Latest Catch Pics Thread

[ScottW]

After putting the camper away for the time being I decided to give that new spinning reel I got the other day a try. Spooled up some 10# Spiderwire braid and tied on a Blue/Green lipless crank around 1/8th oz. Casted like a dream and the retrieve was so smooth. Just what I’ve grown to expect from Shimano. Went bust on the new rig and swapped to the Pflueger 40 and tossed a red Fogy Pro with a red craw trailer from @Siebert Outdoors and nailed the 1 1/2 pounder below. He tried swallowing it. Didn’t do any good the rest of the afternoon even though it turned cloudy.
 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1 minute ago, sdw215 said:

After putting the camper away for the time being I decided to give that new spinning reel I got the other day a try. Spooled up some 10# Spiderwire braid and tied on a Blue/Green lipless crank around 1/8th oz. Casted like a dream and the retrieve was so smooth. Just what I’ve grown to expect from Shimano. Went bust on the new rig and swapped to the Pflueger 40 and tossed a red Fogy Pro with a red craw trailer from @Siebert Outdoors and nailed the 1 1/2 pounder below. He tried swallowing it! Didn’t do any good the rest of the afternoon even though it turned cloudy.
 

Nice job Scott!   Glad to hear the new rig is meeting expectations.    Fish weren't biting here either.   I have an OCD thing about the skunk, so I always get rid of him with a couple smaller fish, then move on to the priority of the day.   Today was using 2D sonar and the Damiki Rig with the spinning rig.      Struck out big time, seems stupid lol.      

 

 

[ScottW]

Sometimes it just happens with no rhyme or reason. I’ve wondered sometimes if they took vacation. ?

[thediscochef]

Ray Bob water temp has dropped a degree per night over the last 12 days - we went from about 67 to 55 in that span. Fishing has fallen off a cliff at my usual bank spots, I'm back to catching dinks and maybe 1 per hour if I'm lucky. Time to figure it out on the jerkbait or just wait for the patterns to adjust I guess. I haven't seen a decent blowup in probably a week. I get the feeling the big bass are just somewhere else for now.

[ScottW]

With the weirder than usual weather lately in the south it’s been tough locating them. It’s not been this cold this early in the season and we’re already warming back up again. The bass are probably as confused as we are. 

[Team9nine]

Drove past 2 ponds and they were froze over. Walked to two others - same story. Kept walking and finally found one with no ice...and a half dozen biters. Got 5 on blade bait and 1 on Ned. Nice but breezy. Wind is supposed to calm down the next couple days with highs near 60. Might pull the boat out - or at least have a few more options from the bank once these ponds thaw in the next day or so.

 

 

 

 

 

[thediscochef]

6 hours ago, sdw215 said:

With the weirder than usual weather lately in the south it’s been tough locating them. It’s not been this cold this early in the season and we’re already warming back up again. The bass are probably as confused as we are. 

100%. I'm headed to San Antonio for Thanksgiving, hoping to get some time in at some warmer water on the way down and back. I'm annoyed because I love fall fishing and we kinda just ripped right through that into winter. Boo hiss.

[Aaron_H]

On 11/21/2022 at 11:15 AM, lunkerboss923 said:

Looking around the bank I found a red and blue crawfish shell. I went and grabbed a red and blue lipless crankbait and on the first cast, pulled this out. I have repeatedly been shutout during the fall transition. Conditions were low 60s, blue bird sky, no wind and bass busting shad on a 5 acre pond near my house. I tried the same technique the next few days and the conditions weren't the same and no fish were caught. Yesterday they were the same as they were when I caught this fish, I didn't have my phone, but I did catch 'em. I am figuring out a pattern. Lipless on blue bird chilly days work. Now if I could only figure out what works on cloudy windy days. Contrary to popular belief, red does work during fall and winter transitions. 

 

Believe it or not, also lipless. Try something like gold or chrome sexy shad. Also great conditions for a jerkbait or chatterbait. Gimme cloudy windy days any time and I'm a happy camper.

[ScottW]

Caught this 2-3 pounder a little while ago on a white/green bladed jig from @Siebert Outdoors again with a baby bass trailer. Forgot to bring my scale with me when I walked around the pond looking for likely spots to try so the weight is ‘guesstimated’. ? Downside was I snagged the same lure on the next cast and couldn’t free it. Tied the line off on a pine tree for later retrieval. ? 

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

42 minutes ago, sdw215 said:

Caught this 2-3 pounder a little while ago on a white/green bladed jig from @Siebert Outdoors again with a baby bass trailer. Forgot to bring my scale with me when I walked around the pond looking for likely spots to try so the weight is ‘guesstimated’. ? Downside was I snagged the same lure on the next cast and couldn’t free it. Tied the line off on a pine tree for later retrieval. ? 

 

Nice one, and lol at the tie off.

 

I do the exact same thing, but with a bobber since I'm in a boat.    I come back out with my heavy duty lure retrieval tools.  

[T-Billy]

Ended up catching 9LM today, and had a small musky shake off while I was fumbling with the net. Water's down eight degrees over the last six days. Surface temp was 42 this morning and lake #1 is down about four feet. The ramp will be unusable in a week or two. Time is running out on the 22 season. First bite today was five pounder #4 for the year, officially making this my best year for big LM. Come to think of it, it's been a great year for big fish in general, with a PB saugeye, and a muskie just an inch short of my PB. Todays ol battle scarred big girl came in at 5.11. The mighty Sweet Craw strikes again. Caught one LM on the A Rig, the rest came on the Sweet Craw pitched to shallow sun baked laydowns.

[Jar11591]

@T-Billy beautiful cold water largemouth. Looks like shes been through a thing or two. 

[T-Billy]

3 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

@T-Billy beautiful cold water largemouth. Looks like shes been through a thing or two. 

Yeah, she has some old scars all over her and is missing the top of her tail fin. Muskie had ahold of her at some point. 

[Swamp Girl]

22 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Ended up catching 9LM today, and had a small musky shake off while I was fumbling with the net. Water's down eight degrees over the last six days. Surface temp was 42 this morning and lake #1 is down about four feet. The ramp will be unusable in a week or two. Time is running out on the 22 season. First bite today was five pounder #4 for the year, officially making this my best year for big LM. Come to think of it, it's been a great year for big fish in general, with a PB saugeye, and a muskie just an inch short of my PB. Todays ol battle scarred big girl came in at 5.11. The mighty Sweet Craw strikes again. Caught one LM on the A Rig, the rest came on the Sweet Craw pitched to shallow sun baked laydowns.

 

 

Sledgehammer! I'm so happy for you, Tim. I'm so sad for you too, with your season ending. Let's rent a bus and go live with Alex for a few months!

 

 

P. S. - How big do you think the musky was?

[PhishLI]

9 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

First bite today was five pounder #4 for the year, officially making this my best year for big LM.

? ?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

2 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Yeah, she has some old scars all over her and is missing the top of her tail fin. Muskie had ahold of her at some point. 

That's what makes that such a special fish brother, congrats.   That's likely a much older fish than a 5lb fish in my home lake, maybe 5-7yr old fish.    

 

Giddy Kitty sized fish down here have no predators outside of man that I know of.   

[T-Billy]

13 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

 

Sledgehammer! I'm so happy for you, Tim. I'm so sad for you, with your season ending. Let's rent a bus and go live with Alex for a few months!

 

LOL. Thank you Katie. I hopefully have a few weeks left. We'll see, it's getting to be that time of year when I never know which trip will be my last. My #2 lake has a ramp that will be usable as that lake's only being dropped 5' this year, but it's in the shallow upper end and it ices in early. The ice will determine when I'm done.

 I don't sweat the couple months of down time. I'll get some projects done around the house that I've been putting off, service my reels, and make a pile of baits. Plus the time off will have me chomping at the bit to get back on the water come March. To everything there is a season.

Edit to add: @ol'crickety the musky wasn't big. 32" ish. Sorry, I missed the PS earlier.

13 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

That's likely a much older fish than a 5lb fish in my home lake, maybe 5-7yr old fish.    

Yeah, for sure. I don't get a five every year, and only have three six pounders with a 6-4 being my PB SM and a 6-10 my PB LM. It's been a special year for sure. I'm not quite done yet, there's still hope for a new PB this year.

 

Edit to add: I looked around a little bit for growth rates for northern LM. Looks like a 5 pounder around here is likely an 8-9 year old fish, making a 6 or more 10+. Given the pressure our little lakes get, it's no wonder they're not exactly common.

[GreenPig]

Fished from 7a - 2p yesterday. Caught this ONE on a 6" Bullshad in the far back of cove. Nice overcast day I just couldn't find active fish. Water temp 58.

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

That's what makes that such a special fish brother, congrats.   That's likely a much older fish than a 5lb fish in my home lake, maybe 5-7yr old fish.    

 

Giddy Kitty sized fish down here have no predators outside of man that I know of.   

I’ve seen bald eagle swim a 3-4 foot musky to the bank and eat it ! Although I’m not sure what a giddy kitty fish is, there’s a predator 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

4 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve seen bald eagle swim a 3-4 foot musky to the bank and eat it ! Although I’m not sure what a giddy kitty fish is, there’s a predator 

I've yet to see a Bald Eagle fishing around central Alabama, and even then, they'd have very rare chances to grab a 5lb LGM.

 

5lb+ fish makes me giddy like a kitty 

[TnRiver46]

3 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I've yet to see a Bald Eagle fishing around central Alabama, and even then, they'd have very rare chances to grab a 5lb LGM.

 

5lb+ fish makes me giddy like a kitty 

Trust me, there’s not a corner of Alabama that bald eagles don’t know about 

 

and if you don’t think they can catch a 5 lb bass with no teeth, watch this 

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

56 minutes ago, GreenPig said:

Fished from 7a - 2p yesterday. Caught this ONE on a 6" Bullshad in the far back of cove. Nice overcast day I just could find active fish. Water temp 58.

Nice one, be interested to see you compare the BD Shad with the Bull Shad should you ever get one.    

[Swamp Girl]

I've seen hundreds of bald eagles in my fishing and paddling paddling. Maybe thousands. However, at one lake just down the highway, there's a bald eagle that's the Dot of bald eagles. Remember ginormous Dot in California? This eagle is a feathered Dot. It's much bigger than any eagle I've ever seen. It drops my jaw every time I see it. It does low passes over me too, feeling like a pterodactyl. Watching that musky/eagle video has me a little worried now. 

[TnRiver46]

9 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I've seen hundreds of bald eagles in my fishing and paddling paddling. Maybe thousands. However, at one lake just down the highway, there's a bald eagle that's the Dot of bald eagles. Remember ginormous Dot in California? This eagle is a feathered Dot. It's much bigger than any eagle I've ever seen. It drops my jaw every time I see it. It does low passes over me too, feeling like a pterodactyl. Watching that musky/eagle video has me a little worried now. 

Don’t let the Yorkie swim alongside your canoe! 
 

Bald eagles can eat a wide variety of things, they are massive. A lot of the gut content studies we looked at in college said over half of what they eat is waterfowl 

 

there are a couple eagles that live near me, right downtown. You will always see another pair bout every 5-10 miles down the river the entire way 

[gim]

22 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Bald eagles can eat a wide variety of things, they are massive. A lot of the gut content studies we looked at in college said over half of what they eat is waterfowl 

Many of them actually scavenge on dead things. Dead fish, road kill, and this time of year they pick away at gut piles of deer that hunters have shot. Lead poisoning is a controversial subject with eagles this time of year.