Went out to my favorite local fishing hole (not much to chose from here in Iowa while I am at school) and spent some time on the water. Started off throwing spinnerbaits, swim jigs and shallow cranks with no luck. Switched over to a tube (t-rigged weightless) and slowed down quite a bit. Caught a couple of dinks before the fun happend.

I casted from shore diagonal to a small point where the rocks stuck out a bit further. Felt that tell tale tap and pull and set the hook hard...but then nothing happened. For a bit I though I hooked into a log so I ran over to try and get a better angle to loosen the lure from the backside. As the line went slack I felt another tug on my pole...Wait a minute this is a fish. I turned my drag back a bit (i was fishing medium action spinning gear for the tube) and felt some more tugging...I knew this was going to be a big one. I managed to wind the piggy in and landed my first 5+ lber in Iowa (my PB is a 6.5 I caught up in WI). The girl I was fishing with couldn't believe the size of the thing and snapped a picture of me with the fish (I will add to the post once I get it).

Felt good to finally pull something of size in Iowa and over the course of the year I have greatly boosted my confidence in tubes, they have now become one of my go to lures.

Good times on a beautiful fall day here!

Congrats !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations!

;D ;D

Them bass love tubes.  They get bigger in Iowa...Trust me.

She did take a picture, I am waiting to get it from her so I can post it on here.

I hope starting to catch bigger fish means I am getting to be a better fisherman!

Finally got a hold of the pictures. Doesn't look that big in the pic where I am holding it, but I stand 6'3 at 265lbs (got to keep everything in relation). It measured about 19 long and 15 in girth.

Things like a football lol. Nice catch!

On my favorite lake! Looks like the main point on the west side of the north pit. Thats a good spot......there is a very large, shallow shelf there that fish in a feeding mood often use. Try a 5" hollow body swimbait there sometime..........

This one was caught a few yards from where you are on a Roboworm.

Nice to see someone else on this board that fishes in the same places.

Matt

p.s. Go 'Clones! (B.S. 2003, M.S. 2007 from ISU)

Finally got a hold of the pictures. Doesn't look that big in the pic where I am holding it, but I stand 6'3 at 265lbs (got to keep everything in relation). It measured about 19 long and 15 in girth.

Yes, because it's about 3 pounds.

On my favorite lake! Looks like the main point on the west side of the north pit. Thats a good spot......there is a very large, shallow shelf there that fish in a feeding mood often use. Try a 5" hollow body swimbait there sometime..........

This one was caught a few yards from where you are on a Roboworm.]

Nice to see someone else on this board that fishes in the same places.

Matt

p.s. Go 'Clones! (B.S. 2003, M.S. 2007 from ISU)

Good call, that's exactly where I nailed her. There is also a nice brush pile to the south of that that holds bass usually if you can manage not to get caught (something I haven't quite figured out from shore yet).

Finally got a hold of the pictures. Doesn't look that big in the pic where I am holding it, but I stand 6'3 at 265lbs (got to keep everything in relation). It measured about 19 long and 15 in girth.

Yes, because it's about 3 pounds.

I've caught plenty of three pounders and this one was quite a bit bigger than that.

First of all nice fish. Im from Indianola Iowa just south of Des Moines, what lake are you fishing? If you dont want to give up your hot spot i understand but my local lake is junk so always looking for new spots to hit.

No way its a 5+. Calculator gives you a max of 4.51 lbs., and that's probably closer to the truth. True, it has a big belly, but it doesn't have the shoulders to be a five. This fish was 4 lbs. 9 oz. probably about the same size as yours:

Nice fish man, but its time you got an accurate scale. If its 19 X 15, then you got a four-and-a-half.

Yeah, I definitely need to invest in a scale at some point here. I know it was over three though.

Did you have a scale ? That is a chunky bass but not over 5 lbs maybe 4 or a little over. Sorry.

First of all nice fish. Im from Indianola Iowa just south of Des Moines, what lake are you fishing? If you dont want to give up your hot spot i understand but my local lake is junk so always looking for new spots to hit.

I fish usually at Ada Hayden in Ames. Not to many good places to fish around central Iowa here.