@Swamp Girl looks like you're still pretty bundled up in those pictures. What temps are you guys getting over there in Maine?

 

Lovely fish, btw. And as I've mentioned before, the haze rising from the water in the early morning sun is one of the lovelier bits of scenery available to the early morning angler.

 

@Peacedivision, my PB is slightly smaller than that one. Because it's the only one I've ever caught. 

 

 

3 minutes ago, IcatchDinks said:

Because it's the only one I've ever caught.

Same

Fished about 4 hours this morning in the cold and fog. Had a decent day. Topwater was not very effective, but the Rage Bug was. Took the most fish and the biggest at 18.5 and 3-8:

 

The loon couple decided to follow me around. Maybe looking for a fish handout.

Air was mid 30s at launch and water was at 60. Those temps will go way up this week with a couple days forecasted in the 90s. I had a peaceful morning on the water and fishing was decent. I was able to re-up on my bass thumb  

 

 

 

 

On 5/31/2025 at 7:44 AM, Swamp Girl said:

 

Ha!

 

 

Indeed. 

 

 

Shingles are rough. Glad you're feeling better.

Thank you

I'm still pretty far from 100% but catching fish helps

Finally broke my dry spell caught on a Neko rig

It was 43 when I launched, @IcatchDinks, way warmer than @Jar11591's mid-thirties, but he's inland, which means he gets both hotter and colder than coastal Maine.

That is a very beautiful, and peaceful looking lake @Jar11591. Nice intro music for your video. If you're going to sing that song you need to make sure you choose an appropriate hat. 😉

 

@Fishlegs I actually came across a Bill Dance branded hat the other day at Sierra Trading post. It wasn’t a Tenn hat, but it was his brand. Wishing I grabbed it, I could use some Bill Dance mojo this spring! 

We went fishing yesterday morning for a few minutes at a local creek and didn't get anything. I ended up taking my aunt to town, and on the way back I found this Gerber Tool in the road.

 

Went down to the river and got a couple.

 

 

Lost that crankbait shortly thereafter unfortunately.

Bluebird skies, mid afternoon the bass started hitting a Drop-shot on points.

Water temps still haven't hit 70 here in these deep clear lakes.

I won't be fishing for this coming week, starting tomorrow morning. Family calls. So, I'm counting on all of you to keep posting your bass! I am going fishing right now for an hour and a half at my pond. 

 

Well, I fished my pond for two hours and caught 23. It was pretty windy, so I didn't take many photos. I started with three off my boardwalk. Here was one of them:

 

 

My camera battery died and so I took a few pics of bass with my cell phone after the wind died down a bit:

 

 

I caught all but one on a T-rigged purple worm. I'm at 501 bass for the year.

Last night when we were at the river, the boy left his rod. We didn't notice until we were in town today and I was getting my rods rigged up to fish. When he said he'd left it at the river, I decided to run down there, even though it was almost 4:00 when we made it there. We had a prayer on the way that we'd find his rod. God blessed us that indeed his rod was still there.

 

Someone else found it and gave it back to us, and I made a new friend. A guy that loves the river and the sport. We fished together a couple hours, then exchanged numbers.

 

I got these while I was down there.

 

This bass came out of the white water (the others came out of an eddy). I was reluctant to throw this shad rap in there, so I was being very careful with it. Snagged it up 2 times and had to go through some effort to recover. My new friends shoes was already wet, so he waded out for it once for me.

 

 

 

I snagged a limb on my back cast. I had to employ the Case XX to get back into action. Thankfully I didn't lose too much line. I had just respooled a couple days prior too. I think this was the second trip for this combo/line.

 

 

 

This was as awkward for him as it was for me.

We put yesterday's green bass catch pictures in a video ~ 

A-Jay

@A-Jay Your organization is very impressive. And those are some good looking bass your wife caught as well.

Just enjoying my time out. Did catch a beat up largemouth. 

We had a family picnic at the park with a little fishing added. Caught three rock bass on three straight casts and then got hammered by a sudden burst of rain and had to go home. The toddler had a lot of fun but got very frustrated that I wouldn't let him wield the fishing pole without help. 

 

 

The "trophy" of the day. When I pulled this guy out of the water, his coloration was so dark he was almost black. By the time we got a photo snapped, the hue had lightened a little bit:

 

 

 

20 hours ago, Bazoo said:

Lost that crankbait shortly thereafter unfortunately.

     That's why we NEVER laugh out loud and pat ourselves on the back when we find a prize on the water. What goes around, comes around!  

     True story......I slung a crank bait into a tree up a rock cliff bank along the Tennessee river. Looked up and right next to my crankbait was a new Kevin Van Dam crank that cost three times what mine did. Well, Heck! I climbed up the rock bluff, couldn't reach the limb, so I cut the limb off with my multi tool blade, fetched both crankbaits, laughed out loud, slapped myself on the back, tossed the cranks into the bottom of boat, and climbed down from bluff, jumped in boat, staggered, and stepped on BOTH crankbaits and broke them BOTH!!!

    Yep...it came back AROUND!

I hope you had good shoes on when you stepped on those lures @Blue Raider Bob! From the stories you tell it seems like you never have a dull day on the water. 😂

35 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

     That's why we NEVER laugh out loud and pat ourselves on the back when we find a prize on the water. What goes around, comes around!  

     True story......I slung a crank bait into a tree up a rock cliff bank along the Tennessee river. Looked up and right next to my crankbait was a new Kevin Van Dam crank that cost three times what mine did. Well, Heck! I climbed up the rock bluff, couldn't reach the limb, so I cut the limb off with my multi tool blade, fetched both crankbaits, laughed out loud, slapped myself on the back, tossed the cranks into the bottom of boat, and climbed down from bluff, jumped in boat, staggered, and stepped on BOTH crankbaits and broke them BOTH!!!

    Yep...it came back AROUND!

You ain’t right 😂 

Had an audience this morning, couple of guys prefishing for a tournament rolled into the cove I was fishing. They were scoping and kind enough to speak loudly about what they were seeing. I caught the big ones but they caught some too. It was nice. Switched spots and caught a handful more dinks. All walking bait. They were not missing it this morning. 

Went down to the river this morning. I was targeting bass, and had a few bonus fish.

 

 

 

Carp thrashed while I was trying to unhook him and he got my knuckle a bit. Also broke off one of the hooks prongs in his mouth. Not the best hooks maybe on the flicker shad. I was able to remove the piece. He weighed 6 pounds and some change.

 

 

 

 

This is as far away from my target species that I normally like to get.

 

 

This was a first for me. Got him in the white water on a fluke with with 1/8 weight.

 

 

 

I also caught another gar that was hooked by the tail, which didn't get a picture. And I caught a walleye that come unbuttoned on a shallow rock right at shore. I could have dove on him and got him, but decided to let him have his dignity.

 

I stopped by the shallow church pond on the way home and got a few, all on flukes.

 

Nice and fat.

 

Many people overlook this.

 

Can anyone identify this? It has a very slight red tip on the ear. Body was more like a warmouth. I know there is a bunch of hybrids, and I expect this is one of them.

 

---------------------

1 hour ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

     That's why we NEVER laugh out loud and pat ourselves on the back when we find a prize on the water. What goes around, comes around!  

     True story......I slung a crank bait into a tree up a rock cliff bank along the Tennessee river. Looked up and right next to my crankbait was a new Kevin Van Dam crank that cost three times what mine did. Well, Heck! I climbed up the rock bluff, couldn't reach the limb, so I cut the limb off with my multi tool blade, fetched both crankbaits, laughed out loud, slapped myself on the back, tossed the cranks into the bottom of boat, and climbed down from bluff, jumped in boat, staggered, and stepped on BOTH crankbaits and broke them BOTH!!!

    Yep...it came back AROUND!

I had not thought of it like that, thank you for sharing.

 

I have one crankbait that I always wonder about the previous owner. It's an old Rapala 6 Shad Rap. I found it hanging in a branch over the water, just out of reach from shore. I was able to snag it with my rod tip. It's a good one and I caught my PB on it.

 

I always think of the previous owner was an old man that was sad when he lost his trusty Rapala.

 

Here's a picture of the lure (I tied the hooks). Unfortunately, I didn't have the phone with me to get a picture of the PB it caught.

 

1 hour ago, Bazoo said:

Went down to the river this morning. I was targeting bass, and had a few bonus fish.

 

 

 

Carp thrashed while I was trying to unhook him and he got my knuckle a bit. Also broke off one of the hooks prongs in his mouth. Not the best hooks maybe on the flicker shad. I was able to remove the piece. He weighed 6 pounds and some change.

 

 

 

 

This is as far away from my target species that I normally like to get.

 

 

This was a first for me. Got him in the white water on a fluke with with 1/8 weight.

 

 

 

I also caught another gar that was hooked by the tail, which didn't get a picture. And I caught a walleye that come unbuttoned on a shallow rock right at shore. I could have dove on him and got him, but decided to let him have his dignity.

 

I stopped by the shallow church pond on the way home and got a few, all on flukes.

 

Nice and fat.

 

Many people overlook this.

 

Can anyone identify this? It has a very slight red tip on the ear. Body was more like a warmouth. I know there is a bunch of hybrids, and I expect this is one of them.

 

---------------------

I had not thought of it like that, thank you for sharing.

 

I have one crankbait that I always wonder about the previous owner. It's an old Rapala 6 Shad Rap. I found it hanging in a branch over the water, just out of reach from shore. I was able to snag it with my rod tip. It's a good one and I caught my PB on it.

 

I always think of the previous owner was an old man that was sad when he lost his trusty Rapala.

 

Here's a picture of the lure (I tied the hooks). Unfortunately, I didn't have the phone with me to get a picture of the PB it caught.

 

I only meant that in my case, everytime I find a prize, (Like your Gerber tool), I seem to lose something in return. Glad you got the tool, they are handy as heck! Certainly not glad you lost your crankbait. 🙂 

On 6/3/2025 at 2:16 PM, Jar11591 said:

@Fishlegs I actually came across a Bill Dance branded hat the other day at Sierra Trading post. It wasn’t a Tenn hat, but it was his brand. Wishing I grabbed it, I could use some Bill Dance mojo this spring! 

You can get a T hat at billdanceoutdoors.com. Autographed if you want at no extra charge. That's where I got mine. 

25 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

You can get a T hat at billdanceoutdoors.com. Autographed if you want at no extra charge. That's where I got mine. 

5 hours ago, Fishlegs said:

I hope you had good shoes on when you stepped on those lures @Blue Raider Bob! From the stories you tell it seems like you never have a dull day on the water. 😂

     Well, we've all had our adventures. I've had my share, that's for sure. One thing's for certain, the adventures soften with age. My adventures in my sixties are a lot less painful than the ones in my teens!  😁  I keep the glued up KVD crank over my work table just to remind me that I can do stupid with a capital (S), if I'm not careful.  

     I think there's a forum page where we can share our mishaps....seems like I've shared one or too. There's some funny stuff on that page.