These were the biggest catches (apx 4lbs).

First two photos are the same bass.

 

these were my smaller bass catches. They fought HARD though!

Gotta love em

It was my best bud’s 40th birthday today so we fished the same ole spot I’ve been going that’s not flooded to chocolate milk. The fish keep dissipating but we didn’t get skunked, even got a catfish double 
 

Went with a buddy on Sunday to a lake I use to fish all the time but haven't much the last several years since it took a huge downturn due to fishing pressure. Use to have a lot of big fish and October was the best month to catch them, wanted to see if we could find any of them that were left in there. The lake doesn't have a huge population, but it has a ton of big shad and the bass in the lake utilize them to the fullest and grow to some pretty crazy proportions because of it. The lake was way down because of our lack of rain, but I still found a few future giants. The catfish were very bitey too, 5 on bladed jigs and 2 on a spinnerbait.

My buddy Deric took big bass honors for the day with just a football of a bass that weighed a hair over 6 pounds but was only 19.5" long. She fell for a super, secret big bass bait (Ned rig 🤣)

@Bluebasser86: Maine bass are fat, but Kansas bass make Maine bass look like Kenyan long distance runners. That six-pounder is crazy fat!!!

Fish were fairly active today. 

Caught everything on spinnerbaits and flat side crank baits, sexy shad.

Overcast, water temp 63*

Went bank fishing for a couple hours after work. Had to. The weather was so nice! I actually got a bit chilly in the shade lol. Not much action. Caught one about a 1 lb. followed by this one, about 2.5 lbs. Both on a weightless TR with a black Senko. Didn’t get a bite on anything else. 
 

I'm going fishing four times in the next six days because we've got Indian Summer coming, so I'll be posting a few bass pics. Starting tomorrow afternoon at my pond. Then the river that was a pond and bog on Saturday morning. Then my pal's pond Sunday and Tuesday mornings. Fun comin'!

2 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

we've got Indian Summer coming

Same here. 6 or 7 days here near or at 70 degrees.

 

Think I’ll give it another try too. Fishing has been ridiculously good lately.

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

Same here. 6 or 7 days here near or at 70 degrees.

 

Think I’ll give it another try too. Fishing has been ridiculously good lately.

Keeps going like this and I might still be shore fishing on my B-Day - 35 days and counting.

I'm fishing four times in six days and today was my first of the four trips. I fished for 2.25 hours and caught 15. The water was cold and my feet and hands were cold. We had a hard frost last night and for the first time since spring, the water felt cold. Weirdly, nearly the only lure that would work was a popper. I caught 14 on it and one on a walking bait. Here's the walking bait bass and you can see the lure in the net:

 

 

The other bass were well-fed, as so many fall bass seem to be. Not as thick as @Bluebasser86's beachballs, but then, I don't see anybody catching bass as thick as his Kansas blimps:

 

 

And here comes my pretty pic!

 

 

What's wrong with the world when you can't buy a bite on a spinnerbait or fluke?

7 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

What's wrong with the world when you can't buy a bite on a spinnerbait 

S.O.P.

I spent a few hours casting around some shallows that I call the Devil Horns (cause that's what it looks like to me on navionics). Managed to run into a pretty solid sunset bite, but the fish and myself kept missing. I saw a couple that were big bass, 6+ for sure. Same place I caught that 7 back in spawn season. I had a 75% hookup ratio for the day going into that session, and I probably missed 4 big fish. Rough.

 

Not only were the fish and I out of sync, but my favorite tournament pro started seizing on me. It took a dunk a few days ago and I hadn't cleaned it out. On my last cast, I backlashed and my line wound up in the tree. It was dark by that point and when I got it all out my line was a knotted mess. I decided to go home and clean my reel out.

 

I managed to find the gremlin in my reel, sand in the levelwind bearings. Went ahead and cleaned/regreased everything, all good as new and ready for the meat of fall topwater fishing. All the bass are still warm to the touch, we are still just getting started.

 

This was the best fish of the day, from my evening debacle. 

7 hours ago, thediscochef said:

I had a 75% hookup ratio for the day going into that session, and I probably missed 4 big fish. Rough.

 

I also have stretches when the hooks don't stick. I think it's more them than me, so I'm guessing it was more them than you. I hook so many bass with surface lures that my reflexes are fine-tuned and reliable. There are simply times when they don't hit a lure to eat it, when they're reacting or annoyed or curious...and walking baits and frogs in slop are hard to hit anyway. 

 

My hook-up ratio with walking baits is less than 50%, but I use them because nothing casts farther, I can sometimes hook the bass with a follow-up lure, and they are explosive with walking baits. 

One good fish for my efforts yesterday morning.  It was 33 degrees when I launched at sunrise and I’ve once again said hello to my cold weather gear.

 

My year long contemplation of the spinnerbait continues.  This guy was hunting in less than three feet of water, tucked into a downwind corner of a shallow flat.  Gold blades and perch skirt.

 

@CastingClinic: What are you wearing on your hands? I ask because my hands and feet are my weak spots. Keeping my torso and limbs warm is easy-peasy, but when the cold reduces my hands' effectiveness by 50%, it's hard to fish well. I do have pairs of fingerless wool gloves and might try those tomorrow. 

@Swamp Girl  Fingerless wool gloves are exactly what I'm wearing.  They make up the base layer for my hands and almost never come off.  I carry a pair of full wool gloves I can slip on an off over them as I see fit and a couple hand warmers to stuff onto the back of my hands if things get dire completes the system and I have no worries of my hand getting cold. 

 

I'm a big fan of wool and would dress myself with it completely if I could afford to do so.  My hands, head, and feet, however, are wool covered before the leaves are off, no exceptions.

Just now, CastingClinic said:

a couple hand warmers to stuff onto the back of my hands if things get dire completes the system and I have no worries of my hand getting cold

 

Great idea! Thanks. I own dozens of those and they've just sat in my basement, decade after decade. 

Fishing was good again this morning.  Stunning fall day out there too.  Went with a friend and his son, caught 15 bass and 5 pike in about 4.5 hours.  We caught 4 fish over 4 pounds, including a 19.5 incher that I caught which was over 5 pounds.  I am done bass fishing for the season.  I intend to muskie fish one more time though.

 

 

1 minute ago, gimruis said:

 I am done bass fishing for the season.

 

After three fours and a five? However, I get it. That north wind has a bead on you and me. With @The Baron talking about winterizing his boat, we northerners are crawling into our winter dens and I fear I'll soon join you, as it'll be cold when our Indian Summer ends.

 

However, I'm not going to commit to a final day as I did last year because there's a chance we could have a few warm days in November.

 

Anyway, I get it and you southern boys are gonna have to represent for the next five months or so. @AlabamaSpothunter will soon be posting his sixes, sevens, and eights and @Pat Brown, @thediscochef, @Catt, and rest of you too.

6 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

After three fours and a five? However, I get it. That north wind has a bead on you and me. With @The Baron talking about winterizing his boat, we northerners are crawling into our winter dens and I fear I'll soon join you, as it'll be cold when our Indian Summer ends.

 

It's hard to hang it up when the fishing is this good and the weather is cooperating.  I hear ya.  If I didn't have to get my boat winterized and get ready for hunting season on Nov 9, I'd keep right on fishing.  All good things must come to an end.

 

It makes things a little more tolerable when the season ends on a high note.  I've finished on a dud many times before, and it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth for 5 months.

Agree with the Swamp Queen🤣, I'm not quitting after catching a 20lb bag full of fat beautiful 4lb+ fish......that's like leaving the casino with money in your wallet 😆

 

All the fat short NLGM you guys up north post are the most beautiful fish posted in this thread imho.     

 

If you're able to have awesome days during October and November, consider yourself extremely fortunate in my eyes.    It's hard for me to pick a favorite month for 10/12, but those two months are easily my kryptonite.   

The river is the lowest it’s been all year. Still lake fishing 

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

All the fat short NLGM you guys up north post are the most beautiful fish posted in this thread imho.   

 

I like their look too, Alex. They're darker than your southern lmb and oftentimes, they're nearly black like this one from yesterday. I like the contrast of the white belly and dark back with green in-between.

 

3 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

you guys up north post are the most beautiful fish

 

I did notice the fish had some good color today.  Normally I don't take note of that but today their blends of green with a vibrant black stripe along the side was more obvious.  I think it's the colder water.

These pics are from our last fishing trip on Oct 9 when the day was like late spring weather. I was fishing the culvert and was only getting small bluegill out and around the culvert.

Thinking the crappie moved out to their winter home a guy showed up with Gulp minnows using a bobber and he bomb casted as far a he could and he cuaght a 12 inch crappie, then he caught another and ...... I was blown away by all the big crappie he was catching so quickly.

 

So i changed my bobber to a weighted bobber and using 1/8 oz jig along with 1/8 oz split shot and crappie minnows I bomb casted within a few yards from him and i immediantly caught a huge crappie, we struck up a conversation and we were both catching 12- 13 inch crappie every few recasts, the crappie were on feeding frenzie, these were the biggest crappie we have ever caught in numbers.

I was so stuck on old habits of fishing close around the culvert i didnt bother casting far out so i thanked him for getting me out of a funk. We caught our limit and went home. The filets were thick and meaty, best crappie day ever.

 

I made a big boo boo when putting a crappie on the stringer which we hung from a rail leading down to the culvert, as i put on the crappie and it slid down the stringer i pulled the stringer completly out of the water to see our catch and when the crppie hit the fish the stringer slipped completly out of my hand and was going into the culvert so my wife grabbed my fishing pole with my  Pflueger president XT and stuck the whole rod into the water, reel first to hook the stringer which she was successfull. I was going to put some oil on the line guide bearing but to this day i havnt botherd to.