6 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

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

I'm jealous. I hit the local lake after work. Drilled thru 15+ inches of ice. Bet I popped 40 holes...never caught a fish.

1 minute ago, DitchPanda said:

I'm jealous. I hit the local lake after work. Drilled thru 15+ inches of ice. Bet I popped 40 holes...never caught a fish.

I was about to leave Skunked and pretty much caught 4 in a row. I moved rocks I was standing on, either the angle was different or they just moved in after dark 

10 minutes ago, DitchPanda said:

I'm jealous. I hit the local lake after work. Drilled thru 15+ inches of ice. Bet I popped 40 holes...never caught a fish.

Much respect seriously!  All you can do is put in the work, the universe has to pay it off sometime......that's what I repeat over and over after days like today where I caught 1 little fish.     I also like to repeat...."eventually a big fish is just gonna run into your bait" ?

 

Drilling ice seems like digging holes down where I live in thick clay soil.....sucky ?

3 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

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.

 

Fingers crossed! I doubt I'll come close to last year but that doesn't mean I won't try. My best five went 45lb 6oz but I was very, very fortunate. Just hoping I can pattern a few good ones this year.

41 minutes ago, Aaron_H said:

45lb 6oz

 

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Much respect seriously!  All you can do is put in the work, the universe has to pay it off sometime......that's what I repeat over and over after days like today where I caught 1 little fish.     I also like to repeat...."eventually a big fish is just gonna run into your bait" ?

 

Drilling ice seems like digging holes down where I live in thick clay soil.....sucky ?

Well with the quality of equipment we have for ice fishing now its really not so bad

17 minutes ago, DitchPanda said:

Well with the quality of equipment we have for ice fishing now its really not so bad

 

I wouldn't be concerned about the quality of the equipment as much as the quality of my long underwear. I tried ice fishing once. It was like this:

 

23 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

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. 

 

 

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

Katy a 19" Smallie is a big fish anywhere! I have two so far this year. Back home in the swamps, we used to call Bowfins, "Grinnell".  Has anyone ever heard that usage? Don't know if it's regional or not. I've never seen one in the cleaner waters of middle Tennessee. They would crush spinnerbaits and bend the wire.

2 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Katy a 19" Smallie is a big fish anywhere! I have two so far this year. Back home in the swamps, we used to call Bowfins, "Grinnell".  Has anyone ever heard that usage? Don't know if it's regional or not. I never seen one in the cleaner waters of middle Tennessee. They would crush spinnerbaits and bend the wire.

I’ve caught 2 grinnel in S Alabama 

22 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

23 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Katy a 19" Smallie is a big fish anywhere!

 

Yeah, that's why I keep replaying those three fish lost in a row. However, I'm upgrading my hooks for 2023, so hope springs eternal with stickier hooks.

13 hours ago, Aaron_H said:

 

Fingers crossed! I doubt I'll come close to last year but that doesn't mean I won't try. My best five went 45lb 6oz but I was very, very fortunate. Just hoping I can pattern a few good ones this year.

Soooo I'm about to be in Orlando for a week... lol

18 hours 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 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope it's just rain for you guys, we had a few inches of heavy, wet snow come down really fast last night. No school for my kids today. It was only supposed to be rain for us also. 

15 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Hope it's just rain for you guys, we had a few inches of heavy, wet snow come down really fast last night. No school for my kids today. It was only supposed to be rain for us also. 

We usually get whatever you get, just a day or so later - lol - but fortunately not this time. Last of the storm line just cleared us with 50+ degree temps. Ended with 1.36” of rain, and now have 20-50 mph winds with temps falling the rest of the day…but that’s still better than snow ?

 

Hopefully it’s enough warm rain to buffer us from a pair of forecast hard freezes overnight this weekend. We get through those and we’re back to the 50s most of next week 

1 hour ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Katy a 19" Smallie is a big fish anywhere! I have two so far this year. Back home in the swamps, we used to call Bowfins, "Grinnell".  Has anyone ever heard that usage? Don't know if it's regional or not. I've never seen one in the cleaner waters of middle Tennessee. They would crush spinnerbaits and bend the wire.

 

Yes I have heard them called Grinnell along with mud fish, bowfin, dogfish & swamp trout. 

1 hour ago, Team9nine said:

We usually get whatever you get, just a day or so later - lol - but fortunately not this time. Last of the storm line just cleared us with 50+ degree temps. Ended with 1.36” of rain, and now have 20-50 mph winds with temps falling the rest of the day…but that’s still better than snow ?

 

Hopefully it’s enough warm rain to buffer us from a pair of forecast hard freezes overnight this weekend. We get through those and we’re back to the 50s most of next week 

Same here. Forecasters called for ‘light snow flurries’ last night so all the bread, milk and beer disappeared in minutes here. All we really got was some rain and it’s mostly cleared up now. Like you it’s dropping down to freezing this weekend so ‘supposedly’ some more yo-yo weather. ?

19 hours ago, GreenPig said:

Today's big one

Nice fish but don’t you have an Auburn University hat? ? 
 

*Scott hides behind @AlabamaSpothunter’s fish finder. No one will damage that to get to me! ?

8 minutes ago, ScottW said:

Forecasters called for ‘light snow flurries’ last night so all the bread, milk and beer disappeared in minutes here.

 

I was in Columbus, Ohio once when a blizzard was forecast. People panicked in the neighborhood grocery store. They used their forearms to sweep cans into their carts. There were broken bottles on the floors and people were checking out with multiple carts. 

 

I bought a watermelon and paid in the "10 Items or Less" line. I was the only one in that line and I was embarrassed for my species. 

I’ve witnessed that sadly years ago here. I was dumbfounded at first then embarrassed like you mentioned.

Because sometimes you just want to see if you can do it or not… ?

 

 

16 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

I tried ice fishing once.

 

 

Just now, Team9nine said:

Because sometimes you just want to see if you can do it or not… ?

44 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Because sometimes you just want to see if you can do it or not… ?

 

 

Like there was ever any doubt ~

Nicely Done 

A-Jay

@gimruis Love that video! Thanks!!!

today i went to Lake Ray 'There are just lots of spiders' and caught allergies. I took photos but you can't really even see the spiders

I made it out for 5 hours today.  I caught 11 including a fat largemouth that was 6 pounds even.  20 1/8 inches long 17 1/2 girth.  She's been eating good.   I also lost a ~2 pounder while boat flipping it.  The bill pulled out of a DT6.  I caught a couple on a chatter bait (my first chatterbait bass.)   a few on a DT6.  The 6 pounder came on a T-rig.   I also caught 1 on a Jig.   It was really windy today.  Temp was around 50 but I was cold.  Water temp is up to 52.