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Didn't cross paths with any big girls but sure enjoyed catching quite a few males. Dedicated some time to "dice" for the first time and have to say they liked it. Bad news is it wasn't just bass. 😆

5-6 hours is a short trip? Guess my 4 hour excursion on Saturday was REALLY short. I fish with about 3-4 people several times each season (3 good friends or my Father). But my favorite fishing partner has 4 legs. Always wants to go and never complains. If only she could net some fish.

I fished with a guy for many years that turned out to be a jerk. The first 5 were fine the next 2 there were some red flags but fine, the last 3 he became someone that made so my poor decisions on the water I couldn't stand to be on his boat. I was mired in a divorced and had sold my boat but it had gotten so bad and he had gotten so bad I made the choice to just find some small ponds to fish. I got remarried, bought another bought, then a nicer boat. I fished mostly by myself out of fear that the next guy would be like the last one. My wife went a few times but didn't have a lot of fun because I didn't listen. My son-in-law started going but my step daughter would start texting two hours into a trip asking when we were coming home. It would be non-stop. She made his life miserable. I fished by myself and was happy. In September of 2022 I had a stroke. No more fishing by myself. It has been difficult to find anyone to go but a funny thing happened. My wife has gone everytime I have wanted and we have had a blast. A little back story: she would go before but didn't want to stay out there for 10 hours. I heard but didn't listen. (Talk about a jerk) I was giving instruction as if she had the skill level of a seasoned angler. (Talk about a jerk).... there's more. Anyway fast forward to 2024. We go for short 5-6 hour trips; I don't over coach, we talk a lot, laugh, bought a pee can, she brings whatever picnic snacks she wants, and she's having fun! Tresa is having fun because I finally got out of my own way and was forced to listen. She's a great partner and wanted to stay out yesterday a little later! After she lost a nice fish she came up with a one liner that made me smile. It hit home: : "Fishin' will make you cuss." She said it light heartedly and with goodwill. One last thing: I have read for many years on this website many of the ramp champions brag about their launch/load skills and berate anyone whom can't do these tasks in less than 5 minutes. I have to walk with a cane now and it takes me a while to launch and load. If that bothers you in any way either get over it or take a hike. Me and Tresa helped an elderly couple load their pontoon yesterday because they were having trouble. It's public water, they have every right to be there. Compassion is free, try it some time. Anyway, back on topic: if you are fortunate to find a good fishing partner hold onto them, they're worth their weight in Gold!

Went out yesterday for mother's day and had a lot of fun. Found them in wood on points. Missed way more than we caught but we caught and they were biting. I did something I haven't done in a long time. I caught a 4 lber on a spinning rod with a weightless senko.....and BOY was she fat for how short she was. Jake got a nice one on the baby brush hog. And even a bonus crappie on the last cast of the day with a Jerkbait! Went to the park before work today and threw the frog around. Missed a few takers and then found a sun warmed channel swing bank and paralleled it and this monster slurped it. Haven't had to get the scale out in a while but this one earned it. She jumped and thrashed and then finally submitted to my 40 lb braid. Unbelievable how spawned out this girl is. Giant gaping maw of a mouth and huge wide shoulders. Seems she just started feeding today! Probably a 9 lber all day a week or two back.

Did a little fishing Mother's Day morning and caught a bunch of fish, but never found any big ones. That Gamakatsu Nano Alpha hook was still sticking all of them so good. Pretty sure I caught my first topwater fish of the year also. Had a new addition to the kayak that I was playing with, that was the main reason for the trip.

I caught my first 2024 2fer (two bass on one lure), my biggest bass was 20.75", and I caught 37 total with a 60/40 lmb/smb ratio. Also saw or heard owls, woodpeckers, eagles, osprey, loons, ducks, and geese. I fished the biggest of the bodies of water that I fish and the most developed, with cabins and other anglers, although because I launched this morning at 4:00 and 41 degrees, I had the pond to myself. There were wolf packs chasing shad in old and emerging reeds. I usually can't catch them, but I pitched my Keitech on an Owner underspin into the salad, kept my rod high, and reeled like crazy to keep it on the surface. They hit it! Not every time, but I finally caught some of those wolfpacking bass. I think it was moving too fast for them to see it wasn't one of the shad that they were chasing. I got a lot of pics, but only loaded a third of them. See how tame the loons are at this pond? They sometimes follow me.

drove 2 hours and fished wild fowl bay. kinda a rough day. water temp at start of the day was 56 degrees which, was colder than i was expecting. nothing was shallow. started around north island. only thing i had going for me was a goby 55 rock crawler. i caught 4 25- 26 inch pike and a decent large mouth on it. 2 of the pike choked the rock crawler 2nd and last pike to choke the rock crawler finally destroyed it. trying to get the crank out i pulled the hangers out of the crank: ran to the south around hiester island and only saw some gar. oh, i did have a huge smallie follow a jerk bait but that was the only one i saw in 6-7ft of water tommrue any how is another day. i’m calling and fishing some where.

December January February March July 🤴 A-Jay

In the beginning she could. But it's a little beyond her capacity now. Unless we did a very local mid day thing. Great news is we are planning on being in the Old Town together again Thursday ! First time in a couple of years. Very exciting. A-Jay

Nailed It ~ ! A-Jay

The ole common carp were chasing cicadas all weekend so we went after them. My wife loves fly fishing and a cicada hatch is about the only time the silly things actually chase any flies or lures so we got our fill , works almost immediately most of the time. you can hear the cicadas in the video. I had a guy fish by my dock and ask me if that was the pump house a mile a way making all that noise 😂 I’ll also include a shorter failure video 😂

None. All my gear gets rode hard and put away wet.

Sometimes it is as simple as being in the right place at the right time. Aiden caught this bass under the dock we're standing on. In the background is a boat launch. Aiden asked if I could tie a jig on for him, so I did. He took the rod flipped the jig under the dock. I just started to shake my head when he set hook. He had seen the bass before asking for the jig & had been watching videos about flipping docks. He said, I saw a dock, a bass, & figured all I need is a jig!

Dang another one just in time for this thread! Never underestimate the bank beater. 😎😎😎👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼😂😂😂

Have to say I don't really understand the question or most of the answers. 1917 Hardy St. George fly reel that I fished for 5 years, then sold for twice what I paid. (kinda cool, fishing the reel for 5 years paid for my T160 kayak) 1918 FE Thomas Special fly rod fishing even harder All my tackle gets fished hard and cared for - and the tackle above, I'm the 4th generation with the task. I'll add, I've fallen in the river and hurt my knee, but not the tackle. Some tackle I won't risk on kayak, mostly for multiple ways it could get damaged or destroyed. Other tackle, that's exactly what I put it together for. Probably not for everybody, but to me, this is too pretty not to fish. Editing to add it has a perfectly defined function - skip-casting 1/8-oz bunny shrimp to visible redfish backs under mangrove overhang.

I love fishing , bank dock or boat. But getting my lures stuck over and over while fishing off the bank does drive me bonkers. I’ve got a small fortune in jigheads and cast nets stuck in the water below ft loudoun dam. Although one time I was there in my boat and got stuck. Pulled up a ball of line with 20-30 striper jigs stuck in it 😂 It would take me too long to find all my bank fishing pics but the last one that sticks out in my mind was smallmouth on Christmas Day 2023, even better when you are standing in your own yard bank fishing

Got out on the buddy's boat for a couple hours after a big rain. It was slow but this warmouth wanted my jig real bad. I caught one other tiny spotted bass. It was just good to get out and fish

Heart skipped a beat when I saw these on my way to the lake. I have a whole new respect for them after a couple were RIP'd courtesy of my grill at 50 mph and put my truck out of commission for nearly a month while waiting for parts.

Today was different than yesterday. My biggest today was barely bigger than my smallest yesterday. I caught 5 (all pictured) as well as a 12 1/2 inch Crappie (in other species thread) as well as a small Yellow Perch and a Bluegill. (no pixels on those). Water temp was a degree warmer than yesterday (74 degrees) but I was on a different part of the lake.

1. Having to work when I should be fishing. 2. Having to work when I should be fishing. 3. Having to work when I should be fishing. 4. Having to work when I should be fishing. 5. Did I mention having to work when I should be fishing?

Well it was a very interesting morning of fishing, I landed my first carp on 14lb fluorocarbon, it was quite the battle and process. No clue on the weight but I couldn’t hold it up with one arm to take a photo and I am fairly strong. I did manage one bass, last but not least I caught a pike that bite thru my 7lb fluorocarbon as I was taking it out of the water. So yes very interesting day, I was hoping that I would catch more bass and definitely larger ones than I did. Although I fish for all species and that carp is definitely bigger than any bass that I am going to catch in Michigan so that’s a win in my book. The funny part was that after I got done catching the carp a couple guys show up to go carp fishing, they had not caught any by the time I left 4 hours later. The weather was very windy and slightly warmer than it has been. The bite seemed to turn off pretty quickly today I had to have seen 30 different people fishing and they were not having very much luck either. That’s why we love this thing called fishing so much though the constant challenge to perform no matter what is happening weather, life, or work wise.

We’re all familiar with Gamakatsu and their quality hooks. Well, now they are offering their Alpha Nano hooks to the US market. They have a Teflon coating that gives you better hook penetration, more importantly (for me anyways) is 4x better corrosion resistance! They’re the same price as their regular line and available in the sizes and styles were used too.

When I grow up I wanna be like @Pat Brown lol

Keep using them. Cheap insurance and peace of mind.

This is a minnow compared to some of the Crappie pictures I see on here but I caught a 12 1/2 inch Crappie today on a wacky rig.

The Bait Monkey. Even if I caught the world record bass on a lure I have dozens of, he would tell me I need to buy that lure in a different color if I want to catch a bass. No matter how many baits I own, or how many bass I catch, the Monkey is never satisfied.

For some, a pet will do as the best fishing buddy. I get that very well. Here's my dog, Sasha, who was a very good surf fishing partner. She would lay down and guard the sand spike and bark at the waves when I was reeling in a fish. Then, on the way home, take a long nap lol. Had to put her to down after--get this--25 years. Yes, that's 25 human years! When I put her down, the Vet had asked me what was my secret because he'd never heard of a dog living so long. I said two things: fishing and no Vets. Guarding the sand spike and stuff After a long day of fishing

Tie on a 4' fluorocarbon leader and you have all the advantages and none of the problems associated with braid.

I finally got my hands on one of the new slx mgl hg reels, I wanted to compare them to the older ones that were great reels. I spooled it up with fresh 12lb sniper. I was going to try the new r-18 line but I couldn’t justify the price of it.

7.8 is WAY above average!

brand new 130 with rattles.. there’s a pretty fair chance dude treed it on the 1st cast, it’s that new.

The Japanese make it a point to have both. They don't own the amount of tackle we own, can't afford the space to store it. And they don't have the free time to fish that we have - their fishing most always includes travel by train. They look at the whole, gestalt or karma, and believe the spirit of their tackle is a valuable part of the day's experience. The Japanese also bring this same dedication to tackle on their bench. Probably won't find this in Malaysia or China (even Sweden) - but the Japanese believe they're sending more than an object, which attains perfection in workmanship and function. Quoting myself, on the FFR thread I linked just above, agreed with my friend Takeru, if fishing isn't a spiritual experience, one is doing it wrong.

I change mine up frequently. Some days I want a Millionaire on a glass trout rod, another day I might want a baby Ambassadeur, or maybe even a Calcutta Conquest. The problem with having so many good rods and reels is choosing which ones you want to take on any given trip. It's worse than trying to pick something on Netflix. My destination dictates what rod and reel I will bring along.

I know sliding them onto shore isn’t the best way to land them, next time I should lip them when they’re coming up shallow. Got grippers for my sore bass thumb. This is the same pond boss another angler caught the other day, we measured him and I remember him being 18 inches. Catch ‘em on light tackle, they’ll all feel like a 10 pounder

I'm kinda AC/DC on Spots. I took a ~30 year hiatus from Bass fishing. In my previous fishing life 3 to 4 pound Largemouth were common, and you'd hear about a DD at least once a month. I'll readily admit that sometimes (regardless of whether we're talking fishing, or something else) the "good ol days" weren't exactly as we remembered them. Now it's hard to get a lure in front of a 3 to 4 pound Largemouth without a 10 inch Spot getting to it first. I suppose I shouldn't complain, or blame Spots though. I've caught at least one Largemouth over 5 pounds each month this year.....in a Spot infested lake. "They" say "don't leave Bass to find Bass". If you're catching 10 inch Spots that's all you're going to catch if you don't leave. I don't know if the Spots have harmed Largemouth fishing around here, or if they're blamed for fishing pressure, pollution, lack of State stocking, ect. I been learning (by experience) about how Spots and Largemouth interact. I've found that certain areas will hold Spots that are 12 inches long or less. (I call them micro Bass). They're super aggressive. I could catch a boat load pretty much every day. I'd just fish for Bluegill if tiny fish were what I was after. Some people like easy to catch tiny Bass. (nothing wrong with that) I've found that the bigger Spots (at least where I'm fishing) tend to be in the same areas as Largemouth. I've caught larger Spots and decent sized Largemouth on back to back casts. I've rarely caught anything bigger than a 12 inch Spot in an area thick with small Spots. Spots fight like heck, especially when they get some size to them. My PB Spot is 4 lbs 15 ounces. It fought like a nuclear powered submarine.

Only one thing. Not having more available time to fish. I can get around idiots, litter, traffic, rising costs, etc. Time is something you can’t buy or ignore.

Last night we went to the local lake for a quick bank fishing foray and I found this beautiful fish willing to eat my frog - then promptly lost my frog and burned a spool of braid on the next cast thanks to the arboreal splendor of Greensboro NC 😂👍🏼 Made a move to the rip rap and played with reaction baits with nary a sniff and then just as we were preparing to leave I got my Yamamoto Tanuki bitten but they took the plastic. Put a stick bait on the hook and caught my second fish of the night. Got nibbles on every cast after that and had I been able to stay, think I could have caught a few more but was happy to get these two! Jake caught a nice cat on a live bluegill he netted and then lost one over 10 lbs right at the bank. Would have been his PB bullhead and it was the biggest bullhead I've ever seen!

I got a couple after work today, for some reason my phone won’t add pictures to my post. But I caught 5 smaller ones. It was a good after work session. 1 on a chatter bait, 1 on a dolive beaver, 2 on a yamatunaki and 1 on a jerk bait

My Manager laid out of work and got this.

Healthy pike, Mike. I'm fishing tomorrow too. Alarm clock set for 3:30 a.m. Going to the closest thing to a lake that I fish. It's got homes, docks, and other anglers, but it's still full of fish. First trip this year to it and I'm excited. Hopefully not too excited to sleep!

I just recently bought 2 St Croix panfish rods. My most recent is the panfish series and prior to that a Avid Panfish series rod and although I don’t have a ton of time or catches on either they’re both well made with the Avid being worth the extra money in my opinion. For a good handful of years I have been using 2 BPS panfish Elite rods and although lower in price they are excellent, again in my humble opinion.

It's a little early in the year, even for me. But I couldn't wait any longer as it was getting very jungle-like. So that first cut always feels & smells pretty good. #sharpbladesrule A-Jay

@ol'crickety For sure, and for the record I’m not always able to do it all the time here and I have to resort to the stationary fishing fishing that @gimruis described. Not ideal but I try and make the best of it.

@Catt, your bass is just perfect. Largemouth come in so many different shapes and the big ones can bulge here and there, but yours looks both sleek and huge. A perfect specimen. I know your shorelines and moving and casting is possible. It would be nigh impossible in Maine. Our shorelines are a jumble of boulders and fallen trees. Sure, there are openings, but to reach them, you'd have to be part squirrel.

I'll share some spots on the rest of the lake, but not in the creek channel where I live. It's interesting because every day I see bass boats drive over the best spot to fish in my creek channel. It's an underwater point and I've caught a bunch of 3 and 4 pounders there and lost one bigger one. I'm the only person I've seen fish that spot.

My usual spot at Roberts plus the entry to possum kingdom. Still hasn't gotten old

Okay if I gotta 😁😁😁 8.9/9.1/8.0/9.3