Please share your 2023 20 lb. bag.

[LrgmouthShad]

4 for 19lbs is the closest I have come that I remember. One more fish would’ve done it, but I could not get another. This was on my arch nemesis lake, Lake Somerville, in April. Jig fishing a nice point. 

 

I have photos posted elsewhere but they are not saved on my new phone currently so I’m not going to go find them. I caught one over 7lbs, one over 5 lbs, and then 3+ and then maybe a 2lber. The +s added up to about what was needed to hit 19lbs

 

Night fishing Stillhouse Hollow July 4th weekend I caught 8 that weighed in at about 3lb+ average. Put me around 24-25lbs

 

 

I should have some time to fish Stillhouse in Jan or Feb. I predict I could catch this bag or heavier in the month of February

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, T-Billy said:

I've been close a few times, but haven't cracked 20# yet. The windows where it's a legit possibility are few and far between in the waters I fish.

 

As an ex-Ohioan, I heartily agree. You catch way bigger and way more bass than I ever caught in Ohio, Tim. And you catch muskies too!

[T-Billy]

42 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

As an ex-Ohioan, I heartily agree. You catch way bigger and way more bass than I ever caught in Ohio, Tim. And you catch muskies too!

Thanks, I feel like I do pretty well. Better than most, not fit to tie the knots of a few. Lol. There was a tournament on Tappan Lake last spring that took 26# and change to win. Winner had an 8+ and two 5's in the bag I was told. That's just crazy for around here.

 Typically you need to be in the high teens to have a chance around here during pre spawn. 10# will win a lot of derby's in the summer. Night is best for big summer bass. Then late fall is another window for big's.

[Bankbeater]

My top 5 for this year is around 19.5 lbs.  My average fish catch per trip so far this year has been 5.29 fish.  Hopefully, those numbers will go up.

[scaleface]

I had a 6 fish limit 24 lb bag in the spring and posted the three largest in the latest pics thread. The first such bag I had in some time . Had a nice pattern going, targeting wood in spawning coves with a spinnerbait.

[Swamp Girl]

As I shared, I think I've caught two 20-lb. bags in 2023, but I'm hoping for a third tomorrow. I usually quit fishing in the morning around 9:30, but tomorrow, I'm going to fish from five a.m. to the early afternoon, around three or four, because the weather conditions look to be perfect: low wind from the south and rain all day, plus the wind will be shifting from the north late tomorrow, so I'm hoping that the bass will react to that and feed all day. We'll see! It's been a long time since I spent ten hours in a canoe. I'm sure I'll be stiff and creaky at the end, but fingers crossed that I'll some sweet memories and big fish pics to share with you! I'll be fishing the alewife pond, which is a quality/not quantity pond, so there's no chance I'll catch a hundred bass too. More like thirty, but it sure has some big gals and I'm hoping to dance with some of them. 

[txchaser]

On 9/9/2023 at 5:57 AM, ol'crickety said:

 

Ah, we're the same. Most of the time, I'll catch a bass and immediately switch rods. I can't help myself.

 

 

Chang my mind. We're not the same. ^You're beyond my ken.^

 

I live in texas, it's nearly cheating.

And I'll grind 12+ hours in 105 degrees too. No one wants to be out, pressure is way lower. 

[Dwight Hottle]

                                               May 2023 26lb+ brown bag made up of one over 6 & 4 over 5.                                                

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, Dwight Hottle said:

                                               May 2023 26lb+ brown bag made up of one over 6 & 4 over 5.                                                

 

^BEHOLD!^

 

[king fisher]

May 13 2023 Jalisco MX. 42.7 pounds.

[TnRiver46]

@king fisher

[AlabamaSpothunter]

12 minutes ago, king fisher said:

May 13 2023 Jalisco MX. 42.7 pounds.

Are those same fish "prespawn" right now?  

 

That's ridiculous ?

[king fisher]

10 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

@king fisher

All but one were caught on your favorite, a spinnerbait.

[TnRiver46]

You probably could have caught a big bag if you tried a better lure…….

[Swamp Girl]

42.7 pounds and a paddler! That's as good as being skinny Elvis:

 

[Dwight Hottle]

@king fisher Your post reminded me of a five fish bag I had at Lake Baccarac my first time there back in 2013. I was down there with A-Jay & big fish Jeff Howell. I was fishing alone that day with just the guide. We tied up to a spot and never left until lunch time. My best five went 43+ lbs without breaking 10lb. Three over 9 & one over 8 & one over 7. The magic of Mexico.

[Swamp Girl]

On 9/9/2023 at 1:20 PM, T-Billy said:

Better than most, not fit to tie the knots of a few.

 

8 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

I was down there with A-Jay & big fish Jeff Howell.

 

Wh-wh-what??? You fishing gods fish together??? After Lake Baccarac , I suppose that you, A-Jay, and Big Fish Jeff returned to Mount Olympus. 

[Pat Brown]

11 hours ago, king fisher said:

May 13 2023 Jalisco MX. 42.7 pounds.

 

 

 

 

Enchiladas and agua de horchata and DD bass makes me wanna visit pretty bad!

[Junk Fisherman]

Had a 22ish lb bag back in June  which included 2 smallies over 5.  What hurts is that I lost 3 that would have put me over 25 lbs which has been a goal of mine for a long time.  One fish ran to the back of my boat and got in my prop.  When you're bouncing around in 2'-3' waves, running around the boat fighting a fish is not that easy.  I didn't feel that bad about that one but it did look to be over 5.  Another big fish just broke my line and I had literally checked the line and the knot the cast before.  And the last fish just came unbuttoned after what seemed like a solid hookset.  I saw that one and it looked significantly bigger than the 2 5s I had already caught.  So while I had a great day, I think about what could have been.  Granted, I don't really feel I did much wrong on any of the fish I lost.    

[Swamp Girl]

24 minutes ago, Junk Fisherman said:

Had a 22ish lb bag back in June  which included 2 smallies over 5.  What hurts is that I lost 3 that would have put me over 25 lbs which has been a goal of mine for a long time.  One fish ran to the back of my boat and got in my prop.  When you're bouncing around in 2'-3' waves, running around the boat fighting a fish is not that easy.  I didn't feel that bad about that one but it did look to be over 5.  Another big fish just broke my line and I had literally checked the line and the knot the cast before.  And the last fish just came unbuttoned after what seemed like a solid hookset.  I saw that one and it looked significantly bigger than the 2 5s I had already caught.  So while I had a great day, I think about what could have been.  Granted, I don't really feel I did much wrong on any of the fish I lost.    

 

Catching five-pounders in 2' to 3' waves sounds super exciting...and super hard. Any photos?

[T-Billy]

11 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

 

Wh-wh-what??? You fishing gods fish together??? After Lake Baccarac , I suppose that you, A-Jay, and Big Fish Jeff returned to Mount Olympus. 

LOL. I bow only to Jesus. That said, I'd go broke fast fishing for money against those other three you mentioned. 

[Swamp Girl]

As I shared in another thread, I caught five bass at 19" or more, giving me another 20 lb. bag. The first two were caught on consecutive casts.

 

 

 

[Blue Raider Bob]

On 9/10/2023 at 6:17 AM, scaleface said:

I had a 6 fish limit 24 lb bag in the spring and posted the three largest in the latest pics thread. The first such bag I had in some time . Had a nice pattern going, targeting wood in spawning coves with a spinnerbait.

Spinnerbait?   TnRiver46 says it didn't happen?

[TnRiver46]

Oh it happens, just not to me 

[Bluebasser86]

I haven't weighed many fish this year, but going off the assumption that our bass tend to average around 4 pounds at 19", I was probably broke 20 once this year. The day I caught my biggest of the year, I was close, if not over as well.