1 hour ago, WRB said:

It’s called fishing not catching for a reason.

Tom

 

Yeah I get it seems like I have been doing more fishing then catching so far this year

Been there recently.  It hurts.

 I don't use a trailer hook when fishing a spinnerbait through cover either, and I've found they tend to eat the bait better with a swimbait on it. I generally use either a 3.8 or 4.3 Keitech.

22 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

 I don't use a trailer hook when fishing a spinnerbait through cover either, and I've found they tend to eat the bait better with a swimbait on it. I generally use either a 3.8 or 4.3 Keitech.

Yeah i had a pintail minnow on it to bulk it up buts its not a big one, it might be 4".

The routine of netting smaller ones makes the larger ones, routine.

I’ve learned the hard way on that one. Just gotta realize that the fight doesn’t end until the fish is released back into the water. Whether netting, boat flipping, or lipping, even taking a photo or weighing, always presume that the fish still holds all the cards. Stay strong and focused, never loosing sight. Always keep that guard up, never thinking that “you’ve won” else you’ll get a rude kick in the gut that can stay with ya sometimes forever! 

On 4/17/2025 at 8:38 AM, Swamp Girl said:

And you can miss with the net and hook your lure and now the bass is on the outside of the net, but hooked to it.* 

Oh great…. I’ve never had that happen, never even heard of it happening ether. Now I’ve got something else to think about when I’m trying to net a big one.

@Swamp Girl I love reading about your experiences, and value your knowledge as a top notch angler, but you could’ve kept that one to yourself. Haha

 

 

My fishing partner has a way of limiting the emotional pain of losing a good fish.

He claims if he sees it then it counts as a catch......yet he's real quiet for the next 10 minutes. 😂

It stinks, but it happens to me a lot fishing around submerged wood, and thick vegetation.

It's such a mix of emotions when something new works...and then doesn't work

 

Tried a small wakebait for the first time last night, after like 40 minutes of typical lures i casted this thing twice and finally got a bite. A big bite

 

A really big bite

 

I was using the wrong set up because it was what I had, overpowered the split ring so idk if the hook even got a good set.

 

Also panicked because I caught it about a foot from the bank and I was up a hill behind a guard rail. Tried to pull it up onto the bank so I could hop over and grab it, but she flopped off.

 

The good news is i was right, it worked. The bad news is i was right, but it didn't work. I don't have a crankin stick, don't know what makes a good crankin stick. Do I even need one, could I just use mono to make up the difference? 

 

I'm pretty sure that was my one shot this year and I blew it, I just heard a guy confirm with pics an 8 pounder in this little pond. Now I'm cooked

 

 

Just keep slangin bro. I've lost a dd twice at one pond, well over 10 lbs. Stay positive and you'll get her one day. I've caught the same bass 3 times a couple years ago, then I caught the same bass twice this year, on a worm and then on a shallow crank. They'll bite again

Still wish they made these Yo Zuri wake baits

7 minutes ago, Harold H said:

Just keep slangin bro. I've lost a dd twice at one pond, well over 10 lbs. Stay positive and you'll get her one day. I've caught the same bass 3 times a couple years ago, then I caught the same bass twice this year, on a worm and then on a shallow crank. They'll bite again

Still wish they made these Yo Zuri wake baits

 

Yeah I'm still slingin for sure, it was kind of ironic since that trip I was really grousing about not catching anything of decent size, lol. Hopefully I can keep running into a few this year.

i dont love losing a bass.  but it totally bums me out if i lose it without laying eyes on it.   the "What if's" are what get me.

 

i lost a behemoth in Mexico and it was nice to have seen it and we all still high fived it out.  

Funny anecdote from yesterday that sorts relates to the topic of this thread:

 

After returning from a trip to visit family for Easter - we decide to hit our small local lake one time before going back to work for the week because the bite was red hot all last week and we feel we have a good shot at a trophy.

 

Well - in the first 20 minutes of the day - I see a great big hAwg swimming around a spawning pocket and Jake and I work the area and can't get her interested in anything.  She inspects a frog but that's it.  We can see she's big and me and him start to get the big bass jitters.  Anyone who sight fishes in the spring knows what I'm referring to.

 

Wind is blowing us in a way that makes it very difficult to maintain boat position and I can't see her or my bait or really anything at this point and as we are leaving I make one more cast to the general area from a good distance and my bait doesn't reach the bottom.

 

Just starts swimming.  I reel down and feel the fish and give her the business - she loads up nicely and starts pulling drag.

 

Fish comes up jumping and I call for the net.

 

I see her - solid 4-5 lber hooked nicely.

 

She digs once really hard and comes off.

 

At this point I feel pretty defeated.  It's rare that I have a great day after losing a big fish early on but I'm feeling confident that it's hopefully a sign of good things to come and try to convince Jake of the same.

 

We work our way up the lake some - encountering boat after boat after boat in all the protected areas I planned to check.

 

Finally I resign to fishing the Windy Banks.  Not my favorite thing to do during the spawn but I can't stand fishing around other boats.  It just feels wrong.

 

We are working hard to maintain boat position and I'm keeping the boat in roughly 4-6 feet of water and looking at the shallow water the best I can with the ripple and chop for fish.

 

I see a pale spot WAY up next to the bank a ways away from the boat and blind cast it with my jig and the line goes limp and starts moving back towards me.

 

I pound the hook hard and my drag starts screaming out.  Fish is WAY bigger than anything I imagined would be way up there in inches of water on a sunny super windy bank.

 

After a heck of a fight - I boat this beautiful 9 lb 3 oz bass.  One of the biggest of my life.

 

 

The main point is - DON'T let failure discourage you.  You're one bite closer to the fish of a lifetime.  ALWAYS.

^^^ great great fish.

6 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

Funny anecdote from yesterday that sorts relates to the topic of this thread:

 

After returning from a trip to visit family for Easter - we decide to hit our small local lake one time before going back to work for the week because the bite was red hot all last week and we feel we have a good shot at a trophy.

 

Well - in the first 20 minutes of the day - I see a great big hAwg swimming around a spawning pocket and Jake and I work the area and can't get her interested in anything.  She inspects a frog but that's it.  We can see she's big and me and him start to get the big bass jitters.  Anyone who sight fishes in the spring knows what I'm referring to.

 

Wind is blowing us in a way that makes it very difficult to maintain boat position and I can't see her or my bait or really anything at this point and as we are leaving I make one more cast to the general area from a good distance and my bait doesn't reach the bottom.

 

Just starts swimming.  I reel down and feel the fish and give her the business - she loads up nicely and starts pulling drag.

 

Fish comes up jumping and I call for the net.

 

I see her - solid 4-5 lber hooked nicely.

 

She digs once really hard and comes off.

 

At this point I feel pretty defeated.  It's rare that I have a great day after losing a big fish early on but I'm feeling confident that it's hopefully a sign of good things to come and try to convince Jake of the same.

 

We work our way up the lake some - encountering boat after boat after boat in all the protected areas I planned to check.

 

Finally I resign to fishing the Windy Banks.  Not my favorite thing to do during the spawn but I can't stand fishing around other boats.  It just feels wrong.

 

We are working hard to maintain boat position and I'm keeping the boat in roughly 4-6 feet of water and looking at the shallow water the best I can with the ripple and chop for fish.

 

I see a pale spot WAY up next to the bank a ways away from the boat and blind cast it with my jig and the line goes limp and starts moving back towards me.

 

I pound the hook hard and my drag starts screaming out.  Fish is WAY bigger than anything I imagined would be way up there in inches of water on a sunny super windy bank.

 

After a heck of a fight - I boat this beautiful 9 lb 3 oz bass.  One of the biggest of my life.

 

 

The main point is - DON'T let failure discourage you.  You're one bite closer to the fish of a lifetime.  ALWAYS.

Awesome fish, I can only dream of something that big. Just dinks for me except the one that I lost. Would like more information, what was the water temp, not sure of your location and just curious. Would also like to know what you were throwing, sounds like a jig but any additional information would be great...again awesome fish!

26 minutes ago, bishoptf said:

Awesome fish, I can only dream of something that big. Just dinks for me except the one that I lost. Would like more information, what was the water temp, not sure of your location and just curious. Would also like to know what you were throwing, sounds like a jig but any additional information would be great...again awesome fish!

 

Water temp: 72° on the surface.

 

Time of day: 3 pm.

 

Wind: steady 12 mph out of SW.

 

Lure : Siebert 1 oz grass jig in 'Pats Gizzard' with a green pumpkin speed craw trailer.

 

Water clarity: 5 feet of visibility.

 

Cast to a pale spot on a wind blown bank on the sunny side of the lake and she ate it rather instantly.  My line started coiling up towards me which was of course against the laws of physics so I reeled fast and set the hook hard and she was in my net a few seconds later after pulling some major drag and trying to jump off a few times.

If you fish long enough it happens to everyone.  If I’m just out for a day of fun, it doesn’t bother me a bit.  I was going to release her quickly, and that is as quick as it gets.  I know where she lives and what she likes so I will be back.  Now a tournament and I’m broken hearted.

36 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

 

Water temp: 72° on the surface.

 

Time of day: 3 pm.

 

Wind: steady 12 mph out of SW.

 

Lure : Siebert 1 oz grass jig in 'Pats Gizzard' with a green pumpkin speed craw trailer.

 

Water clarity: 5 feet of visibility.

 

Cast to a pale spot on a wind blown bank on the sunny side of the lake and she ate it rather instantly.  My line started coiling up towards me which was of course against the laws of physics so I reeled fast and set the hook hard and she was in my net a few seconds later after pulling some major drag and trying to jump off a few times.

Donuou normally throw a 1oz jig, i have some 1/2oz stuff and the weight is huge, cannot imagine 1oz. Is it this one - https://siebertoutdoors.com/products/ols/products/supreme-brush-jig and I do not see a pats gizzard I assume that is a custom color, what colors does the skirt have and can you provide more info as to why you were using a 1oz jig...just trying to learn, would have never thought to use that heavy weight in shallow.

I use the supreme grass jig 🙂

 

It's very similar to mud shad I believe!

 

Heavy jigs have a faster rate of fall and are easier to cast accurately - especially from a moving boat on a windy day - and feel bites with etc.

13 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

I use the supreme grass jig 🙂

 

It's very similar to mud shad I believe!

 

Heavy jigs have a faster rate of fall and are easier to cast accurately - especially from a moving boat on a windy day - and feel bites with etc.

Thanks for all the information, appreciate it very much!

Lost the biggest fish I've ever seen last weekend. Well, all I got to see was the head, she couldn't get out of the water. When that head came up and it was clearly big enough to get both fists in her mouth, and was too big to get any higher, I knew I messed up bad. One shake and the bait went flying. 

 

Bit on the bottom and started rocketing to the surface, I thought it was a small fish and behaved accordingly. 

 

Lesson 1: I broke a rod earlier that day for that presentation, and replaced it with a much stiffer rod because it was handy and would work ok. [failure. my fault, more bend would have given me a little more chance to keep her pinned]

 

Lesson 2: If it rockets off the bottom, and you are in a place (point with immediate access to feeding/spawning flat and very deep water access too) where it could be a monster, act like it's a big fish until proven otherwise. I had had a very productive day and was half-assing managing the fish. [failure. my fault]

 

I've had three big [by texas standards] fish losses in the last three years and every single one was an unforced error. 

 

Better every day... 

 

Oh and to add insult to injury, my inside voice told me "Well I can put you on the fish but I can't catch them for you" 

 

I lost a good sized one today because while my partner was being slow with the net I looked at him and quit paying attention to the fish and boop off she came.