Holy catfish 

@Blue Raider Bob,

If you don't live bait fish, why are you setting out a minnow trap? 

What are those larger fish on the right-hand side?

Fun evening ! We all got a pretty decent one and some dinks. 18” with fly rod, 19” with Texas rig and what I was catching was with a hand poured paddle tail. On the double, I had a follower chasing my fish. It got close enough for my buddy to just drop a topwater next to it and he got it!!!! Usually we can never catch the followers. Also got a mooneye or goldeye and used it for live bait to no avail 

 

17 hours ago, BASS302 said:

@Blue Raider Bob,

If you don't live bait fish, why are you setting out a minnow trap? 

What are those larger fish on the right-hand side?

I have a pond on my place. I catch minnows and crayfish to put in my pond. I don't know what the larger minnows are even though I have a fish ID book. I would have to kill the fish to determine its species and I'm not that desperate to know. They are five or six inches long and the area streams are full of them. They readily eat pelleted fish food that I feed to my BG's.

9 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

I have a pond on my place. I catch minnows and crayfish to put in my pond. I don't know what the larger minnows are even though I have a fish ID book. I would have to kill the fish to determine its species and I'm not that desperate to know. They are five or six inches long and the area streams are full of them. They readily eat pelleted fish food that I feed to my BG's.

 

Bob, do you ever recognize gamefish in your trap? 

13 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

I have a pond on my place. I catch minnows and crayfish to put in my pond. I don't know what the larger minnows are even though I have a fish ID book. I would have to kill the fish to determine its species and I'm not that desperate to know. They are five or six inches long and the area streams are full of them. They readily eat pelleted fish food that I feed to my BG's.

Stoneroller, northern hog sucker, creek or river chub would be my first guesses. Bet I can guess it from a pic. Striped shiner gets pretty big too 

22 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Didn’t take my last trip too serious because I had some problems going on but figured I’d share that I got a smallmouth. Also found an underwater bridge and discovered that walking a spook ain’t too hard 

That's a good size smallie ?? any idea what the weight was like? Looks like a few pounds at least

11 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

 Also got a mooneye or goldeye and used it for live bait to no avail



 

 

 

used to catch these all the time in the river back home growing up....and that's what we did with them too!

Mooneye are freshwater, tiny tarpon!

My thumb took another beating this morning. Got on a consistent chatterbait bite for the first time in a few months, went with a buddy to Texoma and spent the morning pitching and flipping at docks from the shore. Caught a nice spotted bass and a dink, then two nice 3-4lb LM with the smallest LM to finish the day. The biggest fish beat out a bigger fish, looked like a solid 6+. I'm not complaining though. The only real disappointment was that I fell pretty hard on the rocks, and my buddy only caught a dinky sand bass. My casting arm took the brunt of the fall, it bent in some weird ways. I'm probably pretty lucky it didn't break but I did pull pretty much every muscle in my arm, I'm gonna be casting lefty for a bit. It was nice to get some good bites again, no regrets.

58 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Stoneroller, northern hog sucker, creek or river chub would be my first guesses. Bet I can guess it from a pic. Striped shiner gets pretty big too 

thanks

I'll try to remember to take a picture when I catch another. Those little suckers won't be still though. Kind of like taking toddlers to Olan Mills back in the day.

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Bob, do you ever recognize gamefish in your trap? 

Yes, all the time. I release LM, BG, catfish, and Green Sunfish. I only bring home what I would consider as minnows. I can expect different species at different locations. I have learned to avoid spots where the preponderance may be Greenies because I do not want them in my pond. The main reason I do this is just because I love being in the water, and all water related exercises. Always been that way. I'll share a picture of the upper reaches of the middle fork Stones River that I've sent to you before. It's serene places like this that keep my motor running!

1 hour ago, thediscochef said:

That's a good size smallie ?? any idea what the weight was like? Looks like a few pounds at least

Nah it would not go a few pounds. Probably 2 at most, maybe just under. Bit a squarebill crankbait in like 2 feet of water. Surprised the heck out of me. I was kinda messing around. First time throwing a squarebill in 5 years

6 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Nah it would not go a few pounds. Probably 2 at most, maybe just under. Bit a squarebill crankbait in like 2 feet of water. Surprised the heck out of me. I was kinda messing around. First time throwing a squarebill in 5 years

You must have not heard, smallmouth are only caught with drop shot and ned rig, only up north, and only with livescope 

 

your shallow Texas squarebill SMB is hereby disqualified 

7 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

You must have not heard, smallmouth are only caught with drop shot and ned rig, only up north, and only with livescope 

 

your shallow Texas squarebill SMB is hereby disqualified 

After I got back from my fishing trip, within two business days I received mail from Randy Blaukat that congratulated me on my catch and he asked to feature me in his next video

16 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

your shallow Texas squarebill SMB is hereby disqualified 

 

I'll be the judge of that.  Not you.

 

- Photo Police

30 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Nah it would not go a few pounds. Probably 2 at most, maybe just under. Bit a squarebill crankbait in like 2 feet of water. Surprised the heck out of me. I was kinda messing around. First time throwing a squarebill in 5 years

The 4lb SM I pulled out of roberts had a blue and white 7-9' Rapala in its lip, I believe you entirely about that. Still, nice SM!

Was able to get out today without any time or weather constraints, fishing  7:30-2:30. caught 21 bass all on a double wide beaver with 6 nice ones weighing, 5-3, 4-8, 4-7, 3-10, 3-7,and 3-3 for I think 21-3 for those top 5, my 1st 5/20 day in a few years. Here's pics of those 5. 

3 hours ago, keagbassr said:

Here's pics of those 5

Fantastic! ??

8 hours ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

The main reason I do this is just because I love being in the water, and all water related exercises. Always been that way.

 

Me too, Bob, my Southern brother, me too. 

 

Mighty, @keagbassr!

 

Sweet, @thediscochef!

 

 

I did a rare evening trip. Most evenings in coastal Maine are too windy for me to fish, but this evening was like a steamy Midwestern summer's evening. I fished a bog just five miles from my house. It doesn't have big bass, but they're still fun. I caught ten in two hours, all about the same size and all on a small, chrome Whopper Plopper.

Two evening trips for me, too - yesterday and today. Picked off 10 yesterday and a dozen tonight…all on top ? A couple more trips if I’m lucky, then fishing gets shut down for a while. Gonna’ miss the ever present pond bite ?

 

 

 

Attn: @IcatchDinks, I might need to borrow your screen name………

 

Pretty skies downtown tonight 

? 

 

my wife pulled over and took this last pic on her way home

 

 

Gorgeous photos, @TnRiver46! 

 

 

21 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Stoneroller, northern hog sucker, creek or river chub would be my first guesses. Bet I can guess it from a pic. Striped shiner gets pretty big too 

It's a very large minnow with a round body like a torpedo as opposed to a flattened body such as a Bluegill.

17 hours ago, keagbassr said:

Was able to get out today without any time or weather constraints, fishing  7:30-2:30. caught 21 bass all on a double wide beaver with 6 nice ones weighing, 5-3, 4-8, 4-7, 3-10, 3-7,and 3-3 for I think 21-3 for those top 5, my 1st 5/20 day in a few years. Here's pics of those 5. 

That is an " EPIC" trip. I'm about as green with envy as those huge LM. I'll bet those beasts challenged your rod warranty!