IcatchDinks

PB pike! And a snagged "carp" that upon further inspection seems to actually be a redhorse. Which I didn't know was a thing.

Caught a carp, a tiny smallie, and a PB pike today. Pics of the carp and the pike and the full story of my day are posted as a status update on my profile page. If you don't like reading, pics of the pike and carp will be in the "Other Species Latest Pics Thread."

Brother, I'm in the same boat. I just gave up and kept fishing with the stuff that gets bites. Makes me feel like an inferior angler, but at least I'm landing fish.

For some reason I decided to try my luck at the most pressured pond in town and made an impromptu fishing buddy. A twelve year old kid named Hunter was there ahead of me, with a "Sporting Goods store that apparently BR thinks is a swear word but is really just short for Richard's" shopping bag of fishing gear he'd just bought with his birthday money and had no idea how to use. Nobody ever taught the little man about stranger danger, cuz he immediately approached me as I got out of my car and began peppering me with questions about fishing. I spent the better part of an hour showing him how to rig up and fish with the different baits he'd purchased. Gave him some jig heads and EWG hooks because he'd bought plastics but no appropriate hooks. He says he wants to start a fishing YouTube channel, but needs to "find all the good spots first." I was the only one to pull in a fish though. Hooked a tiny guy on one of my homemade cranks. Well, at least I know the little ones think my baits look edible. 😆

Got an hour of fishing in on Tuesday. It was overcast with a sporadic drizzling rain. Caught a nice bluegill and small largie.

Got an hour of fishing in on Tuesday. It was overcast with a sporadic drizzling rain. Caught a nice bluegill and small largie.

Well, you beat me to the top water bite. I'm still waiting for my first blowup. Congrats! It seems both our bass are still hanging shallow. I haven't caught a fish in more than three feet of water yet this year.

Love it! Congrats on a great catch, and thanks for a good read!

I just got around to reading your original post. I was just getting into fishing for the first time since I was a kid throwing crawlers for suckers when this thread was first started. Folks like you, @A-Jay, and honestly several others here, I still idolize as my fishing heros. Many of you are at a level of commitment that I just can't afford in my life at the moment: both finances and life commitments keep me from my fishing dreams. Not to mention the years y'all have spent on the water, learning from experience. I'm but a noob. But I love reading the wisdom of the Lip-Ripping Sages here on BR. Back in 2020, I was definitely in Stage 1. (In fact, I don't think I actually got started until 2021. Sometime thereabouts. COVID lockdowns blurred everything together.) Now I'm pretty much in stages 2 and 3. I wanna catch big bass, but I'm happy with lots of bass. Most days I don't achieve either of those goals. I'm left being content with what I've got. So I go ahead and skip on down to stage 5. I love bringing other people fishing: watching that smile you mentioned makes my day. Mostly it's my little siblings (I have 9 of them) that I bring to the local ponds and help them fish for bass. (Many of them are just as excited about the bluegill and pumpkinseed.) They love it, and the joy of watching a kid pull in a biggun, is honestly greater than if I coulda pulled one in myself. I'm still a bank fisherman. I dream of one day having a kayak. In many ways I'm still on phase 1. I'm at a point where I can identify with many of the phases in one way or another.

Congrats! That's the kind of day we all dream of having.

Pond Largies: all four have been super shallow. Two feet or less. River Smallies: holding to lay downs where the current breaks and slows around the fallen trees. Although I've really struggled to catch smallmouth this spring. Frankly, fishing has just been kinda slow for me. Although, it might just be me. I've heard and seen other people doing better than me on the same bodies of water, so I assume I must be doing something wrong.

@N Florida Mike, well, congrats on the PB. Even if it is just a mudfish. Lol

Spent about four hours total fishing today. I tried to make a couple of my own handmade lures official, but nothing would hit em. I did foul hook a bluegill in the eye and he chose to leave his eye behind rather than get caught. (Yikes!) I threw half my tackle bag at em before I finally switched to a #1 Mepps Agila in hopes one of the bluegill would bite. Instead I hooked a bass. Finally! The Mepps was too small to comfortably use with my medium action pole, so I switched to an actual spinner bait. Managed to catch one more: only my second fish on a spinner bait: Turns out the fish wanted shiny stuff. Both of these bass were sitting super shallow. I told this to two other anglers fishing down the bank from me, and I watched them pull in a bass after adjusting. That felt good. What didn't feel good was losing that spinner bait on a submerged log two casts after that. I also went and spent some time bank fishing the river, but no dice. Those were the only two things I caught today, other than a slight sunburn.

I haven't fished the wilderness for smallmouth, but fly-fishing the wilds of Alaska for grayling is an experience I will never forget.

@Mbirdsley I totally agree. You just gotta fish like normal and try not to think about it. Somehow the fish know. The MA size limit for Pumpkinseed is 9". The limit for hybrids is 10". Mine was 9 3/4". I imagine if I just keep fishing I'll nab a MA worthy fish someday.

@Mbirdsleycongrats on a great haul. Looks like tons of fun. I've been chasing a master angler patch every since I heard about it, and got close with a massive pumpkin seed a while back. They informed me that they believed it to be a hybrid, and I wanted to know if there were actually any purebreds left. 😆 Again, nice job, and an early congrats on the patch. That's super cool.

I figured last fall that I would spend the winter months making baits to try out in the spring. Turns out I hate doing fishy things when I can't go fishing. Now that fishing season is in full swing, I find myself drawn back into lure making again. I spent the evenings yesterday and today clearcoating a couple lures, and starting another one. I'm still pretty new to this whole lure making thing, and I have to work off a card table in my upstairs apartment's living room, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. The unfinished lure pictured has a steel, pivoting back fin, and a steel lip. It actually has some good action when I tried it out on the bathtub. After I get it painted and coated, I'm going to take it to the lake and see what it can do. It was inspired by a couple old lures I saw online.

Omw. This is me to a T. I caught one giant smallie in this one spot two years ago. I've never caught another fish there since. But I always overfish it every time.

I stalk other anglers and cast where they're casting.

On the rare occasion that I'll be fishing all day, breakfast is usually a couple fried eggs and a potato, sliced and fried with plenty of butter and salt. Throw salsa on top of all of it. That's my go to. Quick, simple, and it tastes good. Then I take a banana and an apple for the road. Edit: I see some of you talking about coffee and the horrifying thought occurred to me that some of you heathens might not drink God's Greatest Gift To Man. So, to differentiate myself from those placing themselves under the judgment of all things Holy, I have added what I assumed everyone would take for granted: I drink a large thermos full of strong coffee with a dash of heavy whipping cream. Every. Dang. Day. Like God intended.

Some very nice fish, my friend!

I imagine that Ohio's public ponds fish similar Michigan's. (Go Blue!) I'm right there with you, @bp_fowler

Nice fishes, @A-Jay! I showed my wife and said "And here I was, happy with my 16incher!" Her reply: "Yeah. His name isn't 'Icatchdinks' " 😆 Always love seeing the fish you catch. Some beautiful smallies, for sure.

@ol'crickety it was. She gave a couple good leaps and head shakes on the way in, too. Lots of fun. @gimruis the parents were nowhere to be seen this time around. I usually give them a wide berth. I've never had to actually tangle with a goose, but I imagine their necks make a good handle for flinging them about. That and a few well aimed kicks are my current combat strategy. 😄

I always love a good photo of @Bluebasser86's tie-dye Crocs. I went to the pond this evening. It was low sixties all day and quite windy. I was afraid I wasn't gonna get a bite. Tried using a drop shot rig for a while but wasn't getting any action, so I switched over to the trusty Rebel wee-craw. I caught a lot of slimy weeds. Then a big gust of wind came up just as I went to cast and carried my lure way farther than I had intended, landing it in about a foot of water on the other side of the small pond. The water boiled as a fish struck and missed. I reeled the bait in just a little bit, and she chased it down. Fish on! Lovely, fat old girl, 16 inches long (which is a very respectable size for my small pond) and 1.84 lbs. Then I caught a dink from the same spot just to live up to my username, About a hundred fruitless casts later and I was done. A pair of Canada geese have nested in the same spot at this pond for three years running. This was the first time I've seen the nest without one of them on it. Usually they chase me away with loud hissing and spread wings.