Your Favorite Bass Fishing Memory

[Shoop05]

Hey guys, just wondered what is the most memorable experience you've had while fishing. This usually brings up some cool stories, I am interested in hearing them.

[fishking247]

8+lb largemouth on a yum dinger. I remember this because I hooked the fish from the bank in between two huge downed trees and somehow managed to land the fish on 8lb mono without the fish running me into the trees. I will never forget that fish

[Bankbeater]

I have two.  The first time I took each of my daughters fishing.

[Topwaterspook]

While tuna fishing of N.C. we ended up in the midst of literally thousands of dolphins, as far as the eye could see. I've never seen such a migration. It left an indelible image on me. My sons-in-law still talk about that day. It was incredible!

[flippin and pitchin]

Work with me, I have three:

 

My best friend, who is closer than a brother has a son, Ryan. Ryan has Deshauns, a form of muscular dystrophy. Ryan was 11 and had already been in a wheel chair since he was about 5 years old and had littler use of his arms and hands. Ryan wanted to go bass fishing so we loaded the boat, removed the back pole and set his push chair up with tie downs. The life jacket helped him to sit upright and we strapped him in after the run down the lake.  I helped Ryan to hold the rod and he caught a three pounder on a Senko with his Dad's and my help. If your ever in Medina Ohio and see a handsome young man in a motorized wheelchair wearing a Ranger Boats Hat say Hi !  It's Ryan.

 

I remember my first club trip (fish-in) in 1979. I owned one combo and about four lures total. I caught a keeper about 13 inches and the worm did turn. I was like a little kid all over again. It was special.

 

Three years ago I went with my buddy to a lake I read about for years and he did brag it up. I fished my butt off on the " large mouth" end of the lake. I caught  two decent fish while my buddy picked up 10 or so and two over six pounds. I threw the box at em' and just could not make it happen. I asked Tom to patronize me and spend the last hour before dark near the dam in hopes of catching some smallmouth, regardless of size. We pulled up and I landed 37 smallies in an hour and lost a  really nice largemouth at the boat. Four of my biggest broke 5 pounds and the 5th was 4-14. It was freaking wild. I have to look at the pictures now and then to remind me those kinds of magical moments ( unless your Dwight or A-Jay ) can happen on any trip.

[aqualkinbush]

My favorite bass fishing memory has got to be taking my dad down to this little tiny cove off Percy Priest lake I had found the week before. We came up on this cove tossed our lines in and were immediately hammered on both lines. We caught fish every cast for an hour straight. Turned out we had stumbled across a whole mess of bass in an outright feeding frenzy. between the two of us we caught 50 or 60 2-4lb large mouth on a couple simple rooster tails and cheapo spincaster setups. It had to be the most exciting hour of fishing I've ever had. I've not been that fortunate since but I hope to one day be able to share that experience with my own kid when I eventually have one. That was the last time we were able to go fishing together and probably one of the last times my father and I spent a whole day completely comfortable and happy with each other doing something we both loved before he passed away and I'm very grateful for the experience.

[Goose52]

I've bass fished off and on since around 1959 and have some good memories of catches, both big and small. But I guess the favorite would have to be my PB (the fish in my avatar). Here's the story as told in the Fishing Reports forum last August 28th, 2012:

 

Fishing from the bank on the dam of one of my small (11 acre) neighborhood lakes this evening. It was that "magic time" - about 15 minutes after sunset, moon up, and three nights before full-moon. Cast a lipless crank diagonal to the bank, splashed down in about 10-12 FOW, counted it down about 5 seconds, then started a rip-n-pause retrieve, trying to parallel the dam.

On the second fall - BAM. Probably in less than 8 FOW by then. Drag pulled, fish jumps, HUGE bass, she heads for deep water, pulls more drag, she jumps again, HUGE bass - gills flared on the jump - head shake, dives, pulls drag for last time, makes a run to the right, got her stopped, she runs to the left, got her stopped, then a few seconds later, at the bank, lipped, and it's over.

Quick photo (doesn't do her justice), measure length at 25 3/4", weight on the scale - 9.54.

Back in the water, she swims right into a thick mat of slop and gets stuck. Off with my shoes and socks, into calf-high water, pull her out, had to clean snotgrass out of her mouth and gill slits. Not looking good - she's laboring. Held her upright for a LONG time. Three other anglers come over, one offers to eat her if she doesn't make it. No way, says I - keep holding her upright. She's breathing. Time goes by. Full dark by now - mosquitos out - getting bit. Lift her head out of the water for another quick photo - HUGE mouth and gills. Then, she lets me know that she's ready to go. Point her to deep water. Let her go and touch her tail. FLASH - she's gone.

[Brian6428]

My best memory (so far) is catching my first bass. It was at the end of last summer. I had done so much reading online and so much work trying to catch that first fish. I finally did, on a BPS XPS sexy shad colored square bill. It was a true dink- under a foot long and weighed no more than 3/4 of a lb, but I was so happy and proud of that fish. I showed that picture to anybody who would look until my iPod got stolen, the picture going with it. Oh well, still a great memory.

[CountBassula]

5lbs bass on a $16.99 walmart special rig with my 4-yo son when his hand was broken and in a cast. wanted to make him feel better and took him fishing. you can see this memory in my profile pic. we both had huge smiles on our faces, and seeing him jump up and scream "big bass fish! big bass fish!" just made my day, and that's how i sort of got back into bass fishing too :-)

[Catt]

Jack (fishfordollars) Yates  

[Highhawk1948]

Fishing Father/Son Bass Tournements with my Daughter.

[Amoore9900]

one is when we went to fla and did shiner fishing for the first time 2  years ago it was like a video game.  We got 50 bass in 5 hours avg was about 3 pounds we got 2 6's and a 7 also.

 

Another good memory was last March/June I was "working from home" was windy about 50 our and i took the boat out and was throwing a crankbait at some rocks and boom got the first 10 pounder anyone from our boat here got...the wind was so strong after that I said screw it and went back to the dock.

 

One of the best things is to take someone out and watch them get the biggest bass they have got and how happy they are me and my brother are spoiled have caught tons of 5 pounds and up fish here but to a lot of people in Indiana that is a big fish so to watch them get one and how happy they are is always a great memory.

 

The last one that I still have in my  mind from last year was fishing along a bank that has given up a lot of bass 5-10 pounds it was dusk and I was watching a baby duck swim from the bank out about 5 feet and this bass came out of the water and back in and all that was left was ring where the duck was never came back up...is the biggest bass I have ever seen to this day..might have been a state record fish...

[KYBassin']

The day a probable state record was released. Quarry pond, in south-central WI. A friend hooked a fish, after casting from a cliff 15 feet above the water level. I walked over to him just as the fish surfaced...never seen anything like it. I yelled to my other buddy to get over here, as I looked for a spot to jump down the cliff to get the fish when brought in. After a long fight, and blood arms from sliding down the rock cliff to get the fish, I lipped a bass....literally felt like I was lipping my wrist. So thick. It's eyes were as big as silver dollars....double digit fish in my mind, although no one had a scale. After a few pics, which I haven't seen in 15 years, the fish was returned to the small pond.

[roadwarrior]

Catching a glimpse of my partner hooking up with a 10 lb smallmouth and turning in time

to watch it leap 3' out of the water! After a tremendous bout, my friend Speedy Madewell

boated the fish which I netted and weighed. I told him if he was ever going to skin mount

a fish, this was the one. He would have nothing to do with it, but I would not release the

monster. I walked to the front of the boat and handed off the fish. He gave her a big smooch

and back in the river she went.

 

 

 

[hooah212002]

I was about 12 or 13 and my dad rented a boat for the two of us on Lake Koshkonong. We pulled up to this little cove and started fishing. I started throwing a pop-r and the fish went nuts. No fish of any real size, but the numbers were there. I fished a lot when I was a kid, but never caught many fish, so that day was extra special because it was more fish than I had ever caught in my short life. I don't think I've had a day since that I've caught that many. Well, it was mid-summer and I was wearing some Nike hat backwards and this hat had the swoosh as part of the snap in back. My face got sun burnt and I had to go to school with a Nike swoosh on my forehead.

[gr8outdoorz]

My favorite bass memory would have to be my first bass. It was a 7lb 3oz largemouth caught on a T-rig worm. My best friend had taken me to introduce me to the sport. He was happy for me, yet mad at the same time because his personal best was 5lb 13oz and I smashed it on my first bass.

 

I grew up fly fishing for trout so my favorite fishing memory would have to be when my fiancee & myself were on one of our kayak fly fishing trips. We had been on the water for about 10 hours and ready to pull off & camp for the night when I spotted a monster brown trout about 20 ft from my kayak. We quietly floated about 100 yards past it then shored the kayaks. I QUIETLY made my way back to where I saw her & started casting.  20 cast's & 4 flies later I landed my PB Brown trout. She was 33" long and weighed 14lb 7oz. 

[loudcherokee]

Mine has to be my first largemouth, caught on my uncles private pond about 7 or 8 years ago. I never weighed or measured her, but guestimated she weighed around 5-6 pounds. caught her on a silver rebel pop-r, that i still have. The first time she taildanced across the water i almost peed myself. She's still my PB bass, all these years later.

LC

[Revival]

Mine was also the first bass i ever caught when i was a kid.  I didnt even know what a bass looked like at the time.  I was fishing with my cousin and he was using a power worm.  He let me use his Hula Popper because he didnt want me to get snagged.  I was popping along for couple hours in open water.  It was to the point where i was popping and observing everything around me except my lure.  Then while reeling in the Hula Popper, while it was about 5 feet in front of me......BOOOOOOM!!!  Fish on.  I yelled to my cousin "Hey i got something!!!"  He was about 20 yds away and came running.  I got a hold of the bass by the mouth/gills and pulled it up and said "is this a good sized one?"......it was 3-4lbs.  Now, anytime someone fishes with me for the first time, i always give them a hula popper first.

[whitwolf]

The first time my son caught a bass. It was on an old style rouge. That same day be hooked a bowfin and about crapped his pants during the fight. He got it close and we clearly saw It was a big fish but a second later the line broke.

[Oregon Native]

Probably fifty plus years ago was fishing Siltcos lake in Oregon with my dad and I cast a live salamander in the tules. It was hanging about a foot out of the water wiggling when about a two and a half pound bass jumped out of water and grabbed it. (I was hooked then too)

My dad used to have an expression.....It's just good to be out here. Think he said this as we sometimes didn't catch much. I always thought this was a good expression for golfers not fishermen. I like to catch fish.

(saved best for last)

Now I get to fish with grandkids......everyday awesome.

[Olebiker]

Years ago my father and I were on Taylorsville Lake in Kentucky.  It was shortly after dawn and we had already caught a few fish on a flat just below a hillside.  There was a light mist coming off the water and a beagle hound was running a rabbit on the hill above us. 

 

Dad turned around and grinned at me and said, "I wonder what Jesus is doing with the boys He doesn't love this morning."  The theology may have been a little questionable but I knew exactly how he felt.