Went out today at the ponds I caught my PB, wanted to see if I could make something happen. Lines in at 1:50 PM and stayed until 6:30. Bite was slow going, not much activity on top as I would normally expect for this time of year and moon phase, but I ended up with 8 (and a tilapia, I cannot escape them). Six (+ tilapia) on the jerkbait, two on the lipless. Didn't hit my first bite until ~2:35, but it was a doozy. Nice healthy 22.5" 6lb 12oz girl out of a pond I've never broken 3lb in but always had a hunch it held bigger fish.

 

I was already stoked to finally get my first one over 5 for the year, but bites continued to be slow. Got a 2lber a bit over an hour later, then just a handful of casts after I hooked into The Big One™. I was doing a somewhat brisk cadence with the jerkbait, she hit it between the second and third twitch. Twitch, twitch, then loaded into what felt like a massive log until that log let off a massive headshake.

 

A few seconds into the fight and she came up and jumped, managed to get completely out of the water and my heart STOPPED. Kept the rod loaded as deep as I could without pulling the hooks and just held on, reeling when I could in between her runs. She only managed the one jump, but dear god she had some legs on her. Eventually got her tired out enough to bring her in, and my eyes were BUGGING when I got a better look at her in hand. Got a pic and a weight, then put her back in for a breather before I got length/girth measurements.

 

She ended up coming in at 10lb 9oz. And to think I how stoked I was about the 6lb 12oz only an hour and half earlier, I was over the friggin' moon by now. She was 25" long and a girth of 19.5", but a smaller head than I was expecting. Luckily I had 5 hooks in her, because she bent out 3 of them on the Gamakatsu EWGs I have on that jerkbait. One of them was bent out so bad it snapped while trying to slowly work it back to true. I may end up switching to some heavier wire hooks (or try out those Owner Zo wire trebles). I sat with her again in the water for a little while to make sure she had a good strong release. She took a few minutes to get her energy back but I was happy to see her go.

 

The next few photos are a little tougher since my hands were shaking and my rear facing camera lens is a bit messed up.

 

I ended up getting another decent one that weighed in a 3lb 5oz, and a few smaller fish, the biggest of which was ~1.25lb. Best five for the day ended up right around 23.87lb.

 

Today might not have been a great numbers day, but oh man what an unforgettable day it turned out to be. I am so grateful to this fish for giving me such a wonderful experience, and I am super excited to see my jerkbait grind pay off so incredibly this early into the year. But if I learned anything it's that I need a consistent fishing buddy, these pics are getting harder and harder to take by myself! ?

What a Great Bass !

CONGRATULATIONS on the new Personal Best

And Welcome to the 10 lb Club.

btw, ask me again why I change out stock trebles . . . 

Oh and get a little tripod to help with those pics. 

A-Jay

Very nice hawg, congrats! 

27 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

What a Great Bass !

CONGRATULATIONS on the new Personal Best

And Welcome to the 10 lb Club.

btw, ask me again why I change out stock trebles . . . 

Oh and get a little tripod to help with those pics. 

A-Jay

 

Thanks, A-Jay! I've always had great confidence in the Gamakatsu EWGs, they're one of my go-to trebles when I'm swapping stock hardware. I've caught a lot of really great fish on them with no trouble, but then sometimes a dink will get just the right leverage and open one up. This DD bending out three of them, one of which was bad enough to lose the fish if that had been the only hook she got, might be the final nail in the coffin for me to stop using them.

 

I usually use Owner ST-56's when I need a stouter wire hook, but I think they might be too heavy for the jerkbaits.

 

Tripod is a good tip. I've tried to pack as light as possible this past year versus lugging a big backpack every trip, but I may have to go back to it and strap a tripod to the side.

What a fantastic bass! And a great day too!

 

Sincere congrats man

Congrats… she’s a beauty 

That there is a fine day of bass fishing ??????

Congrats man! Absolutely awesome!

Freakin' TOAD! Congrats!

What a day and a BIG! Congrats!!! 

Man that's excellent. Congratulations. But why were your hands shaking? You got the big girl fever didn't ya.?

Congrats on one heck of an epic day!

Congratulations!!! A double digit 

Congrats on the 10 pounder! 
 

10 hours ago, A-Jay said:

What a Great Bass !

CONGRATULATIONS on the new Personal Best

And Welcome to the 10 lb Club.

btw, ask me again why I change out stock trebles . . . 

Oh and get a little tripod to help with those pics. 

A-Jay

the way I understood it, he already switched the stock hooks and the fish still bent out the replacement hooks. 

17 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Congrats on the 10 pounder! 
 

the way I understood it, he already switched the stock hooks and the fish still bent out the replacement hooks. 

Yes ~

And if the stock hardware is something less, 

that tank might have had even a better chance

of bending them completely open and being released prematurely.

Now wouldn't that have been a shame.

After all he's been through just to get that bite.

I for one, say yes !

A-Jay

 

 

17 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Yes ~

And if the stock hardware is something less, 

that tank might have had even a better chance

of bending them completely open and being released prematurely.

Now wouldn't that have been a shame.

after all he's been through just to get that bite.

I for one, say yes !

A-Jay

 

 

This is what I might say if I saw a DD bass today 

2 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

And a new set of lungs.

A-Jay

Congrats on the new PB hawg!

 

 

                                                     

8 hours ago, GreenPig said:

Man that's excellent. Congratulations. But why were your hands shaking? You got the big girl fever didn't ya.?

 

Adrenaline really gets those jitters going. I wasn't even sure if the scale pic would be readable when I took it, so I snapped a couple really quick. Luckily one came out clear.

 

3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Congrats on the 10 pounder! 
 

the way I understood it, he already switched the stock hooks and the fish still bent out the replacement hooks. 

 

Thanks! Yeah, there are only a few lures that I have confidence in the stock hardware, the rest get swapped. Will need to be on the hunt for a stronger treble for the jerkbaits now. Sucks because I really liked those Gamakatsu EWGs a lot... At least they held enough to land her, though. So shout out to them for that.

 

3 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Yes ~

And if the stock hardware is something less, 

that tank might have had even a better chance

of bending them completely open and being released prematurely.

Now wouldn't that have been a shame.

After all he's been through just to get that bite.

I for one, say yes !

A-Jay

 

 

 

I was throwing that cheapie H2O Xpress Ultimate Jerk Shad (props to @Bluebasser86 for getting me turned on to that crackle color), and they come with mystery VMC hooks (and who knows what split rings). I 100% do not believe stock hardware would've held up to this fish, she made about a dozen very powerful runs before she was all tuckered out. Like I tell people, I'd rather spend ~3 bucks on upgraded hardware than lose the potential fish of a lifetime.

 

3 hours ago, A-Jay said:

And a new set of lungs.

A-Jay

 

I may or may not have let out a couple yells when I had her in hand.

Congrats on the new PB & welcome to the DD club sir. 

Congrats on the DD PB! That’s a hawg! 

Great Job!!

Congratulations 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

11 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Well, somebody has to follow up a DD

Nice bass 

(wrong thread ?)

A-Jay