@AbelG: Wow! What a fish!!!

 

@Pat Brown: If that is Jake's first 2025 bass, after doing some complex, careful calculations, I have determined that Jake is exactly three pounds and eleven ounces ahead of me. Don't ask me to show my work.

 

@Choporoz: Gosh, it's good to see the stogie again.

Been a slow week, but we’re not starving. Think the bass are back in transition with this warming trend this week. Mostly smaller keepers, but getting a few a little bit better. Then there are those crappies - got a couple from 2.6-2.75 lbs, plus a few smaller ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 2/24/2025 at 12:00 PM, Swamp Girl said:

@Bluebasser86:

 

Clayton, buy these:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG65PYBV?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder_k2_1_6&amp=&crid=2UWE2ZMB6EY81&sprefix=rechar&th=1

 

They last for hours, recharge from your computer, have three settings, and slip inside gloves and boots. I own four of them and use them everyday. I'm thinking about buying another two too!

 

I'm gonna second Katie here; those battery operated hand warmers are great.  They live in my work weather bag, but I went diggin for em everytime I went out fishing before everything froze solid.

 

scott

Anyone else now quickly scroll through @Team9nine bass pics in anticipation of seeing some MONSTER crappie? 😂

6 hours ago, T-Billy said:

Anyone else now quickly scroll through @Team9nine bass pics in anticipation of seeing some MONSTER crappie? 😂

 

I don't know how anyone can even post a bass under 3 pounds here without being completely humiliated by a crappie the same size.

 

#shamedbyslabs

25 minutes ago, gim said:

 

I don't know how anyone can even post a bass under 3 pounds here without being completely humiliated by a crappie the same size.

 

#shamedbyslabs

 

Without shame, I'll sometimes post smaller bass to show the Bass Resource crew my reality, which is that I catch smaller bass alongside my bigger bass. If you ONLY post your biggest bass, it's an incomplete trip report. Plus, not everyone has a Lake Menderchuck or Maine bog to fish. Some Bass Resource members fish pounded water where, despite their best efforts, an eleven-inch bass is their best catch on that trip. Who am I to rain shame on their catch? I am here to encourage them as so many have encouraged me. 

 

@Team9nine is a heckuva angler, not just a great bass stick. He is so consistent.

 

Consistency, to me, is one of the biggest marks of skill. Can you catch bass on this day with these weather conditions? Now at this place with different weather? Now here in the heat? Now here after the storm? Now here in the fog on water you do not know? And on and on and on. @Team9nine has shown that consistency and I've lauded him more than once for it.

 

Even if you fish the same water every trip, the conditions are forever changing, which is what I realized when I pounded my pond in 2024. The bass did NOT stay put. If you don't have FFS, you better be good at hunches and if you aren't good at hunching, you better be tenacious. I'm a good huncher, but to do so, I study the weather, reread my old trip reports to better guess the next morning's possible pattern, and re-rig half a dozen rods before each trip. Even then, I'm not locked into using those six lures. 

 

Lastly, I just want to fish again, but it's snowing hard again right now. This time of year is such a tease. Sigh. 

 

Ice has finally started to melt here.  The pond we call the Gun Club was first up for since I use it something of a bellwether.  If they’re biting there the larger bodies of water aren’t far behind.

 

I started out throwing flatsides, jerkbaits, and slow rolling a double Colorado.  I spent about an hour and fifteen minutes with nothing to show.

 

I think in my excitement to get out on the water I was a little too aggressive with my lure selection.  I downsized to a 3.25” paddle tail on a 1/8 oz bal jig and worked my way back around the bank.

 

I caught this guy which is way smaller than most of @Team9nine crappies, but it’s my first bass of 2025 so I believe it’s worthy.

1 hour ago, bp_fowler said:

I caught this guy which is way smaller than most of @Team9nine crappies, but it’s my first bass of 2025 so I believe it’s worthy.

 

Of course, you can always long arm your bass and seemingly double their size, but I prefer your photo. In the game of bass, here's the score:

 

BP: 1

SG: 0

5 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

Lastly, I just want to fish again, but it's snowing hard again right now. This time of year is such a tease. Sigh. 

 

Yeah winter can be a bummer.  I thought last winter was bad when I didn’t catch anything between November 21st to February 15th.  Looking back I now realize I was lucky just to be able to fish.  
 

P.S. Give it time and that score will flip dramatically.  

Fished for a little while before dark. I caught the bigger one after hooking a little bream and she swallowed it. Nice fight on a small bream hook, 6 lb test , and ultralight combo.

Got 2 more on the same brushpile just down the lake… on the june bug magnum speed worm…

Big rainy front hit yesterday and I tied on a lipless and managed a nice one on the old Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap!

 

Hoping to get out mid day a little bit for the sunshine!  

 

 

Missed some really big fish on the frog this week swinging like it's August in February.

 

Give em a second when it's still cold - their brains are definitely slower!  😂😂😂

Had a 70 degree day with snow in the forecast in a couple days, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a quick afternoon trip. Crazy using the AC on the way out to the lake in February. 😆

 

First fish on a wacky senko

 

Solid one on a Ned

 

The girth on these spots is something to behold

 

Another nice one on an underspin

 

And, of course, the smallest fish of the day on a swimbait 🤣

@NorcalBassin: Gorgeous, varied, creative photography! I love thick fish too.

First bass of 2025 only took 2 months.

I fish a small pond after work every day. For the last 4 or 5 years, I use a medium light 6'10" dropshot rod and have been using 3/32oz Owner Shakeyhead hooks. I use a Zoom Finesse Worm (a trick worm junior). I catch 8" to 12" dinks, but it's the most fun you can have. I'm catching 15-20 fish. The secret is red bug or green pumpkin purple. I don't know what it is with these two colors, but it just flat out catches 'em. More-so with the red bug, what is it with that color, I picked it up on accident, I was going for junebug but this red bug is even better. Does anyone have a theory on this color? 

My first 3 largemouth this year, I lost 2 trying to set the hook too early. only 1-2 pounds but still happy I pulled them in 😎

Had a short window to squeeze in another trip before our next series of storms and anticipated a lot of action... the fish apparently had other plans. 🫤

 

On a positive note, after a lot of casting practice with reaction baits I decided to tie on the new small hula grub from Yamamoto. Ended up catching a couple just before it was time to go and I'll definitely be spending more time with those this spring.

 

 

Only had time to fish until 11:00 this morning. Very breezy. I had two 3.5-4.0 lb. bass hit an AJ Special, and another smaller one hit a Yum Dinger TR, but lost all 3. I don’t think they ever got hooked but were mouthing the bait. 
 

Beached the boat and decided to take a few last casts with a Zoom Trick weightless TR. The second cast was a far one, and as the line sank it took off. Not big, but avoided the skunk! 
 

2 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

Very breezy

You’re not kidding! I was out there today. Didn’t do any good. Battled some high curling waves by the afternoon

54 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

You’re not kidding! I was out there today. Didn’t do any good. Battled some high curling waves by the afternoon

 

That's 'cause you're too cool to back down.

8 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

That's 'cause you're too cool to back down.

😆 Well, thanks. At a certain point since the fishing was bad, I just started trying to educate myself on how to deal with those type of conditions. It’s definitely fishable but less than comfortable and limiting.

3 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

You’re not kidding! I was out there today. Didn’t do any good. Battled some high curling waves by the afternoon

It’s one area where an inflatable does suffer. Although it did conserve battery power and I was making 5 kts easy!

Had some time on the water this weekend, the smallmouth were biting 

 

Saturday: Got out in the kayak around 9. I had some nightcrawlers and had also saved some shad I’ve been catching on some random stops at creek mouths near home.  It was really windy so I had to get stuck up against rocks or trees to slow down enough to fish. Tossed one of the dead shad up against a deep rock cliff and it got hit hard, swing and miss. Rebait, same thing. This happened 4-5 times and I finally hooked it, a big ole smallie jumps and dives down into the tree I was up against. It finally swims free and tows me out to deep water. It got way down deep up against the cliff and got me wrapped up in something else. I tried to free it for 10 minutes paddling in circles around it in the waves, it was plum stuck. I finally had to break the line. After that I got a couple fish with nightcrawlers, one smallie in the 2 lb range and a spotted bass that I brought home to eat. 
 

 

Sunday: took my motor boat out with a couple buddies. Prior to fishing I went downtown to crackhead creek early this morning and netted about 100 threadfin shad for our excursion. It was 26 degrees my hands froze but they were worth it, smallies loved them. We started fishing around 10:30 and it took a while but Craig caught the first one, nice thick SMB.

I then hooked one that got stuck in a tree but it finally came loose, Rich captured the escape on film. I was using 33 lb braid and 12 lb  seaguar pounce leader, it held thru the ordeal. I had tied the leader knot yesterday in the kayak and forgot to check it today, still going strong 

 

The offshore action slowed so we hit some cliffs, I picked up a couple more 

 

 

went back offshore on the way to the truck and Rich got 2 19” fish within 10 minutes of each other 

 

 

fun times, good scenery, and of course the lucky loon wss

swimming around us 

9 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

It was 26 degrees my hands froze

 

BRRRRRRRR! Tough guys catching big bass!!!

@Swamp Girl, that was when I was catching shad near home  early this AM. It was up into the mid 30s by the time we got to the lake and was almost pleasant by afternoon