I went to Clear Lk. Ca. last Weds, and brought 70 (I counted :-)) perfect, healthy, little live dads. I casted two of them off, but I swear I got bit 68 times ! Ended up landing 45 bass.... mostly 1 1/2 to 3's, but about 7 or 8 legit 4's. I weighed the biggest one, a long, big headed, spawned out fish which went 5.7 lbs. Also caught 4 White cats of 2 to 3 lbs, and 5 Channel cats, 3 of which went 3 to 4 lbs, but I also got a 12.0 and a 15.7 lb'er. Those two fought GREAT on the micro-light, and were definately the most fun catches of the trip.

But the thing is, without catching anything big enough to photograph, it really felt like a ho-hum trip. I'd trade 3 trips like this, for 2 skunks, and one 12 lb bass on the 3rd !

I know some people might ask, if catching this many decent fish "doesn't do it for you, then why do still fish" ? Good question. First off, because I know that it only takes one cast to stick the biggest fish of your life ! And second (and it seems like the older I get, the more this comes into play) I just really enjoy being out there on the water, whether I catch small fish, big fish, or no fish.  

Anyway, hey, I think I answered my own question :-)

Peace,

Fish

PS, I have some ideas for catching a trophy this week though ! .....but it might have whiskers  :-) 10 lb Bass, 20 lb Channel cat, 2 lb Bluegill..... I don't even care, I just want a new photo for the album :-)

Well Chris, it seems that you did answer your own question.

I can tell you that I sometimes get "fished out".

I don't know why, but I lose motivation for a while.  It may last a few weeks or longer, but it always passes.  I don't mind not fishing.  My philosophy is to enjoy every day of life that God grants me.

If I feel like fishing I fish.  If I feel like like watching TV, I watch TV.

I worked hard my whole life and this is MY TIME.  

I find I enjoy the time spent with my children, my Godchildren and thier youngins more than most things.  There something about little kids that brings a glow to my heart.

But bass fishing is, and has been my main passtime.  

The Yankee bassers have no choice but to step away for months every year.  We have it year round, so a self imposed hiatus can be refreshing from time to time.

If it starts to feel like work, then it's time to take a break.

10 lb Bass, 20 lb Channel cat, 2 lb Bluegill..... I don't even care,

Like you Chris, I have an equal respect for any "trophy", where size is relative to the species.

One time on a smallmouth trip to Canada, I spent an entire day of my vacation

trying to beat my personal record "pumpkinseed". They're one of the smallest members of the sunfish family,

don't laugh, but to me anything over 9 inches (8 oz) was equivalent to a 5-pound smallmouth

Roger

I would love to have a trip like that.

The Yankee bassers have no choice but to step away for months every year. We have it year round, so a self imposed hiatus can be refreshing from time to time.

If it starts to feel like work, then it's time to take a break.

hey who you callin yankee   and man i wish the fishin was so good that i actaully wanted to stop fishin HAH that'll be the day  ;D

Ive fished all my life, and im out for fishing to catch the fish with the best fight. Some times if im just looking for a fight i CARP fish. I just love to wacth them run and man its a hell of a good time. I do love to bass fish but I have already caught a hard to beat Personal Best with a 4.87 lb smallie, and a 11 lb large mouth. THESE ARE HUGE FOR OHIO! Esp the large mouth.

**EDIT**

Its up to you, do you want the big ones, or do you want to catch fish? I personally do both on diffrent days.

If the trophy becomes the norm,...what becomes the trophy?

As long as you are getting what you want out of the trip, it's all good, but wouldn't you rather have 2 days like this and a 12 on your 3rd than 2 skunks on the first 2 days?

Time to weigh your priorities, only you can answer this one.

Thanks guys.

Well LBH, sure.... I guess.... but to be quite honest, if I had a crystal ball that could tell me that I was going to catch 45 bass, but no big ones, I'd surely go someplace else, where I was less likely to get numbers, and more likely to get a big one.

But anyway, regardless of what water I'm on, or what I'm catching, it sure beats the heck out of "work" ! {I'm sorry for using foul, 4 letter words like that ;-)

Peace,

Fish

FC,

I know this is kinda off the topic of the thread, but can you share your method for using the 'dads' and depth of water you were fishing?  

Tthinking of trying live bait this summer when the bite gets tough and just wondering what worked for you.

FD

I fish a lot when I can. It isn't unusual for me to fish every day when other responsibilities permit me the time. I usually don't catch a large number of large fish, but...... with every cast, and every strike, I don't know if it's that 10 plus pound bass that I've been looking for the last 50 or so years that I've been fishing. This is what keeps me comming back to the water time and again. I'm happy with any good relaxing day on the water away from the pressures of day to day life, and if all I catch are a few small fish or no fish at all, I've still had a good day, but..... it's still the possibility of that unknown large bass that makes it worth doing. I'm reminded of Bill Dances old theme song by Jerry Reed entitled " Today is Mine ". With all the responsibilities that modern day life puts upon every one of us, I think any time I spend with nothing more on my mind than the next strike is truly MINE.  I have spoken.

I walked away from fishing for 10 years....i've been fishing again for 3 years straight now,with the bass seasons and off seasons here in Michigan i fish every chance i get...the off season can really get you excited about bass season's open day.We are limited here for bass season.

I think it's good to get away every now and then...if you don't you can get burned out.

Everyone's mindset is different.  I go to the lake with the thought that there will be no bite, they'll be shut right down, regardless of conditions.  I'm never let down.  1 fish=success when this is your mindset, 45 fish = great success, a trophy,...well, it is just that, a trophy.

Now, this works for me, not everyone though.

With your mindset, I see lots of disappointment with sporadic surges of exuberance.

BUT that would be if it were me

...If you, as a personality, are finding satisfaction with the fishing aspect of your life,...Then who are we to judge your "Fix".  

BTW- Have you ever been typed as an "Over-Achiever"??   ;D

I don't think i have ever has a day with more than 15-20 bass caught. I also don't have a boat. Most days its about 5-10 fish. We don't get very many fish up here in North Idaho bigger than 7-8lbs. I don't even know what I would do if I caught bass over 10lbs, seeing my PB is 7.4lbs. Any day I don't get skunked is a good day for me.

im more of a numbers guy, id rather have a one pounder and two 2 pounders than one 5 pounder but thats jusst me

I have kinda found that after I have had a few "bad" trips (by bad I mean skunked or 1 fish in like eight hours and just not being able to figure 'em out at all) in a row, I start feeling kinda burned out and sometimes need to st back for a couple weeks to think or do something else before I get back out there. But the burned out feeling never lasts for long. I get back out there and if I have a good day then that just fuels me even further. Then I want to get on the water as much as I possibly can after the good days. My last fishing trip I would categorize as "good", 4 Largemouth Bass: one 1.5 lber, two 1 lbers (dinks), one solid 3 lb fish, and one 4 lb channel cat. All these fish were caught within two and a half hours and all on at Rapala DT-4 Bluegill crank.  

Well buddy,

You contiue to amaze me. Your multi-species skills and focus on big fish are two attributes that I most

admire. Flexibility in fishing both artificial and live baits is another. But something I am curious about:

Why waste your time on green trout when you have the option to catch World Class smallmouth? :

I don't know if you've messed yourself up, but I would love to have that problem.

Hey Fishing Doug, you have a PM.

Hey LBH, you said (for yourself) it would be like > lots of disappointment with sporadic surges of exuberance < ......and actually, for the "fish-catching" part of it, it's very much like that for me too. But on the other hand, I try to focus on the fact that I'm outside, with the blue sky over my head, and the water under my boat (as a kid, outside was good.... in my bedroom on restriction was bad ;-))

An over achiever you asked ? ...... Uhhhh..... well I'm always pleased with a big catch.... but never satisfied... least wise, for more than a day or two :-) I'm always thinking about a "bigger one" !

Hey Valascus, you said > I have kinda found that after I have had a few "bad" trips (by bad I mean skunked or 1 fish in like eight hours and just not being able to figure 'em out at all) in a row, I start feeling kinda burned out <

Interestingly, I would start to feel burnt out of I had more than two or three trips, like the one I described.... Or in other words, like I was spinning my wheels catching a bunch of small fish, but not getting the big one I was after. On the other hand, say I was throwing a swimbait on one of the trophy ponds, and in the first 10 hour trip, I had a 12 lb'er smack me once, but I went home skunked. The next three 10 hour days, I had big 10 to 13 lb followers each trip, but not so much as a touch. On the 5th 10 hour trip, I hook a 12 lb'er, but it comes unbuttoned..... Now I have been out 5 times, for 50 hours, and haven't caught a single fish ! However, I can feel it coming, as even without catching a single fish, I have seen what I needed to see ! I would wake up on that 6th day thinking, "I'm going to stick one of those monsters today", and I would actually have more drive without any fish for 5 trips, than 150 'small fish' in five trips.

Hey RW, to be quite honest with you, I have been to the trophy Smallmouth pond a couple times in the last couple weeks..... But no smallies. Instead just a couple nice 5 to 7 lb Northern Strain Largemouths on each trip. I did have one 4'ish looking Smallie come up underneath a 9" wake bait..... but a 6 lb Largy ran up and took it away from it :-) Oh well.

Those Smallies really become a deep water thing, this time of year.... which I'm lousy at it. Not to mention all the other great Summertime draws like Catfish, giant Largemouths (at other lakes) Halibut, Batrays, Leopard Sharks, etc.

Love to stay and chat.... But I need to get on the water ;-)

Peace,

Fish

When I go fishing I'll either have a numbers or size fix.

For numbers I'll usually go for bass, but might go for channel cats and small blue cats.

If I'm going for a size fix? It's striper hybrids and blue cats. I still want to catch a blue cat over 50# and the waters here hold some over 100#.

Sometimes I'll be undecided on numbers or size. That's when I really go for bass and go for the bigger ones.

If i start to feel "burnt-out" I'll switch species in a heartbeat and keep going.

Well, as I see it: nothing can fuel more the fire then going on the hunt and catch nothing.

Soooooo, I don 't think I 'll ever burn out. Only problem is I need a partner that can take the hunt, and that 's going to be the difficult part.

Well, as I see it: nothing can fuel more the fire then going on the hunt and catch nothing.

Soooooo, I don 't think I 'll ever burn out.

Kudos Raul, I like that

Roger