mamdlwk

I hope she survives with my hook in her mouth! Totally agreed though, and she shouldn't be the only one of her size in the pond.

Fiancé and I went out with the kayaks this Saturday to fish and mark one year 'til the big day. Coincidentally, this was probably the last day we'll be able to fish due to travel and impending snow. We got to the lake--whitecaps, too windy. Drove past two more nearby lakes--whitecaps again, whitecaps again. Drove thirty minutes back towards home to hit a smaller, local pond. Nothing too big there, I thought, but it'll be a fun chance to try out my fish finder for the first time. We paddle into the wind to get to one end of the pond and drift back. I'm drifting, drop shotting, enjoying the day. Pull up a few sunfish, get some nibbles, feeling like I'm getting closer to the right zone. I toss it out a few yards into a shade line maybe ten feet from shore. Almost immediately, THUMP. She takes off--I'm using my lightest tackle--twirls around, drives towards the bottom, then seems to fight less as I bring her up. As I start to see the fish, I think, is that actually a bass? It looks too long, loo large, clearly bigger than anything I've ever brought to the boat. As she gets to the top of the water, there I see the largest bass of my life. Oddly, the last few feet of her journey were very calm. Unreal to see such a beast come out of this small pond. Well, the calm was in fact before the storm. Right as she hits the surface, BOOM! She twists, pulls down, and snaps me off. Had I pulled too hard on my light tackle while trying to land her? Should I have gotten the net? Yes and yes. I've never landed a fish that big. I learned something. Still, it was worth it to see the opalescent gill plate flare and open, the bright red flash, the deep green and the speed of her retreat. I hope I can land my PB some day, I hope next season is a good one, and I hope the fish survives to meet me again. Broke my heart. Thank God the Bills won.

People often talk about finding baitfish and "matching the hatch" as it were, but I haven't really found great breakdowns that go into detail beyond lure color and general location. For example, I often see baitfish playing over the tops of weeds and on the inside of weedlines. Should I be trying to cast into and through the schools of baitfish? Should I be matching their pattern exactly, or do bass mostly strike outliers? Why doe I catch more bass on the deeper side of the weed line? In one particular lake in the Adirondacks, the saying is that plentiful baitfish means well-fed bass. Well-fed bass only eat really juicy targets. Ned rigs, both falling and ripped through the grass, were great for me there.

From what depth? Do you mean bleeding their swim bladder?

It really sounds like you should try a different pond. Bass definitely don't lose their appetite in the weeds; they hide in the weeds to ambush their prey. Always good to fish the weeds.

I think it involves a yellow brick road and some guy behind a curtain.

A lot of people do a lot of dumb things in front of people who know better. It's tragic when people do dumb things outdoors, especially in the USA, because our public lands are so special and so unique to our history and identity. Lipping fish wrong is one thing. Not everyone has someone to teach them, to fish with them in person, etc. It takes time to learn. Like everyone said, I'd like to never find an empty soft plastic bag or styrofoam worm cup again. It's a good idea to keep a stash of small trash bags with you when you're out there. Any argument about tournament fishing, I would think, is overshadowed by the money and attention that tournaments and the sport fishing industry bring to conservation. Is that true?

Really makes me wonder how bass "see" fishing. I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't adapted to seeing bass pulled to the surface (maybe it looks like charging/hunting). A released bass, though, might show behaviors that they do really recognize and respond to, like stress, fleeing, injury, etc.

I really love sitting down the night before, checking my leaders, and tying on some old faithfuls. I put away any stray plastics, organize everything, and re-set for the day.

Very pretty, though. Happy to trade some action for more solitude.

One of my favorite memories fishing is seeing two or three 4lb bass rush up after the one that I was pulling up through the weeds. They turned and dashed down after flashing near the surface. Definitely tracks with what I've heard. I'm wondering if there's any good information on how different sized schools of bass relate to each other. Just got a fish finder; looking forward to finding and fishing more offshore.

Mostly shallow, small structure. This past weekend was in very clear water along weedlines. How does it vary in those conditions? I would guess that deeper, larger structure means you can hang around longer?

After you catch one in a spot, how long do you stay there? If you catch a small bass, are there likely to be larger bass around? When you yank a bass out of the water, does it spook the other fish nearby?

Checked out Canadice this weekend, the smallest of New York's Finger Lakes. Kudos to @J Francho, @ww2farmer, and @Subaqua Adinterim for their advice posts on related lakes; there's not much info out there so any snippets are appreciated. This was my first time fishing Canadice and my third time fishing from my new kayak, second year fishing, learning as I go. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Air temp was in the high 70s if I remember correctly. Sunny skies, very clear water, water temps low 60s. Fishing from a kayak with my fiancé/pro fish photographer trailing behind. Canadice is long and very clear, quickly transitioning from 80 feet to shallows filled with hydrilla and milfoil. There's no development along the shores as this was once a water supply. Visible structure consists of scattered laydowns and overhangs. Arrived at the shale beach launch late, got on the water around 1pm. Fished until 7:30pm. Paddled to the south end of the lake, into the wind, stopping only once to test out some equipment and see how it moved through the vegetation. Visibility was maybe 15 feet, so it was a great opportunity to see exactly what the lures were doing. Not sure how helpful that is really, as I'm a person and not a bass. They looked cool, though. Started with a light ned rig, 1/4oz Texas, whopper plopper 110, and a keitech underpin tied on. After playing with the underspin, switched to a chatter bait that got hung up quite a bit less. In hindsight, a spinnerbait might have been better. Drifted back from the south end, stopping and anchoring to fish weedlines at various points and small coves. Hitting the edge of emergent plants was the most productive for me. My go-to is a Geecrack Baobab Hog EX. Surprised I don't hear about it more often. Great durability, action, and scent. Cast into the weedline, reel very slowly while shaking the rod lightly and popping/pausing based on any cover I feel. Caught two small bass on the Texas rig. Didn't use the ned, no hits on the chatter bait. One swipe at the whopper plopper as it came over the weeds. One bass pinned himself so hard that I thought I'd snagged. Came up with some scars but swam off after a quick breather. I'd like to do better, but, to be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm looking forward to improving my positioning/casting, rigging up my fish finder, and learning to really figure out where the fish are. Also looking to build more confidence throwing right into cover/working with hardbaits and moving baits. Might head over to Honeoye or some of the bays off of Lake Ontario to get some numbers before the season really cools down.

Any recommendations for your favorite lakes? Best of luck with the injuries. I hate being laid up!

Tree stakes--excellent idea. Already ordered a 12' stakeout pole and an anchor trolley.

SS127. I learned from mountain bikes to buy something that has great resale value and enjoy is as much as you can. Great so far, though the fiancé and I have taken to calling it the "Fish Assault Platform". I definitely try to take advantage of the motion of the ocean, though I have a stakeout pole coming so I can slow down and have a bit more control. Less paddling, more casts, less frustration while I figure out how to pick things apart.

My name's Mike and I started fishing two years ago thanks to a loaner boat and rod from a cabin rented in the ADKs. It was the worst financial decision of my life. Always wanted to catch bass when I was a kid, so now I'm teaching myself. Recently bought a kayak; someone it seems that being in a boat has made me forget everything about fishing. Leave me any tips you have for finding fish or positioning the boat!

Way east in Rochester. Struggling to find bass at the moment but looking forward to the salmon run.

I live in the same area--roughly--and cannot for the life of me catch smallies in the canal. Color and rigging recommendations for the flukes?