4 hours ago, Woody B said:

 

Do you know who does the tagging?   I haven't caught a tagged fish but there's signs at the landings on one lake I fish that ask you to photograph, weight and release the fish is possible and call a certain phone number to report it.   

No I don't but this one was fresher so I took a picture of the information on the tag.   

 

There is no reason to be tagging fish on this lake, so I imagine its someones own little project.   

 

The state used to put tags in bigger Rainbows and if you caught them and reported the info you got a reward.  Not sure they are still doing that.   

 

Still piddling around with these little guys at my usual spot. My birthday trip yesterday got canceled for storms that didn't materialize, but I'm going to be in Houston all next week so I'm hoping to go check out Lake Livingston and see if there's much to have down there. The reschedule of yesterday's trip will be the day after I get home, so hopefully next week turns into a good one

16 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Been slammed with work, but finally slowing down so I got out for the first time in over a week.....all I know is it was terrible lol.

 

Water temp was almost 61 degrees in some areas lol......such is life in central Alabama.

 

Bite was really slow oddly enough but I got lucky and found a nice little pattern that produced a number of really quality Spots.     Caught 5 Spots, 4 of them were well over 2lbs, and the biggest was in that 3-4lb class......second fish I've caught now with a tag.   First was a 5.8lb LGM at the end of summer.   

 

Fishing dropoffs with a 3/8 Finesse Jig a Strikeking 3x bitsy bug trailer.    Half of them picked it up on the fall.     

 

 

 

 I had a change to fish Weiss for 3 days this fall...those Alabama spots are no joke.

8 minutes ago, Chris Catignani said:

 I had a change to fish Weiss for 3 days this fall...those Alabama spots are no joke.

They really are a blast to catch.   I love how they pack together like Sharks.

 

I was watching a video about the WR caught out in CA, and while catching the WR one, they also caught several more over 7lbs.    I honestly can't imagine the fight of a 10lb Alabama Bass ?    

Managed to get out a little bit before it rained this morning. Bass showed some signs of activity after several days of little results. These two came on a jerkbait. Second fish was a "double" with a mussel shell along for the ride. Pics are still a bit shaky still but my doc assures me that it'll resolve as I gain more strength. Had no idea how much surgery takes the energy out of you.

2 minutes ago, The Bassman said:

Managed to get out a little bit before it rained this morning. Bass showed some signs of activity after several days of little results. These two came on a jerkbait. Second fish was a "double" with a mussel shell along for the ride. Pics are still a bit shaky still but my doc assures me that it'll resolve as I gain more strength. Had no idea how much surgery takes the energy out of you.

Fantastic! Continue to get better! I would be shakey too if I were trying to photo bass that big!

3 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Fantastic! Continue to get better! I would be shakey too if I were trying to photo bass that big!

Thanks for the encouragement. They were both under two lb. I'm just a weakling right now.

@ The Bassman

 

No Midwesterner who catches bass in December, wearing gloves, following surgery, is a weakling. 

 

Here's a story of other tough people:

 

I used to drive across northern Wisconsin in January. The wind would be howling and the Amish would be pedaling their bicycles.

 

I'd see them and think, "Toughest people on Earth."

1 hour ago, The Bassman said:

Thanks for the encouragement. They were both under two lb. I'm just a weakling right now.

Those are the biggest two lb. Bass ever! Ask Santa for a new scale! Yours are stuck on two!

35 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Those are the biggest two lb. Bass ever! Ask Santa for a new scale! Yours are stuck on two!

You have to understand it's all a con game. Now when I post a bigger one I can stretch the truth a little and you guys'll buy it. lol

My excitement level came really close to blowing a fuse today.....was past the point of talking out loud to yourself, entered the realm of casting straight in the air/or water ?

 

I'll preface this session by saying that yesterday was the first time perhaps since I've gotten Sonar that I couldn't find heavy bait presence in the area of lake I was in and thought they'd be in.   

 

So today I figured I'd start out on that part of the lake and hit a few specific targeted locations with the BD Shad looking for the White Whale, then I'd satisfy my curiosity by running to opposite end of the lake which is a true gamble with my current boat setup/lake size.  

 

Within 20mins of starting the session a 5.5lb absolute beautiful dark pig smoked my BD Shad on one of the targeted locations, at that point I was house money the rest of the day and I took off for the other side.   She was so healthy, and fat.   She'll be my White Whale in a few years.

 

Upon arriving at the other side of the lake I see massive eruptions in a creek arm with less than 1ft of water in most places......without a push pole I couldn't get most of the way back there, it was crazy watching Herons and hundreds of Bass destroy thousands of Shad.    

 

About 20 mins later the main event started, and for 30mins I've never seen anything close to this level of feeding activity.  Over the size of 2-3 acres of lake with an average depth of 2.5ft I'd say, thousands and thousands of Shad were trapped.     

 

I thought this was going to happen yesterday, it's extraordinarily hot here right now, and yesterday I almost saw 62 degree water temps.  Today I hit 63.8 where the main event happened.   

 

Big girl and some of the other fish are on the video I'll upload in a bit, but hopefully I captured a fraction of what was happening in the above scenario I'm describing.   At points you could have seemingly netted the fish blowing up on Shad so close to you.   

 

Another unique thing was I caught fish on a big Swimbait, a finesse jig, the Shimano WM Flashboost Jerkbait, and lastly caught two on a Buzzbait.    They disappeared like literally a switch was flipped.   I feel very blessed to have witnessed such a spectacle of nature like that.   I have no idea how many times that happens, but I imagine a complicated series of things all had to come together perfectly in order to produce such an epic feeding frenzy.   I'm talking hundreds of Bass, I can remember seeing vividly a 3lb+ fish clear the water.      

 

 

 

 

Next pics are good representations for the size of both the LGM and Spots I was then catching, 1-2lb fish.  

 

 

 

@AlabamaSpothunter sounds insane. Looking forward to the video. Very nice fish too. 

ALEX!!!!!!! What a belly on that bass!!!

 

I too await the video with bated breath because I love to see predators bunching baitfish. Wait, since we're talking fishing, maybe it's baited breath.*

 

 

*Sorry. Nerd Humor. I apologize.

 

 

 

I hope I don't jinx myself.  I don't usually talk about a trip before I go.  My catch rate has slowed since the water cooled down so I'm going to try some new (to me) stuff tomorrow.  

 

I've got a "special" Alabama rig.  I will only tell how it's rigged if I catch at least 1 bass on it.  

 

On the other end of the (weight) spectrum I'm going to try a ned rig.  My last 3 trips I've seen a bunch of bass on sonar, basically ignoring everything I've thrown.  It's time to try something different.   

2 acre pond, 2.5 hours to fish. 
 

Water temp upper 40’s. Air temp was upper 50’s, overcast occasional misty drizzle.

 

Red eye Shadded for half an hour but no takes. 
 

MegaBass 110 silent caught 3 small bass. 
Rapala X Rap caught 3 small bass and a giant crappie. 
The hair jig got neglected 

 

 

@Smells like fish Great photos!

1 hour ago, Jar11591 said:

@AlabamaSpothunter sounds insane. Looking forward to the video. Very nice fish too. 

Thanks brother!   

 

Got the video finished but atlas like I kind of thought, the end where the fish were turning the water into a boiling pot didn't make it.    The battery started saying low right when I got to the other side of the lake.  Still got a little action from that part and threw in a fish in from yesterday.

 

Next time I know better than to run mouth before I got true A-Jay skills on the GoPro lol ?

 

Today solidified my decision to go ahead and get one of those battery holders that has USB ports.   That and get another GoPro battery.    

 

Just another thought from the day I forgot to mention before.....you hear lots about how a certain dock in a row of dozens will hold all the fish, or most.    There is this one dock now that I've got a 6, 5.5, and 4.3 from in the last month.    Big catfish, and another lost big catfish as well.      In this dock's case I think it's the feeder combined with its perfect location to deep water.    The others have the same deep-water access, but no feeder.    This dock also has studs in the water which I have more luck on.    I watched a video on this several weeks ago where a guy showed what made good docks via his Side Scan.     Seems there's lots of truth in this notion. 

 

  

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

ALEX!!!!!!! What a belly on that bass!!!

 

I too await the video with bated breath because I love to see predators bunching baitfish. Wait, since we're talking fishing, maybe it's baited breath.*

 

 

*Sorry. Nerd Humor. I apologize.

 

 

 

I know right......looks like one of those beautiful deep rich dark colored Maine Bass of yours as well.

 

I'm noticing a pattern on the coloration at least on my homelake, if they come from a dock, they are usually very dark and rich in color.   

24 minutes ago, Smells like fish said:

2 acre pond, 2.5 hours to fish. 
 

Water temp upper 40’s. Air temp was upper 50’s, overcast occasional misty drizzle.

 

Red eye Shadded for half an hour but no takes. 
 

MegaBass 110 silent caught 3 small bass. 
Rapala X Rap caught 3 small bass and a giant crappie. 
The hair jig got neglected 

 

 

Nice, looks like a big ole' Crappie by the mouth 

I haven’t posted here in a while because A-I haven’t had the opportunity to fish much lately; and B-when I did, I had nothing to post about lol. But I got out a couple hours today, just from the bank. It was interesting. 
 

I brought three spinning rigs. A M/F, a M/XF and a ML/XF. I had a 3/0 EWG tied onto the ML/XF, a 1/0 octopus circle on the M/F, and for some reason that I cannot fathom, I tied on a jerkbait on the M/XF. I started with the jerkbait, and after a few casts, I caught this 1.64 lb. bass. 
I then tried a few different soft plastics to no avail on the ML/XF and then a WR on the M/F. Nothing. I put a squarebill on the M/F and again…zilch. So I went back to the jerkbait. It’s a Googan Squad Scout 4 in Pro Blue, and it’s the best-producing jerkbait I’ve tried. I casted it out several times and then I got hammered. I started playing the fish and it started to come up to jump. It was (was) the nicest bass I’ve hooked all year. Guaranteed 5 lbs, may have been 6. I saw it’s gaping maw about 8” under the water and then I saw my jerkbait sailing away. That’s when I facepalmed thinking “why the hell did you use a M/XF on a jerkbait, dummy!”  But I casted right back out trying to see if I could catch him again. I didn’t. But another bass about the same size as the first hit it. 
I should be kicking myself, but as I haven’t sniffed a bass over 2 lbs in quite a while, I’m happy just knowing a big gal is still there. But I’ll have that jerkbait tied on a M/F next time. Or a M/M baitcaster. 

57 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

“why the hell did you use a M/XF on a jerkbait, dummy!”

 

Sorry to hear about losing a big one, that never gets any less heartbreaking IMO.

 

For what it's worth, my jerkbait combo is a M/XF and I do okay with them.

What an exciting session, Brian! Really nice photos too. Don't be hard on yourself. Big fish became big fish by being smart and strong. 

Got some smallies and a spot. Offshore bite should be perfect, but alas. 
 

only got bit on the bank

2 hours ago, Aaron_H said:

 

Sorry to hear about losing a big one, that never gets any less heartbreaking IMO.

 

For what it's worth, my jerkbait combo is a M/XF and I do okay with them.

I’ve never used a M/XF with a jerkbait. I’m taking a SWAG that it may have helped (the bass, not me!). Didn’t seem to bother the other two, but they were nowhere near as big. 

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

What an exciting session, Brian! Really nice photos too. Don't be hard on yourself. Big fish became big fish by being smart and strong. 

Thanks. It was fun. Heartbreaking, but fun! ?

32 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Got some smallies and a spot. Offshore bite should be perfect, but alas. 
 

only got bit on the bank

My word, that last picture is what I imagine Heaven looking like.   Beautiful fish, beautiful pics!

4 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

I haven’t posted here in a while because A-I haven’t had the opportunity to fish much lately; and B-when I did, I had nothing to post about lol. But I got out a couple hours today, just from the bank. It was interesting. 
 

I brought three spinning rigs. A M/F, a M/XF and a ML/XF. I had a 3/0 EWG tied onto the ML/XF, a 1/0 octopus circle on the M/F, and for some reason that I cannot fathom, I tied on a jerkbait on the M/XF. I started with the jerkbait, and after a few casts, I caught this 1.64 lb. bass. 
I then tried a few different soft plastics to no avail on the ML/XF and then a WR on the M/F. Nothing. I put a squarebill on the M/F and again…zilch. So I went back to the jerkbait. It’s a Googan Squad Scout 4 in Pro Blue, and it’s the best-producing jerkbait I’ve tried. I casted it out several times and then I got hammered. I started playing the fish and it started to come up to jump. It was (was) the nicest bass I’ve hooked all year. Guaranteed 5 lbs, may have been 6. I saw it’s gaping maw about 8” under the water and then I saw my jerkbait sailing away. That’s when I facepalmed thinking “why the hell did you use a M/XF on a jerkbait, dummy!”  But I casted right back out trying to see if I could catch him again. I didn’t. But another bass about the same size as the first hit it. 
I should be kicking myself, but as I haven’t sniffed a bass over 2 lbs in quite a while, I’m happy just knowing a big gal is still there. But I’ll have that jerkbait tied on a M/F next time. Or a M/M baitcaster. 

Those sure are some beautiful Bass Brian!   Very rich in color, and healthy looking.   

 

Big fish are relative it seems, they are as much a reflection of the body of water/locale as they are to a particular fisherman.    Thanks for your service as well!   

9 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

My word, that last picture is what I imagine Heaven looking like.   Beautiful fish, beautiful pics!

Those sure are some beautiful Bass Brian!   Very rich in color, and healthy looking.   

 

Big fish are relative it seems, they are as much a reflection of the body of water/locale as they are to a particular fisherman.    Thanks for your service as well!   

Thanks. Getting a little nervous with Army down 10-7 with about 9:00 left to play lol. 

Think I busted the GoPro or it's battery for good, won't charge now.   Go figure as I caught my biggest Spot since starting fishing again.   

 

Really strong fish and got her on the BFS setup.   She hit a finesse jig on the freefall fishing a deep water ledge.    She and the ugliest yet toughest LGM were the only two fish I caught.   This LGM had been destroyed by a Heron, other side was worse.