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I fished with my brothers by tying our pistol-gripped fiberglass rods and Zebco reels to our bikes and fishing Ohio farm ponds We mostly waded, casting Creek Chub Plunkers, a wooden popping lure, and rubber worms with a couple pre-rigged hooks. We nearly always caught some bass. Once I caught 21, a record for me. I always wanted to catch a 17-incher like my brothers caught. I hooked and lost a few because I knew nothing about setting the drag and the drag on my Zebco 606 was junk. I was 17 or 18 when I caught my first 17-inchers. I enjoy much better fishing nowadays, but I have nothing but fond memories of those first years. How about you?

Y'all had rod-n-reels! Musta been nice! Growing up in Southwestern Louisiana sporting good store were local Mom-n-Pop stores & catered mostly to saltwater anglers. I started with a cane pole, a cork (not a plastic bobber), shiners, crawfish or earthworms. Round '62-63 I graduated to Zebco 202 "ZeeBee" spincast. Lure selections were even more limited. Bass fishing was mostly walking rice canal levees, marshes, swamps, & river banks.

If you bass fished as a kid, what was it like? Like this ~ (circa 1965) A-Jay

Sorry, I didn’t get a chance to fish as a kid. The memories started at age 34, lol 😝 I did have the tables turned however. The usual story is that the parent takes the child. In my case, it is the opposite. I took my dad so he could fish. I learned he had always wanted to also. I got him into some smallies and on one trip he caught two species of salmon, a pink and a coho! Unbelievable and amazing. Update: I can’t believe I found the photos of my dad fishing for salmon the for the first time. Fishing along the banks of the Green River, WA. Pink and Coho salmon were running at the time. If I recall correctly, it was late October, 2009. Here he is with one of the pinks he caught. The last fish he caught this day smashed his jig so hard that I knew it couldn’t be a pink salmon. And to our surprise it was a magnificent coho. Unfortunately, it wriggled out of his hands and fell onto the sand and so you can’t really see how bright the fish was, but the smile on my dad’s face said it all.

So as an update to the post, I got enough strength to get back out on the water. My doctor said it was okay with precautions. One of my fishing buddies went with me. He did everything from loading and unloading my boat, to handling my fish. Wore plenty of sunscreen and a big hat. Felt good to get out again.😊

Got this long skinny fish on a hollow body bream . I don’t remember the name of it Ive had it so long. Noticed a bass crashing bream at my dock, so I thought of the bait. Tied it on and in less than 5 minutes , had the fish. He hit it like a bream hitting a bug on the surface- just pecked it and it was gone! First fish I ever caught on it.

Caught 27 Blues today dragging chicken.

I can’t explain why big fish became my goal. My mentor was Jason Lucas who emphasized developing fishing skills like casting accuracy’s and working lures to catch bass. I would walk the shoreline and see pressure wakes from bigger fish leaving and smaller bass staying curious to see me. I wanted to catch those bigger bass all my life. So watched them closely and focused on catching them. Being at the right place and time was a result of a lifetime trying to catch the biggest bass in the lake. Have no idea why this became a goal but it did! Always judged fishing success by size not numbers. Tom

Live on a lake shore and fished about the same time as I could walk a life time of fishing. Bass about 7 years old when catching my 1st, the bass hooked me into a lifetime of pursuing them. Tom

Bass fishing as a kid was an indescribable passion. A journey full of mystery with that one great giant bass of my dreams always one cast away. Every bass hooked was a miracle, every bass landed a life long memory, every day fishing an adventure, every new stretch of shoreline, creek bend, or piece of cover a fantastic discovery, and every lure a treasured magical creation. That is how I remember bass fishing as a kid, and how I still think of bass fishing to this day.

I wouldn’t say that I “bass” fished as youth. I’d say I fished. Bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, catfish, bass…it was all good to me. Once old enough, my friend and I would strap a two-piece rod on the handlebars of our ten speeds, carry minimal tackle and bike 14 miles from our neighborhood in Baltimore to Loch Raven Reservoir. We were much more successful on bluegills, crappie and yellow perch than bass. Still loved it. But going with my dad and brother (sometimes accompanied by my dad’s friend Mr. Fred, or my fishing buddy, Mark) to Wye Mills Community Lake on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, was my favorite. Relatively small at 50 acres, but they had cheap rowboats for rent and definitely held bass. I caught my PB at 13 there that stood until 2020. No scale, but likely 3 to 3-1/2 lbs. I thought it was a monster.

Out fishing yesterday with my buddy on the Rappahonock River here in Virginia and I catch a tagged bass. Tag has an id#, a telephone # and the word “reward” on it. I called the number and left a message but after a little digging, I found it probably is from our local DNR from a few years ago. I have to laugh because a couple of years ago this same buddy of mine and I was fishing and we saw something odd floating in the water and we netted it out. Come to find out it was an ankle monitoring device and had a number to call if found. He ended up getting a $25 prepaid Visa card. Let’s see if I can beat him! 😂

This Saturday was a far cry from last weekend. Today was 100% cloudy with intermittent showers (raining steady now-thank God as we need it bad). High of 80°. Last week they were smashing baitfish in the shallows everywhere. Today, I saw that twice and very late in the morning. Only caught two and two hours apart, so slow, slow, slow. But many are getting ready to call it quits until spring, so no complaints! First bass was on an A-Jay Special (1/4 oz. pegged bullet weight; Dirty Jigs 60 strand skirt in Dirty 420 on a Boss punch hub in green pumpkin; 5/0 Gamakutsu EWG; Rage Craw in green pumpkin) and the second on a dark pumpkin w/black flake Fat IKA. That one was nice. I saw a swirl deep inside a blowdown and hit the spot dead nuts from about 90’. It got smashed immediately. Both were 17”.

Spinning rods and either manns worms or crank/Jerkbaits. My dad had other stuff but I just looked - never got to touch. It wasn't til we started making annual trips up to Michigan for small mouth that I really got decent with a crankbait. Jerkbaits I just fished like crankbaits at the time 🤣🤣🤣 They still caught small mouth. Fishing for catfish with my friends was my second love in my teens. It was a welcome respite from the hardships of adolescence and my friends and I would go out into the woods on the banks of Lake Michie in Durham, North Carolina and we would fish for big catfish in the sticky hot summer sun! We used chicken, liver and cheese flavored hot dogs on spinning rods and we caught us a lot and we ate them too! Caught my first and only chain pickerel doing this and it was a really good one. Never caught a large mouth on chicken liver during this but it turns out the lake is great for largemouth bass! In 2018 and 2019 my wife and son and I started trolling crankbaits on John boats at local lakes for fun to get outside and do something besides sit around at our house and we did that maybe three or four times over the course of those two years and had a lot of fun doing it and maybe caught a few crappie and maybe one bass doing that. Mostly just enjoyed being outdoors. Covid hit and I became self-employed and successful and bass fishing was sitting there. Staring me in the face. Living in Greensboro. I'm surrounded by some of the best quiet and unheard of largemouth bass fisheries on the Eastern seaboard and I have been deeply ensconced with these fisheries since about 2020! I've never fished for anything with the intensity and the passion that I've devoted to the largemouth.

My brother and I stayed at our grandparents farm several summers to help out with chores. We fished two farm ponds almost every evening. My older brother was my teacher, and taught me all the basics of bass fishing. Sometimes a kid from a nearby farm went with us. We almost always used surface baits from our dad's and Grandpa's tackle boxes. My brother was a patient teacher, and I have great memories of those times.

Depending on what part of the country you are in, late fall is the time to throw big spinnerbaits for LMB. I discovered this a few years ago in NY but I’ve seen it play down South as well. It’s still early for it here in TX, but farther North it’s about time. In NY I found that no spinnerbait was too big. I would use 1oz spinnerbaits with 4.5 paddletails on the back for added bulk. If you catch a nice fish on a big spinnerbait this fall, be sure to share. It is a pretty cool bite

I didnt have access to ponds , fished the Mississippi and some back waters a lot. Rode my bike to these places and fished mainly with crappie jigs. Caught white bass and crappie mostly but would get the occasional largemouth, smallmouth or walleye. My rod n reels were horrid , didnt cast very far so did a lot of diddling around rip rap , bridges and whatever brush I could find.

During the 50s & early 60s all we knew about bass fishing was tule dipping, jigger pole fishing, & doodle socking. Traditional bass fishing wasn't until mid 60s.

My Dad and Uncles every summer took vacations together. I was blessed to have over 100 1st cousins and around my age were my 2 brothers and another 5 boys within a year of me. We'd all go out in the boats on some lake in Ontario just before dark and start fishing for walleye, pike and smallies. Was a great part of childhood for me.

I grew up with hunting, not fishing. Around the time I was 17, some friends of mine suggested we try fishing. We went but they lacked patience. Since I am accustomed to sitting in the woods waiting on deer, the initial lack of success did not deter me. Shortly after, I mentioned to a family friend that I was fishing but not having much luck. He invited me to fish at a private lake off one of his kayaks. He taught me the improved clinch knot but most of the time he just handed me a fly rod with a sinking leader and had me troll around the lake backwards with a fly so that I could see the fish strike with the rod held between my legs. I caught a lot of fish doing that. He encouraged me to fish for anything that would bite, but I became passionate about trying to catch bass because I watched many YouTube videos about catching them. I was a gamer prior to fishing and my parents much preferred me fishing, so my Dad bought me a spinning rod and reel I could use for bass. I could go whenever I wanted. Fast forward to COVID and whenever I wanted became an awful lot. Then I joined BR. The winter of 2020, I caught my freak PB bass out of the same private lake I first started fishing on.

I fished with some of my friends in my neighborhood at Eaton's Pond in Braintree. I dug up worms from my parents' garden and as I got older got lures from Kings Department store and BraWey Sports. I forget what rod I had, but I have a Shakespeare Sigma spinning reel on an Ugly stick I've had since JHS/HS (?). As we got older we rode our bikes to Wampatuck State Park and fished Aaron Res., even camping by the shoreline a few times. This was in the late '70s, early '80s. Compared to today, it was very innocent and simple. There was no YT or Tackle Warehouse. The rest of the world didn't matter, we were just out having fun.

I grew up in a very small town in central southern New York state. When I say a small town, I mean REALLY small...population of 950 at that time. My father hated fishing, and never went fishing himself, but he did drive me to some fishing holes and showed me the basics. After a few trips, he said I was on my own, I walked or biked all over the place, fishing the local creeks and a few ponds I could get access to. Fishing became a total passion for me. My life consisted of school, homework, chores and fishing. Every spare moment I had was spent fishing. I would wade 15 miles of creek on the weekends. On weekday during warm weather, I fished from when my chores and homework were done until 9 or 10 pm. My mother used to joke that I would grow webbed feet because I spent so much time in the water. I caught carp, creek chubs, suckers and pickerel....and then I started catching bass. From then on bass were my main target. I remember that for my 9th birthday, my parents got me a left had open faced spinning reel (no such thing as interchangeable handles back then), and that opened up a whole new world for me. I could actually target a cast! After that, I never looked back. I have great memories of those days.

Had a five acre pond in my backyard stacked with stunted bluegill and bullhead in CT. Some neighbors offered to transplant a bunch of bass from another pond. A few seasons later we were catching 3-5lbrs. Neither of my parents knew anything about fishing so for the most part I was self taught. I read Bassmaster, Outdoor Life and In Fisherman religiously and would go out and put almost everything I read into practice. In the summer I would fish every night. Literally every night. I had a dalmatian who insisted on going with me. Had another public lake a mile down the street and we belonged to a private club with a beach and canoes. I used to get up early in the mornings and ride a 10 speed with three rods and a huge tackle box. I had a cinder block with a rope tied through it staged in the woods for an anchor. I used to try to catch a limit by lunchtime and I kept a journal of everything I caught. One of my Dad's business buddies lived in Atlanta and he had Bomber Bass Boat. One year he had me down for a week of fishing on Lake Oconee. He fished some tournaments and taught me quite a bit that week. Honestly I consider that one of the greatest things anyone ever did for me. I was extremely lucky.

St. Croix Premier Casting Rod been looking for a short creek rod and it is now almost impossible to find a pistol grip rod. This St. Croix is 5’6” med/fast, 8-14# line and 1/4-5/8. Looking forward to putting it to use,,,,,,soon.

Another fun morning, first keeper size A rig fish of the season Couple spook fish, 2nd was a quick pic as they were still boiling in the background. 3 more on BFS as things settled down a bit

It’s been very slow past weeks. Today I decided to flip the bleeding bitsy jig down some grass. 3:00PM, no clouds and moderate wind. 3 bass over a pound, jig bites are awesome! Hard thump, set the hook with a hard sweep 😮‍💨 Rod: Daiwa Aird-x 6’6 MF Reel: Daiwa 24 Tatula 100 TW

I was able to buy his 2023 Curado 70’s (3) for $100 apiece and his 2023 Loomis NRX Worm Rod for $300. I call that a nice haul!

I would dig up night crawlers under the dried cow pies on the farm I grew up on. Then I would ride my bike to a neighboring farm pond down the road or either a private lake a few miles away. Used a pistol grip rod and a Zebco 404. Early teenage years I started using a spinning combo and discovered plastic worms and the Texas Rig.

Every year we would start fishing at ice out and quit when hunting season came around. A bit of trout fishing in the spring, but mostly bass. We fished a bunch of local ponds all the time and usually caught a bunch of bass. I fished the local creeks for bass in the summers with ultralight and fly gear. We also fished club tournaments for a couple years when I was 9-11 years old. After we stopped doing that it would still be the same lakes, just not in tournaments.

I’m still enjoying my popcorn on this thread 😎 What next?! Daiwa and Shimano moving all manufacturing to China?!

Pre 16 I rarely bass fished. My stepdad was and still is a walleye guy so they were mostly our target species. Plenty of fond memories of trips to northern Michigan fishing Black lake and eventually migrating to the UP after they bought property on Big Bay de Noc. Once I turned 16 and had a set of wheels the bass game was on. My friend lived on a lake so we’d take their pontoon out and bass fish all the time when we weren’t fishing. We also had access to a small private lake with only one house on it. When not on the big lake we’d be out in a row boat on the private lake losing having a blast. The mosquitoes would rob us of a pint of blood a week but we didn’t care, we were catching bass and being boys.

Started fishing with a few friends that were about the same knowledge as I had about fishing, which was none. We would pack a lunch bag and head out to the local creeks and streams with worms and then our bread from our sandwiches. We mainly had suckers and carp. Then one year when I was around 10 yrs. A friends dad took us to a lake and low and behold I caught a bass. Well after cutting grass and shoveling snow I saved up enough to buy a Zebco set up and the journey was on.

Then you haven't lost the wonder, my friend. Ah, we had the same childhood! I sure smiled when I read this sentence. I pity kids who spend their childhoods inside walls. When I was 15, my dad took my brother and me to a wilderness island at the end of the most northern road in Ontario and left me there for five weeks. When he came for the boat, he brought my bike and I rode home with my brother. That's the way kids should be raised, feral and free.

I got another Chromium. $98!

I'm from MN and I can tell you that a 6 pounder is a very rare fish here, so the one @Jig Rookie posted over 6 is an exceptional fish. Especially from a "neighborhood pond." Don't sell yourself short on such a quality fish.

@crypt but do you remember?

Couldn't resist, $148 on sale, Kistler KLX incoming...

FINALLY DID IT!!! Cracked the 6lb mark, WOOHOOO! Caught this one on a Tiny Klash blank I rattlecanned; Tuesday was a 79-degree high, had to get out there and give it a shot before these storms and cold weather rolled in last night and God gave me a GIFT! She went 21.25" @ 6.26lbs, so pumped. I've wondered whether I'd ever get to see a 6 up close and personal and the dream has come true! Might be my last fish of the season, the water in these ponds is cooling off quickly, but what a fish to end it on!

Striper have been getting a little more active recently, caught a bunch the last 2 days on top water.

Thank the Lord for crappie!!! Cuz I can't catch a muskie on artificials lately to save my butt!!! 😂 I had one follow on the rig Sunday, and that's the only fish I moved on artificials in four trips. 🤦‍♂️ I had a big girl show up to T-Billy's all you can eat crappie buffet today though!!! 46.25" Man it feels good to FINALLY put a big'n in the net. She's my first 40+ since the last week of August. Followed up shortly after by a 38". Back to the grind for the next four days. Unfortunately it looks like warm fairly stable coming, so I suspect the bite will be tough next week too. I'm REALLY looking forward to the rig bite at this point, but it's looking like we may still be a few weeks out.

https://10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel/best-college-for-sports-fans-2024/

It's not even January yet...there's still softwater out there....get out and fish!

Ironically I just bought a Berkeley Magic Swimmer the other day but had never heard of the OG before. I didn't learn it was a soft bait until this thread. Now I want the soft version lol. Little pricey though at $15. I immediately caught fish on it, think I caught 5-6 fish on with a nice 3lb+. Very cool bait, and it's one of those baits that seems to shine best when fish are actively feeding. It's a very aggressive bait on any kind of retrieve except a slow steady retrieve. Jerking the thing produced most of those fish, if not all of them. It kind of blows out when you jerk it but it certainly triggered the fish. ETA: 125 size in the Olive Chrome

That would've been DANGEROUS if true!

Seek professional help man, i will pray for you.

Got out for a few hours today with a buddy from Iowa. South metro. 50F water temp was a nice surprise. Was expecting mid 40s after the rain. Caught em on the jerkbait, jig minnow and jig. Probably 15 fish in the boat including four 4#ers.

Berkley remade the Sebile Magic Swimmers, but sadly only the hard bait version. I know its not the soft one you miss but theres looks exactly alike. This may or may not be helpful to you.

Pre Spawn bass are hunting high protein prey at the depth the primary prey is located. Larger bait fish and crawdads. Mid water column and bottom where crawdads live. Spawn staging bass near spawning areas and bed fish on the bottom. Bluegill Crappie and egg eaters near it on the bottom. Post Spawn same as staging bass with slower moving prey suspended. Summer bass target prey of convenance and scattered top to bottom. Fall bass are on the move hunting bait fish schools mid water column. Winter bass slow down and feed less on prey of opportunity in deeper water. FFS look for bass where they should be seasonally and use lures that bass are feeding and…reflect sonar signals. Kietch type 3.8, 4.8 on Fat on Flashy Swimmer. 4” pintail minnow on Hoover jig Basstrix Live minnow on Live Trix jig Drop shot Slip shot jigs bottom digging crank baits and square bills Tom

The time has come to wrap up the 2024 season. Here are some stats I kept track of, a brief summary, and some photos. I bought a clip for my phone last winter that attaches to the wind shield and started using it for action photos this season. I got better at using it as the season went along. I went fishing 35 times between April 6 and Oct 26, which is a new record for me since I've owned my boat (bought it in 2015). This was mostly due to an early ice out in the spring. By comparison, I went 33 times in 2023 and 31 times in 2022. Most of my outings range in time from 3-5 hours in length. I try to go about 1 or 2 times/week. My son and my dog were also able to go with me a handful of times. In May, I caught a second best PB largemouth. At the time, I didn't think I'd be able to top that this season. On Oct 5, I did, with a new second best PB largemouth. I won two local derbies, one in early August and another in late September. At no point during the entire season would I say that bass fishing was poor; in fact, every outing was at least decent if not much better. Smallmouth fishing was ok this spring but unfortunately mother nature did not cooperate this fall for me to go again. My one failure was muskie fishing. I put in about 40 hours this season and only boated one fish. It was a solid fish, but I generally expect to do better than that. Still, one is better than none. Lastly, its always a bit of a sour time of year when the boat has to be winterized and the season is nearing its end in the north, but finishing the season on a high note makes it less painful. I was able to do that because October was the best month of fishing I've had in years.