For every fish I catch I get snagged three times.  For every big fish I catch, I loose two lures.  For every 10 dollars I spend on tackle, I want to spend 100 dollars, but only need to spend one.  For every day I go fishing, I work 60 days.  I am going to have to work on my ratios this year.

21 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Regional differences, for sure. I once weighed three 16.5-inchers in a row and they all weighed about 2.5 pounds. 

Same fish  ? 😀

2 hours ago, king fisher said:

For every day I go fishing, I work 60 days.  

This is bad. Very bad. I think id rather be broke and homeless 

1 minute ago, TnRiver46 said:

This is bad. Very bad. I think id rather be broke and homeless 

 Not so bad. My work is fishing, just not bass fishing. I was broke and homeless for awhile.  My fishing gear was not top dollar then. But it was well used. 

2 minutes ago, king fisher said:

 Not so bad. My work is fishing, just not bass fishing. I was broke and homeless for awhile.  My fishing gear was not top dollar then. But it was well used. 

I cannot live a life without fishing at least once a week. I’ve went two weeks without fishing a few times and nearly had a mental comeapart. Like being claustrophobic and stuck in a sewer pipe 

On 12/12/2023 at 2:01 PM, ol'crickety said:

 

There are wilder places, like Ungava (northern Quebec) and Labrador, both many times larger than the Everglades and both have rivers and lakes that no one has ever recorded paddling or fishing. 

 

 

I just spent 20 minutes on google maps staring at that beautiful and haunted Ungava land?scape.  Simply amazing what some glaciers and meteors can do.  Thanks for the reference, I'd never noticed it before.

 

scott

18 minutes ago, softwateronly said:

I just spent 20 minutes on google maps staring at that beautiful and haunted Ungava land?scape.  Simply amazing what some glaciers and meteors can do.  Thanks for the reference, I'd never noticed it before.

 

It's a mesmerizing region. It's so bleak and beautiful that it takes my breath away:

 

 

 

 

18 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

It's a mesmerizing region. It's so bleak and beautiful that it takes my breath away:

 

 

 

 

!!!!!  But then there's the entire NW corner of the peninsula that looks like a fractal wet moonscape.  Just stunning.

 

scott

29 minutes ago, softwateronly said:

!!!!!  But then there's the entire NW corner of the peninsula that looks like a fractal wet moonscape.  Just stunning.

 

scott

 

I know, huh? And 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000001% of humanity has never been there. It makes places like the Everglades and the Grand Canyon feel like Central Park. I've spent more than a year of my life in the wilderness, many times alone, but Newfoundland is beyond my ken...and above my pay grade. It takes deep pockets to reach that deep into the wilderness.

This year (2023) I've caught 2 that were 6 pounds.  (1 was 6 even, the other 6.1)   I've caught 10 that were between 5 and 6 pounds.   The one that was 6 even was a per spawn fatty.  It was only 21 1/4 long.  The 6.1 one was post spawn, and was 22 3/4 long.   My longest under 6 pounds was 5.8 and 22 inches long.  I caught it the same day, in the same rain storm I caught the 6.1 pounder.  It rained so much that day my automatic life jacket deployed.  

 

 

I can get into big schools of what I call "micro bass" where I can catch an 8 to 10 inch spotted bass pretty much every cast.  I try to stay away from them.   I've never caught more than 2 or 3 decent sized Bass (3 pounds and up) in a single School.   I did catch a 3.5 pound Spot and a 4 pound Largemouth on back to back cast a couple months ago.  I caught the Spot on a crankbait.  I was the LM follow it to the boat, then swim into a boat house.  I skipped a wacky into the boathouse.  The LM hit it almost instantly.  I used to never see Spots and LM's together, but have been seeing that more lately.  

1 hour ago, Woody B said:

I did catch a 3.5 pound Spot and a 4 pound Largemouth on back to back cast a couple months ago.

 

I LOVE when that happens. It's only happened to me once in my life, a couple fat 19"+ lmbs on back-to-back casts. Total darkness. What a thrill.

 

You caught more five-to-six-pounders than me. I only caught four in that range. So, a lot more. 

My primary lake isn't a numbers lake, and I throw larger presentations so I catch larger fish, so I'd say my ratio is about 3 1-2 lbs for every 1 4-5 lb. I don't catch many dinks in my home lake, also it doesn't have large spots numbers like many other lakes in NC do. 

 

When I travel other places, it's usually a dink fest bc I always find the spot schools . 

@Woody B I’ve had unsuccessful days where I cried so much my automatic life jacket also deployed.

19 minutes ago, FishTax said:

My primary lake isn't a numbers lake, and I throw larger presentations so I catch larger fish, so I'd say my ratio is about 3 1-2 lbs for every 1 4-5 lb.

 

That's a great ratio. Keep doing what you're doing! 

11 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

That's a great ratio. Keep doing what you're doing! 

The downside is it involves a lot of skunks! But I do like catching the larger fish, which is why I don't throw neds or other smaller presentations. Shaky head with trick worm is about as small as I go but it catches good size in this lake. 

1 hour ago, FishTax said:

I don't throw neds or other smaller presentations.

 

I also don't throw Neds, simply because so many at BR have stated that Neds attract a lot of little fish. I did try a Ned once to experience it and I caught some fish, but that's likely a one and done.

 

1 hour ago, FishTax said:

Shaky head with trick worm is about as small as I go but it catches good size in this lake. 

 

I haven't cast a shaky head yet, but I will one day. I did buy the shaky head jigs and I have trick worms too. I've thought about putting a floating worm on a shaky head so it'll stand up from the bottom.

I see several people catching decent size bass on NEDs.   I just can't make myself "finesse" that far.    I've stooped to a 6 inch worm, cut down to 4 inches on a shaky head.   As it get's colder I'll probably toss a NED a little.   I don't think using a NED or other small bait is a dink invitation.  Dinks and adult Bass don't usually hang around together even Spots.   IE, when I'm catching micro bass I have to go to a different area to catch 16 inchers.   If I'm catching 16 inchers I don't catch dinks in that area.   

 

I also don't buy into the big baits = big Bass train of thought.   I bought one of the $40+ Shimano swim baits.  The only fish I caught on it was a 8 inch Spot.(the bait is 7 1/2")  I gave it to a 12 year old kid who's a friends nephew.  He caught a 4 pounder on it, in a golf course pond.   I suppose a small body of water, like a golf course pond may have dinks and bigger bass together.  In that situation the big bait big bass mindset probably works.  

 

We all fish diverse waters.  The similarities, and differences continue to amaze me.