Latest Catch Pics Thread

[Swamp Girl]

Quote

Took a few days off because of the darn shoulder and going ape with a 7'9 rod and big swimbaits

^This is why I decided against a swimbait.^

 

The dead bass would bug me too. In Maine, it would have fed an eagle. I was fishing a river mouth in Canada and I hooked a little smallie. There was an eagle there watching. It was there every morning. For some reason, the smallie was hurt. I didn't hook it badly or keep it out of the water for long, but when I released it, it was on its side, flopping. Five minutes later, it was in that eagle. 

[Blue Raider Bob]

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

^This is why I decided against a swimbait.^

 

The dead bass would bug me too. In Maine, it would have fed an eagle. I was fishing a river mouth in Canada and I hooked a little smallie. There was an eagle there watching. It was there every morning. For some reason, the smallie was hurt. I didn't hook it badly or keep it out of the water for long, but when I released it, it was on its side, flopping. Five minutes later, it was in that eagle. 

I have an eagle story as well.

On the river a few weeks back and this Osprey pinned this big fish against the rip rap in a slight cove area very close to me. The Osprey finally got a good hold of the fish and fought hard to get airborne. Just as it was laboring in flight just above me, an Eagle attacks it and forces it to drop it's prize! The big fish hits the water and right away the Eagle pounces on it. The fish was so big the Eagle struggled for a moment to lift and fly. The Osprey went back to it's perch on a dead snag and cried for 10 minutes. I'm still mad at that Eagle!

Big durn lazy critter!

11 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Well, did you conduct a thorough autopsy? 
 

nice catches 

Autopsies are reserved for humans. Necropsies are used for animals. We live on a farm and raise livestock. Necropsies are done to determine livestock loss.......just sayin'....lol

[TnRiver46]

7 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

I have an eagle story as well.

On the river a few weeks back and this Osprey pinned this big fish against the rip rap in a slight cove area very close to me. The Osprey finally got a good hold of the fish and fought hard to get airborne. Just as it was laboring in flight just above me, an Eagle attacks it and forces it to drop it's prize! The big fish hits the water and right away the Eagle pounces on it. The fish was so big the Eagle struggled for a moment to lift and fly. The Osprey went back to it's perch on a dead snag and cried for 10 minutes. I'm still mad at that Eagle!

Big durn lazy critter!

Autopsies are reserved for humans. Necropsies are used for animals. We live on a farm and raise livestock. Necropsies are done to determine livestock loss.......just sayin'....lol

I was gonna say that but I couldn’t spell it……..

 

it always makes me laugh when I have to extract some nasty dead creature out of a customers wall and they ask me why it died. I usually say something like “you’re welcome to sort through that puddle of mess and see what you can determine “

[PhishLI]

When I texted my buddy last week and told him the trout had been stocked he replied with his traditional answer "The party's over". For the first two weeks after stocking the trout tend to stay grouped up in one area. Usually on a shallower north end. Bait gets chased out and scattered, and the bass have easier pickings. My friend has been skunked for at least 3 weeks after each stocking at this particular lake over the past 6 years. I've had better luck, but not great at all. 

 

I got there just as the rain began at 10:30. Things weren't going well for the first 2+ hours throwing several trout imitators. Couldn't find any bait tight to shore, and the trout occasionally breached the surface on the north end. I heard my first big killshot at around 1 am. Sounded like a big pickerel ate something. Chucked a BBZ-1 floater near the kill zone and got a solid 3 lber to t-bone it. Couldn't fit my gripper in to grab it, so I bit down and lipped it. Total PIA to get the hooks out, and in the end it did the crazy shake, flopped onto the ground, then flapped back into the drink. One more taker on the BBZ1 that shook off in the pads, and no more takers on that bait.

 

20 minutes later the north end lit up with killshots. A wave of bass rolled in to slam trout. It was nuts. Crazy tail slaps and trout flying out of the water from one shore to the other. It was like a switch had been turned on. Tried the trout baits, but no bueno. I went back to my trusty Livingston wake and got 2 more to eat, but by then it was 2:30 am, I'd beaten the skunk, and I was soaked through enough for one night. No bigs, but I got some tugs.

 

[Bluebasser86]

My before work trip this morning produced one on the glide. Not a monster but it was a very vicious strike right near the shore that I got to watch so that was cool.

[BigAngus752]

Here's something a little different for this thread.  I pulled this lure out of the package this morning.  Then I caught 16 LM and 9 stripers.  This Super Spot had a rough day at work.  

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Proverbial coach still has me on a pitch count, but the lake is fully turning over, crazy the stuff that comes floating up.    Water still is ponging in between 64-67 degrees, and we got 80 degree days coming this week.    Big fish especially have been super sketchy, been several weeks now without a 5lb+ fish.

 

Caught 4 Species today......Bluegill, Crappie, Spotted Bass, and LGM Bass.     Most notable fish was another pig Crappie.    Just a little over a pound caught on my Steez BFS setup.   

 

I caught the Bluegills on live worms.   Wanted to see size, coloring, and overall health/population in the lake.   Sampled half a dozen locations, and just like I remember as a kid.....non stop catching, baiting the hook and washing your hands of the dirt is the hardest part lol.      This lake has a ridiculous forage base.    On one hand everything that swims in this lake gets massive, on the other hand these fish have so much forage that I think it makes them harder to catch.     

 

The most beautiful species of the 4 imo, the Alabama Bass.

 

Chunky little LGMs

The slab Crappie and a smaller one

 

[Swamp Girl]

Yoo-hoo, Alex! Your photos are so sharp. What's  your camera?

[Bluebasser86]

Another 30 minutes before work trip, one of these days I'll catch a big one on this bait. Missed one more dink also. Active with a big rain, and cold front moving in.

 

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

13 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Yoo-hoo, Alex! Your photos are so sharp. What's  your camera?

It's a really old Sony point and shoot.    I need a new one.   I do really like the way it takes pics, but it's beaten up.    To me there will always be a place for a traditional camera verses a smart phone cam.   

 

[Swamp Girl]

BRRRR! It was 34 degrees when I launched my canoe this morning. The water was shallow, so I had to step into it. It was so foggy too. I did see four Great Blue Herons and one Bald Eagle. I also saw a beaver. It had no fear of me. Fog is nature's curtain and when the curtain is drawn, animals are less afraid of us, I think.

 

I only caught nine fish and two were pickerel, which I didn't photograph because they are bonkers. BONKERS! I just try to survive them. And most of the time, I just get a blur when I do try to photograph one.

 

I'll lead with some short, but stout bass and then a photo of the fog. Then some longer bass. The smallmouth was so rotund and so was the last bass. The last bass was only 15 inches, but built like a 19-incher. See how its body slopes downhill to its tail? Drop some snow on that bass and your pet mouse could ski him. 

 

Hey, the lead article on the Bass Resource home page is mine. Cool, huh? 

 

Alex, I also have an old camera. It's an Olympus Stylus Tough. One of these years, I'll upgrade.

 

 

[TnRiver46]

53 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

BRRRR! It was 34 degrees when I launched my canoe this morning. The water was shallow, so I had to step into it. It was so foggy too. I did see four Great Blue Herons and one Bald Eagle. I also saw a beaver. It had no fear of me. Fog is nature's curtain and when the curtain is drawn, animals are less afraid of us, I think.

 

I only caught nine fish and two were pickerel, which I didn't photograph because they are bonkers. BONKERS! I just try to survive them. And most of the time, I just get a blur when I do try to photograph one.

 

I'll lead with some short, but stout bass and then a photo of the fog. Then some longer bass. The smallmouth was so rotund and so was the last bass. The last bass was only 15 inches, but built like a 19-incher. See how its body slopes downhill to its tail? Drop some snow on that bass and your pet mouse could ski him. 

 

Hey, the lead article on the Bass Resource home page is mine. Cool, huh? 

 

Alex, I also have an old camera. It's an Olympus Stylus Tough. One of these years, I'll upgrade.

 

 

Nice trip report and pics as always, and excellent article ! I only have one question, how do you keep track of 157 bass??? I lose count somewhere between 3 and 5. (Tennessee public education…….)

[AlabamaSpothunter]

59 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

BRRRR! It was 34 degrees when I launched my canoe this morning. The water was shallow, so I had to step into it. It was so foggy too. I did see four Great Blue Herons and one Bald Eagle. I also saw a beaver. It had no fear of me. Fog is nature's curtain and when the curtain is drawn, animals are less afraid of us, I think.

 

I only caught nine fish and two were pickerel, which I didn't photograph because they are bonkers. BONKERS! I just try to survive them. And most of the time, I just get a blur when I do try to photograph one.

 

I'll lead with some short, but stout bass and then a photo of the fog. Then some longer bass. The smallmouth was so rotund and so was the last bass. The last bass was only 15 inches, but built like a 19-incher. See how its body slopes downhill to its tail? Drop some snow on that bass and your pet mouse could ski him. 

 

Hey, the lead article on the Bass Resource home page is mine. Cool, huh? 

 

Alex, I also have an old camera. It's an Olympus Stylus Tough. One of these years, I'll upgrade.

 

 

Wow, look at how cool the head on the last one is.....has an almost Salmon elongated shape to it.

 

Such special fish as always Katie, these are seemingly unmolested fish devoid of human contact.....the way you are able to unobtrusively sneak into their magical realms where other humans think "naw, too much work", or "not worth the risk for a skunk", adds to the magic of your fishing style.

 

In regard to a camera, you fish in about the worst conditions possible to take pics.   You fish early, early in the morning, lots of fog usually, and with your spartan form of fishing, water is getting on everything at some point if only droplets.   Heck when I paddle I end up more wet than water ?

 

I bet you caught hundred + quality Bass since you called the season, God bless stubborn addicted Bassheads

Oh snap, I'll go check the article out right now!   

 

[Jar11591]

@ol'crickety still crushing them a month after you were ready to hang it up for the year! Really enjoyed the article as well. That’s the kind of fishing most people never get to experience. 

[Jmontgomery87]

I went for a couple of hours before work today. It was the first day in a couple of weeks that they weren't hitting the spook. Switched to a lipless and no luck there either. It was a little cloudy and breezy so I picked up a spinnerbait. This one was 17".

[Swamp Girl]

4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Nice trip report and pics as always, and excellent article ! I only have one question, how do you keep track of 157 bass??? I lose count somewhere between 3 and 5. (Tennessee public education…….)

Most years, I simply counted as I caught them. One year, I took three of those clicking counters, one each for pike, smallmouth, and walleye. That was way too complicated. Then I settled on a single counter with each fish, whatever the species, counting as a click. BTW, you're a hoot and a half!

 

1 hour ago, Jar11591 said:

@ol'crickety still crushing them a month after you were ready to hang it up for the year! Really enjoyed the article as well. That’s the kind of fishing most people never get to experience. 

There are so many lakes loaded with smallmouth, but you do have to be willing to sleep on rocky shores and bathe in the lakes. That eliminates a chunk of fishermen right there.

 

4 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Wow, look at how cool the head on the last one is.....has an almost Salmon elongated shape to it.

 

Such special fish as always Katie, these are seemingly unmolested fish devoid of human contact.....the way you are able to unobtrusively sneak into their magical realms where other humans think "naw, too much work", or "not worth the risk for a skunk", adds to the magic of your fishing style.

 

In regard to a camera, you fish in about the worst conditions possible to take pics.   You fish early, early in the morning, lots of fog usually, and with your spartan form of fishing, water is getting on everything at some point if only droplets.   Heck when I paddle I end up more wet than water ?

 

I bet you caught hundred + quality Bass since you called the season, God bless stubborn addicted Bassheads

Oh snap, I'll go check the article out right now!   

 

 

You're right, Alex. That bass does look like a mating salmon. Imagine what it will look like in five years and if keeps growing in its current directions: It will be Jurassic Bass!

 

You're also right about my struggles with water in the boat. After 30 minutes or so, my canoe has water in it, as the paddle sheds water as I switch sides. And water, as you've seen, has freckled my camera's lens more than once. 

 

You're right again (Trifecta!) about the risk of a skunk. I have worked darned hard to reach some lakes in Canada, thinking I'll be casting to fish that have never, EVER seen a lure and I ended up casting to no fish at all.  

[T-Billy]

6 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

BRRRR! It was 34 degrees when I launched my canoe this morning. The water was shallow, so I had to step into it. It was so foggy too. I did see four Great Blue Herons and one Bald Eagle. I also saw a beaver. It had no fear of me. Fog is nature's curtain and when the curtain is drawn, animals are less afraid of us, I think.

 

I only caught nine fish and two were pickerel, which I didn't photograph because they are bonkers. BONKERS! I just try to survive them. And most of the time, I just get a blur when I do try to photograph one.

 

I'll lead with some short, but stout bass and then a photo of the fog. Then some longer bass. The smallmouth was so rotund and so was the last bass. The last bass was only 15 inches, but built like a 19-incher. See how its body slopes downhill to its tail? Drop some snow on that bass and your pet mouse could ski him. 

 

Hey, the lead article on the Bass Resource home page is mine. Cool, huh? 

 

Alex, I also have an old camera. It's an Olympus Stylus Tough. One of these years, I'll upgrade.

 

 

7 bass that size is a decent day in my neck of the woods. Congrats on the article. I enjoyed it.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Katie the article was dynamite, but that's what I expected.    Beautiful writing style, and amazing subject matter obviously.   I thought you were going to write about your current form of Bass fishing, but I guess we must DEMAND a second article in the future.    "Maine's secret treasure trove of Largemouth Bass, bogs, and copious topwater action"....see I already got a title for you

 

Go figure I start to catch the Crappie better once I stopped wasting so much time trying to catch them.   Today I edged my previous biggest one out....this one was 1.3lbs.    Caught 3 more, along with 7 Bass.    The Bass remain in the 1-2lb range, but boy are these smaller fish getting fat.  

 

Everything came off the Flashback Mini 1/8th with a 3" Armor Shad burning it.   As close to a fish magnet as I've found.    

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

Those are fine looking fish, Alex. They look like the fish I caught this morning. Not long, but well fed and healthy. 

 

I'm marinating a second article. So glad you enjoyed the first!

[Swamp Girl]

I went fishing again this morning, but I'm thinking the days of 30/40/50 fish mornings are done until next year. I did catch ten, but only seven were largemouth. The other three were pickerel and I took a photo of an especially pretty one. I also caught an 18-inch bass (the second photo) and one pushing 17 inches, so they were fun. Heck, it's always fun, even when I don't catch a bunch or they're short. I just like being on the water. There was a huge flock of geese on the water this morning and another that looked like they wanted to land on the lake, but passed. I even like taking pics of the little bass with fat tummies because they're on their way to being big bass!

[throttleplate]

Wife and I went to the small dam on wednesday which was a balmy 65 degrees here in north dakota.

I brought left over minnows that i stored in the freezer for a week. To freeze them i put them in a tupperware container and then poured windshield washer solution in to cover them up.

The fluid is good to minus 20 so the internals of the fish containng water will freeze but the minnow remains very flexible. Next time i will use cheap potato vodka.

 

I started with hair jigs and small paddletails and caught nothing, wife was allready catching small smallies and walleye on the dead minnows using bobber and 1/8oz ballhead jig.

I finally put down the fake lures and went with jigging a ballhead with a dead minnow and caught some smallies.

 

I then went with a bobber and jig and joined the wife in bringing home a very tasty dinner for thursday night and leftovers for friday night.

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

You two have such fun, throttleplate.

[Aaron_H]

Not the caliber of jerkbait fish I was expecting from this pond

 

 

This one was the biggest of the evening, but still a far cry from what I'm after. Only one I weighed out of the ten I caught, went 3lb 1oz.

 

 

This pond has some real big girls in it that I'm hoping to connect with this fall. Last November in this pond I caught my then-PB of 9lb 1oz yo-yoing a lipless through some shad schools. Been a little slower going this fall, but today was the first time I've seen serious bait activity on top so far this fall, a good sign. Wind was kicking for the first few hours, sustained around 12 or 13 mph which wasn't too bad, had some gusts around 20 though, definitely helped get the bite fired up. That first hour they were munching the gold Stunna 112, but quickly shifted to the lipless once the wind laid down a bit.

 

And managed to get this little guy on that 4" BD Shad swimbait I found a while back. Had one other fish on it but it came off when I bank flipped it. Smaller than this one so I didn't sweat it.

 

 

I also got into some tilapia schools, caught (and culled) seven of them before I got bored and moved on, all on the Thunderhawk Sergeant lipless in gold/black. It's a sweet lipless, I've been trying to put more time into it to see how it stacks up, and I do love those rotating hook hangers. Today makes 92 tilapia I have culled for 2022 so far, all caught on hook and line.

[TnRiver46]

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Fishing in a nutshell:  4 days in the life of a fisherman 

 

Thursday......takes until the end of the session to figure out the correct patten

 

Friday....uses newly learned pattern and absolutely wears out Spots, LGMs, and big Crappies 

 

Saturday......90% chance of rain, and like chalk on a sidewalk, my pattern that produced such a memorable day will be washed away only for me to have to find a new pattern on Sunday. 

 

My PB for Crappie is rapidly changing, one of the good things about learning a new species.   Two weeks ago it was 1.2.    Yesterday or the day before can't remember, it was 1.3.    Then today I got a 1.4.     I have to wonder if a guy who has never Crappie fished until the last month or two and can catch Crappies this size, just how big do the Crappie get in this lake. 

 

Caught double digit Crappie, and double digit Bass.     Biggest Bass was a healthy 2lb+ fish, several Spots likely close to that 2lb range.    A couple of different times I had multiple Spots trying to rip the bait from the hooked fish's mouth right by the boat, but again couldn't get another lure on them fast enough before they saw me.    So exciting.     One of those rare days where you are catching a fish every 5-10mins....the one's where you are willing the sun to stay above the horizon.   

 

The Flashback Mini with a 3" Armor Shad in the silver or white colors are as close to imitating fleeing threadfins as I've found in any bait.   This time of year, you can't retrieve it fast enough.   This thing darts randomly about 2-3" to one side or the other every few seconds.......the effect seemingly triggers an instant reaction strike.    All Chatterbaits "hunt", but this is a 1/8th finesse style bait that is being burned on retrieve yet remains down in the water column and violently hunts randomly without any additional input from the angler.   I ended up trolling with the TM and catching them even better, for whatever reason I couldn't quite match the trolling retrieve.    I've been talking this flashback mini up for months, but the wow factor still hasn't faded.   

 

   

 

 

Lastly the new PB Crappie 1.4