Finally caught some fish the other day. First fish of the day was a river smallie on the Rebel Wee Craw crank bait. Not big, but smallies of any size are always fun. First cast, first bite, and didn't catch anything after that for the next 20 or so minutes.

 

 

So I switched to my go to bass pond. Hung out for almost an hour with a great blue heron. He caught lots of little fish. I caught nothing. Finally caught a decent largemouth bass. 

The second I hooked him that big heron came flapping over to investigate. He was side hopping all over, eyeing me up, flapping his wings, strutting closer- way too close for comfort. By the time I got the bass unhooked, the bird had given up and flapped away. My bass looked kinda bloated. I was worried about him. Especially after he swam off sluggishly once I released him. 

 

 

Not a bad day, all in all. 

12 hours ago, Aaron_H said:

 

Threw on a longsleeve and headed back out for ~30 mins, missed a small one right at the bank but ended up getting one that was less "little." ? My biggest spinnerbait fish, came in at 5lb 12oz.

That equals my biggest bass of the year. Awesome!

 

I went back out and caught a crappie on my new spinning rod, and one bass on my new st croix mojo. An awesome rod. Also the biggest bass I've seen at the cabelas pond decided to bite my ned rig today. That was neat. Good times!

Started the morning at a pond in Georgia, got a 1lb-er to hit a small black buzzbait what seemed like only 3-4 feet from shore.

Then later in the afternoon on Chickamauga, caught this nice one on a bone bullet pop. Totally took it under the water with one strike. Fought hard back to the boat. That back treble is 2/2 so far!

 

Because the sunset action was so furious, we took in the twilight later. Purely sublime.

 

My short trips before work have been way more comfortable with the cooler temps, but just complete waste of time in the fish catching department. I was so surprised by the feeling of a bite on my line, I almost missed this little guy. Thankfully he wanted that FishLab craw so bad that I don't think I could have taken it away from him if I tried.

 

17 hours ago, Aaron_H said:

 

Threw on a longsleeve and headed back out for ~30 mins, missed a small one right at the bank but ended up getting one that was less "little." ? My biggest spinnerbait fish, came in at 5lb 12oz.

Wow! That’s one nice fish! 

It was 39 degrees when I started fishing this morning. Geese in V-formations also reminded me what's coming, as did the red shorelines. I fished a lake this morning instead of a bog, which meant smallmouth and largemouth. I caught 30 fish. No pickerel and three smallmouth. Lots of bass in the 15 to 18-inch range. I did take a photo of a 14-incher so you can see that the smaller ones are eating well too. It's the first photo. I also photographed the lure that caught most of my fish, a shallow-running, Shad-colored, jointed Rapala.

 

I caught one fish on a Whopper Plopper. That bass was the fish of a hundred casts. Two mornings back, at a bog, the Whopper Plopper was what the bass wanted. Not this morning at this lake. I made the mistake of fishing too long with the Whopper Plopper, thinking the bass might look up at some point. Didn't happen.

 

The lake was so clear that I got to see a couple bass bump my jointed Rapala without sticking. I'm always amazed how fish can do that. At the bottom, there's also a pic of the Senko worm that I've used for follow-up casts. Maine bass like the bright tip on the worm. I've used just pumpkin-colored with much less success.

 

I figure Alex will enjoy the three smallmouth bass since he likes dark Maine bass. The Maine smallies are even darker than the bigmouth bass.

23 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

It was 39 degrees when I started fishing this morning. Geese in V-formations also reminded me what's coming, as did the red shorelines. I fished a lake this morning instead of a bog, which meant smallmouth and largemouth. I caught 30 fish. No pickerel and three smallmouth. Lots of bass in the 15 to 17-inch range. I did take a photo of a 14-incher so you can see that the smaller ones are eating well too. It's the first photo. I also photographed the lure that caught most of my fish, a shallow-running, Shad-colored, jointed Rapala.

 

I caught one fish on a Whopper Plopper. That bass was the fish of a hundred casts. Two mornings back, at a bog, the Whopper Plopper was what the bass wanted. Not this morning at this lake. I made the mistake of fishing too long with the Whopper Plopper, thinking the bass might look up at some point. Didn't happen.

 

The lake was so clear that I got to see a couple bass bump my jointed Rapala without sticking. I'm always amazed how fish can do that. At the bottom, there's also a pic of the Senko worm that I've used for follow-up casts. Maine bass like the bright tip on the worm. I've used just pumpkin-colored with much less success.

 

I figure Alex will enjoy the three smallmouth bass since he likes dark Maine bass. The Maine smallies are even darker than the bigmouth bass.

Wow, what a morning you had!   Great job Katie, you catch so many Bass as always, truly never would have imagined Maine had this level of Bass fishing.....then again I imagine most in Maine don't either considering how off the beaten path you fish.

 

Your fish are always so beautiful and healthy.   While the Smallmouth are as beautiful as ever, those big lunkerhead with deep lateral lines, and dark green hues are my favorites.   I caught one yesterday that reminded me of you, forgot the memory stick in the camera haha.  

 

The older I get, the more I think the Largemouth might be my favorite.    It's always been much harder for me to catch big LGM than big Spots or Smallmouth.   

Nothing much just wanna show why I love Fatika, 5 bass in about an hour morning and still alive for a few more bass. I just quit before it gets too hot and I have a round of golf later on.

Just like one guy said, my 400 acres lake is too easy to fish, I bet you even a 3 years old can catch bass. I believe there is a bass in every square foot.????

 

14 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

truly never would have imagined Maine had this level of Bass fishing

There used to be a guy who posted here frequently, by the name  of@Mainebass1984

 

I truly believe he was on the path to catch a state record from Maine. The amount of giant bass he would post, all caught from lakes in Maine, were unbelievable. He may have a state record sized bass under his belt by now. A few years ago there was a thread about which BassResource user you would like to fish with. My answer was him, because I felt like he would give me the best odds to break a state record. I wished he posted here still. 

And @ol’crickety is really giving a good name to Maine as well. 

9 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

There used to be a guy who posted here frequently, by the name  of@Mainebass1984

 

I truly believe he was on the path to catch a state record from Maine. The amount of giant bass he would post, all caught from lakes in Maine, were unbelievable. He may have a state record sized bass under his belt by now. A few years ago there was a thread about which BassResource user you would like to fish with. My answer was him, because I felt like he would give me the best odds to break a state record. I wished he posted here still. 

And @ol’crickety is really giving a good name to Maine as well. 

Wow that's really cool, and I wouldn't be surprised if Katie took down a record or two if she tried to do so.   The female and line class records would likely be low hanging fruit for her.  I can't imagine a more avid Basser, and she fishes such backwater places that could hide a big fish for years.   These are things I dream about, that big fish living somewhere nobody accesses.

 

I think it would cool to hold at least one IGFA WR.....it could be catching the biggest Bream on 2lb line for all I care ?

Hit the river with @roadwarrior yesterday. This man knows how to find smallmouth. He put me on my best smallie of 2022...so far.

 

He had a new digital scale that we were excited to try out. We clamped it on, and saw 1.7. No way! I thought I must have done something wrong so I tried again. Same thing. Then we realized it was set to KILOGRAMS. DOH! We weren't sure how to switch it to pounds so we snapped a picture, and put her back in the water. Google says 1.7 kg = 3.75 lbs. I'll take that.

 

Thanks again, roadwarrior! It's always a pleasure my friend!

 

45 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Wow, what a morning you had!   Great job Katie, you catch so many Bass as always, truly never would have imagined Maine had this level of Bass fishing.....then again I imagine most in Maine don't either considering how off the beaten path you fish.

 

Your fish are always so beautiful and healthy.   While the Smallmouth are as beautiful as ever, those big lunkerhead with deep lateral lines, and dark green hues are my favorites.   I caught one yesterday that reminded me of you, forgot the memory stick in the camera haha.  

 

The older I get, the more I think the Largemouth might be my favorite.    It's always been much harder for me to catch big LGM than big Spots or Smallmouth.   

Thanks, Alex! This morning's lake was a quantity lake. Tomorrow I'm going to a quality bog. I've carried my scale for three trips now and didn't catch a fish big enough to use it yet. I want to catch a 19-inch fish before the water hardens to weigh it. 

6 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

Hit the river with @roadwarrior yesterday. This man knows how to find smallmouth. He put me on my best smallie of 2022...so far.

 

He had a new digital scale that we were excited to try out. We clamped it on, and saw 1.7. No way! I thought I must have done something wrong so I tried again. Same thing. Then we realized it was set to KILOGRAMS. DOH! We weren't sure how to switch it to pounds so we snapped a picture, and put her back in the water. Google says 1.7 kg = 3.75 lbs. I'll take that.

 

Thanks again, roadwarrior! It's always a pleasure my friend!

 

I like how you express gratitude to RoadWarrior. Beautiful bass!

32 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

There used to be a guy who posted here frequently, by the name  of@Mainebass1984

 

I truly believe he was on the path to catch a state record from Maine. The amount of giant bass he would post, all caught from lakes in Maine, were unbelievable. He may have a state record sized bass under his belt by now. A few years ago there was a thread about which BassResource user you would like to fish with. My answer was him, because I felt like he would give me the best odds to break a state record. I wished he posted here still. 

And @ol’crickety is really giving a good name to Maine as well. 

Mainebass1984, if you're still casting, give me a holler!

10 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

Hit the river with @roadwarrior yesterday. This man knows how to find smallmouth. He put me on my best smallie of 2022...so far.

 

He had a new digital scale that we were excited to try out. We clamped it on, and saw 1.7. No way! I thought I must have done something wrong so I tried again. Same thing. Then we realized it was set to KILOGRAMS. DOH! We weren't sure how to switch it to pounds so we snapped a picture, and put her back in the water. Google says 1.7 kg = 3.75 lbs. I'll take that.

 

Thanks again, roadwarrior! It's always a pleasure my friend!

 

Nice! 

24 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Wow that's really cool, and I wouldn't be surprised if Katie took down a record or two if she tried to do so.   The female and line class records would likely be low hanging fruit for her.  I can't imagine a more avid Basser, and she fishes such backwater places that could hide a big fish for years.   These are things I dream about, that big fish living somewhere nobody accesses.

 

I think it would cool to hold at least one IGFA WR.....it could be catching the biggest Bream on 2lb line for all I care ?

My dream, Alex, is to wrench my canoe through the woods, paddle deep into some dark bog, cast into a thicket of shadows and weeds, and to catch a big bass like YOU GUYS CATCH! I top out at 21 inches and I'd love to truly earn a bigger fish and to thrill to it in the wildest possible place. 

3 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I like how you express gratitude to RoadWarrior. Beautiful bass!

He's an excellent fisherman, and an even better person. I'm thankful for every opportunity I have to fish with him. I could go on, but he'll probably delete the post if I do. lol

Fishlegs...You da MAN!

 

 

36 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

My dream, Alex, is to wrench my canoe through the woods, paddle deep into some dark bog, cast into a thicket of shadows and weeds, and to catch a big bass like YOU GUYS CATCH! I top out at 21 inches and I'd love to truly earn a bigger fish and to thrill to it in the wildest possible place. 

You do catch big Bass for the record, and lots of them ?

 

Can't wait until you get to use that new scale, I've got a good feeling tomorrow is the day you'll break it out.  

14 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

You do catch big Bass for the record, and lots of them ?

 

Can't wait until you get to use that new scale, I've got a good feeling tomorrow is the day you'll break it out.  

Gosh, I hope I get to use my scale! I'm going to cast that jointed, shallow running, Shad-colored Rapala and a bluegill-colored, shallow-running, square-billed crankbait. If I land one, I'm going to yell loud enough for you to hear, "I did it!"

Ran down to a local spot for a quick morning sesh, and caught a short pickerel on the 1st cast. Followed up right away with yet another perch-eating yellow perch. I thought the one I'd caught last week was just a fluke, but I guess they really are cannibals. Two casts later I got a scrappy bass, and I felt like I was in the right spot for a nice rally, but big birds had other ideas.

 

There were two swans just chillin' when I got there, but right after I nabbed the bass, three more landed in the lake. The original two didn't feel like 15 acres was something they were willing to share, and war was declared. They puffed up into an aggressive posture, and the chase was on. Once they went airborne, wings beat the water from one end of the pond to the other. Just when it looked like it was about to calm down, an armada of honking Canadian geese flew over and crashed down right in front of me. All I could do at that point was was chuckle, then slide on outta there. Hopefully I can get back tonight and fish into the rain.

14 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Gosh, I hope I get to use my scale! I'm going to cast that jointed, shallow running, Shad-colored Rapala and a bluegill-colored, shallow-running, square-billed crankbait. If I land one, I'm going to yell loud enough for you to hear, "I did it!"

It's an inevitability in your case when I plug the numbers into my Bass calculator.   You are too good of a Bass angler and spend to many hours fishing for it not to happen sooner rather than latter.....like Aaron Judge recently tying the AL HR record.   

 

I'm driving myself nuts trying to accomplish a fishing goal I've had my whole life currently, but I remind myself the harder and more frustrating the journey, the better the reward will be.  

8 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Ran down to a local spot for a quick morning sesh, and caught a short pickerel on the 1st cast. Followed up right away with yet another perch-eating yellow perch. I thought the one I'd caught last week was just a fluke, but I guess they really are cannibals. Two casts later I got a scrappy bass, and I felt like I was in the right spot for a nice rally, but big birds had another idea.

 

The were two swans just chillin' when I got there, but right after I nabbed the bass, three more landed in the lake. The original two didn't feel like 15 acres was something they were willing to share, and war was declared. They puffed up into an aggressive posture, and the chase was on. Once they went airborne, wings beat the water from one end of the pond to the other. Just when it looked like it was about to calm down, an armada of honking Canadian geese flew over and crashed down right in front of me. All I could do at that point was was chuckle, then slide on outta there. Hopefully I can get back tonight and fish into the rain.

 

LOL....only somebody who deals with Swans on the reg can relate.   I'll snap a picture later today of Hitler and Saddam, the breeding pair on my home lake ?

 

ETA: Those Yellow Perch are really beautiful fish.  Kind of reminds me of Peacock Bass coloring.   Bet they are tasty, that's what I've always heard at least.   

 

10 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Ran down to a local spot for a quick morning sesh, and caught a short pickerel on the 1st cast. Followed up right away with yet another perch-eating yellow perch. I thought the one I'd caught last week was just a fluke, but I guess they really are cannibals. Two casts later I got a scrappy bass, and I felt like I was in the right spot for a nice rally, but big birds had another idea.

 

The were two swans just chillin' when I got there, but right after I nabbed the bass, three more landed in the lake. The original two didn't feel like 15 acres was something they were willing to share, and war was declared. They puffed up into an aggressive posture, and the chase was on. Once they went airborne, wings beat the water from one end of the pond to the other. Just when it looked like it was about to calm down, an armada of honking Canadian geese flew over and crashed down right in front of me. All I could do at that point was was chuckle, then slide on outta there. Hopefully I can get back tonight and fish into the rain.

 

Nice pics.

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

truly never would have imagined Maine had this level of Bass fishing.....

Perhaps Maine will experience the OOS interest its turkey hunting did, recently.

I was luck enough to be invited to Canada to fish with my friend Tim from his cottage on the Rideau chain. So very grateful to be invited over. Such an amazing place. 

After the void that was COVID it has been a spectacular summer. Spring with Tim at his place on Smith Mountain lake and September in Canada. So lucky to have such generous friends. 

The fishing was very different to how it is when we have been before in July and August. The fish were everywhere and nowhere. Big fish were thin on the ground, but the numbers were good. Spinner baits. Chatterbaits were the mainstay over grass flats, but on Saturday we went through to Upper Rideau and with the best weather of the week, sunshine and lighter winds, we caught smallmouth on jerkbaits, spybaits and Neds. After Saturday the fronts moved through again and the average fish size dropped, with occasional exceptions. One day, the pike were supercharged and while we only managed a dozen or so keeper bass, we caught about 40 pike. All horrible skinny tiny things compared to what I'm used to trying to avoid here in the UK. ?

 

So grateful to Tim and Mary Johnson for their friendship. 

This fish looks like the bad end of bad luck, but hey, it’s a fish… Caught it on a baby brush hog- watermelon red.

37 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

This fish looks like the bad end of bad luck, but hey, it’s a fish… Caught it on a baby brush hog- watermelon red.

Dang boy. Not even a hurricane stops you…