Ice off! Again - lol. Saw a place on my walk yesterday that was 95% ice covered, so was surprised when I went by again today and found it 99% ice free from just overnight. Needless to say, I grabbed a rod and walked back over there and scored some February bass - 10 to be exact. Love the feel of the finesse rod loaded up 

Here’s a few…

 

 

 

 

 

13 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely beautiful fish ? I’m going to get the Ned rig ready.

I finally made it out today for the last few hours of daylight. Cool, sunny , windy. Not my favorite conditions. Decided to fish the south end where I have some dependable bedding areas , but the first good one didn’t produce. Got a random fish on the zoom lizard in june bug off a laydown. 

The bite was very slow, and I was battling the wind in the area I wanted to fish. So I went to the calm side and fished an area that is usually good right before dark. Was getting nothing on the super fluke, so I switched to the yum dinger. Got the skinny first fish pictured, and as I was reeling him in, I saw a blow-up just ahead on a weedline. Cast over there and got a bigger one. I was releasing that fish and saw more activity on the weedline . Cast over, and got another bite. I thought, this is the end of a perfect little flurry of activity, and just as the sun was going down.

Then it happened…

It was the big fish of THE YEAR. I had him but he was powerful…then 

the line just parted….

Then I remembered thinking about checking for nicks in the line right as I saw the weedline activity. I couldn’t resist casting to it…

It cost me…?

 

3 hours ago, Fishlegs said:

We had a beautiful 65 degree day so I hit the river bank on my lunch break. I was rewarded with a 3 lb 2 oz smallie. My best lunchbreak of 2023 so far. ?

 

 

Yes sir! I think I’ve camped where you were ………

Sat caught 7, Sun caught 5, today caught 15      

 

Incredibly beautiful, and increasingly warming days, today was 70+. I'm as tan as I've been in my life on my hands and face only lol.   54spf and face covering from here on out.

 

Third day without a fish over 3lbs.  It turned on at the end of today but I was getting torched by the sun and stupidly didn't prepare accordingly and called it.    Caught a few on th 110jr +1, and Berkerly Stunna 112+1.....but the Axe Blade and Flashback Mini continue to be the preferred baits.   Caught another big Crappie, I swear when I'm trolling now I'm hoping it's a Crappie because I never catch a small one, only big ones hit this thing apparently.       

 

I'm sure I've seen one before and didn't realize it or care enough to snap a pic, but I can mark seeing a Bald Eagle off my bingo list.   Also saw the Redfox I posted a pic of awhile back again as well.    Super cool animal.   

 

Cpl of pics over the last few days....on the electronics you can see where somebody within the last week or two thought they had a secret, and draw your own conclusions on the last shot ?

 

110jr +1 in GG Threadfin with well over a 100 fish on it, the finish is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen ?

 

Damaki Axe Blade getting close to 100 fish, but has done so much quicker.

 

@N Florida Mike

 

Dang it, Mike. And losing a big one isn't one and done. I remember every big fish I lost last year and I don't have to ponder to recall them all. The lost ones are as fresh as if I lost them this evening. 

 

@AlabamaSpothunter

 

Alex, I should try to photograph some eagles. I see them a lot. There's one bog that has the biggest eagle I've ever seen and I've seen hundreds. Maybe thousands. It's a DD eagle and in one rainstorm, it flew low over me. Dark skies. Thundering rain. And a DD eagle close enough for me to count its tail feathers. I remember that magnificent bird as clearly as I remember the lost bass. 

 

BTW, I'm seeing two, yellow, round tennis balls in that last image. That's what you're seeing, right? ?

26 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Yes sir! I think I’ve camped where you were ………

You have. Unfortunately, the same thing is going on now that was going on when you were here then.

 

A man in his 60s and a teenager went fishing about a week ago, hit a bridge piling, and were thrown overboard. The teenager was rescued, but they’re still searching for the older man. Very sad.

5 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

 

A man in his 60s and a teenager went fishing about a week ago, hit a bridge piling, and were thrown overboard. The teenager was rescued, but they’re still searching for the older man. Very sad.

this from an old bridge, whose pilings are submerged and strike hulls at winter pool?

15 minutes ago, Drawdown said:

this from an old bridge, whose pilings are submerged and strike hulls at winter pool?

No. It’s a major, six lane bridge that’s a mile long. They haven’t released details on what happened. My guess would be that their motor quit, or that the current just swept them into the bridge. The current can be crazy in that area.

8 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Sat caught 7, Sun caught 5, today caught 15      

 

Incredibly beautiful, and increasingly warming days, today was 70+. I'm as tan as I've been in my life on my hands and face only lol.   54spf and face covering from here on out.

 

Third day without a fish over 3lbs.  It turned on at the end of today but I was getting torched by the sun and stupidly didn't prepare accordingly and called it.    Caught a few on th 110jr +1, and Berkerly Stunna 112+1.....but the Axe Blade and Flashback Mini continue to be the preferred baits.   Caught another big Crappie, I swear when I'm trolling now I'm hoping it's a Crappie because I never catch a small one, only big ones hit this thing apparently.       

 

I'm sure I've seen one before and didn't realize it or care enough to snap a pic, but I can mark seeing a Bald Eagle off my bingo list.   Also saw the Redfox I posted a pic of awhile back again as well.    Super cool animal.   

 

Cpl of pics over the last few days....on the electronics you can see where somebody within the last week or two thought they had a secret, and draw your own conclusions on the last shot ?

 

110jr +1 in GG Threadfin with well over a 100 fish on it, the finish is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen ?

 

Damaki Axe Blade getting close to 100 fish, but has done so much quicker.

 

I knew you had to have some eagles, I see them on the Alabama river and coosa river. Great pic 

8 hours ago, Drawdown said:

this from an old bridge, whose pilings are submerged and strike hulls at winter pool?

 

7 hours ago, Fishlegs said:

No. It’s a major, six lane bridge that’s a mile long. They haven’t released details on what happened. My guess would be that their motor quit, or that the current just swept them into the bridge. The current can be crazy in that area.

I only fished there for a weekend and there are plenty of things to hit, couple bridges and lots of barge tie ups and  the current has to be roaring. They haven’t shut the flood gates here in a month here where I live, and the river is 100x bigger in Alabama . The only hazards I remember under the surface were massive boulders 

8 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Dang it, Mike. And losing a big one isn't one and done. I remember every big fish I lost last year and I don't have to ponder to recall them all. The lost ones are as fresh as if I lost them this evening. 

Thanks for the empathy. That is the first bigger fish I’ve lost in … well I can’t remember when. I don’t think it was a pb, but you never know… It didn’t jump, just went bulldogging to the right, out into open water. Who knows, maybe the fish wouldn’t have bit at all if I would have stopped to re-tie. That’s what I’m telling myself but it’s not helping much… 
At least I had the right bait, at the right time, at the right place. So there’s that.

41 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

Thanks for the empathy. That is the first bigger fish I’ve lost in … well I can’t remember when. I don’t think it was a pb, but you never know… It didn’t jump, just went bulldogging to the right, out into open water. Who knows, maybe the fish wouldn’t have bit at all if I would have stopped to re-tie. That’s what I’m telling myself but it’s not helping much… 
At least I had the right bait, at the right time, at the right place. So there’s that.

I would just convince myself it was a mud fish 

9 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I would just convince myself it was a mud fish 

I have actually lost a mudfish like that , because he chomped down on the line.

 

5 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

I have actually lost a mudfish like that , because he chomped down on the line.

 

They could probably chomp thru pressure treated lumber 

3 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

Thanks for the empathy. That is the first bigger fish I’ve lost in … well I can’t remember when. I don’t think it was a pb, but you never know… It didn’t jump, just went bulldogging to the right, out into open water. Who knows, maybe the fish wouldn’t have bit at all if I would have stopped to re-tie. That’s what I’m telling myself but it’s not helping much… 
At least I had the right bait, at the right time, at the right place. So there’s that.

 

Mike, I don't know if you remember, but I lost three 19-inchers last summer in three consecutive casts. All three jumped. I had two right by my canoe. 19-inchers are big bass in long-winters Maine. They're rare. If I catch one on a trip, I feel lucky. It was an extraordinary event, so I remember exactly where I was and precisely where I cast. And I've studied the depth map more than once to wonder why three fish of that size were in that small area.

 

I'll likely never have that happen again, but then again, who knows, which sends me back out there, again and again, to match wits with these wonderful fish, just as your lost bass will send you back out there, again and again, and in the end, being on the water is better than being anywhere else, bass or no bass. 

 

3 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

It didn’t jump, just went bulldogging to the right, out into open water.

 

^That^ sounds like a bowfin. A long, drag-squealing run is their style. 

On 2/1/2023 at 8:56 AM, Dwight Hottle said:

Best one so far for this year.

 

 

 

 

 

On 2/3/2023 at 8:50 AM, Pat Brown said:

Sorry about the image quality but I had to get it to where it would post!

 

Pre spawn 6 lber on the Siebert Outdoors Brush jig 1/2 oz in Sunfish with a Blue Shad Zoom big salty chunk on the back.

 

Caught her at 6 am in 1 FOW.  Hit it on the fall.

 

Happy pre spawn from NC!

 

You guys are killing me, I haven't even broken 3lb so far this year. Soon hopefully!

 

Congrats to you both, those are some gorgeous plus sized fish.

Another open water trip before the rain…different location. Managed 8 this afternoon, but quality was better as all were between 14”-17.” Lots of rain and wind in the forecast, but several more warm days after it clears, so looking like open water for the next week or two at least 

 

 

 

 

 

6 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Another open water trip before the rain…different location. Managed 8 this afternoon, but quality was better as all were between 14”-17.” Lots of rain and wind in the forecast, but several more warm days after it clears, so looking like open water for the next week or two at least 

 

 

 

 

 

You are a machine. ?

6 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

That^ sounds like a bowfin. A long, drag-squealing run is their style. 

 It does , but Ive never seen one in my lake in 48 years. Some of my friends shot one once in the creek outflow.

We do have gars. 

Im 100% sure it was a bass. Even after that fish broke off, there was still activity on that weedline. But I couldn’t get another bite…

Today's big one

4 hours ago, Aaron_H said:

 

 

You guys are killing me, I haven't even broken 3lb so far this year. Soon hopefully!

 

Congrats to you both, those are some gorgeous plus sized fish.

You got big fish of thread since I joined in August brother, until that changes you aren't allowed to complain at all! ??

 

You'll blow past 3lbs by 2.5x before you know it, there be monsters swimming in those waters I tell ya.

32 minutes ago, GreenPig said:

Today's big one

That's a fat pretty toad for sure!  

Stopped at a spot downtown on my way home from a delivery shift 

30 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Stopped at a spot downtown on my way home from a delivery shift 

Dude your a dang white bass magnet

1 minute ago, DitchPanda said:

Dude your a dang white bass magnet

It’s a good time of year to slay em! I saw some guys catching them faster than I was