I got 9 in the boat today.  7 were nubbins (dinks).  The biggest was 17 inches.   People say the bite window is small during the Winter.   I fished from 7:55 until 3:30.   Caught all 9 between 8 and 10:15.  They were scattered, and for the most part fickle.   I have many follow my baits (A-rig, jerkbait, rattle trap, OG6, DT10).   The ones I caught didn't follow, or examine what I was offering.  A couple I didn't see/wasn't watching the screen.  The other 7 came out of nowhere like a bolt of lightening and took my bait.   I caught 2 on an A-rig, 2 on a jerkbait, 2 on a Rattle trap, 2 on a DT10,  and the biggest (pictured) on a flatside crank.  (Ott's Garage 6).    Water was clearer, but still muddy, just not chocolate milk.   Water temp was 49 when I launched my boat,  51 at the end of the day.    The Lake Wylie landing that I like(South Point) is temporarily closed for construction.   I hate the next closest landing.  (Buster Boyd)  The ramps are flat, it always crowded, and there's usually a BUNCH of people just hanging around.  (make me worry about someone grabbing something out of my boat)  The ramp I've been using (Ebanezer Park) is ~15 miles down the lake from the area I usually fish.   I tried a new ramp today. (Copperhead Island).  I like it better than Buster Boyd, and it's on the part of the lake I like to fish.   I still can't wait for South Point to re open.   

Alex, what's wrong with the people of Alabama? They should all be bass fishing in January! In your videos, it's always just you. And thank goodness for that!

 

Like you, I love the mouth of your big fish. If she fattens up for the spawn, I think she will go ten pounds.

 

Again, your hashtag is #quantity+quality! 

 

P. S. - Your bass thumb made me laugh. They're not just chewing on shad. They're chewing on you too. 

 

I had an hour to kill before I went to moms house, caught 3 from the bank. Bass with 1/4 jig and damiki armor shad , 8 lb seaguar basix 

16 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Alex, what's wrong with the people of Alabama? They should all be bass fishing in January! In your videos, it's always just you. And thank goodness for that!

 

Like you, I love the mouth of your big fish. If she fattens up for the spawn, I think she will go ten pounds.

 

Again, your hashtag is #quantity+quality! 

 

P. S. - Your bass thumb made me laugh. They're not just chewing on shad. They're chewing on you too. 

Haha, the big girl chewed my other hand good.....I always get so excited in the moment on bigger fish and reach down in there to get the hook....CHOMP ?

 

The alone part is one of my favorite aspects to your fishing style, you experience a level of quiet and serenity that few get.   I can still hear jets, leaf blowers, ambulance, etc., but at night this lake goes as quiet as a mouse.  I'd think the reason you get such epic places to yourself is that these places are extremely uncomfortable for "normal" people to be including most anglers.  

 

I mean not a lot of people will truck a canoe back into mosquito/tick filled woods in the dark....but you've shown us the reward time after time.    

 

You put in a lot of work to get to those places that offer pin drop quiet settings.   It's easy to forget all the work that goes behind the fish people post.    Some worked all week to afford a payment on a sweet Bass rig they use on the weekends, some hike a mile into dark woods with a canoe and tackle, either way it takes a special fish to drive people to work so hard to pursue it.     

 

41 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

 

I had an hour to kill before I went to moms house, caught 3 from the bank. Bass with 1/4 jig and damiki armor shad , 8 lb seaguar basix 

To my last reply to Katie, one of the reasons I love this thread is I've now been in it long enough to learn all the frequent poster's unique fishing style.   You could simply post pics of the lures and your fish, no name or avatar, and I'd know they were yours.    Same goes for a dozen+ others at least.  

 

Every frequent poster in this thread has their own unique fishing style.    We all share a general love for these fish, but we go about catching them vastly different.   This thread and forum made me realize how big the Bass universe is, we got posters from around the world.  Makes for a great thread beyond the other obvious reasons.

 

 

8 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I'd think the reason you get such epic places to yourself is that these places are extremely uncomfortable for "normal" people to be including most anglers.  

 

I agree. The woods and deep swamps scare many people, much like an Alabama winter chases the other fishers off your honey hole. I've never felt afraid away from other people. Rather, it calms me. And stats show the most dangerous place for a woman is her home, not the woods or water.

 

11 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I mean not a lot of people will truck a canoe back into mosquito/tick filled woods in the dark

 

Here's hoping it stays ^this^ way and I'm thinking it will, for people acclimate to their soft lives and, more and more, lose the desire and the will to bear a bit of discomfort to reach a quiet place bustin' with bass.

 

10 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I always get so excited in the moment on bigger fish and reach down in there to get the hook....CHOMP ?

 

Payback! You can't blame 'em. I sure can't.

23 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I've never felt afraid away from other people.

 

Without a doubt people are the most dangerous animals we're around.   

I didn't go today.  It's 38 and raining.  I like fishing in the rain, and don't mind fishing in the cold.  It's the combination that kept me home today.   

Just now, Woody B said:

 

Without a doubt people are the most dangerous animals we're around.   

I didn't go today.  It's 38 and raining.  I like fishing in the rain, and don't mind fishing in the cold.  It's the combination that kept me home today.   

So true, and what's funny about that is that I've always been a big hand washer after going to grocery store, or being out in public.

 

On the water, I'll eat a Clif Bar after handling tackle and fish all day.   To me the sterile environment is in that little aluminum boat.

 

P65 Warnings are gonna get us all anyways ?

2 minutes ago, Woody B said:

 

Without a doubt people are the most dangerous animals we're around.   

 

Agreed, Woody. And if a mama bear kills me one day, she won't enjoy it. There are murderers so evil they enjoy it. The fewer the people, the safer I feel.

2 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I've always been a big hand washer after going to grocery store, or being out in public.

 

Smart! I should do that too.

19 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Hottest day I've ever had on the water in terms of Bass aggression.      I'm going to try and make a video just showing the indescribable Bass and Shad activity on this same 2acres of water at the mouth of the northern most creek as the last few days.     I've never seen so many Bass of all sizes feeding for hours on end like this.  One Bass will erupt, and then 20sq feet will erupt nano seconds later with sometimes a dozen fish clearing the air.   This scene repeats itself every minute for every hour I'm out there in every part of about 2acres of water, there is no end to the feeding window......that I can't stress enough.    

 

50+ fish caught today(most fish I've caught fishing this lake my entire life), maybe 5-10 were less than a pound.    Big fish was a 7.1lb old girl taken on the Picasso finesse bait ball A-Rig.    This big girl was clearly on the downside of her life, she didn't look sick or emaciated, but her mouth and head were the size of a fish I've never seen before, bigger than my PB.  Hoping she's just lived a nice long life.    For a brief moment I thought I got my White Whale.   

 

Watched a Red Fox for a few minutes as well, very cool animal. 

 

Someone should have told me Winter fishing was like this ?

 

If anyone ever asks you why you fish and is it fun, show them this video. It explains it all!  
 

Nice bass! 

57 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

If anyone ever asks you why you fish and is it fun, show them this video. It explains it all!  
 

Nice bass! 

I really appreciate that Brian! 

40 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I really appreciate that Brian! 

 By the way, I do not just mean you. I mean all of us. That speaks way more than words! 

On 1/21/2023 at 12:15 PM, LrgmouthShad said:

May not wind up to be the wisest decision I’ve made because I’m really busy

It was a wise decision to go fishing. There was a test that I took today that’s supposed to be the hardest I take while here, studied hard after fishing, and passed with a 94%. Moral of the story: go fishing when you can. *Insert Richard Gene elmo noises*

30 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

There was a test that I took today that’s supposed to be the hardest I take while here

 

Was it about how to paint football helmets and not make a mess with splatter and overspray? or how to sound convincing and sincere when you claim it was on purpose?...

1 hour ago, Deleted account said:

 

Was it about how to paint football helmets and not make a mess with splatter and overspray? or how to sound convincing and sincere when you claim it was on purpose?...

You lost me there. I can’t figure out what you mean 

31 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I can’t figure out what you mean 

He's saying you're good enough, you're smart enough, and doggone it, people like you.

1 minute ago, PhishLI said:

He's saying you're good enough, you're smart enough, and doggone it, people like you.

Hit the pond today for a few hours. Blue sky, temps in the upper 40s, water was mostly muddy from the recent rains but I was feeling the need to wet a line so I went for it. Wound up catching 4 LM in the 12” range on a Yo-Zuri 3DB jerkbait 110 and a 1/4oz Siebert’s Outdoors @Siebert Outdoors jig in bloody shad with a Missle Baits Shockwave Shad trailer in Pearl White.

 

Managed to hit a sweet spot in a corner of the pond that was roughly on the eastern side with intermittent wind gusts that would blow a bomb cast way off target if I wasn’t paying attention.

 

I need to visit Neely Henry again soon!

 

2 hours ago, PhishLI said:

He's saying you're good enough, you're smart enough, and doggone it, people like you.

No, I'm saying it's the time on Schprockets when we dance...

1 hour ago, ScottW said:

Hit the pond today for a few hours. Blue sky, temps in the upper 40s, water was mostly muddy from the recent rains but I was feeling the need to wet a line so I went for it. Wound up catching 4 LM in the 12” range on a Yo-Zuri 3DB jerkbait 110 and a 1/4oz Siebert’s Outdoors @Siebert Outdoors jig in bloody shad with a Missle Baits Shockwave Shad trailer in Pearl White.

 

Managed to hit a sweet spot in a corner of the pond that was roughly on the eastern side with intermittent wind gusts that would blow a bomb cast way off target if I wasn’t paying attention.

 

I need to visit Neely Henry again soon!

 

Those are some beautiful fish and baits...that jerkbait looks almost to pretty to fish with it.

 

I got that Armor Shad sample pack mailed today, wonder how fast it will be given I could have potentially used a carrier Pigeon for the job ?

 

I think it's gonna hammer them on a Pond setting!   

 

One the biggest things I love about the Flashback Mini/Armor Shad is how non-invasively it hooks fish, and particularly the smaller fish that get mangled in multi treble baits/a rigs/or any heavy wire single hooked bait.     Never hooked a fish badly on this bait after several hundred fish.   It's a moving bait, with a tiny wire single hook, about the best way you can ethically hook these fish imho.    I only bring this up because those fish I'm sure are a little more personal to you than those at Neely Henry for example.    I know the fish on my homelake are more special to me than ones at Lay Lake.    

 

eta: knock on wood on the not hurting a fish on the flashback mini lol 

49 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

I'm saying it's the time on Schprockets when we dance...

Same difference, silly.

Awesome catchin!

On 1/17/2023 at 9:23 PM, gimruis said:

I see that quite a bit in the spring time when a pair of Canada geese has claimed an area for their nest, and other geese show up. Those things can get nasty. They are mean sons of *******. They will not back down when they are protecting a territory, nest, or goslings.

 

Years ago, when I used to hunt them, if we had a wounded one, even a full grown male lab had trouble retrieving it. We would often just have to dispatch it with another load of BB.

I wouldn’t put up with that. A good kick or two would have fixed her problem!

Beautiful afternoon in the low 40's before the big mess tonight. Only had about an hour and a half to get out but got three halfway decent ones like the one pictured. Also got a bonus crappie, all on the Sleeper again.

Couldn’t pass on the opportunity to fish in sunshine and 44 deg air temps. Walked to a pond, only to find it about 70% ice covered. Almost turned around, but one corner was open, so I started there and slowly expanded on the area as the sun and a whole bunch of geese helped to slowly break things up. Headed home after 2+ hours, leaving the pond still 30% ice covered. Managed 10 bass while I was there though. Always fun throwing to ice sheets, pulling your bait off them and having a bass grab it - then trying to stop him from running under the ice and possibly cutting you off.