IcatchDinks

That's some insane fishing! Absolutely wild.

That's what we always call em too. (I'm a couple hours north of @Jmurphy87) Pike will really eat anything, won't they?

Got up at six and was out wading the Chippewa by 6:45 this morning. Only managed two hookups in two hours. I was fishing a new stretch of the river this morning and was hoping for some better results. It looks like a place fish would like and it's very fishable. But what do I know: I'm not a fish. Lost my loon colored whopper plopper by accidentally casting over a branch I didn't realize was there and then getting it snagged trying to get it off. Saw lots of wildlife: birds, chipmunks, squirrels, turtles, and many many deer. Got to watch a mother doe and her fawn walk past me, not 20 feet from my location. But they moved on before I could get a good picture. The first fish was tiny, but at least he was a pretty color as an apology for his dink status: The second one came from the same spot and hit my Mepps #3 as I retrieved it past a partly submerged branch. The current just past that branch was quite strong, and once he got out into the current, I thought I had a monster. He fought hard for a long time and I was happy to play him for a bit. Maybe 14 or 15 inches long. I didn't measure him, but it's my largest smallie of the year so far. A better picture displaying his prettiness: Slow fishing, but a pleasant morning none the less.

Nope. Not clicking that link.

@Texas Flood I definitely agree with you about the pontooners. (No offense intended to anyone here who uses a pontoon. I don't want to fight. 😆)

This is so wonderful, @A-Jay! I'm so so happy for both of you. Thanks for sharing. Outstanding!

Spent an hour at the pond this morning from 6:45-7:45. Caught one little guy my third or fourth cast and zero action for the rest of that time. The good news is these bass seem to be healthier than they were last year, although we'll see how that goes as the year progresses. As I've mentioned before, this pond sees a ton of pressure.

Thanks, Mods! Y'all currate an incredible place for us all to bond over this super cool sport. BR is the best Internet forum thanks to you guys.

Me, reading this convo about weightless worms and how to fish them:

If those two tricks keep working, I say keep using them. That bass is stupid fat! What a chunk! And I feel the same nervousness about the big ones. I only got one pic of that nice pike I caught the other day because I wanted to make sure I got him back in the water ASAP. I didn't realize I'd only snapped one photo until I was going through photos of the trip later that day.

You are a great angler, @ol'crickety. We bow before the presence of greatness.

This thread is named "victim support thread" but I think we're all just enabling and encouraging each other's addiction. I approve. You all make some mighty fine purchases.

@Pat Brown I had the same feeling! I got up about an hour later than you did, but going to bed early and getting up early is a new routine I'm trying to adapt to. Gives me time to fish in the morning before work and let's me spend my evenings with my family. Today was the first day trying it. Only got one good fish, but getting up early has given a pep to my step as I walk into work instead dragging myself in like I used to. Very nice fish!

Indeed. I'm always impressed that this tiny, mucky, scummy pond I fish can produce such solid fish. It was zero substantial cover aside from a few weeds and scum matts. And yet every year I pull out several bass over 16 inches. I watched another angler pull out a 22 incher! My largest is 18. Next time I'm out I'll try to get a picture of the pond to illustrate how small it is. The entire pond will fit in the picture. It gets crazy pressure, and yet in three years of fishing, the fish I've been catching just keep getting bigger.

@Zcoker when I first got into fishing a few years ago, I thought the tournament scene looked pretty cool. And then the more I looked into it, the more distasteful I found it. Competition fishing is something I want no part of. I don't go out on the water to compete with others. I go out to enjoy nature, enjoy the fish, hone my skills, find some peace, and commune with God in a very real way. I don't judge those who do competition angling. It's just not my thing. FFS anglers will definitely out fish me. Good on em. Hope they have fun. But as per the original post starting this thread, I'm here just for fishing. It's a completely different philosophy, and I just don't mesh with the electronics and gizmos.

Spent about 40 minutes before work this morning fishing a local pond. Got to watch an osprey hunting fish after he decided tangling with Mother and Father Goose over their goslings would be too much hassle. He nabbed a small bass before I got mine, but I eventually did catch a very nice 16 incher just before I had to leave.

Bank angler/river wader here: I wouldn't know what to do with a fish finder or electronic gizmo thingy if I had the manual for it. I just walk the shoreline and/or riverbed casting into spots that look fishy, bouncing lures off the bottom to find the depth, and returning to the spots that produce. On the rare occasion that I have a boat, I do the same from the water. I just look for cover, drop offs, current changes, weed beds, etc to ascertain where I think the fish are.

The final boss of pleasure boaters.

Is this where we show off our big shore caught bass? This is my biggest: a very skinny 18 inches long. I appreciate the love given to us bank anglers, @ol'crickety I think often I look at those who have boats with envy, but I've got a lot to grateful for, and part of that is not having to worry about storage, transportation, launching, and care of a boat. I can just walk up to the water and start fishing. By land or by sea (or lake, river, or stream) it seems we all find a way to land fish. And some of you guys manage to land some giants.

After further investigation, I think it is a River (or redfin) redhorse. Well, this guy was in rough shape. He didn't fight at all when I snagged him and when he swam away, he swam about five feet and lay down on his side on the bottom. Swam a few more feet and lay down again. And then I lost sight of him. Talk about bigger predators, I hooked the pike not four feet from where I last saw the redhorse.

I must do further research. Thanks for pointing this out, guys.

It was well over 11. Closer to twenty inches.

Not far at all. 30-40 min. I've fished it before, but most of my fishing trips happen before or after work for a couple hours. There are lots of great spots that I can access, but between the wife and kid and work, I just don't have the time. I'm sure as I get older and more established I'll have time for bigger, better trips.

I live in Michigan, and we have some great waters for fishing. Unfortunately, I don't live by them. I fish retention ponds, the parts of the Chippewa I can reach on foot, and a couple "farm" ponds. Pressure is massive. And several people I know of harvest the big bass they catch. All the ponds are muck on the bottom, scum on the top, and minimal cover. In the river you've got to deal with drunken caravans of tubers, and shopping carts and electric scooters said drunk college students dump in the river. But none of that really bothers me. Most of that is just the challenges of fishing my area. It's part of the game. The bad part is all the trash and litter people, especially my fellow anglers, leave in the water and on the banks. Old plastics, packaging, bird nests of string, and on and on. I try to pick up most of the stuff I see.

I measured him off camera. 30.5". Good eye.