1 minute ago, Mbirdsley said:

Boat is up north getting some work done to the motor.  So I decided to kick it old school and fish the Shiawassee river with my canoe.  River was higher than normal and a ton of weeds were floating.  Making in impossible to use online spinners or rapala’s.  I havnt floated the river since my first boat.  So about 5 years 

 

Only caught 4 fish missed a really nice one for the river.  What the fish lack on side as they make up for in spunk. I forgot my zoom tubes at home which, the smallies love.  I don’t know how well they would have done rigged on a tube jig any how.  

 

found success with a mojo rig running some type of sinking strike king finnesse worm that was black and blue flake 
 

 

That’s my favorite way to spend a day right there, I ❤️ canoeing

 

 

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

That’s my favorite way to spend a day right there, I ❤️ canoeing

 

 

River was packed with tubers and kyakers too.  It was still a good time haha 

Having a pool party starting at 11:00, so not a lot of time to fish this morning. Plus, it got very breezy around 8:00, which ain’t a good thing in an inflatable lol. Still boated three and lost two. Started with a frog that was not wanted. Switched to a Whopper Plopper 90 and that fared better. Had a strike and hooked one, but it threw the lure halfway to the boat. Likely a dink. A few casts later, this bass whacked it. 
 

 

Nothing on a wacky rig, or a Texas rig with a Mann’s Jelly Worm or a Zoom Ol’ Monster Worm (maybe too early for that big a worm). Jig-n-Craw was fruitless as well. Caught the other two on a #297 Senko weightless TR. Not big enough for pics. 

It sucks being dinged up during primetime. I've only been out twice in the past 5 weeks, and I really shouldn't have gone when I did. It didn't help my rehab one bit, but at least I managed to get a really nice piggy, so the extra pain was worth it. Just when I was feeling like I could carefully get out again last week, I bashed my pinky toe on the coffee table. Took a few days to be able to get my foot in a shoe again, but as of last night my foot and the rest me were all systems-go.

 

First trip of the year for the Phish brothers on our crusty trusty old jon boat. It's perfect for this choked out, shallow, electric only puddle. I'm avoiding it with rehab, but my brother really needs shoulder surgery. It was quite interesting gimping the boat out of the truck and down a hill. Nobody got punched though.

 

Perfect night out. Chilly with a breeze. We couldn't keep the pickerel off. Too many to count. Thankfully I decided to net my big one. He nearly chopped off my favorite Jackhammer a second after I scooped him up. My brother got a mutant yellow perch on a Shellcracker G2 swim bait, and had a few bass shake off. I got going with a slim bass, and ended the night with a nice 4 pound chunk. Both bass and most pickerel came on a Berkley Grass Pig in Swamp Gas which sorta/kinda comes close in color to the golden shiners this joint is loaded with. It was nice to get some tugs again, and it doesn't feel like my arm's going to fall off this morning. Good times.

 

Went out for 3-1/2 hours this morning, tried 4 different retention ponds and numerous lures. Wind was definitely no help but the biggest problem is the weeds on my favorite pond grew with a vengeance this year, at least 15-20 yards from shore and super thick. Finally got bit at the last pond I tried, at least I didn’t get skunked ?

Started out with a booyah pc this morning at crack of dawn. Got this 20 inch fish for my first frog fish of the year. I had thrown it by a bulkhead, saw a slight wave of a fish, twitched it ever so slightly and boom! Had another fish  subtly sip in the frog exactly where I caught a 7.3 a few years ago on a frog. I swung and missed on that one. I tried a buzz bait for awhile to no avail, and a long drift with a chatterbait, also with nothing. I threw the uv speed worm for awhile and got several smaller fish.

Hooked a 3 pounder on a roostertail near some bream beds but lost him with a jump near the boat. That was fun on the ultra light!  I did catch another smaller one on the roostertail.I then got another good fish or two on the yum dinger…

Went to the lake as kind of a last minute thing yesterday with the family. My MIL bought a pontoon last year and really wanted to go to the lake to test it out after putting a bunch of work into it since last fall. So I took my boat along with my family, and we met her and my wife's little sister and her 3 girls at the lake. The wind was howling 25-40 mph, so when we got there before them, the boys and I walked down to the water and did some casting from the bank. It was so deserted because of the winds that we fished off the boat ramp. I wasn't expecting much, but one of my first cast netted a tiny walleye.

I told my oldest where he needed to cast, and he figured it out pretty quick.

Once we launched the boat, I found one of my own.

Lake wanted to hold it too ?

After everyone was tired of getting beat up by the waves, we put them on the trailers and the girls were hanging out by the boats talking, so we walked back down to our spots, and the fish were still there. My 2 older nieces both wanted in on the action too.

Not really sure how I managed to do this?

1 fish Sunday on a pop x in baby bass

along with a couple smaller ones this fish went for 1.60lbs.

 

1 fish on Monday went to a lake I use to fish more when I lived in allegan county. Visibility was not good a small breeze and between all the boats the water was chocolate milk. Tried the damiki hydra in June bug with a normal slow presentation, nothing. Started retrieving it slowly and caught this one that went 2.92lbs.

 

Annual fishing trip has begun, got a couple swimming a jig and missed a couple, also missed a loud hit on toad runner. Water temp is 89 in our campground, more in the mid 80s out on the main river. Shad fry are everywhere getting hit by tiny spotted bass, somehow couldn’t catch those. We have a pretty big group this year, I think 14 or so of us. Others brought in some nice fish and a friendly stranger gave me 3 bass and a crappie .

 

The pic below made me think “we’re not in Tennessee anymore!”

 

These are gallon bags, decent haul for day 1. 

Haven't gotten to fish a whole lot this season so far due to an ongoing health issue, but went yesterday and hooked into a decent one on a 3/8oz War Eagle. 

 

 

7 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

The pic below made me think “we’re not in Tennessee anymore!”

What am I missing here? 

49 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

What am I missing here? 

We don’t have grass in the water at home 

Oh, ok. Thought maybe I was missing a gator or something.

Where are you there?

I’m getting all the mileage I can out of memorial weekend. I fished a little more this morning and found them biting great, right before it rains. They were biting the Big bites 6 inch stick worm in watermelon red. 

I lost the big one of course. Didnt budge when I set it , and came off. It was a long hook set though, so couldn’t keep enough tension on the fish. These stick worms are thicker too, so harder to keep a fish on. 

2 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

Oh, ok. Thought maybe I was missing a gator or something.

Where are you there?

Southern Alabama, had a gator hit a scum frog several times yesterday 

Spent a good part of the weekend with the in-laws. Fortunately, it was on the water. While everyone else was catching sun on the pier, I grabbed a rod and started skipping a 3.5 inch Yum Pulse swimbait up under the pier. I was able to catch 4 in about 20 minutes. All carbon copies of the dink in the pic, but it sure beats small talk with the MIL. Just kidding. I have a great MIL, but I couldn't think of a joke about that. ?

 

The past several trips I'd taken a few fish each time out but wasn't finding the numbers I expected. Maybe it was because of the cold spring or maybe I was simply overanxious. Whatever, today I got 'em. All day long.

 

Water temp was 63.3º at 7:15 a.m. Sunny and breezy. Started with topwater but got no takers. A soft jerkbait worked a foot or two under the surface also got no interest. Next level: the bottom.

 

Z-Man's Big TRD was set up as a "Tiny Child Rig," a tail weighted, ElaZtech bait (alternate name: the TWEB Rig) and it may be too effective. See, when a smallie spots this weird looking creature hopping along the bottom, it wallops it more often than not. This results in a deeply hooked fish which is often harmful.

 

Changed to a top go-to, a Finesse TRD on a mushroom jighead and, let me tell you, ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, tied onto 6 lb. fluorocarbon, cast with a 7' ML rod, and connecting with a 4 lb. smallmouth is my idea of fun. This bait on either a 1/16 oz. or 3/32 oz. jighead produced another 15 bass for a total of 17 on a too-short 10 hour day on the water. The best 5 weighed approximately 18 lbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

37 minutes ago, Will Wetline said:

The past several trips I'd taken a few fish each time out but wasn't finding the numbers I expected. Maybe it was because of the cold spring or maybe I was simply overanxious. Whatever, today I got 'em. All day long.

 

Water temp was 63.3º at 7:15 a.m. Sunny and breezy. Started with topwater but got no takers. A soft jerkbait worked a foot or two under the surface also got no interest. Next level: the bottom.

 

Z-Man's Big TRD was set up as a "Tiny Child Rig," a tail weighted, ElaZtech bait (alternate name: the TWEB Rig) and it may be too effective. See, when a smallie spots this weird looking creature hopping along the bottom, it wallops it more often than not. This results in a deeply hooked fish which is often harmful.

 

Changed to a top go-to, a Finesse TRD on a mushroom jighead and, let me tell you, ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, tied onto 6 lb. fluorocarbon, cast with a 7' ML rod, and connecting with a 4 lb. smallmouth is my idea of fun. This bait on either a 1/16 oz. or 3/32 oz. jighead produced another 15 bass for a total of 17 on a too-short 10 hour day on the water. The best 5 weighed approximately 18 lbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful smallies! Sounds like a great day.

12 hours ago, Fishlegs said:

Beautiful smallies! Sounds like a great day.

Great may be an understatement. That’s outstanding! 

Post-spawner on BX Brat! Bet this one pushed 4 pounds pre-spawn!

How many times have I read "Let the fish tell you how they want it"?

Well, I'm old and pretty set in my ways....so, a jerkbait in 76 degree water gets fished fairly fast most of the time.  Until a long cast with a slight overrun.  As I reeled it down a couple turns I noticed a loose coil, so I took the time to peel a few yards off and get everything in order.  Wasn't til I reeld up all the slack that and went to jerk it that I had any clue there was a bass just sitting down there trying to figure out what he had in his mouth.  For the next hour, far longer than normal pauses were just what the fish wanted.

The most money I've ever made while fishing! Found this dollar on the bank and caught the bass on the next cast. I'll make sure to not spend it all on one lure ?

 

Just haven't caught much of anything to write home about lately (not that it's stopped me before LOL). I did catch a pretty sizeable Redbreast Sunfish on a 4" jerkbait which was neat. Hooked into a couple good stripers but they got away. Hopefully I find something decent soon

4 minutes ago, thediscochef said:

Found this dollar on the bank and caught the bass on the next cast

That bass is a total gold digger man