Of course there has to be at least one chunky pike ~

 

A-Jay

I just returned from the eye doc and she said I'm "healing beautifully." Because of my progress, she changed her mind and said I may go fishing. 

 

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Still at it but so far it's been a green bass type of morning.

 

A-Jay

 

You don't like those things do you?

 

Seems like your livewell always has green bass in it.  LOL

16 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

You don't like those things do you?

 

Seems like your livewell always has green bass in it.  LOL

I love these things.

As the main ingredient in a fish taco.

👨‍🍳

A-Jay

1 hour ago, Swamp Girl said:

I just returned from the eye doc and she said I'm "healing beautifully." Because of my progress, she changed her mind and said I may go fishing. 

 

Great news. Have you noticed a marked improvement in your vision? For me, I noticed that colors were more vibrant and my ability to see inside shadows in the water was vastly improved. As well as just a general improvement in vision clarity. BTW....be SURE to wear polarized sunglasses during any daylight (even early morning or early evening) if you are outside. Do NOT just wear regular sunglasses. Regular sunglasses just use a dark tint to block light. That has the unfortunate side effect of making your pupil open up in an effort to see...which allows more UV rays to enter the eye, which in turn can cause damage to your recently repaired vision. I am pretty sure you knew this already, but I'd rather preach to the choir than feel bad later because I didn't mention it. Anyway, I am glad you can get back out there. Keep us posted.....

1 hour ago, Kirtley Howe said:

Great news.

 

Thank you.

 

1 hour ago, Kirtley Howe said:

Have you noticed a marked improvement in your vision?

 

Indeed. My right eye is nearly 20/20.

 

1 hour ago, Kirtley Howe said:

I noticed that colors were more vibrant

 

Me too!

 

1 hour ago, Kirtley Howe said:

Anyway, I am glad you can get back out there. Keep us posted.....

 

Me too again. I'm launching this evening. I'm going to fish the edges of Pondweed patches again, which is where they were a week ago. If they've moved, I'll go a lookin'.

5 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

I just returned from the eye doc and she said I'm "healing beautifully." Because of my progress, she changed her mind and said I may go fishing. 

 

I saw that coming from a mile away

 

bass beware 

I was pretty torn on where to go Saturday. I think I ended up making a pretty good decision. Biggest 5 were 91.25” and the biggest of the morning absolutely crushed a Pop-R as soon as I twitched it.

 

Sunday I did something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. Anyone that has been around for a while knows that I use to only boat fish, and I almost always had some furry companions with me. Cassidee is my oldest Golden and she’s getting up there. She’s still just a puppy but after 13 trips around the sun, I don’t know how many trips she has left in her. I haven’t taken her and Chloe out in the boat in a couple years probably. I felt like I owed them a trip for being such great boat dogs for all those trips. They were excited the whole time we were out but still did a great job and seemed to still really enjoy spending time on the water.

 

 

 

Big bag, Clayton. I love 90" bags!

 

I had a cool evening. The Sun is red from Canadian fires and at one point, I saw two Great blue herons fly under that red Sun. I felt like I was in "Apocalypse Now." I also saw an eagle take a bass and it flew with that bass into a white pine, where screeching commenced. Would there still be young in the nest, Russ? A loon swam close enough to my canoe to touch with a pole and they sang all evening. I also saw an osprey. 

 

Oh, yeah, I caught a dozen bass too, giving me 926 for 2025. This evening's bass weren't long like Clayton's bass, but strong. The biggest was only 17". It was just too windy for me to see the Pondweed beds to fish them for the bigger bass, so I fished a drop-off mostly. At one point, a storm threatened and I tucked behind an island, ready to go ashore, but it mostly missed me.

 

I got clearance to go fishing way earlier than expected after yesterday's follow up with my doc, so I gave it a shot. The lake had changed a bit from a little more than a week ago. Then the water was steaming hot, and quite low. Still, I found a decent night-bite into the morning and was happy with my very first wade of the year. Last night the water was closer to full pool due to heavy rains on Friday and was now tannic-clear instead of dingey-green, and it was also much cooler. Light cloud cover partially hid a gauzy-red wildfire-moon which I thought was a yet another good omen, but I just couldn't find a bite even though baitfish were pushed up to the bank everywhere which is always a good sign. Not a sniff. 

 

My weather app claimed there'd be 4 mph winds gusting to 8mph, but once I arrived it was glass-smooth and not one fish broke the surface anywhere in 3 hours. Either I completely missed the bite window, or there simply wasn't one because they had lockjaw from this past weekend's cold front and the shock of cool water with runoff chemicals. I'd spoken to the daytime crew earlier and they'd all skunked, so I figured night time would be the right time, but not this time. Oh well.

 

Got some pics from last week's trip though. Some good pulls including a nice 4 pounder. A Zman Goat ToadZ in Coppetruese rigged on an Owner Twistlock Light 6/0 3/32 weighted hook and fished like a swimbait through bluegill beds got all the love. Missed more than I caught, but every strike was violent. All I could do for the past 11 months was dream about fishing, so it was thrilling. The word grateful has taken on new meaning for me. I'm grateful.

22 hours ago, A-Jay said:

I love these things.

As the main ingredient in a fish taco.

👨‍🍳

A-Jay

 

And I'm grateful to read a @PhishLI's fishing report again! If you couldn't solve the puzzle of last night, then no one could. You whisper bass.

It is windy here - just a matter of how much wind are you willing to navigate/tolerate - I chose to get to a smaller lake (about 600 acres) to be as out of the wind gusts as possible - the water is high (the ramp has water all the way to the top of it) and with the wind and recent storms the water was a bit cloudy/muddy - for several hours it was nothing but pike/crappie - I went to an area that is usually less than a foot but now was about 4 feet deep - went along the weed line and nothing bit - on the way back over that same weed line (after changing over to a wake bait) I caught this LMB - just shy of 19 inches (my previous LMB PB was 18.5 and this one was just a sliver shy of 19, a new LMB PB !) - as you can see it was bleeding (I think one of the treble hooks might have caught a gill) - so I quickly measured it (I am trying to shrink the size of that pic down enough to post it) - I was going to weight it but it was thrashing so wildly (and bleeding) that I released it right after this pic - I also caught a 16in./two 16.5in/17.5in/this one for a total of about 85 inches, I believe that is my best one day total ever in my three years of fishing

 

Got out there around 5:40 and had a 5lber on by 6:00. Stuck a few more, nothing big. Red eye shad predawn and a walking bait after. Good stuff. First 5lber I've had in a while. 

Went out for 30 mins after work. Hot and sunny. lol wind. No bites. Right before leaving I made one more cast along some scum mats down the bank. This girl smoked it. No idea on a weight. But my PB for sure. 

2 hours ago, WaskaCrank12 said:

I caught this LMB - just shy of 19 inches (my previous LMB PB was 18.5 and this one was just a sliver shy of 19, a new LMB PB !)

 

Whoa!

 

2 hours ago, WaskaCrank12 said:

I also caught a 16in./two 16.5in/17.5in/this one for a total of about 85 inches, I believe that is my best one day total ever in my three years of fishing

 

Double whoa!!!

 

2 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

No idea on a weight. But my PB for sure. 

 

Joe, she is really deep, so I'm thinking five pounds. Congrats, bass brother!

1 minute ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

Whoa!

 

 

Double whoa!!!

 

 

Joe, she is really deep, so I'm thinking five pounds. Congrats, bass brother!

Thank you. I agree I couldn’t believe how broad she was. Measured against my rod when I got home she was about 21 inches. But huge shoulders 

 

1 hour ago, thediscochef said:

Got out there around 5:40 and had a 5lber on by 6:00.

 

Remember those videos featuring drunk college women: "Girls Gone Crazy"?

 

Well, today's video would be "Boys Gone Crazy!"

 

16 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

Measured against my rod when I got home she was about 21 inches.

 

With that length and those shoulders, she'd be pushing six pounds. Let's see what others say. Time to change your PB. Here's a similar bass I caught this spring. She has fairly big shoulders, but no gut. Your girl has a gut. She'd be a stretch to even reach five pounds:

'

 

Here's another one of similar length, but with bigger shoulders. Still no belly though, but I estimated her at also pushing six pounds:

 

 

Here's one more of similar length that I actually weighed. She was a little more than 6.5 pounds:

 

 

Some bass of similar lengths to compare with yours. I'm sticking with six pounds for yours.

1 hour ago, Joedodge said:

Went out for 30 mins after work. Hot and sunny. lol wind. No bites. Right before leaving I made one more cast along some scum mats down the bank. This girl smoked it. No idea on a weight. But my PB for sure. 

 

Hell yeah buddy!

 

Has to be a 5 pounder right?

9 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

Hell yeah buddy!

 

Has to be a 5 pounder right?

I’d say so for sure. Thank you! 

1 hour ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

 

Remember those videos featuring drunk college women: "Girls Gone Crazy"?

 

Well, today's video would be "Boys Gone Crazy!"

 

 

With that length and those shoulders, she'd be pushing six pounds. Let's see what others say. Time to change your PB. Here's a similar bass I caught this spring. She has fairly big shoulders, but no gut. Your girl has a gut. She'd be a stretch to even reach five pounds:

'

 

Here's another one of similar length, but with bigger shoulders. Still no belly though, but I estimated her at also pushing six pounds:

 

 

Here's one more of similar length that I actually weighed. She was a little more than 6.5 pounds:

 

 

Some bass of similar lengths to compare with yours. I'm sticking with six pounds for yours.

Thank you! The reference is great. Those are some wonderful fish!!!!! I’m for sure saying 5-6 pounds. 

2 hours ago, Joedodge said:

. This girl smoked it. No idea on a weight. But my PB for sure. 

That fish looks like a twin of my best largemouth which was 6+ lbs. It is for sure at LEAST a 6 pound fish. Congrats on getting a new PB. Great fish.

Just now, Kirtley Howe said:

That fish looks like a twin of my best largemouth which was 6+ lbs. It is for sure at LEAST a 6 pound fish. Congrats on getting a new PB. Great fish.

Oh wow! Thank you so much!! Certainly was a huge surprise. I’ve fished that pond a few times a week since march. Never caught one over 1.5 pounds. 

@Joedodge congrats on the PB. That is a toad. 

6 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

@Joedodge congrats on the PB. That is a toad. 

Thank you! 

On 8/4/2025 at 10:53 AM, Swamp Girl said:

I just returned from the eye doc and she said I'm "healing beautifully." Because of my progress, she changed her mind and said I may go fishing. 

 

I see another 30 bass day coming.