Latest Catch Pics Thread

[Deleted account]

13 hours ago, Woody B said:

So, what are the fish in the sonar screen pictures?   I wanted them to be bass.  I thought perhaps Striped bass, or Crappie.  They weren't interested in anything I had. 

 

I speak Furuno and Garmin more fluently than Lowrance, but those sure look like striped bass to me.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

Alabama Spot Hunter, might need to buy a bigger boat and start guiding buddy!  You're a hammer!  You might have also just sold me a Damiki Blade ?

 

So awesome to see those big offshore fish hats off!  One of these days I'll learn how to make one note.

 

Got out on the Jon boat for a little while yesterday and got skunked.

 

All I could find was shad carpets at 17 ft off the main lake points.  Couldn't seem to find an active bass.  Surface temps were 42° which usually makes the shallow bite really tough here.

 

Oh well!  Here's hoping the string of 55° days we got going this week gets those ST moving back towards 50° again.

 

That was a lot of fun there for a little while!  ?

Thanks for such kind words Pat!   Don't give up on those offshore fish brother, you'll have that breakthrough soon enough offshore if you keep studying them on sonar.    With your water temps and being a bit north of me, you might just be a few weeks behind me.   

 

The fun always returns, that's why we're junkies ??

[Woody B]

9 hours ago, Deleted account said:

 

I speak Furuno and Garmin more fluently than Lowrance, but those sure look like striped bass to me.

My Son in law is an avid striped bass fisherman.  He has the same Lowrance unit I have.  He said it was Stripers.  I can't believe at least 1 didn't want.....my tackle box.  He uses some type of live bait fishing for them,  but I've accidently caught a few bass fishing before including a 21 pounder on a spinner bait.   He said people use A-rigs for them all the time.  

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, Woody B said:

My Son in law is an avid striped bass fisherman.  He has the same Lowrance unit I have.  He said it was Stripers.  I can't believe at least 1 didn't want.....my tackle box.  He uses some type of live bait fishing for them,  but I've accidently caught a few bass fishing before including a 21 pounder on a spinner bait.   He said people use A-rigs for them all the time.  

When they stack like cordwood like that on the bottom, specially with bait above them like on that shot, they aren't looking to eat. You'll temp one on live bait, or what amounts to a large dropshot with some gulp or other attractant held motionless, but it will be few and far in between. They will turn on at some point though based on current or light level, you'll see the upper ones start to head towards the mid column and spread out some, then it's on, and then like a light switch, it will be off.

[PhishLI]

My buddy Ramon left NY and this behind on Saturday morning.

Just sent me this pic from the Stick Marsh. I'm officially jealous! Matt Lures Strong Shad.

 

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

My buddy Ramon left NY and this behind on Saturday morning.

Just sent me this pic from the Stick Marsh. I'm officially jealous! Matt Lures Strong Shad.

 

 

I got one of Matt's first baits a soft big bluegill swimbait, wish I had one of his hard baits.  You and your buddy love to fish these big hard swimbaits, I can't wait to get back to them.   They are perhaps the most exciting way to catch them.    They also remove my overzealous concern of small fish's welfare being caught on the heavy gear and lures I'm trying to catch a white whale on.    Dang small fish still hit the A-Rig, but nothing small will hit the big hard swimbaits, and if they do they certainly aren't getting hooked badly.   

[TnRiver46]

4 hours ago, PhishLI said:

My buddy Ramon left NY and this behind on Saturday morning.

Just sent me this pic from the Stick Marsh. I'm officially jealous! Matt Lures Strong Shad.

 

 

Congrats Ramon, that looks a lot bigger than 6 

[Swamp Girl]

5 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Congrats Ramon, that looks a lot bigger than 6 

 

i also thought it was bigger than six, but he is long arming it.

[PhishLI]

14 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

You and your buddy love to fish these big hard swimbaits, I can't wait to get back to them.   They are perhaps the most exciting way to catch them. 

There's definitely something about it, and that's probably because when contrasted against typical sized baits, there's always a bit of doubt they'd actually eat something much larger than usual while knowing all along that they will. Whatever the novelty really is for each person who's throwing them, it doesn't seem to get old.

 

A few weeks ago, we had a brief warm front roll in. I was still laid up, but he made it out on the yak. It was mostly brutal other than Yellow Perch and Pickeral, but he managed to bag this 3.8lb on a 9" KGB Crappie. A perfect example of "Holie sheet, he actually ate that?!!!"

[Fishlegs]

We had a beautiful 65 degree day so I hit the river bank on my lunch break. I was rewarded with a 3 lb 2 oz smallie. My best lunchbreak of 2023 so far. ?

 

 

[roadwarrior]

                                              

[Team9nine]

Ice off! Again - lol. Saw a place on my walk yesterday that was 95% ice covered, so was surprised when I went by again today and found it 99% ice free from just overnight. Needless to say, I grabbed a rod and walked back over there and scored some February bass - 10 to be exact. Love the feel of the finesse rod loaded up 

Here’s a few…

 

 

 

 

 

[Eric 26]

13 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely beautiful fish ? I’m going to get the Ned rig ready.

[N Florida Mike]

I finally made it out today for the last few hours of daylight. Cool, sunny , windy. Not my favorite conditions. Decided to fish the south end where I have some dependable bedding areas , but the first good one didn’t produce. Got a random fish on the zoom lizard in june bug off a laydown. 

The bite was very slow, and I was battling the wind in the area I wanted to fish. So I went to the calm side and fished an area that is usually good right before dark. Was getting nothing on the super fluke, so I switched to the yum dinger. Got the skinny first fish pictured, and as I was reeling him in, I saw a blow-up just ahead on a weedline. Cast over there and got a bigger one. I was releasing that fish and saw more activity on the weedline . Cast over, and got another bite. I thought, this is the end of a perfect little flurry of activity, and just as the sun was going down.

Then it happened…

It was the big fish of THE YEAR. I had him but he was powerful…then 

the line just parted….

Then I remembered thinking about checking for nicks in the line right as I saw the weedline activity. I couldn’t resist casting to it…

It cost me…?

 

[TnRiver46]

3 hours ago, Fishlegs said:

We had a beautiful 65 degree day so I hit the river bank on my lunch break. I was rewarded with a 3 lb 2 oz smallie. My best lunchbreak of 2023 so far. ?

 

 

Yes sir! I think I’ve camped where you were ………

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Sat caught 7, Sun caught 5, today caught 15      

 

Incredibly beautiful, and increasingly warming days, today was 70+. I'm as tan as I've been in my life on my hands and face only lol.   54spf and face covering from here on out.

 

Third day without a fish over 3lbs.  It turned on at the end of today but I was getting torched by the sun and stupidly didn't prepare accordingly and called it.    Caught a few on th 110jr +1, and Berkerly Stunna 112+1.....but the Axe Blade and Flashback Mini continue to be the preferred baits.   Caught another big Crappie, I swear when I'm trolling now I'm hoping it's a Crappie because I never catch a small one, only big ones hit this thing apparently.       

 

I'm sure I've seen one before and didn't realize it or care enough to snap a pic, but I can mark seeing a Bald Eagle off my bingo list.   Also saw the Redfox I posted a pic of awhile back again as well.    Super cool animal.   

 

Cpl of pics over the last few days....on the electronics you can see where somebody within the last week or two thought they had a secret, and draw your own conclusions on the last shot ?

 

110jr +1 in GG Threadfin with well over a 100 fish on it, the finish is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen ?

 

Damaki Axe Blade getting close to 100 fish, but has done so much quicker.

 

[Swamp Girl]

@N Florida Mike

 

Dang it, Mike. And losing a big one isn't one and done. I remember every big fish I lost last year and I don't have to ponder to recall them all. The lost ones are as fresh as if I lost them this evening. 

 

@AlabamaSpothunter

 

Alex, I should try to photograph some eagles. I see them a lot. There's one bog that has the biggest eagle I've ever seen and I've seen hundreds. Maybe thousands. It's a DD eagle and in one rainstorm, it flew low over me. Dark skies. Thundering rain. And a DD eagle close enough for me to count its tail feathers. I remember that magnificent bird as clearly as I remember the lost bass. 

 

BTW, I'm seeing two, yellow, round tennis balls in that last image. That's what you're seeing, right? ?

[Fishlegs]

26 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Yes sir! I think I’ve camped where you were ………

You have. Unfortunately, the same thing is going on now that was going on when you were here then.

 

A man in his 60s and a teenager went fishing about a week ago, hit a bridge piling, and were thrown overboard. The teenager was rescued, but they’re still searching for the older man. Very sad.

[Drawdown]

5 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

 

A man in his 60s and a teenager went fishing about a week ago, hit a bridge piling, and were thrown overboard. The teenager was rescued, but they’re still searching for the older man. Very sad.

this from an old bridge, whose pilings are submerged and strike hulls at winter pool?

[Fishlegs]

15 minutes ago, Drawdown said:

this from an old bridge, whose pilings are submerged and strike hulls at winter pool?

No. It’s a major, six lane bridge that’s a mile long. They haven’t released details on what happened. My guess would be that their motor quit, or that the current just swept them into the bridge. The current can be crazy in that area.

[TnRiver46]

8 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Sat caught 7, Sun caught 5, today caught 15      

 

Incredibly beautiful, and increasingly warming days, today was 70+. I'm as tan as I've been in my life on my hands and face only lol.   54spf and face covering from here on out.

 

Third day without a fish over 3lbs.  It turned on at the end of today but I was getting torched by the sun and stupidly didn't prepare accordingly and called it.    Caught a few on th 110jr +1, and Berkerly Stunna 112+1.....but the Axe Blade and Flashback Mini continue to be the preferred baits.   Caught another big Crappie, I swear when I'm trolling now I'm hoping it's a Crappie because I never catch a small one, only big ones hit this thing apparently.       

 

I'm sure I've seen one before and didn't realize it or care enough to snap a pic, but I can mark seeing a Bald Eagle off my bingo list.   Also saw the Redfox I posted a pic of awhile back again as well.    Super cool animal.   

 

Cpl of pics over the last few days....on the electronics you can see where somebody within the last week or two thought they had a secret, and draw your own conclusions on the last shot ?

 

110jr +1 in GG Threadfin with well over a 100 fish on it, the finish is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen ?

 

Damaki Axe Blade getting close to 100 fish, but has done so much quicker.

 

I knew you had to have some eagles, I see them on the Alabama river and coosa river. Great pic 

8 hours ago, Drawdown said:

this from an old bridge, whose pilings are submerged and strike hulls at winter pool?

 

7 hours ago, Fishlegs said:

No. It’s a major, six lane bridge that’s a mile long. They haven’t released details on what happened. My guess would be that their motor quit, or that the current just swept them into the bridge. The current can be crazy in that area.

I only fished there for a weekend and there are plenty of things to hit, couple bridges and lots of barge tie ups and  the current has to be roaring. They haven’t shut the flood gates here in a month here where I live, and the river is 100x bigger in Alabama . The only hazards I remember under the surface were massive boulders 

[N Florida Mike]

8 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Dang it, Mike. And losing a big one isn't one and done. I remember every big fish I lost last year and I don't have to ponder to recall them all. The lost ones are as fresh as if I lost them this evening. 

Thanks for the empathy. That is the first bigger fish I’ve lost in … well I can’t remember when. I don’t think it was a pb, but you never know… It didn’t jump, just went bulldogging to the right, out into open water. Who knows, maybe the fish wouldn’t have bit at all if I would have stopped to re-tie. That’s what I’m telling myself but it’s not helping much… 
At least I had the right bait, at the right time, at the right place. So there’s that.

[TnRiver46]

41 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

Thanks for the empathy. That is the first bigger fish I’ve lost in … well I can’t remember when. I don’t think it was a pb, but you never know… It didn’t jump, just went bulldogging to the right, out into open water. Who knows, maybe the fish wouldn’t have bit at all if I would have stopped to re-tie. That’s what I’m telling myself but it’s not helping much… 
At least I had the right bait, at the right time, at the right place. So there’s that.

I would just convince myself it was a mud fish 

[N Florida Mike]

9 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I would just convince myself it was a mud fish 

I have actually lost a mudfish like that , because he chomped down on the line.

 

[TnRiver46]

5 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

I have actually lost a mudfish like that , because he chomped down on the line.

 

They could probably chomp thru pressure treated lumber