Regular old ball head jig and half a night crawler

A carbon Rapala Shadow Rap.

Ned Rig. 15" bass and the first bass I have caught in over 10 years. Good to be back.

Caught my first bass of the season yesterday on a SK swim jig with Menace grub trailer.  I won't tell you how little (er, I mean BIG) it was though...

 My first bass just came about an hour ago!!!!   I'm pumped!  I went kayak fishing for two hours at a small pond and got no bites.  I used a Texas Rigged Yum-Dinger, the Ned Rig, and slider worm on a slider jig head.  No bites at all.  I packed up and decided to drive down to another bigger pond to bank fish for ten minutes before I headed home.  I pulled out the rod with the Ned Rig and made a couple of casts and had a small bite.  I cast again in the area and reeled in a nice sized bass (under two pounds but sill nice sized for the area).  It might have been a pound and a half.  It didn't thrash around but it sure bent my rod some.  It had some power.  Once I got it on shore I noticed the Gopher jig head hook came out real easy.  

Can't fish yet it's too cold and we still have ice.

But my first bass will be caught on my bps topnocker.

Gambler ugly otter in ripe melon rigged on a 1/4 oz pegged bullet weight.

Rapala Shadow Rap

A little red and white beetle spin

5" Black with red metal flake Senko rigged wacky rigged. 21" long.

Ned Rig, green pumpkin and orange on a 1/16 weedless button head jig.

My first bass of the season was accidental.  I was actually fishing for panfish with a beetle spin.  It was small (maybe 12") bass.  The next one I caught was a monster.  I caught it on a blue/black/silver lipless crankbait.

Megastrike Red and Black StrikeBack SpinnerBait

 

That was actually the second one I got to fight.  Lost first one (with green Cut-R) well into a long fight when she broke off my 8# Yo-Zuri.  I should say I broke her off since I had the drag too tight for that rig.

XCalibur Rattle Bait Xr25 Chrome/Black

 

It was also my first fish I caught since I moved to Tennessee. 

New years day - silver buddy

Red eye shad

7" Berkley power worm in blue flake, t-rigged.

I caught my first one on a bait I lost last year and I found it floating in the pond. I grabbed a stick and pulled it in tied it on and two casts later it got inhaled. This fish choked it.It's a sebile squarebill in sunfish flatsided.Probably the perfect bait for that pond.

zoom meathead in watermelon seed color on a drop shot from the bank. first time ever trying a drop shot.

4" Watermelon Red Yum Dinger wacky rigged

Zoom 6" green pumpkin worm, Texas rigged.

7" Gambler Ribbon Tail (Junebug)

Shadow rap Green Olive. Then two on strike king coffee tube Green Pumpkin.

Today was my first fishing day of the year. First fish was caught on a beetle spin  like  bait. Then the next 99 were caught on buzzbaits .

So far only pickerel, so I'll let you know when I bag my first LM....  perhaps Sunday, time permitting.  If not, next Friday when I take a family friend's son fishing.  He's currently under chemotherapy treatment but it itching to go.... Gave him this forum's address today.  Hopefully he'll join.