Latest Catch Pics Thread

[TnRiver46]

Caught two LM around the neighbors docks while my

wife floated around on an inner tube, not a bad evening 

 

[LrgmouthShad]

Okay @Pat Brown asked me to take over the report because he’s been very busy since our outing. He has been really gracious to @IcatchDinks, @FishTax, and myself. He’s held no secrets back on where he fishes and how he fishes. Pat is a master of the frog and many other lures! Great guys to hang out with. I had a good time and I hope everyone else has, as well. Unfortunately @FishTax was too busy and could not hang out with us at the time. We fished a small pond together. It’s the same one that you have seen other reports coming from. Really interesting pond. Took me a bit to figure out. But we smashed em!  Please correct me if Im wrong. I believe Pat caught 4, I caught 3, @IcatchDinks caught 2, and Pat’s son caught 3. If I’m missing any photos, feel free to add y’all and my mistake. They may take a bit to add into here. 
 

Pat also lost a GIANT on a frog that everyone saw him wrenching in. It just somehow got enough wiggle room to get off. I give him a lot of credit for tricking that fish into biting a frog.
 

Thank you @Pat Brown for sharing a little bit of your bass fishing haven and for sending us home with some gifts! He’s a gentleman. 

[Swamp Girl]

Three cheers for Pat: Hip-hip-....

 

And what a good trip report, @LrgmouthShad!

[Pat Brown]

Allow me to add to the story of this weekends adventures......

 

Day before yesterday we took @IcatchDinks to our favorite summer lake this year (been great to us this year for some reason) and had a really fun and sweaty 2 hour boat session.  We started out hitting some spots that have produced giants but not many bites - and got not many bites 😂 and then moved on to places where we tend to get bit more consistently but the quality is inconsistent.

 

Stuck two on near back to back casts out of the same pocket off of what looked like a bedding area - hard to say if it was the bream or the bass that were on bed - but it was going down back there.  Two NICE bass:

 

 

Sadly it was at the very last second for our guest and we had to take him home right after we found em!  Bummer!  Then it absolutely dumped rain on all my tackle 😂👍🏼 It needed washing it's fine.

 

WELL - yesterday was quite a epic day to be sure!

 

The Plan : @IcatchDinks + @LrgmouthShad + @Pat Brown + Jake @ sneaky lil spot @ 0500 hours.

 

We arrived and it was still dark - no breeze.  Tough conditions but I knew because of the cool rain the previous night - we'd be getting some action.

 

I tied on my black scum frog and went to work.  Jake tied on a weightless plastic and went the other direction.  He catches one almost instantly and a nice one!

 

 

First few casts I nail this squeaker who informs me promptly to keep the frog tied on!

 

 

I obliged and was treated to number 2 very shortly after:

 

 

The sun starts to come up a bit more so I tie on a little popping trophy scum frog to see what kinda action it gets at this spot.

 

 

End up with the biggest of the trip with a nice one just shy of 4 lbs.  Healthy girl - great fighter.

 

@LrgmouthShad makes his entry and I point him to some areas that have yielded bigger fish and offer him a few strategic points that have helped me at this particular spot and away we go!

 

We are both fishing a grassy point with a big tree hanging over it from opposite sides of the tree on the bank - he's tossing a swim jig and I'm throwing the scum frog popper and he got to see me water ski a nice 2 lber!  Always fun when I get an audience - even more fun when it's part of the BR fam!

 

 

At this point @IcatchDinks sees a flurry of action on a crankbait and catches a nicer one!

 

 

Jake then manages #2 for the day along the same shade line!

 

 

At this point we are all sort of on top of each other in the shade as it is getting VERY hot VERY quickly with zero breeze.

 

I bomb my frog parallel to a long PVC pipe that acts as insulation for the feed line for the fountain at the center of the pond.

 

I walk ol scummy pop a couple times and all of us see her take it.  I actually got a really nice hookset on her and had her on for a second but she was a jumpe and launched her near 6 lb frame about 3 feet out of the water and returned my bait to me before going on a diet til we leave 😂👍🏼

 

It was a heartbreaker to be sure. I don't miss a lot of fish at all when they are hooked on the frog but when I do it's humbling and it reminds me to be super thankful for the fish I get to hold and release.

 

The action slowed considerably at this point.

 

@LrgmouthShad kept us in the game with a healthy fish on a megabass pop max (gonna need a couple of those!!!!)

 

 

@IcatchDinks stuck a nice sunfish and a bass on the crankbait!

 

 

Jake got one more I think I couldn't find a picture of and I lost a 2 lber in private.

 

4/6 on the frog is not bad for me and I feel like letting them get that bait established in their mouths is pretty darn good stuff.  I missed a lot swinging too soon earlier this spring and I'll be ready next year / this fall 👍🏼😎

 

The coolest part of meeting these guys and fishing with them is that they're all great people I'd feel comfortable leaving my kid with.  They are the salt of the earth and kind and good natured as people can be and we all had such a fun time given the AWFUL conditions for bass fishing!

 

AND we caught the snot out of em!?!?!

 

That's a win.  Looking forward to our next adventure - and the next time we get visits from faraway bass friends.

 

 

 

 

 

[LrgmouthShad]

Well okay there’s Pat’s version 🤣

[Swamp Girl]

10 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

@LrgmouthShad makes his entry at this point and I point him to some areas that have yielded bigger fish and offer him a few strategic points that have helped me at this particular spot and away we go!

 

Generous Pat.

 

4 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Well okay there’s Pat’s version 🤣

 

Here's my version: I didn't get to fish with the BR gang and that makes me sad.

 

 

[Peacedivision]

After a week of 110 degrees days some night fishing was the deal. Didn't take a ton of pics but all fish were on a 1/2oz football jig and basically clones of this guy, 2 pounders.

[A-Jay]

46 minutes ago, Peacedivision said:

After a week of 110 degrees days some night fishing was the deal. Didn't take a ton of pics but all fish were on a 1/2oz football jig and basically clones of this guy, 2 pounders.

Nice night time bass !

Interesting that your life jacket didn't show up in the picture.

🙃

A'Jay

[Peacedivision]

21 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Nice night time bass !

Interesting that your life jacket didn't show up in the picture.

🙃

A'Jay

Water pump on the big motor broke we were never above idle speed. Thankfully amador is a small lake.

[LrgmouthShad]

5 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

 

@LrgmouthShad kept us in the game with a healthy fish on a megabass pop

Quick correction. That fish was on an ol monster t-rigged. I did catch one on the popmax but that was early morning. The last was on a spinnerbait. The spinnerbait fish and popmax fish are shown in my report but not in Pat’s, for anyone looking for them. I know, it’s a lot of photos to keep track of! It’s a pain when we are catching them good! 

[Woody B]

I struggled again today.  I got 4 Bass in the boat, all spots.  One "micro bass" and 3 cookie cutters.   I also got a Blue Cat that would have been around 10 pounds.  I took my pliers and shook it off next to the boat.  I didn't want slime all over my boat.   All , including the cat were on a shaky head.   

 

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

@Woody B: Woody, I know why you didn't land your usual haul: You were sleep-fishing. Look at your pics. You're asleep in all of them!

[The Baron]

I’m still battling a bit of a slump, not smart enough to take a break from it.  I’ve been wanting to figure out a fairly large local lake, a very popular fishing destination but all new to me.  After looking at contour maps I went out one afternoon and graphed over a very long rocky flat/point that falls fairly sharply on 2 sides from 4-5ft. to 15-25ft. with weeds then to much deeper water (eventually to over 90ft).  The wind was blowing onto the point so I figured current, weeds, and a drop off it’s got to be good.  Plan was to throw my new love Carolina rig and feel it out.  I caught a 2.5lb. lmb on my first cast and thought “oh man, I’m learning!”.  We all know how that story ends… 🙄  I couldn’t buy another bite so switched gears and just casted along the shore.  I found lots of logs in the water so a good area to work.  I did catch a couple along there, including a 3#.  I tried the lake another day and caught a couple smallmouth on the rocky flat, and saw others cruising.  I then tried for largemouth and although I saw some in the very clear water (visibly about 15ft. thanks to the zebra mussels), they wouldn’t bite anything I tried.  I was frustrated by those two outings, so went to a different lake another afternoon.  I don’t know the lake much better and caught zero for 3 hours in the afternoon heat.  I was downright dejected after that.  But I dragged myself out of bed at 3:30am to fish a lake I know much better yesterday morning.  Only one swipe at my popper so I switched from topwater to a flashy swimmer and caught a decent smallmouth.  Then I just picked up a dropshot and eventually caught 1/2 dozen, a couple pike, and another smallmouth and a snakehead on a white spinnerbait. I also fished a frog in some scattered slop with zero bites, so went back to the dropshot for a couple more.  So my luck is on the upswing but I’m struggling to catch more than one fish at a time and long breaks between.  Hopefully the upswing will continue.  I’m wanting to get a friends two young sons out this week, but the fishing has been so slow I’m hesitant to risk it.

 

[TnRiver46]

Looks like a lot of fish for a tough weekend @The Baron, way to stick it out! Also, a snakehead in Canada ? Maybe bowfin ? We don’t have either in East TN but I have caught some bowfin and they fight like the devil 

[Swamp Girl]

@The Baron, I don't know if you're looking for input, but as a primitive, no-electronics, no-motor angler, I pick my fishing times carefully. I look for as much cloud cover as possible, love fishing rainy days, fish at low-light times (morning and evening), focus on shaded shorelines, and cast as far as I possibly can. I also keep scooting until I find them and keep changing lures until I find what they want. With your zebra mussel, gin-clear water, these tactics/advantages should help you too. 

 

Sincerely,

 

The Old Primitive 

 

2 hours ago, The Baron said:

I then tried for largemouth and although I saw some in the very clear water (visibly about 15ft. thanks to the zebra mussels), they wouldn’t bite anything I tried.  I was frustrated by those two outings, so went to a different lake another afternoon.

 

You saw them, so they saw you, thus the longest possible casts.

[The Baron]

22 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Looks like a lot of fish for a tough weekend @The Baron, way to stick it out! Also, a snakehead in Canada ? Maybe bowfin ? We don’t have either in East TN but I have caught some bowfin and they fight like the devil 

Yes, bowfin but we use the name snakehead interchangeably up here (I’ve also heard them called dogfish).  This one was maybe 4# and did give me an excellent fight - was wishing it was a monster largemouth when it whacked my spinner bait on a weed edge.

 

I do appreciate the input @ol'crickety  I know the clear water is an issue on my new nemesis lake, so am re-rigging some stuff - more fluorocarbon and less straight braid.  There’s a lot more rock that my usual places so may also try some cranking, which I’ve never done because everywhere else I fish is just weedy enough to make that impossible.

 

I struggle with early morning fishing - I love it, but like my early morning turkey hunts it puts me totally out of sync with the rest of the family.  My son and I might try for the evening bite today, but those trips mess up family dinner which is something we value.  If I was away from home I’d gladly fish the early morning and late evening, with a quality nap in between. 😊

 

[BayouSlide]

41 minutes ago, The Baron said:

Yes, bowfin but we use the name snakehead interchangeably up here (I’ve also heard them called dogfish).  

 

Down in South Louisiana they are called grunnel, bowfin or choupique. They fool me every time into thinking I'm about to land a PB bass 😉👍

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, The Baron said:

Yes, bowfin but we use the name snakehead interchangeably up here (I’ve also heard them called dogfish).  This one was maybe 4# and did give me an excellent fight - was wishing it was a monster largemouth when it whacked my spinner bait on a weed edge.

 

I do appreciate the input @ol'crickety  I know the clear water is an issue on my new nemesis lake, so am re-rigging some stuff - more fluorocarbon and less straight braid.  There’s a lot more rock that my usual places so may also try some cranking, which I’ve never done because everywhere else I fish is just weedy enough to make that impossible.

 

I struggle with early morning fishing - I love it, but like my early morning turkey hunts it puts me totally out of sync with the rest of the family.  My son and I might try for the evening bite today, but those trips mess up family dinner which is something we value.  If I was away from home I’d gladly fish the early morning and late evening, with a quality nap in between. 😊

 

Looks like it would rip a finger clean off , freshwater version of a snapper 

[Pat Brown]

@The Baron - sounds like you're running into the wall I tend to hit in the winter and in the summer - the wall has writing on it - large red letters - all caps - KEEP MOVING.

 

Summer and Winter are very different from 'good seasons' and require a more deliberate and Methodical approach for me generally speaking.  The fish are on the move.  So must we be.

 

Spring and fall i find there's pretty much a fish every where I cast and it's angry but summer and winter are 'feed months' and not 'breed months' so they're less angry and more hungry and mobile.

 

Scout out the bream beds.  Scout out the grass where the shiners make their home.  Feeder creeks are huge when it's summer.

 

These are great areas to make a milk run out of and yes like @ol'crickety says - LONG casts in clear water.  If you can see em already - game over.

[Swamp Girl]

32 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

LONG casts in clear water. 

 

I catch an amazing percentage of my bass at the very end of my longest casts. If bass are tucked under heavy cover, you can catch them feet from your boat, but if you're fishing clear, shallow water, as I often do and as @The Baron always does, as he fishes the Canadian Shield, it's best to stay as far from them as your casts allow.

 

I think a lot about bass being here for 3,000,000 years. That's ten times as long as us. So, they've been tweaked and refined for ten times longer than us. They're complex, refined animals, continually moving and constantly wary.

 

32 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

The fish are on the move.  So must we be.

 

Preach it.

 

The senator noted yesterday that I don't park on a spot. I don't even carry an anchor. Heck, I'd be pulling it up two minutes after I'd drop it. 

 

FWIW, I had a first yesterday evening. I often see a line in the water as a shallow water bass charges my lure. Well, yesterday, I saw three lines for the first time, i.e. three bass going for my lure. When I reached the spot, the water was sooooooo skinny, but my long cast didn't tip my hand. 

 

A couple from yesterday evening. I didn't measure the first one, but the second one was 19.75".

 

[Swamp Girl]

@The Baron: One more thing. You mentioned fluoro. I can't cast fluoro as far as mono and braid, so I don't use it. I'd switch to mono instead of braid and 8-lb. mono casts a lot farther than 12-lb. mono. I use mono where they get a look at the lure, like a slow-moving worm. With fast-moving lures, like a Whopper Plopper or underspin, I always use braid. 

[Bazoo]

I don't always get these picture sorted by the day, and often I'll fish it several days close, so forgive me if you notice the lighting is off. Sometimes I'll hit this lake a bit before bible study, and then again after.

 

The boy entices them somehow, with is his furious retreives!

 

Learning split shot rigging... Working too.. now just to find the hawgs.

 

 

 

 

 

I rigged this up for the wife, gave it a test cast and caught this little fighter. I often give her or the boys rig a test cast to make sure things are in order, and often connect.

 

 

I think this is the first bass I've ever caught on a roostertail. I don't fish inline spinners much. It twisted my line

 

 

Got my first jig, albeit a swim jig, bass.

 

Yum FF Sonar minnow on a Carolina rig seems to work pretty good. These are red because they were in my catchall bag with a red lure a few days.

 

 

Worked at the river too!

She had a knob on her nose, and another angler there mentioned catching one like that, upon seeing the pictures, he said he'd caught her the other day.

 

 

Back to the private lake.

 

Where the brim are energetic.

 

 

Couple days later. Split shotting is working good and I have a good feel for it with a #3 weight and 10lb line. I am going to go to 8lb line and see if I can get the weight down some and still keep my distance reasonable. I don't particularly like these worms, but I have a bag of them. Not sure if this classic color works or is just nostalgic, which is why everyone fishes it.

 

The boy wanted a white grub, this was my test cast. I don't use that suncatcher line for stuff normally. I do have it on a rod that I've been throwing topwaters on, but I just generally don't have any confidence in it.

 

 

 

The next day. Watermelon with red flecks is working just fine.

 

 

Eat anything that don't eat him first is his motto!

 

I was trying this color out... eh... I still don't have much confidence in it. Probably lose it at the river anyways.

[MIbassyaker]

Haven't been out for 2 weeks, until this morning.  Went to "Lake 6", perennially one of my better spots -- a murky, 30-acre hole-in-the-ground, out in the middle of nowhere:

The locals, i have heard, are not super-enthusiastic about the place and claim it has a problem with parasites.  But the bass here have always seemed plenty healthy to me, and there are a lot of them.

 

Although I'm not sure where they all were today. Here i am with one of five, all "meh"-sized:

Of course, what would have been big fish of the day got away due to user error.

 

Might be able to go out again next week. We'll see.

 

 

[bp_fowler]

Went out today for a few hours.  Didn’t much want to drive to a bigger bass fishery or deal with the logistics of night fishing.  Went to the old reservoir and braved the midday heat.  Water was down a bit and the water has cleared up a lot.  Caught 6 burning the UV speed worm along weed lines and over grass beds.  Nothing special but I still had a good time.

 

[thediscochef]

I get my pier back on Friday