44 minutes ago, The Baron said:

Update from Canada:  It’s cold, and diving off the dock really hurts now. 

 

Don't give up! Keep diving. One day it won't hurt so much. At least that's how it works for me. 

Tried one spot in the morning to no avail, was pretty windy at 34 degrees with some snow so I punted and got some lunch, re launched elsewhere. It was pretty tho, could see snow on the high peaks

 

 

Second spot was much more productive (out of the wind) but all dinks, got SMB, meanmouth, bluegill and shellcracker, all in the exact same spot. And more snowy views

Brrrrrr! It was six degrees this morning on the coast of Maine, but fishing in 34 degrees is still quite cold...and quite impressive.

 

#hardcore

If it’s 6 I ain’t going….. haha. If it’s below 32 I’ll only fish off the bank, sometimes next to a fire 

Even worse for @Swamp Girl, she's on the coast, I can only imagine the wind along the coast. 

 

Thanks for the weather report Swamp Girl, I was going to take a ride to my house in southern Maine. I think I'll stay home today and leave that ride til end of the week  

20 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

Even worse for @Swamp Girl, she's on the coast, I can only imagine the wind along the coast. 

 

Thanks for the weather report Swamp Girl, I was going to take a ride to my house in southern Maine. I think I'll stay home today and leave that ride til end of the week  

 

You are soooo right about the coastal wind. It blows and blows and blows. I'd fish more if I could, but so many mornings and evenings, it's too windy for my canoes. 

Actually I just remembered I caught two catfish with air temp of 6 degrees on Christmas Day 2 yrs ago. My secret? Set up rods on the dock and watched them with binoculars from inside by the fireplace 

1 minute ago, TnRiver46 said:

Actually I just remembered I caught two catfish with air temp of 6 degrees on Christmas Day 2 yrs ago. My secret? Set up rods on the dock and watched them with binoculars from inside by the fireplace 

 

If I ever build on my pondfront property, I'm going to fish you like!

In Maine you could drill a hole in the ice and watch the tip up flags from inside 😂. Maybe a pickerel ?

 

now this brings up the question: do shallow bogs freeze over from top to bottom and kill everything ? Does that happen anywhere ? 

Laugh all ya like! I got the skunk out the boat! Only caught two dinks but I got to go fishing! First picture is an otter. The nightmare follows me forever. This is Normandy Lake in middle Tennessee.

@Blue Raider Bob: I've had otters swim alongside my canoes, diving under it to pop up on starboard and then port.

@Pat Brownpost that big fish up!

Went out today with Jake and @LrgmouthShad for a little pre X Mas / Post frontal NC LMB chasing!

 

We had some good structure picked out when we got to the lake around 11 to check out.  We split our way and LMS went his way in the yak to see if we could sort them out faster.

 

We went up the sunny side and made it all the way to the lily pads on the flat sunny side and I say to Jake - let's go fish the deep shady side - they're supposed to be on steeper Banks this time of year - or something to that effect.

 

Jake agrees we need to change it up and steeper contours seems smart to him so we put the motor on high and jet to the opposite side of the lake and start fishing our way back into a spawning pocket adjacent to a main lake point.  I figure offshore and flat banks have been a bust and LMS struggled on humps and points - why not try spawning areas.

 

I look at my Garmin and start seeing bass shaped arches suspending over 11 feet of water in very scattered ones and twos very near the surface - not doing very much.  No bait.

 

The sun is getting low - only an hour until we are required to get off the water at this particular lake.

 

I throw my 1 oz 'Pats Gizzard' @Siebert Outdoors grass jig with a Watermelon Seed Zoom Mag Speed Craw on the back at some targets at the back of this pocket and we start bouncing around the channel swing back out to the point.

 

I see some really good looking overhanging trees with some sun hitting some clear sandy bottom with some laydowns just beneath the surface right where the pocket transitioned to the channel swing and I throw that jig right up to the bank.

 

Our boat is stationary but I have the sensation that my trolling motor is on high and my jig is stuck in something on the bottom.....but the boat is stationary.....SET THE HOOK DUMMY *screeeeech* and away we go....

 

She's out from the cover now and making a mad dash for deeper water.  She starts to really load up and I can tell we got a real big one on the line.

 

I ask Jake for a net and he quickly locates it and asks where she is and up she pops almost exactly on cue - his jaw drops and he says 'YOU'RE GOING TO WIN THIS MONTH!' (referring to the local big bass bash - I have submitted 3 bass and had each one taken out by ounces near the end of each respective month)

 

Jake gets her and I lip her and we both realize she's a bit heftier than even dad thought.  She may INDEED be worthy of submission I decide.

 

We fill the livewell and crank the O2 and she seems happy chilling in there - I call the Marina.  I am informed in all three lakes - 4.99 lbs is the largest submission for all of December.

 

Jake and I smile and tell the park attendant to ready the scales and we high tail it back.

 

She beat the current big bass by 2.36 lbs coming in at 7.35 lbs.  She was all of 20" making her quite possibly the fattest fish I've ever caught and I am currently leading the month of December!

 

Here she is!

 

 

Here she is on marina scales getting certified for the competition!

 

 

Here's the lovely jig that got her to bite 😏😏😏

 

I didn’t catch anything 🫡

I provided moral support 

Awesome fish Pat!     I guess that's why you get a lure color named after you 😎

15 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Awesome fish Pat!     I guess that's why you get a lure color named after you 😎

 

 

Thanks man.  December has been a GRIND - but I'm so blessed to have caught and released that fantastic specimen and right before Christmas with good friends and my son with the net.  That jig is going in my 'not for fishing anymore ' drawer with some other special lures to be passed down to Jake when I'm gone.

Excellent fish @Pat Brown!

Whoa, that bass is FAT! And look at the muscle in her tail. W-O-W!

 

 

I came back to have another look at Pat's bass. It's just as whoa-y today as it was when I first saw it. 

Congrats Pat and LMS. She’s a beauty. Good teamwork 👏

@Pat Brown Sweet !

@Pat Brown that’s an OINKER! Congrats  

A Christmas Eve I won’t soon forget!

 

got done shopping around 10:30 and had my buddy meet me at the boat ramp. I was thinking we should fish deep on the bottom with spoons, maybe the white bass had showed up. As we were making our way upriver , there was a boat in the middle drifting for walleye. I slowed down to go around him and saw some strange disturbance on the surface. SHAD!!! I broke out the cast net and got plenty of bait. I haven’t used this particular boat since about the weekend after thanksgiving and doggone it I also haven’t charged the trolling motor battery. So break out the paddle and the cinder block anchor, Yee haw. Thankfully I had a long rope on board as well, the current was fairly swift. Not long into fishing on anchor I get a bite, nice 16” SMB. A couple minutes later I got another SMB a little smaller. Some time passes and we discuss where to fish next and I hook up again. The fish is fighting weird, I kept saying it was surely a drum. My buddy sees the fish out of the back and says nope it’s big smallmouth. Get that one boated and it’s 3.9 lbs, forgot to measure length. We drift down a ways and I think I’m snagged and sure enough the snag begins swimming and it’s a 3.6 lb largemouth. Water temp 46-49, fish caught with live and dead threadfin shad and 6 lb line 

A little report with some more pics from Monday afternoon. Had 1 hour after work in the kayak but caught 2 SMB and a bluegill. Had a lovely sunset at 6:09 pm, getting tiny additions of daylight time makes me happy. Did have to paddle the kayak back to the dock in the dark and cold, but it wasn’t too bad. Got her up to 4 mph for a little while, good speed for a 90 lb boat you can stand in 

@TnRiver46: That first smallmouth is perfect. 

Katie's eyes never lie, that's a beautiful fish.   Congrats @TnRiver46 on an early XMAS present

 

Merry Xmas and happy holidays everyone!