57 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

Cool. Healthy response.

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.

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.

we'll be marveling at your numbers soon enough. what's your over/under on 50 fish days this summer? whatever it is, i'll bet on the 'over'.

it has taken me 34 years to be able to get over it quickly. anymore i just don't feel that i have the time to stay upset for too long, and it isn't worth it anyhow. easier said than done some days but we're getting better at it

Thought I was about to have a great day, got a quality fish within the first 10 minutes. That turned out to be the only fish I would see in 6 hours.

@Fried Lemons: Your bass is obviously impressive, but so is paddle boarding in March. Hardcore.

Took the day off from work to surprise my wife and we spent a very warm day on the boat. I caught one of the biggest spotted bass I’ve ever caught in Kansas, only a pound off the state record.

I also caught keeper largemouth and smallmouth, these were the biggest of both.

My wife took big fish honors for the day though with a super healthy 17.75” 3.53lb smallmouth.

On the board

Not a bass but, still buzzing about catching this fish. I was verticle jigging for walleye on the Saginaw river. Walleye fishing was slow on the river. However, I caught this giant Flat head catfish.

When the flat head bit my jig. My first reaction was I had snagged up. As when I set the hook it was just big rod bending mass. I was actually in the middle of putting my hand on the spool to stop it from spinning to break the leader.

When I felt the head shake and was like woah. “This is a fish”. Fought it for about 20 minutes in a complete down pour. All the other boats had left. This catfish is atleast 44 inches long. To put his size in comparison in the first photo my size 14 red wing work boot looks small next to it. I think this cat goes 45ish lbs. It was so heavy that the scale wouldn’t hold him. I throw around 40 lbs of cheese daily at work and thus cat feels heavier than that

I was using 20 lbs power pro with a 8 lbs fluoro leader. Luckily my uni-knot held.

Even cooler, is that I caught this monster on a rod I built, with a jig that I poured and painted. Slab City dirty money plastic split tail was what I was using on the jig.

I Also caught a couple small walleyes and a little channel cat.

I let the flat head go

Fishing on the first day of trout stocking usually doesn't go well, and it didn't. Chucked all sorts of trout baits without a sniff. Just as the rain started really coming down I tied on a white Shellcracker G2 and got a hard bite on my 2nd cast. Fought like a nice pickeral, so that was cool. Called it a win and booked.

Went bank beating and found a long and lean one on the pink rising son. I’ve caught at least 20 fish on this thing and it still just keeps on going. My backups are immaculate and collect dust.

Little guys but the bite is starting to pick up,

Fat senko in baby bass seems to be annoying them in the right way.

Not "picture worthy" but if that's the only size ya got... 😆

@NorcalBassin Regardless of their size spotted bass are absolutely beautiful in my opinion and yours are no different.

Wild evening for me. Started kayaking from the dock after 5. I fished around and got one dink on a worm. The wind was howling somewhat backwards so I thought I should leave the creek and hit a main channel bank that I thought would be protected. On the way there, I decided to troll a grub behind the kayak while I was paddling into the wind. Lucky me , a fish smashed it pretty soon thereafter . I was using 4 lb test and ultra light gear so it was a wild ride, fish cartwheel jumping and screaming line off the reel. It finally tired out and I boated what I think was a meanmouth, just over 18”.

This was an epic fight, but I still had an hour or so of daylight left. I kept dragging a worm on a riprap point and hooked into something, turned out to be a LM with two lampreys attached to it!!!

Then on the way back to the ramp I trolled the same grub and got a nice white bass

Went out yesterday hoping for a 20+ inch fish for my monthly big bass challenge. I really wanted to go to the power plant lake but the wind forecast wasn’t favorable for fishing along the dam where I wanted to concentrate on. I checked the Deep Dive app and it confirmed my concerns.

It couldn’t have been blowing from a worse direction for what I wanted to do.

I checked it for a nearby small lake that would be more tolerable in a kayak.

Most of what I wanted to fish here is along the east and north banks, making it a much better option. Checked my suggestions for baits for the day out of curiosity.

Water temps were warmer than I like to fish a red crawfish crank in, so I went chartreuse/purple back instead.

And just like that, biggest fish of the year hit the net on for the first fish of the day.

^thats a hawg!

What a great trip report, Clayton. I love how you broke down your thinking for us. And what a great bass too! I love your Kansas hawgs!

43 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I checked the Deep Dive app and it confirmed my concern...

Very cool and congrats on that biggin! That app now has me very intrigued!!

33 minutes ago, NorcalBassin said:

Very cool and congrats on that biggin! That app now has me very intrigued!!

It’s really cool, especially for bigger lakes where you can see water clarity, water inflow and outflow, patterns for different sections of the lake, and others.

@Bluebasser86 That's a nice pig.

Got some, seems like it should have been better but it’ll take it. Got 4-5 to hit a trap, that’s always fun regardless of size. Landed a few more on plastic worm, I’ve certainly done worse

Quick Sunday morning session, popper bite was on, but with the unusually warm weather and spring break boat traffic was pretty bad and messing with the top water action.

First time I've had to deal with aircraft wakes

This monthly challenge has been a slugfest. I was leading going into the weekend with 98.25" and then got knocked into second place when another angler caught a 20.75" fish to put him at 99". I needed to cull an 18.75" fish yesterday. A cold front blew threw on Saturday. It was windy and cold in the morning Sunday but supposed to warm up into the mid 70's, the wind was never going to let up though, howling 20-30 mph all day.

I decided to try a small lake I hadn't fished in several years. Last I knew it had some big ones in it and rarely gets fished because it's so tiny and is down a dusty, dirt road and has a terrible ramp. It's surprisingly deep for it's tiny size, 15-20' just that far off the bank in many places, which I'm guessing is why the water was several degrees colder than I expected. I still caught several fish but they weren't what I was looking for, until right at the end. I was just thinking I should pack up and move to a different little lake down the road when my line jumped while I was pausing my jerkbait. I thought I'd hooked the fish in the side but saw when it got closer that it was actually a nice one. I thought I had the fish I needed, but it was just a super healthy 18.50.

So I headed 10 minutes down the road to the other lake. They were biting immediately, but every one was 12-14 inches. The action was fast, but the size wasn't there. I was really second guessing my decision, why my bladed jig felt like it just bogged down on a branch. It even felt like a branch dragging for a minute until it darted out away from the banch and then hit the surface to headshake. I didn't know if it was going to do it, because it was such a thick fish, but it turned out to be a 20.25" fish that had tried to swallow my bladed jig.

So now I wait to see if my 99.75" will be enough or if I'll get jumped again in the last 2 days of the month 😅 I don't know if I want to do any more of the monthly challenges, it's almost felt like work.

Great seeing folks out here crushing them, looking to a good rest of the year as well. Went out for more night fishing and throwing bigger baits. I just love the whole vibe of the experience, was able to lean into a few so that sent me to work a happy camper. The fish at this spot are starting to look pretty spawned out, but darn were they aggressive! Looking to get out tomorrow around 3am, should be a light drizzle coming in so fingers crossed it fires them up. The spot has a range of sizes and pretty good number so may all go well.

Hot, windy day in Iowa. Air 81, surface temp in the morning was 53, warming to 58 when I left.

Caught 11 nice bass and lotsa 14 inchers. Bigger bass came on a bladed jig slow rolled from the lip of the flat into 6 fow. Biggest about 4. The smaller bass would wear out a spinnerbait in 2 fow

Freezing overnight temps and crazy winds this past weekend really chilled down the water temp. The moon was up, so things were tough until some nice clouds rolled in. The bites I got were super subtle and only on the bottom, so I missed some. I un-skin hooked the Keitech Noisy flapper I was missing on and slow rolled it over the black death for one hookup. Tied on a 2.5" Mayor on a VMC jighead for the second one. Both scrapped much harder than they bit. Didn't expect much after this past weekend's cold front, so I'll take it.

About this time last year I didn't know how much time I had left, and I still don't. Then, the outlook was truly grim though. I was also just five days past back surgery a year ago today and it took some time before I knew it had worked. Luckily it did, spectacularly. Thank you, Dr. Caplin. Even so, due to the bigger issue, I missed most of the season last year, so I'm beyond grateful to get to fish the prespawn this year, even in the cold and especially at night. It's tougher, slower fishing, and I love it. Nothing like it. It's truly its own thing.

In the dark. In the cold. After the year you had. Beyond hardcore.

Took the kayak to my old favorite lake that I can't get the boat on anymore (ridiculous mussel requirements), and it did not disappoint.