Shaking a minnow with no electronics and a baitcaster ? Impossible they said…….. 

 

well it works just fine. Got a ton of white bass with 1/4 oz jig and zoom tiny fluke with the Okuma Hakai. The bite was a very faint “tick” but once you set the hook it was game on. Also got to see a tug/barge leaving out right at sunset, loaded down with scrap metal . Fun evening with the fellas 

 

No electronics, a baitcaster and a loop knot? You’re crazy man. 

@Skunkmaster-k, I’ve always used rapala knot for a loop in the past. Learned this one from Cliff Pace online the other day, triple surgeons loop knot. It’s way stronger and more reliable than the rapala knot 

These things hit like freight trains and make you think you’re a bass fishing WINNER!  
 

then, oh no… yuck. 
 

That's a fine pike minnow.

I had about 15 minutes to fish before a family dinner, so I took advantage of it. The water was nasty from a recent round of storms so I reached for the brightest lure I had in my box. This little guy really wanted to taste a chartreuse jerkbait. He went for it twice.

 

I was reeling my lure in when I saw something swipe at the lure right beside the dock. He missed, but went after it quite aggressively so I had to try again. I cast out far enough to get it under the water about where the swipe happened, let it sit for a couple of seconds, and...BAM! A feisty largemouth on a jerkbait followed by a nice dinner with another set of largemou...umm, I mean family members. 🤣 It was a very nice evening.

 

 

I just realized I posted this is the wrong thread. I meant to put it in the latest catch thread. Oops. I'm going to repost it in the right place. Delete if you need to mods. Sorry about that.

40 minutes ago, MassBass said:

That's a fine pike minnow.

i'm going to try to cook one and eat it.  hahahha..

 

Well, I answered my own question.  I previously posted a thread asking if striper feed up shallow in the spring like they do in fall.  I decided to drive to my 'striper lake' and find out.  Yes...yes they do.  Caught several.  This is the biggest at 8-4.  The angriest, however, was a 5-4 that I thought might do me harm.  

20 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

These things hit like freight trains and make you think you’re a bass fishing WINNER!  
 

then, oh no… yuck. 
 

Them things are lucky there must not be an abundance of big blue cats around them. They look like they'd be a top food/bait choice for a big hungry blue. I'd love to try them for cutbait, they look like they'd be oily and bloody. 

Decent evening, fish were in random schools with no current just roaming around. Got some with swimbait and one with rattle trap on the Hakai, was a wild ride with the fish hooked in the mouth and belly

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

Decent evening, fish were in random schools with no current just roaming around. Got some with swimbait and one with rattle trap on the Hakai, was a wild ride with the fish hooked in the mouth and belly

so cool...I hope I dont embarrass myself, but that is a white bass, right?  I havent seen or fished for one in decades.   Elephant Butte lake used to be magical.  

@Darth-Baiter, yes sir, you can catch them By the dozens this time of year. Also in summer they will school up on surface and jump, even more fun 

This little shellcracker hit a fullsized bronco bug on a 5/0 hook. Still don't know how he hooked himself.

6 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

@Darth-Baiter, yes sir, you can catch them By the dozens this time of year. Also in summer they will school up on surface and jump, even more fun 

Abundant, fun to catch, and pretty good eatin’.

Fun morning at the forebay on Saturday. 4 striper all on a lipless in about 10ft, friend got another 3.

I posted a couple of these in another thread.  Here's a few others.  I went on a guided inshore saltwater fishing trip a day last week in Tampa.  I was able to keep one redfish for dinner that the seaside grill prepared.  The pelicans were still there waiting for scraps...and they are ravenous.  Dang near kill each other when something gets discarded.

 

 

You get to catch it. You get to eat it, but it’s cleaned and cooked by someone else? That’s the life, man. Well done @gim.

19 hours ago, Fishlegs said:

You get to catch it. You get to eat it, but it’s cleaned and cooked by someone else? That’s the life, man. Well done @gim.

 

Not a bad gig if you can make it happen huh

5 hours ago, gim said:

 

Not a bad gig if you can make it happen huh

Absolutely!

Biggest of 7 striper from the Hayward shore this morning, 23". All caught on a white pearl saltwater rage swimmer.

I caught a chain pickerel, my first fish of 2025, meaning that this year's count changed from 0 to -1.

You can catch dang near anything on a Llungen .22 Short. 😂 At least I know I did a good job sharpening my hooks!!!

On 3/28/2025 at 11:43 AM, IYAOYAS said:

This little shellcracker hit a fullsized bronco bug on a 5/0 hook. Still don't know how he hooked himself.

Warmouth are vicious little fish. I've caught them on hollow body frogs in the grass before. Almost broke our state record several years ago on a beaver flipping some water willows. That's about average size for a warmouth most places. If it were a true shellcracker (redear sunfish), it would a pretty small one. It would also be a miracle for a redear that size to get hooked on a worm hook with their tiny mouths. 

2 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Warmouth are vicious little fish. I've caught them on hollow body frogs in the grass before. Almost broke our state record several years ago on a beaver flipping some water willows. That's about average size for a warmouth most places. If it were a true shellcracker (redear sunfish), it would a pretty small one. It would also be a miracle for a redear that size to get hooked on a worm hook with their tiny mouths. 

My buddy caught this one last June on a brush hog

1 hour ago, Peacedivision said:

My buddy caught this one last June on a brush hog

They’re very pretty fish when they get colored up for the spawn like that.