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Aside from fishing, one of my favorite hobbies is wildlife photography. Figured a fishing forum would have a few people that also like other forms of wildlife, so I thought I'd share a few shots. I specially have a "thing" for mountain lions:

Aiden & Hawgzilla ?

Much better week this week than last. The cooler nights are finally starting to get them moving a bit a seems. Not great, but much better. Had a couple nice ones and a bunch of solid fish.

I have two favorite pics. The first one is of my grandad, who taught me how to fish. It was taken on the last fishing trip we did together, he just took it easy and threw a bobber catching sunfish while I fished for bass. He passed away on Thanksgiving Day 2015. The other one is the first pre-spawn bass I ever caught, she weighed in at over 4 lbs. Got her on a Scatter Rap Crank. I have both these photos framed on top of my desk.

Yesterday was brutal...was out at dawn and the air temp was 32F on the button hence the jacket in my picture. Hit my first stop, a saddle between a mainland point and island and the fog was rolling off the lake. Wind was blowing in from the east... Once the fog cleared I caught a few on a jerkbait though nothing of any size. The frustrating part was that I could see 3 and 4 pound fish sitting in the 2-3ft water right in front of me but they wouldn't bite on anything...argh!

Only took one rod with me today but it was worth it as i got this cutie. Not sure how big she is or how much she weights but still a nice fish. Got her on a dropshot trapper hook and wacky rig senko. I'm starting to think this combo i pick up a month ago from a yard sale must of came with fluorocarbon as i've been doing pretty good with it on both bass and trout. However, I don't think there's a way i could really know that.

My 23 1/2" 6 pounder. I've caught a 7 lb but I don't have any goods pics since it was at night and I was by myself.

Nothing as cool as mountain lions or bears, but this little guy was very curious as I was leaving the boat ramp one day. Noxubee Wildlife Refuge in MS. Also saw plenty of gators at this place......... a lotta gators.

This one is growing on me. Got my lil guy some new fishing clothes and gear last week. Here he is hard at work with his Tatula flippin combo.

Topwater can be great this time of year.

A-Jay

My first ever bowfin: And my second: I think that the first was a female and the second was a male. The male had a black spot ahead of its tail and turquoise-tinged pectoral fins.

My son with his PB a few weeks ago on Istokpoga.

This one of my then month old grandson is my current favorite.

What a difference a good dealers makes! Got a great trade and good pricing on a 18, 1775 Impact Sport with a 115 Honda ( 125 max). The only thing I need to decide is what trolling motor and electronics.....and am open to suggestions. I want to thank everyone here for their input! Al

I fish em on top! ?

Did you catch anything?

I'd be headed to that lake hoping to bump into a few of those fat fall green bass. Fish should be setting up shallow looking to feed up. With water temps above 55 I'd be wanting to throwing something moving horizontally; a spinnerbait, swim jig, square bill & perhaps a rattle bait. However if the unusually dirty water is present as you've described, I'd switch it up and fish low, but not necessarily slow. Fishing in & around shallow cover could be the deal. Maybe some wood ? Jigs almost always play in that scenario. Might be all about mid-depth flats with decent deep water close but and with shallow feeding areas up front. Could be especially attractive if the weeds are dying off causing the bait to reposition. Bass will be no doubt be close by. Lastly, if the water is not as dirty as expected but does have a little color - break out that umbrella rig and have at it ! Good Luck A-Jay

Like the OP, I am in NC. Its has been very hot until just 2 days ago when daytime temps just dropped into the 70's so water temps are still close to 80 as of today but dropping fast with these cool nights. They are not quite chasing yet so it is still senkos, jigs, etc. here. The coming days should see them start moving more and cranking season will be under way.

It's 4 max, probably a little less. Doesn't have the mouth or eyes of a 5+. Those who have caught a bunch over 5 know what I'm talking about. More importantly, keep it off the grass and give it a chance to grow bigger. It's probably over 6 years old. It would be a shame if it was killed my mishandling.

Little creek clean up on the Accotink Album dropping this Fall

I was just out there myself and returned last week. It was gorgeous! I got this pic, also while visiting rocky mountain national park. Even got to experience a great bugle out of the bull, it was wild!

My thoughts are that once I quit blaming the reel, things got better....maybe not better, but at least less 'emotional'...lol "I can't seem to establish enough of a consistent success pattern to definitively say, "If I backlash I need to adjust ME_."" Point being that if it happens once every few dozen casts...or whatever....then it almost always is because I put a hitch in my swing; or didn't account for wind;....or tried to reach the green in two on a par 5...

Got tired of catching 3 pounders; so I went to Dink City today for a change, and caught... dinks!

26 lbs, 3 oz. Congratulations on setting a new world record...

So, I started taking video notes on fishing trips this summer because, well, it's easier for me to talk to a camera than take the time to write things down when there's a bite on. This past Sunday I got out on the Susquehanna after some crazy weather (90s earlier in the week, the morning I got on the water the air temp was 35 degrees). I wasn't sure what to expect since I've seen this turn fish on in the fall, even though it usually means a rough day any other time of the year. I had kind of a mixed day and tried more to fish for larger fish and get notes than go super finesse trying to pull numbers. Ultimately, I got on a few patterns and was able to get some of the catches on video. One of my favorites was the hatch pattern later in the day/evening. There were several mayfly, a tan caddis, and some sort of gnat/small black fly hatch going on as the sun started going down that saved my day in terms of smallmouth fishing and lead to several 14" and a 19" smallie to close out the day. The last section of the video is little but me talking as current brought me back to the ramp, so if you just want to see fish, you can bypass that part. However, if you want to hear me ramble about patterns, there's a solid 8 minutes of it that may or may not be as useful to you guys as it is to me. More than anything, I'm glad I was able to get out. I've been having back and neck issues again, and that can make a day on the water feel like rolling the dice. Getting on the water on good health days has been a nice therapeutic escape from medical craziness Oh yeah, there's a surprise musky in there that almost stuck a size 2 treble hook in my hand, too!

I've got a Zodias MH/F and have also handled the E6X at the store and I am convinced I bought the right thing. It's sensitive, has a great build, has a nice finish (unless you're a cork enthusiast), and is comfortable to use. I would say the only things the E6X has over it is these things. You determine if they're the swing features you're looking for.... 1. G. Loomis has a better warranty 2. E6X has cork handles If neither of those things are major factors to you, I would echo the sentiments of myself and the others above that a Zodias is a fine choice. Ultimately the best test would be if you could find a retailer that has both, handle them, then make your call.

Smallmouth are tough customers in dirty water, I'd be on the lake fishing shallow cover for green fish.

Ya never ever blame the angler! It's always the tackle! I adjust my centrifugal brakes once & only once; my tension knob is only slightly moved due to wind or drastic weight change. I do how ever adjust my thumb constantly ?

They are not meant to touch anything but water. They have a protective coating on their body that keeps them safe from bacterial infection. Handling them with dry hands or placing them on any dry surface diminishes their chances of survival exponentially. This is why MLF gives penalties for a fish that touches marine carpeting. An absorbent material like a paper towel is like a death sentence. If you have to lay them down use a silicone net. Always wet your hand before touching them.

On something that small you should be fine, if you launch at any dirt ramps or any that can be rather steep I'd definitely opt for the 4wd version as mentioned earlier.

James, no worries, I have the answers for you. I dug up my fish tag logs that I used on Canyon Lake in 1978 & 1979 and will give you the answers as to how to catch those Canyon Lake largemouth during September & October: 1978 - During September, a majority of the bass my sister and I caught & tagged hit crankbaits off the main lake points of the larger coves. The best producers were a Bagleys Killer B II and a Rebel Humpback, you may have to do some antiquing to find these models nowadays. As the month progressed and turned to October, most of our fish came further back in the coves, a few on topwater lures (Jitterbug & Hula Poppers) as well as on crankbaits. Did I mention that as a teenager, I threw crankbaits 90% of the time? 1979 - Earlier in the summer, I got a job working at a McDonalds. As September rolled around, I met a cute brunette who I dated for 7 years and then married in 1986 (we just celebrated our 31st anniversary a couple of months ago). Therefore, I didn't do any fishing in September and my sister, who was never good at documenting anything, didn't make any notes about the fish she caught. Sorry... I'm sure you can slay them now with this near 40 year old information...

in my own experiences muddy water tends to shut off the Smallmouth bite a lot more than the the largemouth. around here muddy water usually drives Largemouth shallow. Smallmouth seem to all but disappear, until water clears back up. that is on the Kansas lakes I fish. it may be different in Minnesota. If the water is muddy I would try something that makes noise like a chatterbait, spinnerbait, or crankbait. good luck

if you are having the late warm weather we are having, the fish are in a bit of a funk right now. water temp was 76 degrees today. seems like the summer patterns are not working anymore and the fall patterns have not started. finessed a few fish with the ned rig. and caught a couple slow rolling a chatterbait.

Learn Hank Parker's tips for modifying spinnerbaits to catch more bass in this video! https://www.bassresource.com/hank-parker-fishing/hank-parker-spinnerbait-modifications.html

What bait are you throwing? Some, like spinnerbaits, decelerate quickly and require some extra thumb.

I talked to Trey yesterday on the phone. He's letting me exchange the Mag 2s I bought last month for some Heliums and a KLX feel and reel! Pretty stoked. $125 for a helium3 is nuts. Couldn't say no.

Stop and think for a minute and ask yourself how can a bass find it's prey? The small bait fish are camouflage to help them hide, they don't make any audible sounds and the bass can find them at night! If a bass can't find food it starves. Study bass behavior and learn about thier sensory ability, how they see, hear, feel and taste. Bass have big eyes located near the top of thier head, nostrils to detect odors at the front of the head, lateral line nerves exposed along the lateral line via pore scales making both side sensitive to water pressure waves similar to sound waves. Bass use all their senses to detect prey. Tom

Big Mike, the gators in Gainesville don't have any teeth. Of course, LSU doesn't have any teeth, claws, etc. Should be a fun game. Looking forward to seeing Franks play again. Geaux Tigers.

Had to paddle around an island to get this angle but I think it turned out pretty well, especially for an iPhone 7

Tough bite lately, but I think we are finally over the hump in terms of constant 90+ degree days. Air temps in the upper 70s/low 80s the past few days. Picked the 3 bass off a giant school of shad, possibly the biggest I've ever seen that spanned about 100 yards down the bank. Happy with what the pond gave me, despite the size. I believe I blew a bearing in my Tatula my last time out, so I was using my dad's rig with an ultra fast action tip...so the little bass were a lot more fun to catch, albeit deceiving.

Last tournament of the year is over with. Here's the biggest fish I could muster up out of the city pool of the 3 rivers in Pittsburgh. If you're familiar with how the 2005 Classic and 2009 Forrest Wood Cup tournaments went, you'll know that this fish is pretty good sized.

Fished my favorite little stretch of river today and had a nice day. Light rain showers scared most people off so I mostly had the stretch to myself. Turned out to be sunny out and combined with the solitude it was beautiful. But, the bite was slow. The first fish was this one on a keitech paddletail, it was probably around 3 lbs? I had to look it up and I think it's a mountain whitefish (I'm fishing an offshoot of the Columbia river). The bass bite was slow. Showers stopped, wind slowed and the sun came out and I was able to start getting bit on a grub on a jighead. Caught a few small smallmouth and decided to drag a jig and trailer. I'm reluctant to do that at this spot because it's easy to get hung up on the rocks (any tips for jig fishing the size/shape of rocks in the pics? Football head doesn't seem to help). I only got maybe two bites, but one of them was this nice smallmouth. Not sure the weight, but I think it was the biggest I'd caught. May be 2.5? MAking a hard hookset into a jig bite is so satisfying. Looking for that feeling again is addicting. Was awesome being able to see the fish come up in the clear water and having the place to myself.

Took my dad out for a quick trip to Clear Lake last week. Timing with the weather (cold front) was terrible considering how great it's been, but we still had a great time and caught a lot of 2-4 pounders. Every fish was thick with a big ol belly. Should be a great spring considering the ridiculous amount of bait in there... Even saw a bobcat that couldn't have cared less about us being right there

Small lakes have been a little slow with this weather and lack of rain, but managed a couple dozen this weekend including this guy - score another one for finesse fishing

Welcome aboard! If you had a measurement of the girth it would be a little easier to guess. But at that length it should be in the 4-4.3 or so pound weight, give or take.

Rage Tail Menace. Texas-rigged or as a jig trailer.

Not sure if this is my favorite because it is one of my first fish or because of the killer fashion statement!

...then theres my avatar photo . I remember this day well . Caught these at a cousins pond with a cane pole and nightcrawlers . First timeI caught this many fish .