Super User AlabamaSpothunter Posted May 22, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 22, 2023 50 minutes ago, king fisher said: I was able to go bass fishing again this weekend. Not the epic trip I had last weekend, but I did manage to get a couple nice bass. My first bass Friday was 25.5 inches, and the scale settled at 10 pounds even. I finished the day with 33 pounds for my best five. The big one was caught on a Storm Arashi Cover Pop, and the others were on a spinnerbait. The pattern had completely changed from last week even though the water temp. 75 degrees, water level, and weather were exactly the same and the same as every day the past couple months. Instead of being on the points and shelfs, they were back in the bays on wood. My big bass Saturday was 24.5 inches, and 8.2 pounds. I caught it on a Pop R. I lost my Storm popper on a giant that rapped me on a tree a few minuets before. I only had one of the lucky poppers, forcing me to switch to a Pop R. Nothing against the Pop R, but the bass wanted the popper walked. The Pop R is much more difficult to walk but was good enough for one eight, and a couple five pound bass. Saturday I couldn't buy a bite on anything other than a popper. I tried everything, but a popper was what they wanted. I was able to fish for half a day Sunday. Not a single bite on the popper, but landed a few around 5 pounds on a T rig, as well as lost a giant in a tree again. When I fish this lake, the difference from being a good day, and a once in a lifetime day can be one cast, and a tree limb. I had seen a big bass two days in a row, next to a lay down in a bay. I couldn't get her to bite both days, so I pulled the kayak on to the shore and climbed the bank, hoping to catch her from shore. I didn't see her, but threw a Mag, trick worm out past where I had spotted her the days before in 22 feet of water. She bit on the second cast, I set the hook, and now I was hooked to a 10 pound plus bass standing 30 feet up a steep bank, wondering what to do next. She jumped, then wrapped me on a tree that was in-between the bank, and the bass. I put the reel in free spool, and let her take line until I was almost out. I finally had to try and bring her back in. It only felt like one wrap on one limb, but I couldn't get to the Kayak, and I almost went swimming trying to get to the shore line. I was debating setting my rod on the ground with a big rock holding it, and getting my kayak, when the line snapped. I lost the bass and half a spool of line. I will think my plan through before I try a stunt like that again. All in all it was a great weekend. The picture of the 8 pound bass is blurred because I accidently splashed water on my phone while trying to take a picture. This Bass fishing thing looks super fun, think I'm gonna try it out ? Not sure what I've been doing, but it's not Bass fishing lol. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User ATA Posted May 22, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 22, 2023 six bass a dink .5lb a 2lber a 2.5lbier two 3lbier one 4lbier(on jig) 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User ol'crickety Posted May 22, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 22, 2023 As Jim Carrey said, you guys are "smokin'!" @king fisher, I suggest a trade. Your water is amazing, chock full of manatee-sized bass. However, your shorelines are sad. So sad, brown, and barren. Here's my sweet deal: Bring some of your Big Berthas up north to drop in my local bogs and you may return with one tree for each bass you deliver over five pounds. I have thousands of trees on my property and you have a seemingly endless supply of walruses with fins. Let's do this deal! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king fisher Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 2 hours ago, ol'crickety said: As Jim Carrey said, you guys are "smokin'!" @king fisher, I suggest a trade. Your water is amazing, chock full of manatee-sized bass. However, your shorelines are sad. So sad, brown, and barren. Here's my sweet deal: Bring some of your Big Berthas up north to drop in my local bogs and you may return with one tree for each bass you deliver over five pounds. I have thousands of trees on my property and you have a seemingly endless supply of walruses with fins. Let's do this deal! It is the dry season here. The rain will start in a couple weeks. By July the lake will be full, and the shore line will be a tropical jungle. I am afraid if I dropped a big Mexico bass in a Maine lake, it would get deported. Thanks, how about a trade for Mexico bass fishing and Maine ice fishing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Brown Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 Fun weekend fishing mostly offshore. Caught a toad on the Stunna during a shad spawn that happened at 3 pm on a main lake point. One of the best LMB fights of my life. Something about playing those fish with lighter line and thin hooks is just hair raising in the best way! Went out on the big lake and caught a bunch of smaller bass on the Jerkbait and ribbon tail worm and then on the way back in towards the end of the day, I tossed my spinnerbait beside a textbook submerged laydown and slowly worked it back and down the laydown and felt a big *THUMP* I set the hook and felt my drag slip and the water began to boil with a very large fish thrashing and I was convinced I'd hooked a giant bass. Turns out it was a super gnarly one eyed channel catfish, my largest catfish on artificials to date! That poor Siebert Spinnerbait has been through the ringer this week but still going strong ??? 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokiehunter373 Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 Went out Friday for another hour sesh. Should have been fantastic but it was not. 1 dink on the most boring buzzbait hit I've ever had. No explosion, the bait just went under water. 1 hit on the drop shot but no connection. Nothing on the spinner. Nothing on a dark sleeper. Nothing, nothing, nothing. You get it. However, you folks enjoyed the pup pics last time and he certainly approved of being able to see another fish, no matter the size. Sometimes I think he actually wishes he could be the one casting. Good luck this week, folks. Heading to Western MD this weekend to hopefully do some pre-dawn and early AM fishing before the kiddos rise. Hopefully a better fate awaits. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User ol'crickety Posted May 22, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 22, 2023 It's heresy to say this at BR, but I like pup pics even more than bass pics. I hope you guys can forgive me and don't burn me as a witch. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottW Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 I’m guessing that our pond bass got tired of worms and decided poppers were their new ‘go-to’ bait as they’ve been hammering them here lately. Not huge fish but decent sized so far. Thinking the bigger ones are hiding out at the bottom post-spawn for a while. Was watching that YT channel that @AlabamaSpothunter likes so much (TB) and saw them tossing poppers so figured I’d give it a try. You know, broaden my horizons and all that. ? These guys were tearing it up! Managed a few yesterday and the day before close to sunset. They were exploding on them after I managed to get it to ‘pop’ the water just right. I swapped over to a whopper plopper and they ignored it. Went with a buzzbait…dead. Back to the popper and they went back to destroying it. Hey! Who am I to deny a bass what it wants? ? Gonna head back down later this evening and see if they’ll still jump it. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User AlabamaSpothunter Posted May 22, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 22, 2023 48 minutes ago, ol'crickety said: It's heresy to say this at BR, but I like pup pics even more than bass pics. I hope you guys can forgive me and don't burn me as a witch. I'm a member on the biggest gun forum in the world, and I go there mainly to look at the caturday thread these days ? If I got a dog I'd want one like HokieHunter's, there is a "hunting dog" that looks very much like his but with brown and white, and not those gorgeous blue eyes where I fish. He always follows me around until I motor past his property. Super friendly dog, and it's the size and the lack of barking I like the most. I like those medium sized puppers, the good boys that don't bark ? 1 minute ago, ScottW said: I’m guessing that our pond bass got tired of worms and decided poppers were their new ‘go-to’ bait as they’ve been hammering them here lately. Not huge fish but decent sized so far. Thinking the bigger ones are hiding out at the bottom post-spawn for a while. Was watching that YT channel that @AlabamaSpothunter likes so much (TB) and saw them tossing poppers so figured I’d give it a try. You know, broaden my horizons and all that. ? These guys were tearing it up! Managed a few yesterday and the day before close to sunset. They were exploding on them after I managed to get it to ‘pop’ the water just right. I swapped over to a whopper plopper and they ignored it. Went with a buzzbait…dead. Back to the popper and they went back to destroying it. Hey! Who am I to deny a bass what it wants? ? Gonna head back down later this evening and see if they’ll still jump it. https://i.postimg.cc/28YBW2PB/IMG-0529.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/YCqGnj2r/IMG-0531.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/LsJqS7ZG/IMG-0532.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/yYT3y0Hp/IMG-0533.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/LsGJ8Tt5/IMG-0534.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/zGtL953n/IMG-0537.jpg Awesome stuff Scott! Tactical Bassin has been instrumental in me getting back into this awesome sport. Funny how it's a Buzzbait for me, it's a Whopper Plopper for Katie, and it's a Pop-R for you. I've tried all those, and can't get much love, tie on the ole' Buzzer, and wham. In a perfect world I wish I could catch them on the Plopper, it's just such an easy and fun bait to fish. Buzzbaiting is a combat sport lol, you're going 90mph at all time trying to keep the speed up. Your pics aren't showing up, but if you edit it and simply put a space in between those pic links, I believe they will all show up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottW Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 17 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said: Your pics aren't showing up, but if you edit it and simply put a space in between those pic links, I believe they will all show up Fixed ‘em! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User AlabamaSpothunter Posted May 22, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 22, 2023 3 minutes ago, ScottW said: Fixed ‘em! Good stuff, that popper looks excellent, love that chartreuse mouth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottW Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 Should have mentioned it’s a Yo-Zuri in gold/black with a ‘prism’ bottom. 3” +/-. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User ol'crickety Posted May 22, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 22, 2023 Alex, I like those popping lures too and used them a LOT as a kid. I've used buzzbaits mostly for muskies. Muskies make a V when they're chasing a buzzbait. One of the great fishing moments of my life was when I had TWO V's, one of each side, chasing my buzzbait. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User gimruis Posted May 22, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 22, 2023 22 minutes ago, ol'crickety said: Muskies make a V when they're chasing a buzzbait. One of the great fishing moments of my life was when I had TWO V's, one of each side, chasing my buzzbait. I've experienced that trademark "v" behind a surface lure or near surface lure when muskie fishing many times. It sends my blood pressure sky rocketing. Can't say I've seen two. That would send me right into cardiac arrest. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted May 22, 2023 Global Moderator Share Posted May 22, 2023 For a work shortened weekend, I got quite a bit of fishing in. Had training from 0600-1400 Saturday, but as soon as I got home, I took the kayaks and my oldest son to the local lakes for 1.5 hours to practice some dock skipping, not me but him. I went and forgot my drive, so I got to paddle around, boy I didn't miss doing that. Water was super clear and warm, sun was high, so I figured they'd be way under the docks and they were. He gave it a good effort but mostly caught weeds and docks. He did finally fool one dink right next to a dock that his Ned rig had just clanged into. I took over for him then, skipping his bait way under the floats and handing the rod over. We made several cast at one of my favorite docks before what I initially thought was a snag, yanked his rod towards the dock and jumped in between the dock and weedline. Not a monster bass for me, but for my 9 year old on his little spinning rod under a dock, it was quite the tussle. Glad I brought the net because the hook fell out as soon as she touched the bottom of it. Only fish the "guide" caught worth mentioning was a super dark warmouth. Sunday was really nice, finally a chance to get the whole family out. My oldest had the hot hand from the very start. He caught fish his first 2 cast, lost a walleye his 3rd, then caught another his 4th. He really didn't slow down much all day either except when he'd take breaks for snacks or to play in the livewell with his younger brother. His first fish was a drum and Finn's face accurately depicts how I felt about taking a picture with a drum. It got better after that. Finn had just eaten a half melted Swiss Roll right before he caught this walleye, so he was feeling it when we took this picture. I don't know how many fish we caught, but it was a lot. We caught smallmouth, largemouth, walleye, white bass, crappie, drum, channel cat, and green sunfish, so it was pretty non-stop action. Not wanting the weekend to end, I spent 20 minutes before work this morning at the lake with 2 rods, 1 big topwater crawler and 1 small homemade bladed jig. About 10 minutes into my morning, I had a decent fish just blast the crawler. Always nice when I get to come to work smelling like a fish. 21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Brown Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 The face on Finn after catching that walleye all covered in chocolate is straight up the meaning of fishing. You can close the book on that one. Looks like a day to remember for everyone. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cbump Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 Wife and I went out today for a few hours. She caught six, I caught 3. Big was her personal best. Just shy of 5 pounds. The non-fish picture is at a place called hell’s gate. 22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User T-Billy Posted May 22, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 22, 2023 3 hours ago, ol'crickety said: It's heresy to say this at BR, but I like pup pics even more than bass pics. I hope you guys can forgive me and don't burn me as a witch. You don't weigh the same as a duck do you? ? 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User AlabamaSpothunter Posted May 22, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 22, 2023 2 hours ago, ol'crickety said: Alex, I like those popping lures too and used them a LOT as a kid. I've used buzzbaits mostly for muskies. Muskies make a V when they're chasing a buzzbait. One of the great fishing moments of my life was when I had TWO V's, one of each side, chasing my buzzbait. Epic, I can close my eyes and almost see it. Such a healthy fish from an hour ago on the ole buzzer, she had a crawdad down her throat. Last couple times out all the fish have had nice bellies on them, nice to see the post spawn funk coming to an end. The ones that have such great girth to length that it makes their mouth look small are the ones that make me excited for the future. 2 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said: For a work shortened weekend, I got quite a bit of fishing in. Had training from 0600-1400 Saturday, but as soon as I got home, I took the kayaks and my oldest son to the local lakes for 1.5 hours to practice some dock skipping, not me but him. I went and forgot my drive, so I got to paddle around, boy I didn't miss doing that. Water was super clear and warm, sun was high, so I figured they'd be way under the docks and they were. He gave it a good effort but mostly caught weeds and docks. He did finally fool one dink right next to a dock that his Ned rig had just clanged into. I took over for him then, skipping his bait way under the floats and handing the rod over. We made several cast at one of my favorite docks before what I initially thought was a snag, yanked his rod towards the dock and jumped in between the dock and weedline. Not a monster bass for me, but for my 9 year old on his little spinning rod under a dock, it was quite the tussle. Glad I brought the net because the hook fell out as soon as she touched the bottom of it. Only fish the "guide" caught worth mentioning was a super dark warmouth. Sunday was really nice, finally a chance to get the whole family out. My oldest had the hot hand from the very start. He caught fish his first 2 cast, lost a walleye his 3rd, then caught another his 4th. He really didn't slow down much all day either except when he'd take breaks for snacks or to play in the livewell with his younger brother. His first fish was a drum and Finn's face accurately depicts how I felt about taking a picture with a drum. It got better after that. Finn had just eaten a half melted Swiss Roll right before he caught this walleye, so he was feeling it when we took this picture. I don't know how many fish we caught, but it was a lot. We caught smallmouth, largemouth, walleye, white bass, crappie, drum, channel cat, and green sunfish, so it was pretty non-stop action. Not wanting the weekend to end, I spent 20 minutes before work this morning at the lake with 2 rods, 1 big topwater crawler and 1 small homemade bladed jig. About 10 minutes into my morning, I had a decent fish just blast the crawler. Always nice when I get to come to work smelling like a fish. Awesome stuff, way to go dad! I'd spend a ton of time fishing for Warmouths if they existed in greater number and could be targeted easier. I've found they like shallow rocks/boat ramps, and if you can see one, you can always catch it, so aggressive. As mean as beautiful. Sunfish are so cool. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishing_Rod Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 Greetings All, A weekend of extreme angling, let me explain. First, I was teasing blugills using my fly rod at a recently refurbished local pond. The bluegill are potato chip sized and are great fun when teased using the "fish whip". Besides I'm grateful for the practice too. I manage to place the fly next to a small stand of reeds and I see a flash with the tension on line. Tiny and mighty! The next day I'm cleared for a full day of goofing off angling. We are having lovely weather here in SE AZ with temps in the mid 80s. I enjoyed the entire day catching all sorts of fish all along the shorelines. I realized when doing a time check that it was later in the afternoon and that I would need to be departing. OK, there is just one more cove to explore. My weedless soft plastic landed near the base of a flooded tree. Instantly the line tensioned and was peeling from the reel with drag screaming loud. Wow, what have I found?! Of course the fish took the line across the trunk and over past the other side of the tree. I'm in total "Hot Mess" mode as the kayak is being dragged into the tree branches and I'm still struggling to keep the ultra light rig with four pound monofilament clear of snags. Since one hand was committed to the rod tension, the other hand was paddling and cranking the reel when possible or simply dodging branches. If that were not enough drama and stress I could feel the angle change on the tight line, this fish was going to clear water. Yup! It did on the far side of the tree, a good size bass, very strong. I simply was not sure this was going to end well for me. As I'm thinking that the fish changed things up and began to swim right back towards me. It didn't stop till it got to the other side of yak and was hauling me out toward the cove opening and deep water. OH golly, there may be a happy ending. The fish eventually relaxed some and I was able to convince it closer to the kayak. Normally I would have my full sized landing net when in the yak. However, someone was eager to go fishing so my backpack still had the very portable livewell net that I use when shore fishing, awe that should do just fine, right? It mostly fit. A nice way to end the day with a four pound bass in hand. So glad the line and knot held. It was also a great test of the Walmart OTX UL 5.0 foot one piece spinning rod, yes it passed my test. Lessons learned: > Remain calm no matter what happens. > Always fish that last cove of the day! > Use good line with a good knot. > OH and bring enough landing net too. Best fishes to all, be well and Cheers! 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User ol'crickety Posted May 23, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 23, 2023 Well, I don't know who won tonight, the bass or me. I did catch a 4.5 pounder and a 4.1 pounder. I also caught some beautiful smallmouth, but they weren't big. I also caught a few 17" LMBs. 18 fish in all. HOWEVER, I was in the middle of a feeding frenzy and I caught ZERO of those bass. I threw seven different lures at them, but I think the lure that would have caught them would be a fluke. Maybe a jerkbait. Possibly a small floating Rapala. I fished an unusual body of water...for me. A pond with developed shorelines. For the first time this year, I shared the water with another fisher. I could only load a few photos, but I did load the two big girls, a couple 17-inchers, and a representative smallmouth. 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User AlabamaSpothunter Posted May 23, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 23, 2023 10 minutes ago, ol'crickety said: Well, I don't know who won tonight, the bass or me. I did catch a 4.5 pounder and a 4.1 pounder. I also caught some beautiful smallmouth, but they weren't big. I also caught a few 17" LMBs. 18 fish in all. HOWEVER, I was in the middle of a feeding frenzy and I caught ZERO of those bass. I threw seven different lures at them, but I think the lure that would have caught them would be a fluke. Maybe a jerkbait. Possibly a small floating Rapala. I fished an unusual body of water...for me. A pond with developed shorelines. For the first time this year, I shared the water with another fisher. I could only load a few photos, but I did load the two big girls, a couple 17-inchers, and a representative smallmouth. Nice ones Katie, especially those bigger ones! I would have hit them with that Damiki Axe Blade if your water is still sub 60s. That or Yo Yo a lipless or blade bait through them......I've found that many times the bigger fish will sit under all that frenzy above them and just slurp up the stunned and dying baitfish from the JV team. There is always a magic bait they'll eat, some days they'll eat most anything in that situation, others you can't cycle through enough baits to get one. I spent 2 days cycling through baits this winter one week on some schooling fish that pushed shallow during a warming trend, then on the third day I found the bait and had 50+ fish in an afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User PhishLI Posted May 23, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 23, 2023 16 minutes ago, ol'crickety said: I could only load a few photos, but I did load the two big girls, Here's my rule: If a place has 19s, then it has 24s too. Keep going! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throttleplate Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 8 hours ago, ol'crickety said: It's heresy to say this at BR, but I like pup pics even more than bass pics. I hope you guys can forgive me and don't burn me as a witch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User ol'crickety Posted May 23, 2023 Super User Share Posted May 23, 2023 37 minutes ago, PhishLI said: Here's my rule: If a place has 19s, then it has 24s too. Keep going! Oh, I'll keep going, but a 24" fish is beyond my ken. 38 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said: I would have hit them with that Damiki Axe Blade Great idea! I'll try it. 38 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said: I found the bait and had 50+ fish in an afternoon. I think this lake will cough up 50 fish too IF I can find the bait. I have a very good feeling about the fluke. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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