The fish were a bit more cooperative today than they were yesterday. I got out for about four hours, put 8 in the boat, and lost two more. All were caught pitching flooded brush. The two lost were both dinks that came unbuttoned as they were sailing over my head. 😂 Best of the bunch was this 3.21#

6 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

Mostly a bunch a little guys like this.

If I could catch something the size of one of those "little guys" I would be a very happy man. 

I did manage on worth writing home about this morning!

 

 

I like catching fish of all sizes but im always looking specially hard for them bigger ones on account of wanting to understand them and such.  Shame the sample size annually for my research isn't what I'd like but it's the yearning that keeps me learning.  Fishing is fun regardless!

28 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

I like catching fish of all sizes but im always looking specially hard for them bigger ones on account of wanting to understand them and such. 

 

Pat, you're talking about understanding females.

 

Females, Pat.

 

Good luck with your quest, but consider an easier quest first, like finding the Holy Grail. 

Well you guys are killing me with all these pictures and reports......

Here in North Jersey we finally got a break from the constant rain we've had, my local river is just under flood stage.

I had to get out on my kayak for just a shakedown cruise to make sure everything is working

Hit up a glacial lake here as the temps were in the 70's with little wind.

Just brought minimal tackle as I got a late start, wound up going old school with a floating Rapala and landed a Pickerel,  lost one and had 5 follows, was just great to get out.

Out today after work on the bank. I’m guessing water temp around 55 based on last time in the kayak and other friend on the boat today. Both bites on a finesse 3.25” Swimbait on a 1/8 jig head. Both were also about 15-20’ offshore on the end of laydowns in the deeper part of the lake. Not giants but always fun when something pulls back!

 

 

Yesterday, while watching the eclipse, I ran into a dude who was in a fishing club I used to be in. We started talking about the old days and the one thing that stood out was how little we (both) fish now, because of all the work/ non-work related responsibilities we have.

 

Can't believe I actually got out to fish again today. That's twice in two weeks lol! And I caught a couple pictureworthy NLMBs too.

 

4 lbs 10 ozs on a Hiroshima hardtail. This bait is an xxxs, almost suspends. I was fishing a main lake point, fishing it with reel pops and long pauses since the water is still pretty cold (low 50s) in the central VA mountains. Kinda remarkable catch since I don't usually catch very many decent fish on hard swimbaits (except rats).

 

 

 

 

Then I caught a 6 lb 10 ozs fish on a secondary point inside a cove on a custom-painted 7" WCZ Citizen in about 7-8 FOW, fishing it pretty slow on/ near the bottom. Honestly surprised to find a shallow/ close-to-the-shore fish this early in the season, but sure glad I decided to spend half an hour in that cove.

 

 

 

@deep  I really dig your style, you seem committed to the big swimbait.  Wasn't around when you were posting before.     I haven't found anything in Bass fishing that rivals catching them on big swimbaits.   Pure adrenaline from the moment they eat. 

 

That last fish is a beautiful freak show.....congrats.    

I second every syllable that Alex wrote. Great day, @deep.

10 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

I second every syllable that Alex wrote. Great day, @deep.

And I third it. Super awesome, @deep

 

I, on the other hand, am still fishless for 2024. Got a few bumps and tugs while on the river yesterday: assuming they were were little fish like chubs or bluegill or something that couldn't get the bait in their mouth. But I did see some beautiful flowers! 

 

@IcatchDinks: I am so glad you are posting again. I really missed your posts while you busy with your newborn baby. Measured by weight, you're not one of Bass Resource's best anglers, but measured by your pluckiness and being present, whether it's enjoying the wildflowers or napping on a sun-warmed rock, you're the best. 

^^ This! ^^

It's nice to see the old and new faces alike and a landed bass is a cause for celebration in my book!  Yesterday it got soggy but we still got some in there.  ☔☔☔🎣🎣🎣 This morning I skipped it because it was positively soaking but maybe after work....

 

Here's yesterday evenings haul:

 

 

Saw some mega giants hunting the crappie Jake ended up catching one of, but couldn't do much besides annoy them and make them leave 😂

Careful Jake, those hats make you rant about FFS like a lunatic 🤣

Last night was odd for a few reasons. At this particular spot, and at this particular time of year, I usually start on the northeastern shoreline because that's where the pads come up first. The entrance to this lake is on the southwestern side and I'll fly right through it. However, every spot I briefly lit up with my headlamp on the way over was loaded with bluegill, so I had to stop. Strangely, the bluegill were mixed in size, from very large to very small. I've never seen this here. They're always found in like-sized groups.

 

Got a smack and missed on my very first cast throwing a Savage Gear pulse tail bluegill, but then I couldn't buy a sniff, and I threw the kitchen sink at them while slowly working my way north. Spent the next 2 ½ hours blanking, it was getting late, and I was really starting to feel it in my back as I'm not quite in wading shape just yet. Nothing gets me in wading shape other than wading.

 

I finally booked over to where I should have started in the first place, on the eastern side, touched my toes a few times to try to loosen up, chucked the 6" 6^th Sense Trace floater, and finally found a willing eater on my third cast. Go figure. By then it was 12:30 am, and I need my beauty sleep more than ever, so I called it a win and boogied.

 

15 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Careful Jake, those hats make you rant about FFS like a lunatic 🤣

 

 

Awwww jeeze we like Matt Stefan and Fish the Moment/Jony Schultz and those guys use FFS plenty and Jake just digs the hat and the jerky.  No FFS hate here...mostly indifference but I can't say we disagree with all of RB ideas about technology necessarily - he just maybe needs to let it go and accept that people are always gonna disagree and then he needs to go catch a big bass or two....does the soul good.  He's a great angler and teacher - when he's not ranting about FFS.  Sorry hopefully not derailing positive thread here.  Hooray for catching bass and cured meats. 😂😂😂

@PhishLI reminds me of John McClane. No matter the conditions, Phish just keeps fishing like John just keeps fighting.

 

 

Well my first bass of the year, I am starting to think that there is something going on with the ecosystem in a pond that I have been fishing for 4 years now. The numbers and size and general health of the fish has been dramatically declining for the past 2 years now. Caught this poor little guy that could use a decent meal, caught on one of my bfs setups with 4Lb fluorocarbon. 1/16 oz micro shad head and a smelt shad fry z.

@PhishLI coming home after fishing 🤣

 

 

Murph! Hail, hail, the gang's all here. And you're a furry Murph too!

 

That bass is two-dimensional. I bet the pond has a parasite. There's a pond near me where all the bass are scary skinny. 

On 4/5/2024 at 5:42 PM, ol'crickety said:

You southern anglers have sure delivered

Pat and Alex carry. The rest of us just do doughnuts around the lake and sip on sweet tea whenever someone asks if we are catching. Disco likes to catch a 7lber every so often to keep us on our feet.

@LrgmouthShad: Doing doughnuts around the lake and sipping on sweet tea sounds pretty, well, er. sweet!

 

When I fished the solar eclipse, the best part of my day wasn't catching, but poking around a stream I'd never fished. I'd paddle a bit, take the water's temperature, jab my paddle down to see if I could find the bottom, and imagine fishing it in the dark someday soon when it's warm enough for the bass to actually chase my lures.

 

I just wish I'd had a sweet tea with me or that my canoe was quick enough to do a doughnut. 

Got a break in between storms, so took advantage of a rare cloudy day for me. Started with topwater (Spook) over potential main lake spawning flats w/o a bite. Moved into a creek arm and was able to get a killer blowup on a shallow laydown. Never could duplicate that bite though. Picked off two deeper fish on Ned-type stuff…and one more crappie brushing the 3 lb. mark. That’s probably it until next week.

 

 

 

 

 

First two fish of the year on the board! 

 

My wife and I took our six month old to the park that's circled by the Chippewa. I threw on the waders and tied on a Ned rig. A few casts in I had hooked my first fish of the year. She was a beautiful, fat 13 incher. I know I don't look it in the picture, but I'm elated. That's my happy face:

 

A few casts later I had the second fish of the year: a smaller and not nearly as colourful smallie: 

 

My wife was kind enough to take the pictures and watch from the bank. After breaking off my last two Ned rigs (my spring resupply is still in the mail), I called it "good enough" and my wife and I finished the evening with a stroll around the park. 

 

Finally I can talk about fish and not naps or flowers. 

 

Neither of these are giants, not even keeper size. But fish are fun and I'm living up to my username. 

Another giant crappie, @Team9nine, and ICD scores!