Latest Catch Pics Thread

[Fishing_Rod]

Greetings All,

Some great catching fun in the SE AZ sunshine. There was plenty of both catching and sunshine at Parker Canyon Lake. I managed to get a full day of angling adventures in my kayak working the shoreline to find all sorts of fun from bluegills, green sunfish, and large mouth bass. All fish were caught within 15 feet of the shoreline. Yes, I tried a few submerged reefs with no response, so we'll come back another time to see how that goes once all the weeds get going. I did tease about the standing reeds for a few bass. It was a bit different for me to use a heavier rig with 8 pound mono from my typical 4 pound. Still all said and done there were fish caught with all the rigs. I can't help but notice the trend of the larger quality fish caught on the 4 pound mono. The two most successful baits are the 2 inch curly tailed grub on 1/32 oz jig and a weedless short three inch worm. All three species took to those baits aggressively when presented near the shoreline and allowed to settle before moving. Most of the time within two seconds of entering the water the line would simply go tight and move off laterally. Simply wind down and help the rod load up to a modest bend. Those sharp fine wire hooks pin easily and generally stay that way as long as there is some bend held in the pole.

 

While all fish on line are fun there are some that are additionally fun.

I will say it is always a bit of an act to get a selfie with fish. There is the hot mess of managing the fish carefully. This time of year the fish are drying out as soon as they are out of the water, so to minimize the stress I keep them held in the water. That leave the other hand to position the phone on the front deck of the yak so a self timer shot is possible. Then there is getting the yak in a reasonable position with all that bright AZ sunshine. It is very exciting to eventually get everything set to trigger the self timer and hope the fish cooperates with the pose. Even with all that fussing about it was so much fun catching so many throughout the day and pretty much everywhere.

 

It was also good to meet up with some very nice folks on the water too. The post holiday visitors were all very polite and cordial. I provided some encouragement that helped a few folks get on fish. Plenty of catching fun to share with all. We have to make the most of this short widow before the real heat sets in. There after it becomes a safety gamble as our seasonal monsoons get going and the storms are no joke dangerous. You would rather not be out on the water during monsoon without access to safe harbor. So get out there have a great time catching while the catching is GREAT! Be well and Cheers!

[Woody B]

I slept in this morning.  I caught a 17" Spot on my 2nd cast at 6:03am.   I caught my 13th, a 17" Largemouth on my last cast at 9:07.  All on a Bladed jig.  Those 2 are pictured.  I'm kinda pleased with the size of them.  Only one was under 14".   I figure as long as I'm catching "keepers"  a few big ones will come along.  A few weeks ago all I was catching was dinks.   

 

[gim]

On 6/3/2023 at 1:30 PM, T-Billy said:

Don't get your finger in their mouth if you want to keep it. Once they bite down on something they're not big on letting go.

I’ve had them close their mouth on jaw spreaders designed for pike and muskies. So ya, their mouth is like a vice.

[T-Billy]

Got started this morning as the Strawberry Moon was setting over the lake down the street. 

I started out pitching bushy stuff like pictured below, but only managed three over four hours. No pic worthy fish today. Biggest was about 2#.

Decided to switch gears, and started rolling a rage swimmer around all these laydowns. That put six in the boat over three hours, plus had four more come off. 

I sure wish the MWCD would quit spraying the grass in this lake. There used to be a big milfoil bed on this flat, and it held tons of LM and saugeye. Fishing here can still be decent, but it's a shadow of it's former self. The watershed caters to the sailboaters and pontooners on this lake and sprays the grass most years. Back when they let the grass grow this was one of the best LM lakes around. 

 

 

[BrianMDTX]

I posted two weeks ago that my arm was going to fall off from casting as I was going to fish as much as possible while my wife was in Europe with our oldest daughter. She’s due back around 5:00 and had some chores to do this morning so I didn’t hit the water until 10:30 or so. 
 

I learned something new (to me) today. I’ve read numerous times that varying weight (to vary the fall rate) can make a difference, but I’ve never seen that in action until today. With limited time I only brought two rods, but only planned on using one. Once again, after yesterday‘s results, I brought my Kistler Helium MHF with a Rage Tail Craw on a 5/0 hook with a 1/8 oz. tungsten bullet weight. It was the same exact set-up as yesterday. Even the craw was the one I caught nine bass with on Saturday. Today, it was dead. I thought about switching over to a 5” Senko TR on my finesse rig, then on a whim, I re-rigged with a 1/4 oz. tungsten bullet weight. Bingo! That bit of difference made a big difference. Caught four bass and had to go. Sad to say, I had to retire the Rage Tail Craw. It gave its all for catching 13 bass over two days! I bit two of the segments off and it still kept catching bass! 

 

[LrgmouthShad]

5 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

I posted two weeks ago that my arm was going to fall off from casting as I was going to fish as much as possible while my wife was in Europe with our oldest daughter. She’s due back around 5:00 and had some chores to do this morning so I didn’t hit the water until 10:30 or so. 
 

I learned something new (to me) today. I’ve read numerous times that varying weight (to vary the fall rate) can make a difference, but I’ve never seen that in action until today. With limited time I only brought two rods, but only planned on using one. Once again, after yesterday‘s results, I brought my Kistler Helium MHF with a Rage Tail Craw on a 5/0 hook with a 1/8 oz. tungsten bullet weight. It was the same exact set-up as yesterday. Even the craw was the one I caught nine bass with on Saturday. Today, it was dead. I thought about switching over to a 5” Senko TR on my finesse rig, then on a whim, I re-rigged with a 1/4 oz. tungsten bullet weight. Bingo! That bit of difference made a big difference. Caught four bass and had to go. Sad to say, I had to retire the Rage Tail Craw. It gave its all for catching 13 bass over two days! I bit two of the segments off and it still kept catching bass! 

 

Was this Raven in the weeds? 

[BrianMDTX]

No. I fished there last weekend but this weekend I stayed local. Neighborhood pond. 

[Pat Brown]

Full moon fever on the boat today.  Cold front hit and dropped the temps a lot.  Wind and grey skies rolled in.

 

I hit some sandbars and rocky humps with a black and blue jig and did pretty okay.

 

 

My buddy caught his PB at the pond with me again!!!!

[Woody B]

1 hour ago, BrianMDTX said:

Today, it was dead. I thought about switching over to a 5” Senko TR on my finesse rig, then on a whim, I re-rigged with a 1/4 oz. tungsten bullet weight. Bingo! That bit of difference made a big difference. Caught four bass and had to go.

 

I think fall rate is one of or maybe the most important thing for sinking baits.   I've seen a big difference by changing 1/16 of an ounce.   I also think most times, for most baits color is one of the least important things.   I fish murky water pretty much all of the time.  Clear water may be different.   

 

Nice bass,  both you and @Pat Brown

[Team9nine]

Have a pond with an overgrowth of algae still, so had to grab the frog rod and have some fun before they treated it again. Managed 15 or 16 good blowups, though nothing big, except the fun

 

 

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

4 hours ago, T-Billy said:

Got started this morning as the Strawberry Moon was setting over the lake down the street. 

I started out pitching bushy stuff like pictured below, but only managed three over four hours. No pic worthy fish today. Biggest was about 2#.

Decided to switch gears, and started rolling a rage swimmer around all these laydowns. That put six in the boat over three hours, plus had four more come off. 

I sure wish the MWCD would quit spraying the grass in this lake. There used to be a big milfoil bed on this flat, and it held tons of LM and saugeye. Fishing here can still be decent, but it's a shadow of it's former self. The watershed caters to the sailboaters and pontooners on this lake and sprays the grass most years. Back when they let the grass grow this was one of the best LM lakes around. 

 

 

 

As much as I love looking at pics of bass, photos of where you guys cast are just as great, if not better, for they're instructive. So, thanks, Tim. 

[optimator]

We didn’t get into any big ones but we had a blast. It was the first time this year my son and I were able to get out together.

 

 

 

 

[Jmurphy87]

I got out this afternoon around 1:50pm, I was planning on fishing a small pond that I had not been to in a week or so. I have been seeing more and more people there recently than the past 2 years, not sure what to make of it but oh well. I always hit the river before I get to the pond, I mean it’s right on the way there and why not. 
 

I started off pitching past a rock outcropping that normally holds fish, nothing. I then thought about how it’s been warmer than it has been all this past week long. Temperatures between 85-90, decided to throw out towards the deeper water a little ways ahead of the pylon. Bingo, felt the tap and set the hook and got a nice little 2lb smallie. Bait was a 1/4 oz strike king tungsten football swinghead jig with a owner 3/0 j hook along with a black and blue bandito big.

 

 I then snuck the back way into the pond, this way I don’t have to walk past the only shady spot on the pond. Much to my dismay the water level was a couple feet lower than normal so a lot of the structure was not even in the water. I kept at it with the same bait that I caught the smallie on but no takers. I had a couple blow up on it when I was dragging it across the top of the weed mats but they never grabbed it. I then decided to change baits, I went with a weightless super fluke in Houdini on a 3/0 hook. I figured that I might get more action. I caught one tiny one and was ready to go, I was tired of picking the cotton off of my line and fighting with that. I stayed a little longer and caught another tiny one and left skunk free.

 

 I then decided to go to spring valley to throw the fluke because it is also very weedy but hard to catch much there. I was in one of the spots that I know of. Looked like most of the other spots were occupied from my vantage point, plus a couple kayaks out fishing also. This place is slammed with people fishing it most of the time. Less than 10 minutes I caught one working it back next to the brush in the water. I told myself that’s good enough for me, difficult fishery and less than 10 minutes is a victory. 
 

they were not big fish by far but I earned every one of them with my knowledge of the spots and also knowing where the fish are holding throughout the year at these places. This is what drives me, to be able to go places where people fish but don’t catch many and catch them consistently is a start. We can work on size latter, patterns, locations and weather are the things that we can use as tools to stack the odds in our favor.

[Swamp Girl]

@Jmurphy87: Another photo of where you cast and thanks for that!

 

 

 

 

 

2

[Jmurphy87]

13 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

@Jmurphy87: Another photo of where you cast and thanks for that!

 

 

 

 

 

2

No problem, I figure it will help someone out one way or another. I look at it as a piece that helps add perspective to the story as we tell them. This way you can feel like you’re there.

[NorcalBassin]

Pops with one on a senko.

 

I picked up a nice one on an underspin with a 2.8 on 4# test. That was a good time!

 

[hokiehunter373]

Got out Friday night for an hour and a half or so.  Threw a buzzbait around for a bit and got a couple of good eats.  Nothing on the chatterbait.  Seemed like fish would really eat a worm but I didn't feel like rigging up a texas rig.  Had my light rod with an inline spinner already tied on and thought wth I know I'll catch some fish and it'll be a lot of fun.  Proceeded to catch everything from 6" bass to giant bluegills to a bunch of 2 pound bass.  Had so much fun.  Had around 15 bass on the evening and mixed in close to a dozen bluegills as well.  

 

 

 

 

[Blue Raider Bob]

18 minutes ago, hokiehunter373 said:

Got out Friday night for an hour and a half or so.  Threw a buzzbait around for a bit and got a couple of good eats.  Nothing on the chatterbait.  Seemed like fish would really eat a worm but I didn't feel like rigging up a texas rig.  Had my light rod with an inline spinner already tied on and thought wth I know I'll catch some fish and it'll be a lot of fun.  Proceeded to catch everything from 6" bass to giant bluegills to a bunch of 2 pound bass.  Had so much fun.  Had around 15 bass on the evening and mixed in close to a dozen bluegills as well.  

 

 

 

 

I call the Mepps Aglia my "Secret Weapon". When all else fails it will get bit. Only thing for me is that it is a hang up machine. If you fish laydowns, forget it! I ALWAYS have one tied on! I especially like it because of what you just described, it is multi species. It catches everything that swims. I even caught a big grass carp on it.

[BrianMDTX]

13 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

As much as I love looking at pics of bass, photos of where you guys cast are just as great, if not better, for they're instructive. So, thanks, Tim. 

I’ve never taken pics of that. Thanks for putting that bug in my ear! I’ll do that next trip!

[NJBasstard]

I've been doing a lot of night fishing lately so I decided to switch it up and go early. I arrived at my local lake around 5am and broke the transducer mount off my kayak while unloading, which meant I didn't have a graph to use for the day. Saw bass blowing up on bait balls in 2 FOW so decided to throw a white walking bait and stuck my first 5 fish within minutes of my getting there. That bite stayed on until about 6:30am and afterwards I decided to venture out into 8-10 FOW and fish a 6th Sense Trace along grass line that was just barely visible. That bait got hammered every few minutes for the next 2 hours. This South Jersey lake is normally tough but I managed to pull multiple 20" fish today and also lost quite a few. Once that bite died down I moved out into the main lake and began fishing a 3/8 Dirty Jigs with a Craw trailer against the shade lines near the bank and managed to catch 4 more for the next hour.

 

I've fished this lake for years and can't recall any days where I pulled so many quality size fish from it. This is  also probably one of the best 5 fish days I've had in South Jersey. I haven't looked through all my pictures yet but here are a couple I got on the Trace.

[IcatchDinks]

I love my wife. She's the best person in the world imo. And I get really excited when, on the rare occasion, she asks to come fishing with me. But she always does one thing everytime we go fishing that irks me to no end: she always outfishes me. We went out the other day, she caught four, I lost one, and a lure to boot. In all actuality though, I get super excited when other people I take fishing have more success. It's almost more fun than catching myself. Watching her get excited everytime she got a bite makes my day. 

 

 

 

 

 

Then a couple days later I went out on my own and caught a couple to make me feel good about myself. 

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2023 by IcatchDinks
Realized I sounded like a bitter jerk. ?

[Swamp Girl]

49 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

1 hour ago, hokiehunter373 said:

I call the Mepps Aglia my "Secret Weapon". When all else fails it will get bit.

 

Me too! I was thinking the other day of the five lures I would choose if I could only fish with five and the Mepps made the cut.

 

@Pat Brown: If I were going to hire a guide, I don't think I'd hire a guide pulling an $80,000, shiny bass boat with an $80,000, shiny truck. I'd hire Pat Brown if he were willing and we'd go out in his humble jon boat. And I'd do everything he told me to do! 

 

This thread is a heckuva rebuttal to the bass fishing is getting harder thread. You guys and gal are catching!

[Bluebasser86]

Went out and did something different Saturday, chased some walleye around. I'm not a walleye fishermen by any means, and Kansas doesn't have a bunch of them, but my parents wanted some walleye so I went out and tried. Wind was at least twice as strong as they'd called for, probably 15 with some 20mph gust, all I wanted to handle in the kayak. I was tearing up some short walleye, went through 2 tubs of 18 crawlers and caught a bunch on plastics too. Ended up getting 4 keepers before calling it a day. Also caught a few magnum bluegills.

 

Sunday was a family day. My walleye catching seemed to have carried over with me as we probably put 25 of them in the boat. I had 5 in a row at one point. Mrs. Blue had the big bass of the day with a great smallmouth that was 3.32 pounds on a Ned rig. I thought I had a monster smallie at one point, but it turned out to be a carp that slurped up my Ned. I've only ever caught 2 carp on a Ned, both have been from this lake.

 

 

[Cbump]

Camped this weekend and just fun fished for anything. 
 

 

[MIbassyaker]

It's been awhile since I've caught one of these guys!  A good one, too -- look at that belly:

 

...and followed it up with what I'm sure is my PB White Crappie, at 14", 1.43lb (perspective in pic is a bit distorted, and doesn't do justice, but that was the measurement). 

 

On the other hand, the bass this morning were somewhat less interesting than the bycatch, with the biggest of 9 at 15":

 

Other than 3 of the bass, everybody ate the same bluegill-pattern Siebert Fogy bladed jig.