@softwateronly: Quantity + Quality + Canoe = a...

 

 

8 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

Missed a couple mega giants on the weightless fluke fished super erratic around spawning areas. 

 

Those misses are so exciting. Did you hook one of the megas even for a nanosecond?

2 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

@softwateronly: Quantity + Quality + Canoe = a...

 

 

 

Those misses are so exciting. Did you hook one of the megas even for a nanosecond?

 

 

They truly are - any sign of them is like winning the lottery for a big girl man like myself.  Any time you get one to reveal herself you know you could be dealing with her in that area for a good while this time of year.  Very exciting with a tournament on said lake this coming Saturday!  😉🙂

 

Thankfully I don't think I poked either of the big girls - meaning - they could play.  😎

We went out on Alqueva yesterday between storms. Water clarity was anywhere from about 5-6 feet of visibility in more protected creek arms to just 6 inches near the dam, and the lake was only 8 inches from full pool. We were on the struggle bus for a while but eventually found some active fish. 

 

I was surprised cranking was *not* the deal. I got one to chase my bladed jig but couldn't get him to commit. 4 and 5 inch paddle tail swimbaits on jigheads and jerkbaits were the deal for the guys. I couldn't catch anything on either of those so I switched to the bladed FlashMob Jr. and finally got bit.

 

This was my only fish, but at 4lb 11oz it was the biggest fish of the day and my biggest so far on the A-rig. Between the three of us we probably only caught about 6 or 7 fish, plus another 4 that broke off, but they were all solid 2-3 pounders.

 

@JohnFromLisbon: John, I'm stating the obvious here: BEAUTIFUL BASS! Dark bass before a dark sky. Such a cool photo.

An hour today produced this little guy. It was mighty cold out there and the water was 2' high.

 

I went back where we caught countless fish yesterday, water was ruined and got the ole 2 hour skunk. All the thunderstorms turned it to yohoo drink with big waves, this water was green 20 hrs previous

15 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I went back where we caught countless fish yesterday, water was ruined and got the ole 2 hour skunk. All the thunderstorms turned it to yohoo drink with big waves, this water was green 20 hrs previous

Well... It was fun while it lasted. Y'all had a great previous day!!! Those were some dandy white bass. Yum.

We had planned to fish our favorite road  lake on Saturday but it was just too windy. I went to see my brother in Gainesville instead, but had planned to fish my lake when I got home. The wind was howling south to north, which is the hardest wind direction to fish in my lake. So I stayed home again. Today the same line of storms that hit Mississippi came through.  It cleared a little after 4, so I got my stuff together, and by the time I made it to the back door, it started pouring again. The same thing happened again, and the 3rd time I took my stuff outside and checked the weather again. Thunder storm due in 15 minutes! I  looked at the sky and disagreed. 
So I finally got out. Thunderstorms did not come . Wind was much less. Fished the west shore close to home, and hit the hot spots on the east shore coming back . Got 1 on the yum dinger, and 2 on the Magnum uv speed worm, including the biggest one. 
The bite was slow. Strange for march here.

1 hour ago, T-Billy said:

Well... It was fun while it lasted. Y'all had a great previous day!!! Those were some dandy white bass. Yum.

They will bite again soon, just a run of the mill gully washer 

I was finally able to fish my favorite lake for the first time this year.  A local lodge does not fish there anymore, and I was the only one on the water both days this weekend.  It was very nice to have the place to myself again.

 

Saturday I got off to a fast start with a 5.5 pound bass landed in the first 15 minuets of the day.  It was a short chunky bass, I wish I would have taken time to turn my kayak around and get a picture with the sun at a different angle.  I finished the day with 25 bass, the largest that first 5.5 pounder.  The afternoon west winds started at 11:00 Am and didn't stop until way late at night.  20 mile an hour winds in a kayak can be frustrating, but I stuck with it, and had a good day.

 

Sunday started off with 15 MPH. winds out of the East.  I had to change my plans of fishing off shore and drift down the bank.  I landed a 7 pound bass along with some small bass on a chaterbait.

 

The east winds started dying down at noon, I new I only had at most an hour before the west winds started howling.  I went to the off shore spots I had luck at yesterday before the wind started, and landed one 9.4  a 5.8 a 5.5 pound, and a 3.5 pound bass along with many smaller bass offshore.   I might have caught another big one or two, but nature called, and I had no choice but to answer.  I lost valuable time with light winds, going to shore to take care of business.  As expected the wind shifted to the west at 25 MPH. within an hour.  I was tired and only drifted one shore line before calling it a day.  My best five for Sunday added up to 31.2. pounds  with a total of 18 bass. No double digits, but still a great way to start the year.

 

I landed one large bass on a bladed jig, drifting the shoreline, and all the other big bass were taken on T rigged Zoom Magnum Trick worms in Junebug.  Having to fish slow with a T rig, made fishing offshore difficult to impossible in the strong wind.  My anchor wouldn't hold, and keeping the kayak facing my target was challenging.  I tried every lure in the box but besides loosing a hog on a spinnerbait, worms were the deal.  Last year at this lake the only worms I could get them to bite were ribbon tail worms.  This past weekend no matter how hard I tried, I could only get them to bite the mag trick worms.  Bass sure are unpredictable.

 

I also got a large tilapia on a large square bill.   Pictures are in order, 5.5 pound bass caught on Saturday, 7, and 9 pound bass caught on Sunday, and of course the Tilapia, also caught today. 

 

 

 

What a weekend @king fisher! Congrats! Bass aren’t unpredictable, they just eat purple worms all the time 😂 

41 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

What a weekend @king fisher! Congrats! Bass aren’t unpredictable, they just eat purple worms all the time 😂 

But why do they like ribbon tail purple worms one year, and will only hit straight tail worms the next.  It must be because I stocked up on ribbon tails after last years succuss and didn't order any more straight tail worms wrongly thinking I had more than enough.  If that is the case how did the bass find out what kind of worms I had more of?  Never mind, they found out the same way they found out I had an endless supply of one crankbait, but only one left of another.  Next time I go fishing I'm going to put trick worms in an Ole monster bag, or maybe even mix the two in the same bag.  I will count them to know which one I have more of, of the big question is will the bass know.  I will try anything to stay one step ahead of the bass.  If this works, I'm gong to label a box Jack Hammers, and fill it full of cheap chatterbaits.  

1 hour ago, king fisher said:

20 mile an hour winds in a kayak can be frustrating

 

Far beyond frustrating. More like brutal.

 

1 hour ago, king fisher said:

My best five for Sunday added up to 31.2. pounds  with a total of 18 bass. No double digits, but still a great way to start the year.

 

You are a heckuva angler. 

 

1 hour ago, king fisher said:

Bass sure are unpredictable.

 

I don't catch 30-pound bags. I'm lucky to land a 20-pound bag, but though I'm far behind you, I utterly agree that bass are unpredictable. 

20 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

They are definitely on the move!  Big things coming up shallow I reckon!

Same here just a bit further south. The deeper water staging fish I had figured out all last week completely disappeared on me Friday after a full week of warm weather pushed the main lake temps into the high 50s and pockets into the 60s. Found one 2 pounder up shallow, but guessing he has lots of company around. Time to start from scratch again this week and see if we can figure something new out.

 

4 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Time to start from scratch again this week and see if we can figure something new out.

 

^The life of a bass angler.^

 

And here's another hip-hip-hooray for @kingfisher from the Puritans of New England:

 

 

P. S. - Yes, we Puritans drink a little hard cider to celebrate 30-lb. bags.

First of the year.

 

I got a toddler carrier for Xmas and have been hiking with my two year old since the weather has gotten better.  Snagged this guy while shore fishing with my son on my back.

 

Pretty awesome to hear his excitement while he watched the action from over my shoulder.

 

I am so lagging in posting bass pics, so here are some pics I've never posted of bass I caught on that late October trip. The top one is a fine girl. She's a still from one of those big bass that I accidentally videoed instead of photographing. The bottom two are short and stout. I always enjoy short fish eating above their length class:

 

 

 

For a 15 min lunch break, I’ll take it.

 

After getting pummeled by that front yesterday I wasn’t expecting much today.  Decided to check out a place east of me called Appalachian Hills Wildlife Area or as most around here refer to it, AEP.  Basically it’s approximately 35,000 acres of reclaimed strip mines, it’s dotted with a few hundred ponds. So many that most don’t even have a name just an alphanumeric designation on the map.

Lauched my canoe at the first pond I came across.  Water was super clear, like see right down to bottom clear.  It caused me a bit of a problem.  I could see tons of bluegill and small bass scattering as I approached.  Even spooked a handful of larger bass unfortunately.  
 

I ended up having to make very long casts to even have a chance at a bite.  Caught a half dozen dinks most about the size of this one, which was my first catch out of the canoe.

 

@bp_fowler: I've fished AEP! Beautiful area.

Just now, Swamp Girl said:

@bp_fowler: I've fished AEP! Beautiful area.

 

Agree.  There’s so many ponds there.  I wish I had a couple weeks just to explore.
 

I probably still wouldn’t even come close to scratching the surface of all that place has to offer.

29 minutes ago, bp_fowler said:

 

Agree.  There’s so many ponds there.  I wish I had a couple weeks just to explore.
 

I probably still wouldn’t even come close to scratching the surface of all that place has to offer.

 

How did the canoe feel? Regarding that clear water,  one reason I cast big lures is so the bass can't see me first. I fish clear water too.

1 minute ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

How did the canoe feel? Regarding that clear water,  one reason I cast big lures is so the bass can't see me first. I fish clear water too.

I’m getting more comfortable every time I take it out.  Today I really started to notice the primary/secondary stability you mentioned.  I was able to get a pretty good lean to one side or the other and the canoe would just balance there until i shifted my weight.

In tight quarters, like a narrow river, I steer my canoe with my weight as much as my paddle. When it's warmer, really test your empty canoe's stability in shallow water to determine where it tips. 

@bp_fowler, congrats on christening the canoe!!! That front you mentioned left our waters the opposite of clear, looks like coffee w creamer