I didn’t catch any monsters last year, but my biggest came on a 2.4” Megabass Dark Sleeper. 

LMB: 1/2 ZinkerZ Watermelon 1/15oz. green pumpkin Finesse Shroomz 6.4(PB)

 

SMB: Evergreen Shower Blows 105 Natural Gill 5.1

My PB, 6.8lb, 23 inch LMB that I got in August, caught on a white and red willow leaf Strike King spinner bait from Walmart. 

Zoom Mag II Plum Crazy ?

9 hours ago, Hartwood71 said:

6.5 in Palm Beach a County on Green&white senko, wacky.  
 

Cool to see all the different baits in this thread.   Proves, lotta ways to skin a cat.   

Yep! I think the biggest takeaway is that you don't NEED to use a big bait to catch big fish. Like @Catt always says, you gotta fish where the big fish live.

 

My PB largemouth in 2019 came on a TX rigged tequila sunrise power worm, unpegged 3/16oz tungsten bullet. 6.2

5-12 largemouth on a black/blue jackhammer chatterbait on Easter.

5.7 lb largemouth Keitech Noisy flapper (hand poured copy using remelts)

 

4.6 lb smallmouth Shower Blows Mat Hot Tiger

 

Love a topwater!!

12 hours ago, the reel ess said:

Whopper Plopper 110. The bass was 7.92 lb. and a PB. I don't really know if it had anything to do with the bait as my last 2 PBs bit as soon as the bait hit water. It wasn't an explosion as you might imagine from a PB on a topwater. The bait just disappeared and I set the hook. It was July.

Seems like the bigger ones just suck it in, where as the smaller ones can get crazy attacking a topwater

 

Didn't get a weigh, but thinking in the 4 pound neighborhood. Caught on a Strike King Rodent on a BOSS finesse flip jig ( no skirt). 

 

Caught it on the best looking spot on the lake, a big tree fallen into the water vertically next to cliff, the only straight vertical drop on the lake.

Largemoth unknown weight (no scale yet) on a 6" Yum Thump'n Dinger, watermelon with red flake, TX rigged with 3/8 oz bullet.

 

 

1 hour ago, BassNJake said:

5.7 lb largemouth Keitech Noisy flapper (hand poured copy using remelts)

 

4.6 lb smallmouth Shower Blows Mat Hot Tiger

 

Love a topwater!!

Seems like the bigger ones just suck it in, where as the smaller ones can get crazy attacking a topwater

 

On an earlier trip in the same vacinity, I had another big one come flying out of the water like Shamu with its mouth closed. It was trying to stun the bait. I made a lot of follow up casts with different baits to no avail.

Zoom Super Fluke, bluegill flash color, Texas rigged weightless on a Gamakatsu 4/0 EWG hook

largemouth between 4 and 5 pounds (no scale or tape measure with me)

Me :

 

bait monkey : BUY ALL THESE LURES

H2o Express Shad color square bill

7lb11oz by far my PB on a 110 Loon Whopper Plopper.

2019 PB: 4.2 lb largemouth caught on Zoom Super Fluke bluegill flash, rigged weightless/Texas style.  

 

Overall PB 5.8 lb largemouth caught on a Strike King 5XD in yellow perch.

1 hour ago, the reel ess said:

On an earlier trip in the same vacinity, I had another big one come flying out of the water like Shamu with its mouth closed. It was trying to stun the bait. I made a lot of follow up casts with different baits to no avail.

I will get a few smallies a year that come flying out of the water next to the bait and they grab it on their way down.

I fish a toad a lot and it seems there are days that they just smack at it like they are trying to stun it.

I used to follow up with my wacky rig and sometimes I would get that second hit not very often though.

 

I see a lot of people talk about making sure they have their follow up bait ready.

I dont think my success with the follow up is as good as theirs

I had 5 within a couple ounces of each other at 6 lbs.+/-so I think they are all worth noting. Four were on jigs with a z craw trailer, the second largest was on a squarebill. 

110 Bone whopper plopper

Congrats on the Smallie A-Jay!!! That's one of the biggest I've seen in a while. That's a trophy anywhere in the US!!

On 1/14/2020 at 7:25 AM, LargeMarge said:

Yep! I think the biggest takeaway is that you don't NEED to use a big bait to catch big fish.

?

 

 

 

Junebug Zoom trick worm with  shaky head.

 

 

Strike King red eye shad 3/4oz lipless   11.5 largemouth PB

Ima flit 120   smallmouth didn't weigh it. 

5.35 pound largemouth from the bank.  Ned rig TRD.  peanut butter and jelly color 

South Africa, Johannesburg. 2019.

 

2.46 kgs (5.4 lbs) - 3/8 oz SK Premier pro spinner bait, white and chartreuse. Sept (Our spring)

2.15 kgs (4.63 lbs) - Spro bronzeye jnr, leopard. Oct ( Early Summer)

2.06 kgs (4.54 lbs) - Spro bronzeye jnr, leopard. Oct ( Early Summer)

2.19 kgs (4.82 lbs) - 3/8 oz War eagle flipping jig, brown and orange, Zoom Z craw trailer. Jan (Mid summer)

 

All LMB, sadly no SMB's on the highveld.

75 Whopper Plopper in Bluegill...the LM was 6lbs 6oz which was/is my PB by far, especially here in Northern IL.