The biggest bass (I’m talking 8 +) seem to pull hard one way and then turn into dead weight pretty quickly but not always. That initial run they usually either tear the hole big enough to come off or break your line or bend your hook out - but if they stay pinned well after that - usually they give up.

They also seem to pull down and into cover a lot more than smaller fish and jump a lot less - presumably because that is difficult to do with such mass - Jake’s PB definitely fought like a catfish and looked like a snag.

The bigger ones give up faster but pull the hardest on that first run usually for me.

A lot of times it’s under the boat and out to deeper water but sometimes it’s straight into the cover you’re flipping, only deeper.

2 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

The biggest bass (I’m talking 8 +) seem to pull hard one way and then turn into dead weight pretty quickly but not always. That initial run they usually either tear the hole big enough to come off or break your line or bend your hook out - but if they stay pinned well after that - usually they give up.

They also seem to pull down and into cover a lot more than smaller fish and jump a lot less - presumably because that is difficult to do with such mass - Jake’s PB definitely fought like a catfish and looked like a snag.

The bigger ones give up faster but pull the hardest on that first run usually for me.

A lot of times it’s under the boat and out to deeper water but sometimes it’s straight into the cover you’re flipping, only deeper.

I agree with this. Last year I caught 2 pounders that fought like beasts. My PB at 5-6 once hooked I knew I had a killer fish on. But honestly after the big initial run he was just wallowing weight I had to get to the bank and lipped.

Here are some gifs of @thediscochef doing various jobs:

He's not the drivers. He's the machines.

@Swamp Girl Maybe a DD catfish.

40 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

@Swamp Girl Maybe a DD catfish.

Thanks Dwight. The Chef will sleep well tonight.

3 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

The biggest bass (I’m talking 8 +) seem to pull hard one way and then turn into dead weight pretty quickly but not always. That initial run they usually either tear the hole big enough to come off or break your line or bend your hook out - but if they stay pinned well after that - usually they give up.

They also seem to pull down and into cover a lot more than smaller fish and jump a lot less - presumably because that is difficult to do with such mass - Jake’s PB definitely fought like a catfish and looked like a snag.

The bigger ones give up faster but pull the hardest on that first run usually for me.

A lot of times it’s under the boat and out to deeper water but sometimes it’s straight into the cover you’re flipping, only deeper.

I have experienced this with the 7s and high 6s I've caught, where they run hard once or twice and then give up. This particular mystery fish gave me about 5 or 6 hard runs and a couple of tight circles, the last run being the hardest

I’m sharing my grandson’s catches with newly purchased lures. These Megabass lures, especially the new Karashi 80, are amazing. I’m not trying to take credit for his catches by sharing them, but somehow I’m taking a little credit too. 🤣

Pics

Cold, cloudy morning. Air 45, water 51. Caught some nice ones on a 5 inch grub and a black/red spinnerbait in 4 fow. Biggest was 4 1/2.

4 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

Cold, cloudy morning. Air 45, water 51. Caught some nice ones on a 5 inch grub and a black/red spinnerbait in 4 fow. Biggest was 4 1/2.

Great job Al!

Got out this morning to a brisk wind and 28* but the recent warm weather had the water temp at 55*.

These were the best fish of the day caught on bladed jigs and flukes.

I'm seeing some thick bass. Go, guys, go!

I just want to give @Lottabass a shout out for sending a box of lures to my fishing buddy, The Kid. So, Al's like @ATA, helping a boy catch bass.

8 trips, one little muskie caught, two lost. Had enough of that abuse and went pitching trees for the last couple hours today. This is the first bass of the year.

I ended up catching five and losing two. It was a fun change of pace.

Got on a fun bite with a glide. Thought the lack of clarity might’ve been an issue but they were finding it just fine. Kicker went 6.3. I missed half my bites for the day so there was a lot of missed potential.

6.3

So many nice fish the last several pages....you all are giving me The Itch.

11 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

They also seem to pull down and into cover a lot more than smaller fish

Don't tell that to Mexican bass. Every bass in Mexico I have caught over 7 pounds jumps more than once. Many jump multiple times no matter how I try to keep them from jumping. All the DD bass I have caught have jumped almost immediately after being hooked, even if I get bit on the bottom in deep water. Usually at least one jump in the middle of the fight, and for sure a jump or two close to the boat. They will also once in awhile go on long runs similar to salt water fish, but do tire quickly. If I keep my cool, get them away from cover, don't horse them and get lucky when they jump, I can easily lip them when they are tired next to my Kayak. Getting wrapped around a tree branch, and jumps are about even on the reason for me loosing a big bass here. Smaller bass jump far less often.

To all of you who have been posting on this thread for at least the last month all I’m going to say is DANG IM JEALOUS!! But in all seriousness @thediscochef, @ATA, @Lottabass, @Bird, @T-Billy & @Fried Lemons those are some gorgeous bass and I can’t wait until I hook my first one of the season even though I know based on where I’m currently fishing they will be nowhere near the size you guys are posting.

10 hours ago, Eric 26 said:

I can’t wait until I hook my first one of the season even though I know based on where I’m currently fishing they will be nowhere near the size you guys are posting.

All we can do, Eric, is to catch the bass that swim near us. The playing field is not the least bit level, but we can still be happy catching our local fish. I was raised in deep suburbia, which is the worst possible playing field for a kid who loved (and loves) the woods. So, I climbed on my bike and rode about 15 miles to a creek that fed a reservoir. If you ducked under branches, you'd reach a little, shaded, cool pool that teemed with tiny fish of all species. I loved wondering what was tugging on my line. I never caught a single big one, but if I could reach that pool again, I'd still fish it...and rejoice every time a bitsy fish bit.

Eric, you have great skill at supporting your fellow anglers, which might be the most important skill in belonging to a bass fishing community like Bass Resource. I'd feel privileged to fish with you on any day that ends with "y."

34 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

All we can do, Eric, is to catch the bass that swim near us. The playing field is not the least bit level, but we can still be happy catching our local fish. I was raised in deep suburbia, which is the worst possible playing field for a kid who loved (and loves) the woods. So, I climbed on my bike and rode about 15 miles to a creek that fed a reservoir. If you ducked under branches, you'd reach a little, shaded, cool pool that teemed with tiny fish of all species. I loved wondering what was tugging on my line. I never caught

Eric, you have great skill at supporting your fellow anglers, which might be the most important skill in belonging to a bass fishing community like Bass Resource. I'd feel privileged to fish with you on any day that ends with "y."

han perdido! (i blanked)

9 minutes ago, thediscochef said:

(i blanked)

I blanked again today too, making more than a hundred consecutive days of skunking.

Warm, windy day in Iowa. Air 78, water 58. Caught 22 on dead weed clumps in 2 fow, up in the jungle. Nothing over 17 inches, but my Granpa used to say, "there's little bass and there's big bass but there ain't no bad bass."

Most came on a Snagless Sally.

Had the first actual fishing trip in the boat today. Not bad to start the year with a 4# fish as your first. Caught 4, missed 2-3 more, all on a vibrating jig of some type and color. Air was 50-52 and the water was 48 on the cold side of the lake, but the 15 mph constant wind was pushing all the warmer surface water into the old weeded shallows to make it 51-52. Every fish was in 2-3’ and they definitely haven’t been sitting in 52 degree water long- they were COLD still. Barely hitting it, just enough to feel the blade stop. I’ll take that for the end of March.

6 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

I blanked again today too, making more than a hundred consecutive days of skunking.

I joke about my blanks these days, hence the dead shad photo lol. it used to really, really bug me. Now I just hear the loss horn from The Price is Right when I start walking to the car. i think hearing skunk stories from the guys i know who have boats made a difference. you can have all the tools in the world, win tournaments regularly, be looking right at the bass... and sometimes they just aren't going to play ball. It's OK

Fished from 6a - 1p and caught 11. Water temp is 63. One on Z - Man Gremlin, one on the Chimera Shad, and the rest on the Hellgrammite. It was cool, overcast, and I got rained on multple times, in other words a fine day.

9 hours ago, thediscochef said:

I joke about my blanks these day

Cool. Healthy response.

9 hours ago, thediscochef said:

i think hearing skunk stories from the guys i know who have boats made a difference. you can have all the tools in the world, win tournaments regularly, be looking right at the bass... and sometimes they just aren't going to play ball.

Yeah, they are mysterious. I have the advantages of a boat and EASY access to a pond that isn't pounded and I still launch every morning understanding that even though I knew exactly where the bass were a few hours back and what they wanted, I don't have a clue where they'll be and what they'll want that morning.

9 hours ago, thediscochef said:

It's OK

Heck, yeah, it is. I was raised in a football family. We'd make a pilgrimage to Canton's Football of Fame every year to see our enshrined kin. Plus, my grandfather, parents, six siblings, and I all attended Ohio State. I bled scarlet and gray. So, one fall day, when Ohio State lost, I was despondent. It was one of those perfect fall days when the air was so clear and the light was so right that every tree and blade of grass seemed to glow. And I suddenly realized that I was wasting that precious day, which was a tragedy. So, I developed the ability to be really sad for a relatively brief bit and then to return to celebrating what remains.