4 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Thowing them on 50# braid also helps with that. You're dragging a chandelier through the water, and they try to eat it. Fish don't give a crap about seeing that line. ?

You do make a solid point about the Chandelier ?

 

By next A-Rig season I should have a dedicated setup so I don't have to throw it on my big swimbait setup.  

Last nice day before the rain and cooler weather arrives. Partly cloudy, high in the low 80s, and steady winds at 25 mph gusting 35-40 mph - prefrontal. Figured my best bet was returning to the “hot” bank from yesterday, hoping the higher winds would keep things moving and aggressive. Turned out to be the correct call. Picked off 37 bass mostly hiding in and around the growing small pondweed patches and weedline.

 

 

 

I’m sorry to hear about your dog @ol'crickety

@ol'crickety Truly sorry for your loss. It sounds like he went peacefully over the rainbow bridge and it’s nice you have a special place so he will always be with you at home.

@ol'crickety  remember, dogs don't die, they just run ahead to heaven and wait.  

Hope you're rippin some lips, @ol'crickety!

You guys made me cry and cry. Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

 

Thanks too to @PhishLI who's been coaching me in private messages. PhishLI lives on Long Island, which is basically Manhattan's lawn. When he talks, I listen because he's catching the world's most pressured bass. He told me to focus on wood with soft plastics and I did just that to catch the big girl below. She ran three times, including once beside the boat. 

 

And another special thanks to @AlabamaSpothunter, who encouraged me to buy a scale, which I used to weigh her. She weighs 5.49 pounds and that's her in the second photo too. Maine bass don't grow as long as southern bass. Our winters are simply too long and our growing season too short, but they do grow up and down, as you can see. She looks a little like a bluegill, edging toward that saucer bluegill shape.

 

I included the third photo so you can see how it still looks like winter up here. We had one day that reached a high of 70 degrees and another day where the high was 64. Other that that, it's been in the fifties and a few forties with many nights in the thirties, which is why the shoreline is still brown. 

 

I fished two water bodies this morning, a swamp that holds big fish, where I caught two bass, including the fat gal, and two pickerel. 

 

Then, on the way home, I stopped to fish a pond and caught another ten, with most having that fine football shape. Gosh, it was wonderful to be on the water and I finished with 14, my first double digit day of the year. 

 

 

14 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

You guys made me cry and cry. Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

 

Thanks too to @PhishLI who's been coaching me in private messages. PhishLI lives on Long Island, which is basically Manhattan's lawn. When he talks, I listen because he's catching the world's most pressured bass. He told me to focus on wood with soft plastics and I did just that to catch the big girl below. She ran three times, including once beside the boat. 

 

And another special thanks to @AlabamaSpothunter, who encouraged me to buy a scale, which I used to weigh her. She weighs 5.49 pounds and that's her in the second photo too. Maine bass don't grow as long as southern bass. Our winters are simply too long and our growing season too short, but they do grow up and down, as you can see. She looks a little like a bluegill, edging toward that saucer bluegill shape.

 

I fished two water bodies this morning, a swamp that holds big fish, where I caught two bass, including the fat gal, and two pickerel. 

 

Then, on the way home, I stopped to fish a pond and caught another ten, with most having that fine football shape. Gosh, it was wonderful to be on the water and I finished with 14, my first double digit day of the year. 

 

I just knew you were gonna crush it today.  Fantastic!  Congrats on all those wonderful looking fish

14 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

You guys made me cry and cry. Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

 

Thanks too to @PhishLI who's been coaching me in private messages. PhishLI lives on Long Island, which is basically Manhattan's lawn. When he talks, I listen because he's catching the world's most pressured bass. He told me to focus on wood with soft plastics and I did just that to catch the big girl below. She ran three times, including once beside the boat. 

 

And another special thanks to @AlabamaSpothunter, who encouraged me to buy a scale, which I used to weigh her. She weighs 5.49 pounds and that's her in the second photo too. Maine bass don't grow as long as southern bass. Our winters are simply too long and our growing season too short, but they do grow up and down, as you can see. She looks a little like a bluegill, edging toward that saucer bluegill shape.

 

I fished two water bodies this morning, a swamp that holds big fish, where I caught two bass, including the fat gal, and two pickerel. 

 

Then, on the way home, I stopped to fish a pond and caught another ten, with most having that fine football shape. Gosh, it was wonderful to be on the water and I finished with 14, my first double digit day of the year. 

 

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Katie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Way to go Katie, what a spectacular day you had, and I'm just thrilled to see that big girl!   What a special fish that is likely quite old!   

 

You just made my day Katie, I just knew you'd catch a toad once you got back on the water, this quickly isn't even a surprise.    Me and Phishli have talked about it in PMs......big girls are coming your way, and it started today.   

 

You just love to see somebody get rewarded for working as hard, and studying as much as you do.   

2 minutes ago, hokiehunter373 said:

I just knew you were gonna crush it today.  Fantastic!  Congrats on all those wonderful looking fish

The universe occasionally seems to work on the karma system, and when it does it's a beautiful thing to witness.

 

Katie earned and deserved that fish, and the universe blessed her with one.    What a great story.

@ol'crickety awesome!!

2 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

She weighs 5.49 pounds

There you go!

2 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Maine bass don't grow as long as southern bass.

Any Elite Pro currently fishing at the Lake Murray SC Bassmaster event would be fist pumping while thanking God and their mama for that fish! We knew you could do it!

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

You guys made me cry and cry. Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

 

Thanks too to @PhishLI who's been coaching me in private messages. PhishLI lives on Long Island, which is basically Manhattan's lawn. When he talks, I listen because he's catching the world's most pressured bass. He told me to focus on wood with soft plastics and I did just that to catch the big girl below. She ran three times, including once beside the boat. 

 

And another special thanks to @AlabamaSpothunter, who encouraged me to buy a scale, which I used to weigh her. She weighs 5.49 pounds and that's her in the second photo too. Maine bass don't grow as long as southern bass. Our winters are simply too long and our growing season too short, but they do grow up and down, as you can see. She looks a little like a bluegill, edging toward that saucer bluegill shape.

 

I included the third photo so you can see how it still looks like winter up here. We had one day that reached a high of 70 degrees and another day where the high was 64. Other that that, it's been in the fifties and a few forties with many nights in the thirties, which is why the shoreline is still brown. 

 

I fished two water bodies this morning, a swamp that holds big fish, where I caught two bass, including the fat gal, and two pickerel. 

 

Then, on the way home, I stopped to fish a pond and caught another ten, with most having that fine football shape. Gosh, it was wonderful to be on the water and I finished with 14, my first double digit day of the year. 

 

 

??????????????

Katie!!! 5.49!!! What a Maine TOAD!!! So dark this early in the season too. Looks like a florida bass. What a gorgeous fish. Congratulations!!! 

It was no ol'crickety day, but I did alright yesterday given the conditions. Caught 9, with 5 over 2#. The best was this 3.48#. Post frontal, sunny, and calm. Surface temps are creeping into the upper 50's. Lots of fish shallow. Bass were SUPER spooky. Several times I pitched into a laydown, only to have multiple bass come rocketing out of it like the boogyman kicked in the door. Pine boughs were good to me. Fish were suspending under them and catching my Sweet Craw on the fall. Most of those I caught came from fallen pines. 

 

The break in the rain turned out to be longer than originally forecast. Should have taken the boat out. Instead, with calm conditions and cloudy skies, I hit a clear water lake and ended up with 29 bass, most from the deep weedline edge or beyond. Didn’t see anything on what appeared to be beds on the first pass around, but reworked one stretch of bank at the end of the trip and saw a few that were just starting to ease back in.
 

 

2 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 Maine bass don't grow as long as southern bass.

They grow a lot longer than the ones where I live in the “south”

 

great job 

Conditions this morning were pretty sporty and the bite window wasn't open very long.

Either way, I still managed to get my fix . . . . . 

Fish Hard

A-Jay

2 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Conditions this morning were pretty sporty and the bite window wasn't open very long.

Either way, I still managed to get my fix . . . . . 

Fish Hard

A-Jay

Yes sir! Somebody painted those windows shut at my house 

4 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Conditions this morning were pretty sporty and the bite window wasn't open very long.

Either way, I still managed to get my fix . . . . . 

Fish Hard

A-Jay

The man...The legend...??

39 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Conditions this morning were pretty sporty and the bite window wasn't open very long.

Either way, I still managed to get my fix . . . . . 

Fish Hard

A-Jay

Atta boy!!!

41 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Conditions this morning were pretty sporty and the bite window wasn't open very long.

Either way, I still managed to get my fix . . . . . 

Fish Hard

A-Jay

Wonderful start to the season ?. Awesome work ??

57 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Conditions this morning were pretty sporty and the bite window wasn't open very long.

Either way, I still managed to get my fix . . . . . 

Fish Hard

A-Jay

Great start to the season pal, congrats on such a beautiful fish! 

Got out for a couple hours after work and finally took the kayak out to a lake. Wind didn't die off like it was supposed to but did manage to catch this 4lber

A bunch of nice bass.  They make my dinks look like....dinks.  Nice to see @A-Jay found water that wasn't frozen.   Myself and a co worker went yesterday after work.  We caught 6 bass, 3 apiece, all spots.  The biggest was 16 inches.  He also caught a white perch.  I caught a white perch, a crappie and a 11 pound blue catfish.  I wonder how many cats I'd catch if I targeted them. That's 3 over 10 pounds this year, all bass fishing.  I caught this one on a bladed jig.  

 

1 hour ago, Woody B said:

A bunch of nice bass.  They make my dinks look like....dinks.  Nice to see @A-Jay found water that wasn't frozen.   Myself and a co worker went yesterday after work.  We caught 6 bass, 3 apiece, all spots.  The biggest was 16 inches.  He also caught a white perch.  I caught a white perch, a crappie and a 11 pound blue catfish.  I wonder how many cats I'd catch if I targeted them. That's 3 over 10 pounds this year, all bass fishing.  I caught this one on a bladed jig.  

 

Channel cats spawn in June around here. I always catch some on a chatterbait at night. They hit like a runaway train.