Skunked.  I fished 6 hours last Saturday.  No big ones, no small ones, no bites, Zero action.  I fished shallow, and I fished deep.  Even though I struck out, it was better than spending the day chasing a white ball around an overly maintained yard.  Good news is I didn't loose a single lure, bad news is, the Monkey thinks I would have hit a home run, if only I owned an expensive glide bait, or maybe a whole box of finesse gear.  I told the Monkey I was going to blame it on the moon and to get lost.  The problem is it was the same moon for Kyle Welcher.  Maybe I can find a deal on a glide bait.

35 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Skunked.  I fished 6 hours last Saturday.  No big ones, no small ones, no bites, Zero action.  I fished shallow, and I fished deep.  Even though I struck out, it was better than spending the day chasing a white ball around an overly maintained yard.  Good news is I didn't loose a single lure, bad news is, the Monkey thinks I would have hit a home run, if only I owned an expensive glide bait, or maybe a whole box of finesse gear.  I told the Monkey I was going to blame it on the moon and to get lost.  The problem is it was the same moon for Kyle Welcher.  Maybe I can find a deal on a glide bait.

 

Soooo, you're saying that I didn't skunk as much as I fished like a king?

 

@king fisher, welcher got them all on a crush city bronco bug, monkey approved purchase 

 

On 4/14/2025 at 7:10 AM, Pat Brown said:

New PB with no pics!?!?  Dang @Bazoo that's gotta hurt!  Congratulations on all the good fishing!

 

Yeah, come on Katy, you need to catch a bass so all these fish down here realize it's spring.

 

Ground hog - shmound hog.  We know it's spring when a Katy catches her first bass!

It ain't too bad, because I am expecting to get larger this year. I'm going for a 6, and then 8... maybe I'll jump right to 10... Now that'd hurt! I been dreaming of a double digit since I was a kid.

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I got this little guy at Freeman lake. Not much biting today for anyone.

18 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

First day back on Erie. Three over five with a 5-4, 5-6 & 5-14. We dropped a solid 6 plus & two others over five that jumped or were seen boat side before coming unhooked. Anyway a good start for first day. 

 

Now I got that brown bass fever!  Heck of a day, congrats on the tanks!!

 

scott

20 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

@Swamp Girl, I used to guide a bunch of canoe trips (not fishing). We saw buffleheads one time and I pointed them out, the clients started laughing. They swore up and down I made the name up (no cell service for googling). They thought it was so hilarious that they said they would now change the name for “BS” in their everyday lives to bufflehead 😂 

I actually had a couple land on my pond a few years back. The resident Mallards ran them off. The resident Canadian Geese ran the Mallards off. They do not share.

11 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

I actually had a couple land on my pond a few years back. The resident Mallards ran them off. The resident Canadian Geese ran the Mallards off. They do not share.

And doggy in the background runs them all off 😆

 

We have those Buffleheads on the home lake every year but they don't stick around, seems like they are migrating somewhere and just stop by for a little bit. 

Day two on Erie was a blow day with 30-40 mph winds. Today day three was 33 degrees to start with a high of 41. Wind speed was brutal with steady 15-27 mph winds. Small craft warnings again but we fished anyway. We were very limited as to where we could fish. Needless to say it was a slow catching day. The bites we did get were very noncommittal. Rob dropped 6 or 7 fish boat side before he put his first in the net. They were smaller fish so we didn’t really care just quick releases. I landed by first fish but not a picture fish. Then I hooked something really big. It moved very slowly but didn’t head shake. Finally pulled off near the boat. We never saw it but I don’t think it was a smallie. We were fishing all bottom contact baits. The primary bait was a metal blade Dimiki vault in 3/4 oz. That’s part of the reason for so many pull offs. Rob hooked a giant smallie which we saw boat side by all three of us. It was a heart breaker because it was definitely a new PB for him & probably was a new PB for the boat. I saw it broadside at the boat & it had a massive girth with a long frame. A real downer. I got a nice fiver on a big buck tail jig in white/green chartreuse & another nice fish on a jerk bait before we quit. 

Quick walk through the woods to make some casts on the bank after work. Caught a little dink on the Texas rig Yamamoto Flapping hog. First time throwing that bait and the bright orange color. Had a better fish bite that took it as well but I didn't set the hook and lost it. I'll be ready next time! So thankful winter is gone!

 Nice walk thru the woods @FishTax! If it was the December part of a normal winter those fish would be 4 lbers! 😂. Last fall/winter was a weird one 

I've been on a staycation this week. I fished Sunday and caught 8, then just 1 on Monday, 5 on Tuesday and 9 today.  Sunday and Monday I was out on the water and today and Tuesday I was bank/pond hopping. 

 

Today was fun though, the ones I caught were all in that 13-15in range. Nothing exciting but fun. I used my 24 year old G. Lommis 783C GLX and a Chronarch 51e.  This old gear still brings them in.  It is weird to think this rod was top of the line back then. It still feels good and sensitive but way different from today's rods. The baits of choice today were a Deps Bull Flat and a Bottom Up Gimmie.

 

15 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

 Nice walk thru the woods @FishTax! If it was the December part of a normal winter those fish would be 4 lbers! 😂. Last fall/winter was a weird one 

Honestly the one I missed could have been 4+. Hard to know but it felt pretty heavy and acted like a big fish. It certainly moved a lot of water when it grabbed the bait. I'll definitely be back at the same time today making another cast at that one  

19 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

And doggy in the background runs them all off 😆

 

We have those Buffleheads on the home lake every year but they don't stick around, seems like they are migrating somewhere and just stop by for a little bit. 

     Funny story about the dog. her name is Lucy but she passed a couple years back. The pond is named after her....Lake Lucy!   My wife and daughter found her cold and shivering under a shed at church when she was a tiny discarded puppy and brought her home. This was many, many years ago when my daughter was just a little thing. The Olympics were happening at the time and my daughter just loved a gymnast named Alicia, so she named her new puppy (Alicia, short for Lucy). Yeah, don't try to figure it out....it just is what it is! My daughter still catches flack over that one, (she turned 24 yesterday).

25 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

     Funny story about the dog. her name is Lucy but she passed a couple years back. The pond is named after her....Lake Lucy!   My wife and daughter found her cold and shivering under a shed at church when she was a tiny discarded puppy and brought her home. This was many, many years ago when my daughter was just a little thing. The Olympics were happening at the time and my daughter just loved a gymnast named Alicia, so she named her new puppy (Alicia, short for Lucy). Yeah, don't try to figure it out....it just is what it is! My daughter still catches flack over that one, (she turned 24 yesterday).

I'm sorry to hear about the passing of Lucy, the pain of losing a good animal never really goes away it just seems to diminish.    Love how you named the pond after her.  20+ years is a heck of a run though.    If only every abandoned dog or cat was so lucky to stumble upon your paradise of a property.

10 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I'm sorry to hear about the passing of Lucy, the pain of losing a good animal never really goes away it just seems to diminish.    Love how you named the pond after her.  20+ years is a heck of a run though.    If only every abandoned dog or cat was so lucky to stumble upon your paradise of a property.

 

I'm going to shiver under a shed at Bob's church and hope he takes me home to his paradise too. You should too, Alex!

5 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

I'm going to shiver under a shed at Bob's church and hope he takes me home to his paradise too. You should too, Alex!

I've got room!

5 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

I've got room!

 

I'm happy to sleep under that brand new roof! I'll feed bass by day and feel the Tennessee breeze by night.

39 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

I've got room!

Don’t tempt us all with a good time @Blue Raider Bob

We had frost this morning from a cold front, went fishing anyway.

Caught the best one on a Jackall flickshake.......Water temp 55*.

Day four on Lake Erie. Sunny all day & warmer temps with much lower winds. Biggest fish was 5-2 & 5-1. Caught a bonus Waldo too. 

^^ beautiful fish Dwight!

 

Got 1 under my boat…

Got this 4-9 today on a jerkbait.

First big girl of the year. I've been on a struggle bus when fishing with this orange Lew's combo I bought for $110 last fall-- did not get one fish on it, all my catches came either on my 25 year old Daiwa paired up with a white and green Lew's speed stick, or my 20 year old Shimano Bantam Coriolis paired to a heavy action Shakespeare uglystick.

 

Finally got the new one properly christened in with a very healthy(and quite angry) female off a bed with a rage craw, which she shook off during her acrobatics.

 

Felt great to feel that tug and fight from a a big one again and definitely feels nice to finally have a fish out on that newest baitcaster which is by far the most I've spent on a single combo.

 

No weight, but tape measurements were 20" length, 14" girth.

Headed out on what we thought would be a perfect day to fish and the fish were like nah, try again. Hopefully the lack of success means it'll be great fishing in May!

 

The misplaced optimism when we launched 😆

 

First one of the day and the rest all looked the same. Poor Pops had fish repellent on his hook and got the ol skunk.

 

Enjoyed catching a few on the dark sleeper since I rarely throw one.

16 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

Day four on Lake Erie. Sunny all day & warmer temps with much lower winds. Biggest fish was 5-2 & 5-1. Caught a bonus Waldo too. 

Those don't look like any Smallies I've ever seen!   🤣