Took some patience, but got two pretty ones - one on a D-shad and one on a JDM finesse crank. They had a lot more fight in them than last weekend - good sign

I fished just under 4 hours this morning and caught 5.  Not Alex or Katie numbers but enough to make me happy.  (I think I figured out why I've been struggling, more on that later)The good news about the 5?   2 were over 5 pounds.   The smallest was a 14 inch Spot.  The 2 Largemouth were 6.51 pounds 21 3/4" long and 5.88 pounds 21 1/4" long.   Around here Bass get special above 6 pounds.  This one was no exception.   I was fishing a lay down, and a boat cut in front of me to the next lay down.  (maybe 40 feet, I didn't say anything but I wouldn't crowd anyone like that)  Both people in that boat burned buzz baits around the lay down, then they left.   I eased up there nice and quite and pitched a shaky head right into the middle of it.   The Bass hit it on the way down....just a gently tick, like most big Bass.   When I set the hook (luckily for me and my 12 pound test) she came straight up.   When she breached I snatched my rod and surfboarded her away from the lay down while moving the boat further away too.  (I broke off a huge bass once after surfboarding it to the boat.  I think it was able to break off due to being so close, with no line stretch)  She "got traction" and went back down, then pulled like a big catfish headed toward deeper water.  She walked on her tail a few more times before she finally got tired enough to land.  The 5.88 pounder basically didn't fight.   She hit a spinner bait so hard it almost jerked the rod out of my hands, then just felt like a 12 incher.   I wasn't paying much attention and just jerked her out of the water, breaking my rod when I boat flipped her.  I'd like to have a picture of my face when I saw her size.   Nothing about her seemed like a big Bass.     I haven't broken a rod since November, so that's pretty good for me.   

 

So, why have I been struggling?   Forward Facing Sonar.   I've noticed lately my screen looks like I'm turning the gain up and down, when I'm not.  Today I saw some surface activity, but nothing on my sonar.  It would take a week to run my battery down so I don't have the voltage displayed on any of my graphs.   Anyway, the fuse block feeding all my electronics has developed a bunch of resistance.  I was losing almost 3 volts through it.   Lately I've been not casting until I see some activity.   After seeing the problem early today I just turned all of it off.   We'll see how it does tomorrow after I repair the voltage problem.  

2 minutes ago, Woody B said:

Largemouth were 6.51 pounds 21 3/4" long and 5.88 pounds 21 1/4" long

YESSIR

3 minutes ago, Woody B said:

pitched a shaky head

Who said a shaky head doesn't catch the right ones?

Quote

The 2 Largemouth were 6.51 pounds 21 3/4" long and 5.88 pounds 21 1/4" long.

 

Woody!!!

 

Woody, you also did a good job describing the fight. Like @The Baron said, it's all we northern anglers have right now. I considered fishing today, but when the water's cold, I often sit on the floor of my canoe to increase my stability and when you do that, there are mere millimeters of Kevlar between you and a winter's worth of accumulated cold.

 

So, I thought about fishing, shivered, and said, "Not today, Jose." 

 

32 minutes ago, Woody B said:

I wasn't paying much attention and just jerked her out of the water, breaking my rod when I boat flipped her.  I'd like to have a picture of my face when I saw her size. 

 

We'd all like to see that picture, Woody! 😉

 

2 hours ago, Woody B said:

  I'd like to have a picture of my face when I saw her size.   

 

Nice Bass ~ Congrats !

A-Jay

 

Back at it this morning with The Mrs.

Had from 8-12 to fish this morning , got down to the dock and the water was yohoo chocolate drink . Paddled out to the main river channel and it was blue, pretty cool contrast 

 

tossed around a Texas rig with 2/0 gamakatsu nano alpha hook on spinning rod with 6 lb tatsu while waiting on my cutbait to get hit (never had a nibble on the cutbait). Got 4 smaller bass, LM SM and meanmouth. The new hooks penetrated the fish mouths nicely. 3 bald eagles were flying around chirping at me , when they flew low over the water loons would call out a warning. Also saw some wood ducks and mallards and an Osprey, fun morning

 

also had a bass boat pull right in front of me and start fishing but similar to @Woody B they left in less that 5-10 minutes 

@TnRiver46 some really nice photos in there

Fun morning, @TnRiver46. I wish I'd been there.

Thanks @AlabamaSpothunter and @ol'crickety. The bass boat traffic doesn’t seem to bother the birds, I guess they are all used to it by now. The gulls even follow the propwash like it’s the ocean 

My gosh @Woody B you're having an epic year so far!    Awesome fish!   What do you attribute the most for your incredible uptick in fish size?   

 

Love seeing @TnRiver46 beautiful pics as always.   

 

Awesome catch @treble hook......the fish are nice as well 😁

 

 

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

 

Awesome catch @treble hook......the fish are nice as well 😁

 

So sweet!

We went out today on the boat at around 1:30 pm and wanted to catch a couple to test out my new home made live well and to see if we could get one that would beat my leading 8-15 from last week to secure my win for March's Big Bass Battle for my local lakes.

 

We worked our way up to a main lake point not 10 minutes after leaving the marina and I'm pitching a Strike King Scounbug in Bama craw on a pegged 7/16 oz t rig into the heaviest cover on the point I can find.

 

I feel a nice supple thump way down in the junk and set the hook hard and feel my line take off into the tree!

 

I play see saw with 20 lb big game in an underwater bramble forest and some how she works her way out into open water and peels some more drag and then I get her up...for a second I thought I HAD beat last weeks big fish!

 

 

Landed this gorgeous 8 lb 4 oz behemoth!

 

We released her since she didn't beat my leading fish but holy COW I love spring time y'all!

 

Just epic epic stuff.  One of the prettiest fattest fish I ever caught.

 

We tooled around and caught a couple dinks and some sunfish and then as the sun was getting low Jake stuck a nice 2.5 lber and I boated a nice 4.5 lber on a swim jig out of some lily pads!

 

All in all a completely sublime day of bass fishing for the books and my 3rd 8+ lber of 2024 on the books!

 

🎣🎣🎣⚡⚡⚡🌊🌊🌊

Phenomenal job @Pat Brown!! Keep ‘em coming!! 

29 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

 

Wow ~ Another Very Chunky Monkey 

Heck of a big fish season so far.

Congrats

A-Jay

 

Had a great day on the spin pole, caught about 30 on a whacky rig yamamato 5" senko.      23.5lb bag with a 8.5 big fish.     

 

Waiting on confirmation from the tag in the 8.5 fish, but she could have quite the story to tell if it's the fish I hope it is.    Think she was part of a recent shock study.  

 

Started going barbless a week or two ago on the whacky rig, and she's the first Bass I've caught that exceeded my lb. test line.......so I'm calling her my most "sporting fish" to date.   

 

6.1 was from a cpl. days ago but wanted to throw it in the video.  

 

She had already spawned at least once (Another data point that tells me the biggest fish spawn first and earlier than most anglers think)

 

6.1 

 

@Pat Brown  Congrats on your amazing day friend, and love seeing Jake catch a toad as well!   Nothing better than that

Three eight-pounders!!! 

 

 

If you offered a class in bassin', Pat, I'd gladly pony up the tuition. 

 

And Alex caught an 8.5 and a 6.1???

 

I hope Professor Alex and Professor Pat don't offer their bassin' classes at the same time. I truly couldn't decide. 

2 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

 

Landed this gorgeous 8 lb 4 oz behemoth!

 

 

 

54 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

  23.5lb bag with a 8.5 big fish.     

 

 

 

Well, this is just getting ridiculous.

1 minute ago, MIbassyaker said:

 

 

Well, this is just getting ridiculous.

 

They sure can fish, can't they, and by they, I mean Woody, Alex, Pat, and the rest of the BR crew. 

2 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

They sure can fish, can't they, and by they, I mean Woody, Alex, Pat, and the rest of the BR crew. 

 

It's like a parody of a fishing show: "Hey, there's a 6.  And here's an 8.  And here's another 8..."

Speaking of their amazing ability to catch big bass anywhere and everywhere, I can hear the narrator saying, "Join us next week when Alex pulls two seven-pounders out of a jar of olives and Pat goes big bass hunting in rain drops."

1 hour ago, MIbassyaker said:

 

 

 

 

Well, this is just getting ridiculous.

Hahahahahaha you crack me up man . Bass don’t get much bigger than 5 lbs here, we need to take a road trip apparently 😂 

Dang @AlabamaSpothunter ! That's a gorgeous fish and a cool story to go with her!  

 

I think this is gonna be one of the best 'growth years' for big bass NC has ever experienced.

 

We basically didn't have a winter and I'm fairly certain sunfish and baitfish have been spawning like mad.  

 

I've never seen bass seem so content to just eat eat eat in NC when there's such good spawning weather happening and you gotta figure it's just the bass capitalizing on opportunity and abundance?

 

@ol'crickety if you wanna learn what I know, watch old tournaments and fishing shows.  I learn a lot from guys like David Fritts, Denny Brauer, Paul Elias, Hank Parker, Rick Clunn and many others.  They have been educating through tournaments and fishing shows for decades!

I told my Mom she obviously shoulda been fishing in NC yesterday after seeing the pics from @Woody B and @Pat Brown, lol. We all know that it’s just because these two are hammers though 🔨