I've had a bit of a run of bad luck losing fish at one of my local lakes. This lake is barbless hooks only and I just haven't been able to keep fish on. Well, that changed tonight. Fisrt spot I went to, I was basically standing on a huge boulder that mad a 5-6 foot drop off before the bottom flattened out again. I was about ready to move, but I made one more cast with a SK Ocho in junebug. Meanwhile, a man with his daughter showed up and were about to throw some nightcrawlers and a bobber. This is a no-no on this lake. So while I was explaining this to him, I felt a solid bump. I told him to hold on a sec, and proceeded to set the hook on and land a decent largemouth. Even a guy in a float tube gave me the thumbs up. I thought the whole situation was amusing.

I decided to move to a spot where I usually get at least strikes. I was walking along the sidewalk that goes along the bank throwing a frog and after thoroughly working that lure, switched to the Ocho. A couple dudes were just walking up on me when I get a strike. I thought I had missed it, and probably had, so I lowered my rod tip when the fish struck again. After a short battle, I landed this fat, healthy largemouth.

Not bad for about 2 1/2 hours of fishing. Every bass I catch now is bittersweet. I'm moving to bassless Alaska in 2 weeks, and each bass could be my last for a long time.

Great story man and equally great catches

Very nice. Good luck with your move to Alaska!

"a man with his daughter showed up and were about to throw some nightcrawlers and a bobber.  This is a no-no on this lake." 

Why??

I would think a man and his children should have first rights, and whatever bait they use would be a yes -yes....?

"a man with his daughter showed up and were about to throw some nightcrawlers and a bobber. This is a no-no on this lake."

Why??

I would think a man and his children should have first rights, and whatever bait they use would be a yes -yes....?

I apologize, I should've explained in a little more detail.  This lake is regulated by what is called "selective gear rules" for trophy brown and rainbow trout.  This means artificial lures and flies with a single barbless hook.  I did the guy a favor by explaining the rules to him as it would be a hefty fine if he got caught.

Great story and nice bass! Sorry to hear about the bassless move!

"a man with his daughter showed up and were about to throw some nightcrawlers and a bobber. This is a no-no on this lake."

Why??

I would think a man and his children should have first rights, and whatever bait they use would be a yes -yes....?

I apologize, I should've explained in a little more detail. This lake is regulated by what is called "selective gear rules" for trophy brown and rainbow trout. This means artificial lures and flies with a single barbless hook. I did the guy a favor by explaining the rules to him as it would be a hefty fine if he got caught.

Makes perfect sense.  Wow, that is pretty serious regs.  Thanks for the info, and good luck on the move.

No problem.  There's quite a few lakes and stretches of river that fall under those rules.  You need a law degree to decipher our river regs sometimes.