3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

That fishing circus sounds awful. I like quiet fishing. No, I love quiet fishing. Gluttons trampling gluttons sounds awful.

I have quiet fishing in several places but the doggone smallmouth love the main channel. The ones I caught today were amongst a ton of double decker yachts and pontoons again haha, sea legs……. I almost took a few waves over the bow but stayed dry 

34 minutes ago, Eric 26 said:

Awesome fish?? I’m very jealous of your dock, my family and I visited your lovely state last Christmas and although we were in tourist areas we took the time to hike one day and it was breathtaking as is your dock and hickory trees. I’m sitting here watching your “favorite team” putting on a clinic?

I know I sound like a broken record but man there are some just gorgeous fish in this post? I don’t know if it’s due to the season or everybody getting really good at photos but wow it’s awesome to see and making me super jealous.

Thanks buddy it’s nothing fancy and needs some fresh lumber here and there but it’ll do . @Blue Raider Bobis scheduled to do all the carpentry any day now while @Jigfishn10supervises. Need an entire back deck replaced too, they’ll have it done by the end of the week………

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

That fishing circus sounds awful.

Yup. It's nothing that I'll bother with usually, but I was already in gear, so I stuck it out for a bit. Not a sniff as expected. Hopefully the swarms will get them out quickly then vamoose, and leave enough for the big ones to fatten up.

 

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

I like quiet fishing. No, I love quiet fishing.

I'm withya, sista. It's one of the perks of fishing at night. Other than my circle, it's very rare to see others specifically bass fishing at night, thankfully. Most people get their souls crushed bass fishing around here during the day, so I guess it never occurs to them to try the night shift.

I've never fished through the night, Phish, but I sometimes begin the day shift so early that it's still night. I find it thrilling to hear my Whopper Plopper churning and then there's the splash and it's game on!

 

Quote

...a ton of double decker yachts and pontoons....

I pray and pray for this fishing boat one day.

 

The first trip in I don't know how long when a Texas rig and weightless worm didn't catch bass.  The bass were in chase mode.  I got these two on the outside of a small drop off.  Now if I can just find the bigger ones.

Drove a couple hours north to a small lake that has lots of big, beautifully colored smallmouth only to find the boat launch and only public access is closed ?. Ended up at another small lake a couple minutes away that I was unfamiliar with. Air temp was 28, and there was some skim ice on the water. Water temperature on the main lake was 44-45 at launch. My buddy got 2 3lb-class smallmouth, and I lost a lunker largemouth right at the boat. Could have been the best of the year. Was a little heartbroken. Finally was able to grind out this little guy dragging a ned rig:

Not bad considering it was a new lake, frigid water that was very low, and even some skim ice. It had warmed to 52 by 3oclock, but it was a 2 hour drive home so we called it. Looking forward to fishing this lake under more ideal conditions next year. A busy couple weeks ahead could mean this little smallmouth is my last Bass before ice-in, but I’m not putting the boat up yet. If I have a spare hour, I’ll be out there bundled up, PB hunting. 

2 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

Drove a couple hours north to a small lake that has lots of big, beautifully colored smallmouth only to find the boat launch and only public access is closed ?. Ended up at another small lake a couple minutes away that I was unfamiliar with. Air temp was 28, and there was some skim ice on the water. Water temperature on the main lake was 44-45 at launch. My buddy got 2 3lb-class smallmouth, and I lost a lunker largemouth right at the boat. Could have been the best of the year. Was a little heartbroken. Finally was able to grind out this little guy dragging a ned rig:

Not bad considering it was a new lake, frigid water that was very low, and even some skim ice. It had warmed to 52 by 3oclock, but it was a 2 hour drive home so we called it. Looking forward to fishing this lake under more ideal conditions next year. A busy couple weeks ahead could mean this little smallmouth is my last Bass before ice-in, but I’m not putting the boat up yet. If I have a spare hour, I’ll be out there bundled up, PB hunting. 

Hate to hear that brother, but it sounds like you didn't fester in it and made the most out of your outing with that beautiful Smallie.

 

Here's to hoping you get another chance or two before the ice-in.    

It was nubbin (dink) day for me today.  I caught 13.  The biggest was 15 inches long.  I'll post a picture of it, but the highlight pictures are launching my boat, and eating lunch while idling down the lake.  

Went fishing this evening for the first time in 8 days which is a freakin lifetime for me...between playing bass for a musical and some car troubles it just wasn't happening. Rewarded with my 3rd biggest bass of the year. May not have been the biggest, but it's easily my best looking of the year. And I caught it in front of a couple landing boats who were complaining of a slow day, always a nice ego boost to hear the dock chatter go quiet for a minute. I lost one slightly smaller a couple casts later and that was church. 5 total in about an hour and a half, always feeling good about that. Good times. Also it was nice to pull a bass out of the water and it feel cool to the touch, it's been months since I had that experience. I love fall fishing.

Well that surprised me on 2 levels today. I caught 5-6 fish in 35 minutes or so, using one of my oddball color choices. The bait of the night was a keitech easy shinner 4” in table rock shad on a dirty jigs finesse 1/8 oz jig head. The fish were not big, although they were definitely beautiful. I caught my first fish by my 4th cast with some on back to back cast. I missed 2-3 fish but it was a very good session.

Well fishing was tough for the high schoolers this weekend, but I did capture a terrific blooper.

 

Took a few days off because of the darn shoulder and going ape with a 7'9 rod and big swimbaits....very, very stupid.  

 

Didn't take a rod over 7'2 today and ended up only really throwing a Flashback mini 1/8th on my BFS setup.   Caught 4, and missed what I believe was a really good fish.....a giddy kitty size.  Then I found a nice LGM dead and floating and my positivity for the session was done.    First nice LGM I've found dead since starting back fishing over the summer, eats me up wondering how she died.   

 

 

?

2 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Took a few days off because of the darn shoulder and going ape with a 7'9 rod and big swimbaits....very, very stupid.  

 

Didn't take a rod over 7'2 today and ended up only really throwing a Flashback mini 1/8th on my BFS setup.   Caught 4, and missed what I believe was a really good fish.....a giddy kitty size.  Then I found a nice LGM dead and floating and my positivity for the session was done.    First nice LGM I've found dead since starting back fishing over the summer, eats me up wondering how she died.   

 

 

?

Well, did you conduct a thorough autopsy? 
 

nice catches 

Just now, TnRiver46 said:

Well, did you conduct a thorough autopsy? 

Visually as well I could, but no I'm not educated enough to waste my time investigating any further.   I do kind of wish I would have looked harder in her mouth, but if I was going to do that I was going all in.  

 

She had a big turtle bite out of back near tail, but I imagine that was postmortem.   I'd imagine that is a 3-4 yr old Bass.    Bloated, but by the length I'd say she was a 4lb class fish.   

7 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Visually as well I could, but no I'm not educated enough to waste my time investigating any further.   I do kind of wish I would have looked harder in her mouth, but if I was going to do that I was going all in.  

 

She had a big turtle bite out of back near tail, but I imagine that was postmortem.   I'd imagine that is a 3-4 yr old Bass.    Bloated, but by the length I'd say she was a 4lb class fish.   

Yeah I was just messin with ya, only the shadow knows at this point. Little smelly when ya get close. 

18 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Yeah I was just messin with ya, only the shadow knows at this point. Little smelly when ya get close. 

I figured as much, but this is my home lake, it's managed and Bass are catch and release only.   Just sucks seeing such a good potential breeding fish dead.    

 

It'd be akin to owning hunting land and finding a nice dead Buck on your land I'd imagine.  

Quote

Took a few days off because of the darn shoulder and going ape with a 7'9 rod and big swimbaits

^This is why I decided against a swimbait.^

 

The dead bass would bug me too. In Maine, it would have fed an eagle. I was fishing a river mouth in Canada and I hooked a little smallie. There was an eagle there watching. It was there every morning. For some reason, the smallie was hurt. I didn't hook it badly or keep it out of the water for long, but when I released it, it was on its side, flopping. Five minutes later, it was in that eagle. 

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

^This is why I decided against a swimbait.^

 

The dead bass would bug me too. In Maine, it would have fed an eagle. I was fishing a river mouth in Canada and I hooked a little smallie. There was an eagle there watching. It was there every morning. For some reason, the smallie was hurt. I didn't hook it badly or keep it out of the water for long, but when I released it, it was on its side, flopping. Five minutes later, it was in that eagle. 

I have an eagle story as well.

On the river a few weeks back and this Osprey pinned this big fish against the rip rap in a slight cove area very close to me. The Osprey finally got a good hold of the fish and fought hard to get airborne. Just as it was laboring in flight just above me, an Eagle attacks it and forces it to drop it's prize! The big fish hits the water and right away the Eagle pounces on it. The fish was so big the Eagle struggled for a moment to lift and fly. The Osprey went back to it's perch on a dead snag and cried for 10 minutes. I'm still mad at that Eagle!

Big durn lazy critter!

11 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Well, did you conduct a thorough autopsy? 
 

nice catches 

Autopsies are reserved for humans. Necropsies are used for animals. We live on a farm and raise livestock. Necropsies are done to determine livestock loss.......just sayin'....lol

7 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

I have an eagle story as well.

On the river a few weeks back and this Osprey pinned this big fish against the rip rap in a slight cove area very close to me. The Osprey finally got a good hold of the fish and fought hard to get airborne. Just as it was laboring in flight just above me, an Eagle attacks it and forces it to drop it's prize! The big fish hits the water and right away the Eagle pounces on it. The fish was so big the Eagle struggled for a moment to lift and fly. The Osprey went back to it's perch on a dead snag and cried for 10 minutes. I'm still mad at that Eagle!

Big durn lazy critter!

Autopsies are reserved for humans. Necropsies are used for animals. We live on a farm and raise livestock. Necropsies are done to determine livestock loss.......just sayin'....lol

I was gonna say that but I couldn’t spell it……..

 

it always makes me laugh when I have to extract some nasty dead creature out of a customers wall and they ask me why it died. I usually say something like “you’re welcome to sort through that puddle of mess and see what you can determine “

When I texted my buddy last week and told him the trout had been stocked he replied with his traditional answer "The party's over". For the first two weeks after stocking the trout tend to stay grouped up in one area. Usually on a shallower north end. Bait gets chased out and scattered, and the bass have easier pickings. My friend has been skunked for at least 3 weeks after each stocking at this particular lake over the past 6 years. I've had better luck, but not great at all. 

 

I got there just as the rain began at 10:30. Things weren't going well for the first 2+ hours throwing several trout imitators. Couldn't find any bait tight to shore, and the trout occasionally breached the surface on the north end. I heard my first big killshot at around 1 am. Sounded like a big pickerel ate something. Chucked a BBZ-1 floater near the kill zone and got a solid 3 lber to t-bone it. Couldn't fit my gripper in to grab it, so I bit down and lipped it. Total PIA to get the hooks out, and in the end it did the crazy shake, flopped onto the ground, then flapped back into the drink. One more taker on the BBZ1 that shook off in the pads, and no more takers on that bait.

 

20 minutes later the north end lit up with killshots. A wave of bass rolled in to slam trout. It was nuts. Crazy tail slaps and trout flying out of the water from one shore to the other. It was like a switch had been turned on. Tried the trout baits, but no bueno. I went back to my trusty Livingston wake and got 2 more to eat, but by then it was 2:30 am, I'd beaten the skunk, and I was soaked through enough for one night. No bigs, but I got some tugs.

 

My before work trip this morning produced one on the glide. Not a monster but it was a very vicious strike right near the shore that I got to watch so that was cool.

Here's something a little different for this thread.  I pulled this lure out of the package this morning.  Then I caught 16 LM and 9 stripers.  This Super Spot had a rough day at work.  

Proverbial coach still has me on a pitch count, but the lake is fully turning over, crazy the stuff that comes floating up.    Water still is ponging in between 64-67 degrees, and we got 80 degree days coming this week.    Big fish especially have been super sketchy, been several weeks now without a 5lb+ fish.

 

Caught 4 Species today......Bluegill, Crappie, Spotted Bass, and LGM Bass.     Most notable fish was another pig Crappie.    Just a little over a pound caught on my Steez BFS setup.   

 

I caught the Bluegills on live worms.   Wanted to see size, coloring, and overall health/population in the lake.   Sampled half a dozen locations, and just like I remember as a kid.....non stop catching, baiting the hook and washing your hands of the dirt is the hardest part lol.      This lake has a ridiculous forage base.    On one hand everything that swims in this lake gets massive, on the other hand these fish have so much forage that I think it makes them harder to catch.     

 

The most beautiful species of the 4 imo, the Alabama Bass.

 

Chunky little LGMs

The slab Crappie and a smaller one

 

Yoo-hoo, Alex! Your photos are so sharp. What's  your camera?

Another 30 minutes before work trip, one of these days I'll catch a big one on this bait. Missed one more dink also. Active with a big rain, and cold front moving in.

 

 

13 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Yoo-hoo, Alex! Your photos are so sharp. What's  your camera?

It's a really old Sony point and shoot.    I need a new one.   I do really like the way it takes pics, but it's beaten up.    To me there will always be a place for a traditional camera verses a smart phone cam.