thediscochef

Stripers, Wipers, and Sandies, oh my! My love affair with lake whitney dam continues. I went down with one of my best buds on Thursday, we caught 8 stripers, 8 wipers, and three sandies total in the 45 minutes we had before the school moved into open water. A derby of sorts. Didn't matter what you threw, it was getting bit. I live for this right now. I've been trying to teach him to catch fish, he's been discouraged because conditions have been rough and it's been skunky at the local reservoirs. So I was determined to get him into a fish fight one way or another, this was the sure fire thing. We didn't catch much else after the sun came over the dam, just the one bright photo you see here. And it was 5 hours round trip of driving - but worth the time just to see the water boil with schooling bass. A golden hour indeed ??

this?

I have a theory about this, it's one of those things that I'm thinking about when I stare off into space while casting - the larger bass often use the suction displacement of opening their mouths to get faster prey in more reliably, right? So it would make sense that you would only feel the end of the inhale, whereas on a smaller fish maybe you feel the bait hitting jaws before it's fully eaten. Or maybe the smaller fish just doesn't have the power to simply eat the bait (or food that size) without using more of the swimming abilities. i think i need to go outside

See the pond I was at only liked tiny flash and crash...you get over a 2/0 hook and it'll never have anything on it. Lipless crank? forget about it. The only lure I've ever actually seen work there is the chatterbait micro now that I think about it. everyone else is either using larger lures or actual baits

naw they just forgot how to eat

We aren't so different, you and I. Lol. I started really catching bass last summer at a city pond that gets trout stocked in the winter, cats in the summer. So many people out there fishing, all of them using big creatures or swimbaits or crankbaits. Visibility in most spots is maaaaybe a foot. I started posting here and also fishing Lake Ray Roberts with seriousness about the time they started stocking trout and I was getting bored with constant 1-2lb bass. The only thing I DO miss was fishing with an audience lol for that muddy water I go "flash and crash", for pressured muddy water I go "tiny flash and crash". DFW public waters are heavily pressured, so it's usually the latter. I'd suggest a chatterbait micro or a chatterbait minimax 1/4oz. Almost always catches me something if there's something to be had. I usually go white and chartreuse but I've done well with black too.

Thanks! you as well. I see we both recently had "...is that PB?" moments

Got a dummy thicc 4.25 tonight. Probably the luckiest catch of my life, it came unhooked as I had it by the bank. She sat between two rocks in front of me, facing me, and I was able to gently put my net behind her and land her. Strike King RES keeps pulling solid fish. All my 4+lbs been on a 1/2oz RES for the last two months. Broke the 5lb average streak tonight but I'm still happy to catch a hard fighter like this. Took drag to a point I thought it might be a PB. Three other dinks, two LMB and one spot. It was only 100 degrees out today, felt great to get some relief from the 105+ Edited to add photo lol

Been real slow lately but I've also been fishing way less than normal. Just haven't had the motivation, life happened pretty hard in the last month. Despite this, I have been managing some good size fish when something does happen to bite. It's weird, I haven't caught much below or above five pounds in that spot, and I get them about every third trip out there. There's a tournament that releases bags there every Tuesday and that seems to be a better luck day. I wonder why. Lmao. Lol. Water temps are in the mid 80s right now and it's just slow unless you can get into deeper water (hard to do on foot). Even downsizing to match the small shads isn't really doing much for me. Eagerly awaiting December when water is back in the 60s and 70s. Got this lil 5.2 chunk last week

Having another dry spell, though I haven't been trying very hard. I've had a whole bunch of personal stuff happen and it's affected my fishing, both in frequency and in quality. Also it's been over 100 outside for 7 straight days which is surely not helping the shorebound angler. Despite this, here's a crappie I gave to a guy on the pier one night last week. I'm freshly single so I will have more water time when things cool off just a touch ?‍♂️?‍♂️

Went pondhopping yesterday with a buddy and then to the Elm Fork of the Trinity below Ray Roberts. Two 1.5lb ish bass early on the banks of a lesser fished city pond, my biggest two at that pond of the 6 or 7 times I've fished it. Pictures below are those two. After that there was a dink, then nothing till the river. Got a bluegill, a small drum, and a decent longnose gar all on the chatterbait micro. Not a day to write home about but any day catching is a good day. Got skunked tonight at the state park but sometimes that happens. I at least got to go.

It's been really slow lately - I spent 9 hours at Possum Kingdom yesterday and got skunked. Today I tied my best bass of the year with a 5.8 at Ray Roberts. I also caught maybe the smallest fish of the year. I would have stayed later but I like to end on a high note.

probably thinks he needs a raise LOL

Nice longnose! They're a ton of fun when they actually stay hooked, which is tough given how frickin boney and leathery the snout can be. They put on a show, too

It's been a really tough week, one of my oldest and closest friends passed away suddenly on Wednesday. So I fish, like I always do. Managed a 5.2, 3.5, a couple 1-2, and a couple tiny 6-8" fish including a smallmouth. Hands are all bit and cut up from hooks and bass lips. That 3.5 was maybe the angriest bass I can remember catching in a while. The 5.2 was extremely well behaved by contrast.

Night bassin is the thing right now, which is fine with me considering it's been over 100 degrees for a few days. Not a whole lot biting, but I have had a few quality fish in the last week. 4.1lbs tonight. Yee haw.

I night fish at a state park boat ramp, it's well lit but not enough to ruin my night vision. Just enough to where I can re-tie and see what I'm doing after about 30 minutes. My two best bass at that lake have been after 10PM, but it's not always guaranteed. I fish there enough that I know where the problem areas are, and can effectively avoid them at night. So to answer your question, it's best if you find a place where you can get comfortable and not be concerned about not seeing anything.

H2OXpress Ultimate Jerk Shad Strike King Red Eye Shad Chatterbait Minimax 1/4oz Zoom The Fluke Zoom Baby Brush Hog Zman finesse shadz Moon Eyes; 1/32oz, 1/8oz T-Rig/C-Rig tackle 1/4-1/2oz Culprit 7" Fat Max BPS tender tube system, 1/16oz I can catch something most of the time with one of those ten nice thread

I much prefer the clear lakes, my catch rates have generally been higher there though my bigger fish have been at 4-6'. My favorite lakes here are on the Brazos, and tend to be 10+ feet in most places. I find that more things can be effective since they're more visible. Makes it harder to fine tune what works sometimes, but when you do it's tremendous.

Jealous of you clear water guys. I'm happy to get 6 feet from the bank at Ray roberts

Ranger Toyota or Ford Garmin I need boat + truck + livescope more than I'd ever need rod/reel/bait stuff, that's all cheap. but since that was the prompt, H2OXpress rods Lew's reels Strike king baits I use more H2Oxpress baits than anything, but I spend the most on Red Eye Shads cause I'm losing them regularly. Plus strike king has so many different things going on; hard plastics, soft plastics, line, jigheads, pick a thing really.

I'm still barely a year and some change into this, but I think 'normal' is kind of a moving target. I'd say that I have four or so bait styles that I have the utmost confidence in (lipless, 110 JB, CB skirted and unskirted), but I throw each of them in many different colors depending on the time of day, time of year, location, and water clarity. @Trox knows, he's seen the jerkbait box lol

Went night fishing with a red eye shad. Got a 5.5 and a 3.1. By weight this suddenly becomes one of my best days all year and my second biggest bass of 2022. I got pooped on by a tiny spotted bass, and I'd almost lost the clippers that belonged to my dad, searched through the rock pile to find em. Then a guy came and casted me down after I caught the 3.1. Not even 5 minutes after he left, 5.5 crushes the RES literally right where he was standing. I like to leave on a high note. What a night. I'm very happy.

First fish over 3lbs in weeks. She had a short tail that was bleeding pretty good, have to wonder what happened there. Inhaled my chatterbait hard, no chance she was coming loose. For being injured she sure was fat. Only one I got today in about 5 hours of throwing all over the lake. It's a heat index of 104 right now and I'm in my car cooling off, the rockpile was getting to be a bit much. Been a rough few weeks, this always brings a smile to my face.

I've hit a pretty strong drought here and life is getting me pretty good. Hence my absence. This is the most notable fish I've hooked in weeks, simply for the ridiculousness of this image. I've had a handful of little 10-14" bass, but I've been either unable to find anything bigger or I'm just not moving things the right way. Having a tough time figuring it out. There's also been at least two tournaments on ray roberts in the last week, which is probably not helping. I'd go somewhere else - but I haven't worked in a while and gas is ridiculous. Looking forward to better days