Some Halloween Bass. I caught 8, plus another good Crappie. 3 of the 8 Bass were little 8-10 inchers so I didn't bother to get my phone out for them. Still can't find the bigger Bass, but I'll take it. Vision 110 still doing all the work. Blanked on the Jig, Texas Rig, and Spinnerbait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A good buddy that I havnt seen in a while and my self fished Clifford lake In Montcalm co Michigan.  Temp was about 52 degrees.  
 

Here’s the two biggest we caught today.  He was using a sexy shad storm arashi circuit board crank and my big one came on spro little John DD.  The bass crushed it and it’s the first time I’ve had a bass choke it side ways.  It bled a lot hopefully it made it.  I tried not to rip the gills getting the hooks out but, she was hooked deep.
 

I caught about 10 bass total with most coming on a 300 kvd suger daddy jerk bait.  Hopefully that wasn’t the last trip of the year 

It was a wonderful dinktober halloween. The treats were plentiful and bite-sized and required few tricks to obtain. I collected 15 of them, brandishing a Nichols Pulsator single colorado and zorro short arm. 

 

First day of the year I spent a significant amount of time slow rolling spinnerbaits on the bottom (the pulsator was for this). I expect to be doing more and more of this as it gets colder. The five fish shown can be considered my 'limit' lol. 

I was out for about 3 hours late this morning into early afternoon. I caught 20, and finally found some better fish. I fished from the dock and never moved off it. Not only is this the first time I've ever caught bass in November (Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb are months that I just don't fish here in the North), but I got on a TOP WATER BITE (it was 34*F when I started this morning). The day started with a few on a KVD Jerkbait in the 300 size, then several on a Megabass Vision 110, and then several on a Super Spook Jr. 5 fish were not photographed; 3 sub 10 inchers, and a 2 pounder and a 1.5 pounder, both of which were shy and wanted to flop free from me and back into the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The prize of the day with Black Plague on its tail (3 looks).

 

 

 

 

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Good SS Jr Bass (2 looks)

 

 

 

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Another good SS Jr Bass (2 looks)

 

 

 

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What a great day!

This bass really wanted my spinnerbait and choked it when he hit.  I had to go in through the gills to get the hook out.

1 hour ago, ironbjorn said:

I was out for about 3 hours ...and then several on a Super Spook Jr. 5 fish were not photographed; 3 sub 10 inchers, and a 2 pounder and a 1.5 pounder, both of which were shy and wanted to flop free from me and back into the water.

 

 

That Spook Jr is a total killer. I've had kingfishers come out of the sky on that thing...even had a snake get after it.

Haven’t gotten out much lately but decided to stop on my way to work this AM. Nice 4.4 lb / 21” girl on a shakey head on third cast. Panicked a little when I saw how big she was and tightened drag instead of loosening. Almost bent the hook out. Rookie mistake but this is the first nice fish in over a month so the adrenaline was flowing. Great way to start the day!

49 minutes ago, Holetail said:

Haven’t gotten out much lately but decided to stop on my way to work this AM. Nice 4.4 lb / 21” girl on a shakey head on third cast. Panicked a little when I saw how big she was and tightened drag instead of loosening. Almost bent the hook out. Rookie mistake but this is the first nice fish in over a month so the adrenaline was flowing. Great way to start the day!

Nice! I have the exact same rod and reel, live that setup!

1 hour ago, F1SH said:

Nice! I have the exact same rod and reel, live that setup!

Yeah, the 703 and Nasci have been good to me so far. I did have to shim the reel though to even out the line lay. Otherwise has been flawless. 

Finally had a good fall day. Got out for three hours this evening (3:55-7:00) and hit a pond I've lost a few big ones in. Bass were feeding pretty actively on shad schools in this pond. Caught all of my fish aggressively yo-yoing a Booyah One Knocker, ended up with 10 bass, 4 tilapia (and shook a few others off), a nice sized bluegill, and snagged a 3" shad while working through one of the bait pods.

 

Third bass of the evening went 5lb 1oz. Great fight, took me ~20 yards down the bank before I tired her out. Long fish but skinny, not as fed up as most of the other fish I caught, actually didn't think it was going to break 5 pounds with the lack of belly.  For reference, I'm 6'3".

 

 

Three casts later I hook into what I thought was another ~1lber. Aggressive eat but no fight until it swirled near the bank and realized it was hooked. The first time she jumped, I about jumped, too. Easily an 8lb+ fish, she put up an amazing fight, jumped again and stayed pinned, I thought it was a caught fish. I got down into the water to land her almost between my legs, and as soon as I reached down, I accidentally let off a little pressure on the rod and she was gone. I had to sit down for a minute after that one.

 

But the bite was still active, so I kept at it. About an hour and a half later, wind laid down and the bite slowed. Ended up working my way back through the same area I lost the big one in, and I hooked into another one that felt big. Sure enough, she jumped and I was praying that I wouldn't lose this second chance. Played her as gently as I could, got down in the water but lost my footing on the silty clay bottom and butt planted on the grass. Almost had a heart attack thinking she threw the hook again but she was still there. Scooped her up on the bank and I knew as soon as I saw her, it was my new PB. Came in at 9lb 1oz! Definitely let out a little holler for that one. I've lost a few other truly big fish this year so breaking my PB this close to the end of the year was an amazing feeling.

 

11 minutes ago, Aaron_H said:

Finally had a good fall day. Got out for three hours this evening (3:55-7:00) and hit a pond I've lost a few big ones in. Bass were feeding pretty actively on shad schools in this pond. Caught all of my fish aggressively yo-yoing a Booyah One Knocker, ended up with 10 bass, 4 tilapia (and shook a few others off, a nice sized bluegill, and snagged a 3" shad while working through one of the bait pods.

 

Third bass of the evening went 5lb 1oz. Great fight, took me ~20 yards down the bank before I tired her out. Long fish but skinny, not as fed up as most of the other fish I caught, actually didn't think it was going to break 5 pounds with the lack of belly.  For reference, I'm 6'3".

 

 

Three casts later I hook into what I thought was another ~1lber. Aggressive eat but no fight until it swirled near the bank and realized it was hooked. The first time she jumped, I about jumped, too. Easily an 8lb+ fish, she put up an amazing fight, jumped again and stayed pinned, I thought it was a caught fish. I got down into the water to land her almost between my legs, and as soon as I reached down, I accidentally let off a little pressure on the rod and she was gone. I had to sit down for a minute after that one.

 

But the bite was still active, so I kept at it. About an hour and a half later, wind laid down and the bite slowed. Ended up working my way back through the same area I lost the big one in, and I hooked into another one that felt big. Sure enough, she jumped and I was praying that I wouldn't lose this second chance. Played her as gently as I could, got down in the water but lost my footing on the silty clay bottom and butt planted on the grass. Almost had a heart attack thinking she threw the hook again but she was still there. Scooped her up on the bank and I knew as soon as I saw her, it was my new PB. Came in at 9lb 1oz! Definitely let out a little holler for that one. I've lost a few other truly big fish this year so breaking my PB this close to the end of the year was an amazing feeling.

 

Great job!  Congrats!  I bet that feels good, figuring those fall fish out!

1 hour ago, Aaron_H said:

Finally had a good fall day. Got out for three hours this evening (3:55-7:00) and hit a pond I've lost a few big ones in. Bass were feeding pretty actively on shad schools in this pond. Caught all of my fish aggressively yo-yoing a Booyah One Knocker, ended up with 10 bass, 4 tilapia (and shook a few others off), a nice sized bluegill, and snagged a 3" shad while working through one of the bait pods.

 

Third bass of the evening went 5lb 1oz. Great fight, took me ~20 yards down the bank before I tired her out. Long fish but skinny, not as fed up as most of the other fish I caught, actually didn't think it was going to break 5 pounds with the lack of belly.  For reference, I'm 6'3".

 

 

Three casts later I hook into what I thought was another ~1lber. Aggressive eat but no fight until it swirled near the bank and realized it was hooked. The first time she jumped, I about jumped, too. Easily an 8lb+ fish, she put up an amazing fight, jumped again and stayed pinned, I thought it was a caught fish. I got down into the water to land her almost between my legs, and as soon as I reached down, I accidentally let off a little pressure on the rod and she was gone. I had to sit down for a minute after that one.

 

But the bite was still active, so I kept at it. About an hour and a half later, wind laid down and the bite slowed. Ended up working my way back through the same area I lost the big one in, and I hooked into another one that felt big. Sure enough, she jumped and I was praying that I wouldn't lose this second chance. Played her as gently as I could, got down in the water but lost my footing on the silty clay bottom and butt planted on the grass. Almost had a heart attack thinking she threw the hook again but she was still there. Scooped her up on the bank and I knew as soon as I saw her, it was my new PB. Came in at 9lb 1oz! Definitely let out a little holler for that one. I've lost a few other truly big fish this year so breaking my PB this close to the end of the year was an amazing feeling.

 

Wow! Congrats!

1 hour ago, HaydenS said:

Great job!  Congrats!  I bet that feels good, figuring those fall fish out!

 

You betcha. This fall has been a little tougher than the past few years, kept feeling like the fish here were getting a late start on the transition vs last year, glad to finally have it pay off.

 

24 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

Wow! Congrats!

 

Thanks! I took a picture of her next to my rod, she's around 25.75" long. A little shorter than my prior PB, but a little more belly on her.

12 hours ago, Aaron_H said:

Finally had a good fall day. Got out for three hours this evening (3:55-7:00) and hit a pond I've lost a few big ones in. Bass were feeding pretty actively on shad schools in this pond. Caught all of my fish aggressively yo-yoing a Booyah One Knocker, ended up with 10 bass, 4 tilapia (and shook a few others off), a nice sized bluegill, and snagged a 3" shad while working through one of the bait pods.

 

Third bass of the evening went 5lb 1oz. Great fight, took me ~20 yards down the bank before I tired her out. Long fish but skinny, not as fed up as most of the other fish I caught, actually didn't think it was going to break 5 pounds with the lack of belly.  For reference, I'm 6'3".

 

 

Three casts later I hook into what I thought was another ~1lber. Aggressive eat but no fight until it swirled near the bank and realized it was hooked. The first time she jumped, I about jumped, too. Easily an 8lb+ fish, she put up an amazing fight, jumped again and stayed pinned, I thought it was a caught fish. I got down into the water to land her almost between my legs, and as soon as I reached down, I accidentally let off a little pressure on the rod and she was gone. I had to sit down for a minute after that one.

 

But the bite was still active, so I kept at it. About an hour and a half later, wind laid down and the bite slowed. Ended up working my way back through the same area I lost the big one in, and I hooked into another one that felt big. Sure enough, she jumped and I was praying that I wouldn't lose this second chance. Played her as gently as I could, got down in the water but lost my footing on the silty clay bottom and butt planted on the grass. Almost had a heart attack thinking she threw the hook again but she was still there. Scooped her up on the bank and I knew as soon as I saw her, it was my new PB. Came in at 9lb 1oz! Definitely let out a little holler for that one. I've lost a few other truly big fish this year so breaking my PB this close to the end of the year was an amazing feeling.

 

Dude. Thats awesome. A "good day" is an understatement there for sure

2 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Dude. Thats awesome. A "good day" is an understatement there for sure

 

Not the most incredible numbers for a fall day, but the PB definitely kicks the day up a notch. Still smiling about it, honestly. One thing that surprised me is how skinny the fish still are. Some of the smaller ones were getting that big fall belly, but the two I posted definitely have some bulking up left to do, especially that 5lber. It would be awesome to catch my PB again when she's prespawn and see the difference.

Started out pretty bad this morning. Tried to make them react to moving baits, no dice. Once I slowed down and figured out they wanted something on the bottom, it was on. Ned did most of the damage, including big fish of the day, but I caught some on a homemade finesse jig also. Air temp just over 40, water temps were 51-52. 

Forty degree air temp.... ?? I bet that 5.3 was an incredible fight on the ned rig, nice when you can turn a day around like that.

24 minutes ago, Aaron_H said:

Forty degree air temp.... ?? I bet that 5.3 was an incredible fight on the ned rig, nice when you can turn a day around like that.

She was way under a dock and moved pretty slow but still managed to jump a couple times. I've had much more intense fights on a Ned for sure.

 

Ned rig is a new technique for me this year, so that's awesome to see. I can get numbers on it, but so far nothing over 3lb yet. Inspiring stuff, thanks for posting.

  Braved the 43 degree temps and NE wind this AM on the way to work. I know that’s not really cold but pretty chilly for us southerners… Glad I did, caught 5 total in less than an hour. Pic is of the largest (guessing around 2 lbs) but 4 of 5 were 1.25 plus. Only one dink. Fish are normally skinny, but they seem to be fattening up lately. Got them on a drop shot in a pond I had luck with the ned the other night. I don’t mind drop shotting, but it’s no fun dealing with tangles that come along with it. Had to cut and re-tie twice. Really just wanted to mess around with drop shot on BC gear. Used a Duckett cranking rod and a Revo with shallow spool. I have spinning gear to do this but wanted to try something different. Setup worked pretty well even though the rod isn’t the most sensitive.           
  Definitely feel I have this pond figured out at the moment. All fish including the 4+ I got earlier in the week came off the same spot. Fish feed heavy right as the sun comes up and shut down once it’s fully up. They bite at night too, but they are really aggressive pushing bait up onto a rock bar in the morning. Casting parallel to drop off of bar is the ticket. Pretty satisfying putting this together after a lot of time on this pond. 

8 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

...intense fights on a Ned for sure.

Guy in truck at 1:48, "I'm commin' back here Saturday."

went to pelican rapids minn on saturday to visit my friend Pelican Pete, see the pic, he is the one with the big nose er beek.

 

Anyhow i fished below the dam which was 2-4 feet deep.

Dam not flowing as pelican river is a trickle and being the dam area is the size of a backyard swimming pool surrounded by concrete it was baking hot temp wise.

 

Big 20 lb lookin carp, panfish and pike were all just sunning themselves stationary in the crystal clear water.

I threw out some lures and watched as the pike wanted nothin to do with flukes, jigs, tubes, topwater.

 

What they did like were jerk baits blue with white bottom, bone white and shad colored square bills. They were nott big fish but it was fun to get out on a 55 degree day.

 

 

 

 

Made it happen in the Old Town Canoe today ~ 

Blade bait, jerkbait & a swimbait were all killer.

Love November Bronze in the SUN ! 

Fish Hard

A-Jay

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Made it happen in the Old Town Canoe today ~ 

Blade bait, jerkbait & a swimbait were all killer.

Love November Bronze in the SUN ! 

Fish Hard

A-Jay

You must have been a defensive back. You’re always intercepting some nice footballs.

On 11/5/2021 at 8:44 AM, Chris Catignani said:

Guy in truck at 1:48, "I'm commin' back here Saturday."

I get honked at all the time. I'm starting to think some people driving by probably recognize me. 

 

Took my boys out for 2 hours today, which was an hour longer than I was suppose to but the fish were biting and they weren't complaining about wanting to leave, so we stayed out there. Same lake I fished Thursday and I planned on chasing the same bite with a Ned rig around the docks on deeper banks. 2 hours later, they had 25 bass and 1 green sunfish in the boat. No monsters, maybe a keeper or two, but they were having fun and that's all that matters. Sorry about the one blurry picture, fish slime and Cheetos dust isn't a good combination on a camera lense as it turns out.