Went fishing last night. Caught a ton. Nothing big, some decent ones though.

 

Fishing well into the evening and was near a lighted area near a beach.

 

For some reason I glance down into the water and see a fish swim directly under my kayak. I was sitting in maybe 2 foot of water at the time.

 

It had to be 6 or 7 pounds. That's BIG for this guy. My jaw hit the water and stayed there for 10 minutes.

 

Here's the deal. It happened so fast I'm not 100% sure if it was a bass or maybe a carp.

 

I'm pretty sure it was a bass.

 

All I know is that it's driving me crazy not knowing.

 

I'm going to search for videos of hopefully both swimming, preferably from an above angle.

 

Sorry, it's a dumb post.

 

I clearly need therapy.

Not sure if carp swim like bass, but I found a video that reminds me of last night.

 

 

carp have a much more square front shoulder/hump to them than bass when you look at them in the water from above.  With their mouths on the bottom, their front ends just kind 'end' whereas a bass has a pointier taper to the mouth.  Bass are also fairly flat across the back but carp (especially if you're at a little bit of an angle) will have more taper back by the tail before the tail swooshes back out.  

 

Could it have been a bass?  sure.  Could it have been a carp?  Sure.  I bet there are a lot more 6# carp in your lake than there are 6# bass though.  

No way to ever know for sure, but I do know It makes a far better fish story if you say it is a bass.  I will assume you saw a bass, and I'm sure it was more like 8- 9 pounds, maybe even a new state record.  A story about a big carp, is like going to the zoo to see a horse, (boring).   

That moment under your kayak? That’s the BASS BUG bite.

 

Warning: it causes obsessive replaying of the fish, sleepless nights, and spontaneous Ike quotes. 😂

 

Well you need to incorporate the bait monkey into the equation.

Google " big fish swims under kayak " and buy the suggested baits...... you'll definitely catch it.

You do know @HawkeyeSmallie that you’ve got two choices here. One….the blue pill …and say it was a carp and try to forget about it.

Two….you take the red pill…. IT IS A BASS…. You accept the harsh reality that you’ll never be able to pass that area with out fishing it. You try out every new bait there, even buy baits just for that area.

She’ll get a name, that area will become your spot, and cringe when you see somebody else fishing it, hoping they don’t catch her.

She’ll become your nemesis….

 

I should have taken the blue pill.

 

 

1 hour ago, GRiver said:

You do know @HawkeyeSmallie that you’ve got two choices here. One….the blue pill …and say it was a carp and try to forget about it.

Two….you take the red pill…. IT IS A BASS…. You accept the harsh reality that you’ll never be able to pass that area with out fishing it. You try out every new bait there, even buy baits just for that area.

She’ll get a name, that area will become your spot, and cringe when you see somebody else fishing it, hoping they don’t catch her.

She’ll become your nemesis….

 

I should have taken the blue pill.

 

 

 

Ah, you are clearly an experienced angler. You know the drill.

 

Babe Winkleman once told a story about beaching his boat beside a beaver dam for a shore lunch. He went down to the boat to retrieve the walleyes and an enormous musky had latched onto several of them and was trying to rip them free. Winkleman, who's a big man and who was a hungry man that day, entered into a tug of war with the musky. He won most of his lunch back from the biggest musky he'd ever seen, but said that whenever he passed a beaver dam, he shivered a bit.

 

 

Thanks for sharing your story, Hawkeye. I enjoyed it! I've lived it.

Thanks all for reading my dumb story.

 

I almost wished I didn't see it. Almost.

 

A few weeks ago I didn't even think a 6 lb bass would be in this lake. However, I was scrolling through Instagram (that I rarely do) and stumbled upon a kid I know holding a big bass. I'm almost positive it's the small lake I fish. We are talking 20 acres.

 

Even on the same side which I RARELY fish because that whole side is pretty shallow. I always fish the opposite side near the dam. The photo I'm guessing is at least 5 years old.

 

Carp or bass, I'm sure as chit going to give this side a try. Might break out some bigger lures.

 

IDK, will be a huge waste of time if it was a Cyprinus Carpio.

 

 

Reminds me of spending all day, gallons of gas, trying each spot, every lure or technique and maybe if lucky, hooking 1 dink. Then at the end of the day as you put the boat on the trailer, a 5lb bass cruises out from under the ramp dock. 

12 minutes ago, rboat said:

Then at the end of the day as you put the boat on the trailer, a 5lb bass cruises out from under the ramp dock. 

 

Funny you mention that.

 

I read a story just yesterday from a pro and he said his PB was dang near a cast length from the boat ramp.

 

I'm guessing bass are like deer. They like to go places where they don't get MESSED WITH.

 

On 10/16/2025 at 12:24 PM, HawkeyeSmallie said:

Went fishing last night. Caught a ton. Nothing big, some decent ones though.

 

Fishing well into the evening and was near a lighted area near a beach.

 

For some reason I glance down into the water and see a fish swim directly under my kayak. I was sitting in maybe 2 foot of water at the time.

 

It had to be 6 or 7 pounds. That's BIG for this guy. My jaw hit the water and stayed there for 10 minutes.

 

Here's the deal. It happened so fast I'm not 100% sure if it was a bass or maybe a carp.

 

I'm pretty sure it was a bass.

 

All I know is that it's driving me crazy not knowing.

 

I'm going to search for videos of hopefully both swimming, preferably from an above angle.

 

Sorry, it's a dumb post.

 

I clearly need therapy.

OK, you have seen your Moby Dick. <G>