Whats the most insane day of bass fishing you've ever had? Ill start, was fishing the merrimack river, hooked into something giant on my UL, thought it was a pike but turned out to be my pb smallie... next cast i caught a striper, then a pike, then another giant river smallie, then like 4 more solidriver smallies, started fishing a brook and caught a slob of a pickerel, coming in at 26 inches. all on 6 lb fluoro leader... ill prob never have a day like that ever again.

Fishing lake Cunningham SC in my kayak. It is a very small lake but has some really nice bass in it. 9.9 restricted city lake takes me about 30 minutes to pedal the length of it. The boat ramp is on one end and the dam is all the way at the other with no other public ramps. So it's march. I put in and pedal all the way to the dam. Just before you get to the dam it has a sharp S curve and then opens up. I came around the S curve and as soon as I cleared it into the main dam part my graph lights up with so much bait balls my screen was almost all green. It's still pretty much prespawn so I grab my Arig and begin to work my way around the bank(Its shaped pretty much like a big bowl with the dam on one end of it) Didn't take but just a few seconds before I started seeing schooling bass busting on top. I literally pedaled out to the middle of the bowl and would just wait for them to bust and cast to them. It was electric. Every cast landed a fish(sometimes two) I ended up putting 52 bass in the boat and the smallest one had to have been at least two pounds. Ended up with a 5.5 pounder being the largest and I could barely lift my arms after I was done. Thank God my kayak was a pedal kayak because I wouldn't have been able to paddle home. lol Here's a video of the first fish from that day. Now keep in mind I had just started kayak fishing way back then and I had never really caught any decent bass so I got super excited over this little 2 pounder here and then my mind was blown. Still to this day the best day of fishing ever for me.

 

 

me.  easy.   my second day ever fishing  at Clearlake.    I headed for a cove.  but first I had to come out of a cove where the ramp is.  I had to weave my kayak thru a flotilla of bass boats.  I mean maybe 50 boats.   I just put my head down and did my best to stay out of their casting zones.  "excuse me, passing thru".  I felt I did a good job and even went way around in some instances where they were bunched up tight.   they left me zero room in that cove, so I just found open water away from them and started fishing.  the amount of S-Talking I got was legend to this day.  "where is that idiot going?"  "like an annoying gnat" were some good ones.  hahah..  I posted up 100 yards outside the bass boat town meeting and just casted out.  I remember it like yesterday.   drop shot with a 6" Zoom grnpumpkin lizard.   the tap was immediate.  I hork out my best Clearlake bass of all time.  a humble 2lb.   then it was on!!  fish after fish.  good ones..all around 4 lbs.    you know what?  the flotilla decended on me.  got up in my casting zones, but it was all good.  I would drop my worm between them and I was crushing them.   of all those boats, only one person asked if he could slip in next to me.  I waved him in happily.   he looked at me and said, "wait, are you drop shoting a lizard?"....yup.  I asked him if he wanted some lizards and he said he cant take them from me.  hahah..I suppose some tourney rule?  he was a cool dude and he got into them as well with a jig.    

 

after about an hours the motors roared to life and they raced off in a impressive show of force.  a total armada!!  I stayed and picked off a few more.    I was a total GNAT.

3 years ago on St Clair after going there every year for 22 years, we finally hit the weather/spawn right and spent a week landing 125 fish each a day in the 3 to 5lb class of smallmouth.  Literally fished until we could no longer reel.  If I never hit that timing again, I’ll die a happy fisherman.  

1989 or 90. I got on a post spawn pattern and caught 24, by my best count , 15 inch keepers on points. The largest 6 was an estimated 30 lbs. Best day I have had. Caught them on a Bomber Prop A. Thats a Long A Minnow with a tail prop.

I've had a LOT of great fishing sessions, including two days where I caught more than 250 smallies each day. I've also had sessions like @Darth-Baiter's where I attracted a crowd, but last October 23rd might be my best day ever, as it was physically challenging too: I launched in the dark and the fog was thick. I carried my canoe down a muddy slope and paddled up a canyon where white laydowns suddenly appeared like witch's grasping fingers. I ran aground a couple times in the dark and fog and paddled several twisting miles to reach the bass. I caught 56 that morning and they'd been feeding heavily for winter. I only measured three, some of the first thick ones:

 

 

I was really focused on not tipping: Because the bog had receded, the remaining river had mud flats on both sides. If I'd tipped, I doubt that I could have reached solid land.

 

The receded bog concentrated the bass in the river, so I had plenty of feathered company: eagles, herons, ospreys, etc. We were all catching bass and lawdy, I caught some beauties, mostly on my Fishing 13 Dual Pitch Pencil walking bait. In the end, I caught the biggest bag of my life, but it took all my strength and paddling savvy to do so. Here are two of the big ones:

 

 

Altogether, I caught about ten bass over four pounds, which is really good fishing for more than 44 degrees north. 

I've had several very memorable days on the water.

In both the freshwater and saltwater area. 

I'm going to choose to be a poisoner of the moment

and select something more recent.

April 2024 ~ 28 lb bag of Brown Bass. 

I got out onto Lake Menderchuck around noon.

It was clear blue skies but with a pretty stiff Southwesterly wind.

Surface water temps were in the mid to high 40's.

I was on this lake a few days ago and the fish seemed to be staging

just a bit outside on the steeper drops.

Very few had moved into where I like to hunt them.

Well the warm sun & wind pushed a bunch right up into my lap.

Action started around 1 PM and was a steady pick until I left right after 6 PM.

It was jerkbait city. 

Other baits may have taken fish, but I have a bit of an addiction to the stick baits; 

so that's what I threw. 

There were a couple of big schools of 3 & 4 pounders roaming all over this one wind blown flat.

I managed to weed through quite a few hoping to mine out some big bronze babes.

My best 5 went 28.88 lbs, (5.02, 5.11, 5.35, 6.35, 7.05)

including my 2nd ever smallmouth over 7 lbs. 

 Fish was just a beast, I could barely hold her.

A-Jay

I just remembered, for sheer numbers I had a crazy day on lake Powell when I went to a pro staff get together at Yamamoto headquarters in Page, Arizona.  We took 2 days to go fish the lake.  The first day I fished with a Yamamoto pro from Utah and we went smallie hunting.  Totally out of my element, we fished canyons, feeder creeks where the water flow wore cuts in the rock and we fished what he called “butt cracks” where we were sitting in 300 feet of water and if you looked up, it was 300 feet to the top of the canyon wall.  That was a hoot but not the numbers day.  Game and fisheries wants you to keep all the striper you catch and the second day I went with the husband of one of the ladies who worked for Yamamoto.  We were fishing and a small v bottomed tin rig motored up to us in his Ranger and asked if we wanted to catch some striper and of course we said yes.  He directed us to a narrow canyon where a school of striper were pushing bait up in the back.  We started fishing and it didn’t take long to fill his livewells, then we started to fill the footwell of the boat and by the time we quit they were stacked to the bottom of the seats.  He then called his wife and had her meet us at the ramp which had cleaning stations set up to not only clean but to grind and store carcasses that farmers could come load up for fertilizer.  I don’t know how many fish we caught but it had to have been in the hundreds because he ended up with over 50 pounds of fillets that he was going to fill his freezer and take the rest to the Indian reservation.  It was the worst case of ripped up fishing thumb and hand I have ever had.  I flew home with my hand bandaged and it took 3 months to heal.  

That's quite a day, @TOXIC! The detail of "three months to heal" really tells the tale.

I've kept detailed records since 1972 of every trip, including total number, total above minimum size limit, total below minimum size limit, & largest.

 

I've had over 4 dozen 100+ days 

 

2007 The Year in Review: 

Last year my time on the water was greatly limited but for what ever reason I was on big fish all year starting with a personal best back in February of 12 lbs. 8 oz. I think it was a combination of limited time on the water and the fact Toledo Bend was 15' low for almost a year before returning to normal. My limited time on the water had me relaxed and concentrating harder while the low water concentrated the big bass.

 

Lacassine Wildlife Refuge: V&M 9 Super Ringer Worm T-rigged Black Neon

10.37 lbs

10.61 lbs

11 lbs 3 oz

 

Toledo Bend Reservoir:

10.013 lbs, Oldham Jig with Gene Larew Salty Hawg Craw Black-N-Blue

10 lbs 3 oz, Gene Larew 7 ½ Ring Worm T-rigged Camouflage

10.42 lbs, Oldham Jig with Gene Larew Salty Hawg Craw Black-N-Blue

10.061 lbs, Oldham Jig with Gene Larew Salty Hawg Craw Black-N-Blue

10 lbs. 9 ¼ oz, Gene Larew 7 ½ Ring Worm T-rigged Camouflage

10 lbs 10 oz, Gene Larew 7 ½ Ring Worm T-rigged Camouflage

11 lbs 1 oz, Gene Larew 7 ½ Ring Worm T-rigged Camouflage

12 lbs 8 oz, Rat-L-Trap

 

Total Bass Caught: 980

Total days on the water: 58

Average daily catch: 16.89

Bass under 14”: 382

Bass over 14”: 441

Bass over 5 lbs: 63

Bass over 6 lbs: 51

Bass over 7 lbs: 17

Bass over 8 lbs: 9

Bass over 9 lbs: 6

Bass over 10 lbs: 11

Largest: 12 lbs 8 ozs

 

Top Area: Toledo Bend; Main Lake underwater point & ridge

 

Top Technique: Texas Rig

Top Bait: Worm

Top Color: Camouflage

Black Lake, northern NY. Mid June. About 15 years ago. Found a mid-lake hump where 15’ FOW came up to about 4’. Stiff westward breeze and the smallmouth were eating the DT-6 every single cast. As fast as I could get that crankbait back in the water another smallie would crush it. Every hooked fish had 3-4 followers. The fishing held up for 2 evenings, until the wind shifted and that hump turned into a ghost town. 

@Catt:

 

 

1 hour ago, Catt said:

Average daily catch: 16.89

 

Your 2007 is so beyond my ken. The ONLY thing I have in common with you and that year is your average daily catch, which is a number I hit pretty frequently. It's cool that you kept such a detailed record. 

Everybody else has such crazy stories. Mine is pretty tame in comparison. Best day bass fishing (in regards to quantity ) was the first time using a whopper plopper in a little honey hole I discovered on the Chippewa River. I caught about a dozen or so solid river smallies on back to back to back casts. They could not stop hitting the top water. Nothing record setting, but it was a ton of fun. 

 

My best day fishing in general was fly-fishing for grayling in a secluded Alaskan stream with my dad, my brother, and a family friend. We caught more than I can count, cooked them over and open fire on a sand bar. Just like my smallmouth honey hole though, I've since heard that that particular stream has been discovered and ruined with pressure. 

 

Best day for Largemouth was a quick pre-work trip in the morning when I caught my PB last year. 

Once a week we had a lunch group meeting at a local tackle shop. Several local pros gathered there swapping fish stories and what was going on in the lakes.

Met a new friend that was a tournament angler who wanted to learn how to jig fish and offered to go with him the next morning using his boat.

Our 1st stop had a boat on it and waited for by them move on and they did working the bank.

Pointed out to Dana where to cast and how to detect a strike by watching the V as the jig fall through the water column. 
Standing next to him I could see the line stop before it hit bottom and said set the hook! Dana 1st bass was his new PB 10 lb bass.

We fished about an hour without catching another bass so I decided to run up another lake arm when noticing 3 Blue Herons stand an a point catching fish being pushed up onto the bank. Asked Dana to stop, pointed out the activity and got out my Scrounger jig w/trout colored Sluggo, only had 1 with me intended to use that rod for back up jig rod for Dana.

Got on the TM within casting distance and started catching big bass nearly every cast the offered Dana my rod but he just wanted to watch. The bite continued none bass until the Sluggo was beyond repair and the bass stopped feeding.

Dana had kept count saying I caught 18 big bass in that hot bit. Never heard or witnessed anything like it unreal.

The next lunch group Dana shows off his PB photo and tells about the crazy hot bite eyes rolled and they say sure Dana…great BS story!

Tom

Wow, Tom, what a story!

 

2 hours ago, IcatchDinks said:

My best day fishing in general was fly-fishing for grayling in a secluded Alaskan stream with my dad, my brother, and a family friend. We caught more than I can count, cooked them over and open fire on a sand bar.

 

ICD, your story above equals any story told today. Even Tom's. 

I've had a lot of great days of bass fishing, but the best one was less than a month ago.

 

 

Went to the Everglades  reclamation area S1 on US 27 about 4 years ago.  Got there just as the sun began to come up.  Ran the levee dirt road for about 5 miles west.  There are no motors allowed since canoes and kayaks are the only boats.  I was bank fishing so I started with a frog.   As soon as the frog landed there was an explosion.  Pulled in a 8 pounder.  Next cast another 7 pounder, then another.  This continued for the next hour without a break.  Finally as the sun got high the bite slowed.  Went to a big worm and then got a few off the bottom.  All of these fish were caught without moving my feet.  Just fan casting as far back in the flats as I could get the bait.  Caught about 40 bass in 3 hours with the best 5  just over 42 pounds, and never moved from the original spot!  Over 60 years of fishing it was by far the best day for me for quality fish in one location!

Wow 😳 some serious big days on the water ^.

Y'all can steer clear of my little VA lakes 😁

 

1 hour ago, geo g said:

Went to the Everglades  reclamation area S1 on US 27 about 4 years ago.  Got there just as the sun began to come up.  Ran the levee dirt road for about 5 miles west.  There are no motors allowed since canoes and kayaks are the only boats.  I was bank fishing so I started with a frog.   As soon as the frog landed there was an explosion.  Pulled in a 8 pounder.  Next cast another 7 pounder, then another.  This continued for the next hour without a break.  Finally as the sun got high the bite slowed.  Went to a big worm and then got a few off the bottom.  All of these fish were caught without moving my feet.  Just fan casting as far back in the flats as I could get the bait.  Caught about 40 bass in 3 hours with the best 5  just over 42 pounds, and never moved from the original spot!  Over 60 years of fishing it was by far the best day for me for quality fish in one location!

Haha, show that to catfisherman that make fun of bass thumb

51 minutes ago, Harold H said:

Haha, show that to catfisherman that make fun of bass thumb

They all wear gloves!!!!!!

In the spring of 2020 I was looking for a place I could take my kayak, and hopefully catch some big Mexican bass.  A year earlier in April my wife had booked me two days of bass fishing at a lodge on Lake Aguamilpa for my birthday and my interest in bass fishing had been rekindled. I only caught small bass on that trip but the numbers were good.  I met an angler at the lodge that lived in Chapala and told call him if I wanted to catch some bigger bass.  I contacted him in the fall, and we went fishing with a guide a couple of times.  I landed some bass around 5 pounds, which only made me want to get something bigger.

 

I quickly realized I wouldn't have the time or money to go to Chapala on guided trips more than a few times a year.  So I decided to buy a kayak and bass fish on my own.  I needed to find a place closer to PV where I live.  The guy that runs the local tackle shop, told me about a secret lake his wife caught a 11 pound bass at and he gave me directions on how to get there.

 

I went fishing at this lake in April and May of 2000 three times without much success.  Lots of baby bass, and a couple of fish around 2 pounds were all I caught.  At the end of day three, I hooked a big bass by a tree that was just becoming visible as the water receded.  The big bass jumped off, but it gave me new hope.

 

I went there a couple of weeks later, the water had dropped, and there were a many trees sticking above the water now.  I had already decided I wasn't going to fish the shoreline at all.  I would live and die fishing the trees out in the middle of the lake and was pleasantly surprised to see I would have more than one tree to fish.

 

At first light I was within casting range of the tree where the big one jumped off the last time there.  My first cast with a Rebel Jumpin Minnow was hit and missed by a small bass.  I paused the bait to see if the small bass would bite again, and a giant bass inhaled it.  After a short fight I reached down and lipped the biggest bass I had ever seen.  It was then I realized I had forgot my camera in the car.  I didn't have a scale, or tape measure with me so I used a piece of my anchor line to measure the length of the bass, and let her go.  I had no idea how big the bass was, but I did know it was significantly bigger than my old PB of 5.5 pounds caught in the summer of 1977.

 

I didn't get any more strikes at that tree, so I peddled over to the next one.  First cast with a spinnerbait and I caught another bass that looked like a twin to the first one.  I decided I just had to get a picture.  I made a stringer, and slowly made my way to the launch, towing the giant bass behind me.  When I got to the car I got my camera and went to take a picture.  A man was standing by the bank, and I asked if to take a photo or two.  He didn't know a word of English but with my little Spanish and some sign language he understood what I wanted, and I got a photo with me, and then one with him.  When I went to release the bass he almost fainted.  I realized he did not want to see the bass release, so I handed him the fish, and he walked away with a huge smile on his face.  It wasn't until a few weeks later when my wife was with my at the lake, that I learned he was the manager of the lake, and did not want any bass released.  He was trying to eliminate all the bass in the lake, to keep them for eating the Tilapia which are fished for commercially with gill nets.  If I had not given him the bass, there would be a good chance I would not have been allowed to fish there.  He told my wife to tell me  to keep all the bass I catch.

 

The second bass was a quarter inch shorter than the first one but looked about the same to me.  This process had taken some time, and I was worried the bite had stopped, so I peddled as hard as I could to the closest tree from the launch.  Nothing bit my spinnerbait, so I bounced a square bill through the middle of the tree, hitting every limb I could.  Just as the bait made it through the tangle of branches, another bass as big as the other two hit.  It jumped twice and sent my bait flying back at me.  I wasn't to upset about loosing that bass.  After all I didn't loose my square bill, and like the old song say's two out of three aint bad.

 

I didn't catch any more big bass that day, and I left when the wind picked up in the afternoon.  Since then I have learned to stay and fish when the wind picks up but at the time fishing in the middle of big trees with treble hooked lures, out of a kayak in 25 knot winds, was not something I even considered.

 

When I got home I measured the piece of anchor line, I used to get the length of the first bass.  It was a little over 26 inches.  The bass I took the picture of was 25 3/4 inches.  I Googled bass length to weight on my computer and it was then I realized I had landed two bass over 10 pounds and lost a third bass that was probably just as big.  The picture of the second bass is the one I use in my profile and I have included a picture of the lake manager holding that same bass.   

 

I have had many great days of bass fishing some I have landed far more bass, but the day I shattered a 43 year old PB twice, stands out as my most memorable.

 

 

We've had several Craziest times bassing. One year the missus and I stumbled on to the most concentrated area for LM we have ever seen , on a lake we fish all the time. It is a large cove of undeveloped shoreline and only worked in July and August from around 2 PM on. The water is shallow out from the shore ( 1-2 Ft) and bushes hang out over the water. We found that by skipping a weightless Senko tight to the shore under the bushes the bass were stacked up like cordwood. We averaged around twenty in a hundred stretch, the largest being over four pounds. We fished that area off and on for years and never saw anyone else fish there. Sadly the fishing in that lake has collapsed and we haven't seen that kind of fishing in some time. 

 Same lake, again some years ago. We discovered an area about thirty feet deep, bottom flat with no features at all. One year ( and only for that one year) something there attracted fish. We found dropping a tube on the bottom and just inching it along was the key. We caught LM, SM, and pickerel, all together every few minutes every time we went.

  We still fish these areas from time to time but have not seen that kind of fishing in that lake in years.

As I mentioned not to long ago in another post I spent years in the salt fishing for stripers. My craziest times for striped bass probably was thirty plus schoolies before 5 AM on a 7 WT fly rod. 

Pulling up to a northern state pond in January before the ice hit. Temperature in the high 30s. Bass busting. Blew my mind. Caught more than 40 on topwater. Never seen anything like it again.