I've been paying my dues all winter, even slid a few across the ice into holes with very little luck. So I was pleased when this one showed up on my jig last Saturday. In freezing rain, no less. She came up so slow, I thought I may have broken off a branch. 4 lbs. 9 oz...

very nice. congrats!!!

Nice one!! And I've been crying about the cold down weather down here   :-[

purty fish very nice

Nice chunk, congrats.

Very nice, gotta love the shape of those southern bass! All head!

Way to go !

Very nice, gotta love the shape of those southern bass! All head!

Thanks!...And this one has a respectable belly compared to the fish that usually come out of this pond. I wish I had the time and money to "manage" the forage in the neighborhood pond. Maybe that would help round them out more?

congrats!!  8-)

NICE, I fished all saturday and sunday and didn't get a bite. How were you fishing the jig and what type of structure?

NICE, I fished all saturday and sunday and didn't get a bite. How were you fishing the jig and what type of structure?

Probably about 4 feet of water, but this pond is 7 feet at its deepest, so deeper than it seems relatively. I had just read an article on dead sticking so that's how I started out on 20 to 30 second intervals. But my patience got the best of me, and it turned to a S-L-O-W crawl along the bottom only lifting enough to get it over cover when it felt stuck. Long cast, well past an isolated stick up. Slowly weighed the line at the stick up and felt enough resistance to set the hook just to be sure. I still thought I might have pulled off some of the stick up, until I saw a small boil at the surface.

This is the slowest I've ever fished and it was excruciating in the cold, so it's nice to get the pay-off!

NICE, I fished all saturday and sunday and didn't get a bite. How were you fishing the jig and what type of structure?

Probably about 4 feet of water, but this pond is 7 feet at its deepest, so deeper than it seems relatively. I had just read an article on dead sticking so that's how I started out on 20 to 30 second intervals. But my patience got the best of me, and it turned to a S-L-O-W crawl along the bottom only lifting enough to get it over cover when it felt stuck. Long cast, well past an isolated stick up. Slowly weighed the line at the stick up and felt enough resistance to set the hook just to be sure. I still thought I might have pulled off some of the stick up, until I saw a small boil at the surface.

This is the slowest I've ever fished and it was excruciating in the cold, so it's nice to get the pay-off!

Well said - I didnt get the payoff last saturday  :'(

"Well said - I didnt get the payoff last saturday"

Still cold out there, isn't it!?!?

The jig & craw bite really lit up for me in February on this pond though. I've been able to count on a couple fish for a couple hours invested, pretty much every time out. Working sun lit laydowns on the bright days, and deeper/open water when it's overcast has been the pattern all month.

I'm not willing to stay out there more than a couple hours in 30 degrees and 10 mph wind, so I'll take it!

Good luck, spring is coming...

Nice fish, congrats! 

That's a nice fish you got there.