paul.

7-6. released quickly after pic. this was one of the weirdest bed fish i've ever caught. normally you see 'em gradually move up the aggression scale as you work 'em. in other words on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being totally uninterested and 10 being red hot, this fish started out at about a 3 and stayed that way for about an hour. there were NONE of the telltale signs that this fish was getting worked up. she never turned on the bait. never went nose down on it. you couldn't see any agitation in her fin and tail movements. she just stared at for what seemed like forever. then finally, out of the blue, she just casually swam up to the bait and sucked it in. i can honestly say i have never seen that before. also, this fish was a pleasant surprise. i have fished the same ponds and small lakes for quite a while now so a lot of the fish i catch are old friends. repeat customers so to speak. i can usually recognize at least a few of them. however, i think this was a totally "new" fish and i'm not sure if i've ever caught this one before. i'd say she's got some potential to be a contender one day. hope y'all are catchin' some too.

welcome to the club dan. what a great story with a VERY happy ending. it's an awesome feeling isn't it? i'm so happy for ya man. but i have to disagree with part of what ya said - that part about being "lucky enough to catch her". after reading about all the time, energy, effort, thought, preparation, etc. you put into the chase, it doesn't sound like luck had much to do with it. you fished specifically for a fish like that and you caught it. a HUGE congrats on a HUGE fish. well deserved bud. but i warn you, catching a double does not quench the fire. sometimes it's like pouring gasoline on it. ;D you might not sleep very well tonight. savor this moment bro. as you've found out, it's something really special. as far as fishing goes, it don't get much better than this. congrats again, and best wishes to all of y'all that are "in the hunt" for a fish like this. dan's story goes to show that with patience and perseverance, bassin' dreams do come true.

congrats to you big time gavin! that rocks buddy. with chris for a dad, the sky's the limit for you little man.

wow! that's great man. i always wanted to catch a muskie or a pike.

big congrats man. nothing like a new pb. i know you're tore up right now.

very nice! congrats on the pb.

congrats chris. i think you've set a record for most smilies in one post. seriously, this was a very good post. i believe this as well. me and a friend were talking about this just the other day. i tend to think that barring something unusual, a lot of big bass return to the same area to spawn year after year. maybe not the same exact spot, but the same general area. i also tend to think that once you find a big fish on a bed, she might not be too awfully far away for the rest of the year either - especially if the spawning area is close to deep water.

nothin' like time with the young 'uns. great day with a great dad.

spool on some good braid. lock down the drag. keep a good pair of pliers handy. you'll need 'em.

man that's a whopper chris! this is gonna be a great year for ya bud. i can feel it. keep rackin' 'em up man.

that's an good 'un there for sure. sounds like a phenomenal place to fish. nice job dude.

what a great catch! way to go man. a big congrats to ya. somehow i pictured you being a little bit older though. could it be your bb name? ;D

way to catch 'em man. very nice.

way to go mr. and mrs. M. y'all didn't waste any time gettin' out and fishin' did ya? cool catches y'all. sorry you lost those 2 at the bank. right now > would probably be if you woulda been throwin' braid. just kiddin'. way to go y'all.

honestly the fishing hasn't been as good as it was earlier in the week, when it was just off the chain. but they can still be had. if you have a chance to hit up a pond or 2 this afternoon, i'd definitely do it. i am a big believer in fishing around the full and dark moons. i think there will probably be a major bite later this month around the dark moon too. good luck with the pond hopping, pre-fishing, and next week in your tourney.

very nice. congratulations big time.

here's a couple of lucky contestants on today's game of "deal or no deal, bass edition". (they chose deal.) these 2 ladies were just a few of the contestants to play this week. snapped these release pix before they returned home. didn't weigh 'em, but contestant 1 was probably over 7 and contestant 2 was probably over 6. as fat as they were from feeding up on this full moon, perhaps they were in the wrong studio. they should have probably been auditioning for "the biggest loser". with regards to my tattered digit, there's good news and bad news. the bad news is this will take a day or 2 to heal. the good news is that my other thumb looks just as bad. to say it's been a good week of fishing would be about like saying that getting struck by lightning is "a little under the weather." ;D i can see from looking at the board that several of the rest of y'all took advantage of this full moon too. seems it doesn't really matter what the weather is doing, as long as that big ol' full moon is hangin' in the sky, they're munchin'! hope y'all are catchin' some too.

look dude, i'm not asking ya to stop catching fish or posting them. but could you please do something to make them look smaller? :-/ you're ruining this section for the rest of us. seriously, awesome catch as always bro.

awesome fish and awesome story!!! she sure made you work for her didn't she? ;D i'm sure it was a price you were more than willing to pay for a beauty like that though. congrats big time.

what did hudson say in that one part? something about a dog? couldn't quite make that part out. ;D

the '09 lunker onslaught begins!!! nice vid guys. good fish from hudson and good color commentary from trey. only question is where is rob?

i have been pretty good at visiting your site and learning from all the cool stuff there. thanks chris. i am also good at making sure my daughter catches more than me when we fish together.

sorry about your troubles. hope everything works out. i think live bait is a great idea.

those are some good lookin' spots. good job man.

i choose tennessee. ;D if you don't want to start a full blown guide service, have you ever thought about just writing a book instead? perhaps another idea would be an online class where people could send you graph screen shots or map images and you could help them interpret what they are seeing and how to fish it. that way, your knowledge and expertise is out there for anyone and everyone to benefit from.