Got out this evening for a few hours before dark at one of my favorite spots, started fishing right at 2:00. I really wanted to try out the new reel I picked up for my chatterbait setup, and managed a small bass right off the bat with it. Before moving down the bank, I picked up the lipless and worked my way through the spot again, and second cast with it I hooked into this big girl:

 

My biggest of 2024 so far and will be my first FWC TrophyCatch submission in almost 2 years. Finished working the area some more but no other bites after releasing her, so I moved on. Bite slowed but I was getting them here and there, mostly against grass lines.

 

Got a 2.84 and this 4.52 on the chatterbait out of a windblown corner. I like this Curado 150 MGL quite a lot so far.

 

 

Worked my way back towards where I was parked, threw the lipless around some more active feeding I was seeing, and ended the night with another big girl, my second biggest (barely) of the year:

 

Unfortunately, the treble just barely got her in the gill she didn't bleed when I got the hook out, it wasn't until I got her up for the picture that I noticed she had started to bleed so the picture turned out bad. Got her back in the water until the bleeding slowed, then got a weight and sat with her in the water until the bleeding stopped and she had a strong release.

 

Both of the big lipless fish made strong runs and multiple jumps and stayed pegged. I don't want to jinx it, but I think I've finally got my lipless setup dialed in to maximize my landing ratio (as much as I can, at least).

 

Star of the show tonight was this lipless, 3/4 oz Thunderhawk Sergeant in the new Shad color.

 

Ended with 9 total, those were the only ones worth weighing, plus a few 1 pounders. Puts my 5 fish bag at roughly 23.6lbs for the evening.

Nice!!!

Hell Yeah, congrats!!

 

scott

That's a wicked good day !

Nice Bass

Congrats

A-Jay

Great day 👍👍

A 20+ lb bag from the BANK is especially epic!

 

Congrats brother! 

That's lipless magic right there!  Beautiful fishes!  🥵🥵🥵❤️❤️❤️

Absolutely sweet @Aaron_H congratulations!

That's a fine afternoon. I too enjoy my Curado 150 MGL.

What @AlabamaSpothunter said: I watch a lot of YouTube videos of bass anglers fishing in Florida from BOATS and Aaron outfished 99.729% of them. 

 

Thanks, y'all. It's been a tough grind since I was last on a decent hot streak, so these two felt real nice to get finally. The year's not over yet! There might still be something left for me in 2024, but I'm 100% satisfied if I ended the year on this note.

 

@AlabamaSpothunter I believe this is only the second time I've broken 20lb from the bank, definitely unexpected, I was already a happy camper with the 8, let alone getting a 7 on top of that.

 

Gotta love that lipless bite, when it's hot it's HOT.

13 minutes ago, Aaron_H said:

 I believe this is only the second time I've broken 20lb from the bank, definitely unexpected, I was already a happy camper with the 8, let alone getting a 7 on top of that.

 

Gotta love that lipless bite, when it's hot it's HOT.

 Laying the ground work for 2025 !

Pretty sure you said you wanted more 7's & 8's.

There ya go.

A-Jay

1 minute ago, A-Jay said:

 Laying the ground work for 2025 !

Pretty sure you said you wanted more 7's & 8's.

There ya go.

A-Jay

 

I originally titled this I Guess 2025 Came Early

12 minutes ago, Aaron_H said:

 

I originally titled this I Guess 2025 Came Early

No such thing.

We take'm as they come my friend.

A-Jay

Sweet especially from the bank.

That is awesome @Aaron_H!

 

Nice fish man!! Hope to get out next week myself and do something similar!

6 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

Nice fish man!! Hope to get out next week myself and do something similar!

 

Thanks, Mike! Looking forward to your report, fingers crossed for you.

Awesome!  I really gotta find a way to migrate south in the winter! 😩