my "little" fish was a 4.94 out of the cold water portion of the hot water lake. First bite I've had on a Ned rig in a month. She pulled hard for low 40 degree water. 

Beautiful fish @Bluebasser86 and your big girl is testament to C&R and the fishery. Just curious how much weight, if any, she gained in between photo ops and if it was in the same general area. 

@Bluebasser86, that sure looks like the same gal to me. Beautiful bass! Congrats! 

1 hour ago, J._Bricker said:

Beautiful fish @Bluebasser86 and your big girl is testament to C&R and the fishery. Just curious how much weight, if any, she gained in between photo ops and if it was in the same general area. 

It actually lost a tiny amount of weight according to my scale (7.36 to 7.22 in 3 weeks). She was on the same bank about 75-100 yards from where I caught her the first time. First time she ate a shakyhead with a Berkley Flute worm, second time it was a Strike King KVD HC 1.5 flat crankbait. 

I first edited my profile to change my PB.

First fish of the new year and a personal best!  This 4.89 pound Largemouth bass is the heaviest bass I’ve ever caught!
 

@Bluebasser86Looks like she eats pretty good for a one eyed fish. Huge!