Latest Catch Pics Thread

[BassSteve]

Hey,

 

Caught a nice largemouth this morning, he hit the crankbait hard thought it was a snakehead. Have a nice day 

[IcatchDinks]

Half way through my fishing trip. Heading to another spot. I went back to the spot where I lost a big one yesterday and caught a very mediocre fish. He also caught me... 

 

 

Gonna try one more pond for another hour or so and then head home. 

The picture of the bass is subpar because I had a treble hook in my hand. I snapped the photo and then flipped him into the water. I had more important things to deal with. 

 

[Woody B]

I had a short trip today due to the weather.  I planned on going early, but wasn't sure how early due to passing storms.   It stormed off an all at my house most of the night.   (with lightening)  I finally left home around 4:30AM thinking the storms were gone.    On the way to the lake there were leaves and limbs all over the place.  There was one small tree over the road going to the landing.  I keep a tow strap in my truck so I just pulled it out of the road.  There was one boat at the landing.  They had been catfishing all night and said they got caught in a heckuva storm way down the lake.  

 

I caught 3 Bass, 1 Spot and 2 Largemouth within my first 10 or so casts.  (the fat bleeding Spot was hooked in the upper lip, I didn't see the blood until I looked at the picture.  I don't know where the blood was coming from)    Right after that the sky started toward the West started to light up with lightening.   It looked like it was headed East toward me.   I headed back to the landing, loaded my boat, and took a nap in my truck.  It never stormed there, but I respect lightening.  I went back out, caught 1 more Largemouth then decided to call it a day.  The forecast is for storms early tonight.   I plan on going around midnight and fishing until dawn or so.  I'm going to the lower end of the lake tonight.  My Sister in Law lives down there.  If it storms I'll go to her house.  The Bluegill spawn is on.  I caught all 4 Bass on a "Sungill" colored spinnerbait.   Water temperature was 79 degrees.   That's 7 degrees warmer than last Saturday.  

 

 

[Jmurphy87]

Went fishing on my work friends boat today along with another one of the guys that I am friends with. It was a slow day for me at first, I was getting my butt handed to me lol. Nothing big size wise, but I stayed patient and caught the 3 largest fish of the day. Would have been 4 but one threw my lure back at me. One came off boat side trying to get it in the boat. Although I came back with a vengeance with the chatter bait and caught up with them in the end. I also caught the last fish of the day. I only got one picture because I was not worried about getting pictures, I wanted to catch up. My one buddy could have probably wiped the floor with me but he didn’t really fish much, he use to tournament fish. He told me to long arm it and I don’t do that so I chose to use the picture that made my fish look smaller. Stay humble and proud and persevere through the diversity is my moto.

[BrianMDTX]

I fished a new pond this morning. I drove past it last weekend and took a quick look and it looked good. Saw plenty of small, medium and large bluegills, a lot of bass fry and some 10”-12”. Stained but clearer than my usual pond. Also had grass. 
 

It turned out to be much larger than the other ponds I’ve fished. It wrapped around like a horseshoe with a small island on the hidden side. It’s surrounded on three sides by private property and fronts a main thoroughfare so it likely gets limited pressure (I saw no one else fishing). 
 

I started with a Whopper Plopper. Had one hit but missed it. I switched to a jerkbait, then a jig-n-craw, then a Texas rig. There is a lot of grass. It’s thin like vermicelli and IMO, it stinks. Like the smell of it literally stinks. In some spots it was so thick it created floated mats. 
 

With no catches I switched to an old standby- a #956 Senko wacky rig. Bam! The bass really liked that as I caught 8 out of 12 on that one bait (I eventually lost it and caught another on a #297 Senko WR. Also caught one each on a 7” Speed Senko Texas rig (first time trying that bait) in green pumpkin/watermelon, a weightless TR with a watermelon red Zoom Trick and a weightless TR with a Zoom Magnum Trick in watermelon red. 
 

The numbers were good. Sizes were on the small side. I took pics of the biggest two bass (and they were definitely bigger than the rest- two were 6” long). Might go back and try it again but that grass was terrible. I thought algae was bad. This was worse IMO. 
 

I also tried for the first time a new shirt with hoodie and new pants. The pants were great. That hoodie was hot! 
 

[Susky River Rat]

Who says a river rat can’t go to blue marsh and catch some fish 

[OmegaDPW]

An all time low today... went fishing twice at my favorite pond. Morning and evening. Skunkarooni both times. Never even got a bluegill to nibble. That almost never happens at this pond. Something was definitely off. 

 

 Will try it again Monday if not sooner. Might be a glutton for punishment but it beats sitting inside all day, right? 😉

[Mbirdsley]

probably the last fishing trip for a while.  went out of lee street on the saginaw river in down town saginaw.  The river has been busy with Freighter traffic lately.  I was t sure where i was going up river or down bound but, after checking AIS boat nerd site.  The 670 ft M/V Saginaw was unloading stone at the Old GM dock. which, is basically as far up river river as they can get before the shipping channel ends. Where the saginaw was docked is roughly 15-18 miles from the mouth of the river and the saginaw bay.  

 

after passing the M/v saginaw  and catching a nice walleye on a lbs 1.5 square bill.  the saginaw blew her whistle made the turn and started her journey back to the saginaw bay and lake huron.  it took her almost 3 hours to reach the mouth/bay. 

 

I did manage to catch another 3 lbs bass on a black and blue spine craw. good day to end on for a while. 

[Swamp Girl]

Back in the saddle, cowboy aka @OmegaDPW.

 

Thanks for those photos, @Mbirdsley. This might surprise you, but I don't encounter freighters in Maine bogs.

 

@Susky River Rat: Is a blue marsh a freshwater marsh?

 

@BrianMDTX: Congrats on the new pond.

 

@Jmurphy87: I barely recognized you on a boat and wearing a shirt!

 

@IcatchDinks: Ouch! Did you remove it yourself and if so, how?

 

@BassSteve: Beauty!

 

@throttleplate: I like how you often fish differently than the rest of us.

 

@Bazoo: What a good dad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mbirdsley]

  On 5/26/2024 at 12:57 AM, ol'crickety said:

Back in the saddle, cowboy aka @OmegaDPW.

 

Thanks for those photos, @Mbirdsley. This might surprise you, but I don't encounter freighters in Maine bogs.

 

@Susky River Rat: Is a blue marsh a freshwater marsh?

 

@BrianMDTX: Congrats on the new pond.

 

@Jmurphy87: I barely recognized you on a boat and wearing a shirt!

 

@IcatchDinks: Ouch! Did you remove it yourself and if so, how?

 

@BassSteve: Beauty!

 

@throttleplate: I like how you often fish differently than the rest of us.

 

@Bazoo: What a good dad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expand  

no problem.  i was kind of figuring most people didn’t have lower lakers in their local fishing hole 

[FishTank]

Experienced one of best days on the water ever. I lost count of the bass I was catching but for 7 hours I was getting 2-4 pounders left and right like this guy. 

 

 

I also caught a 7lb but no picture. It was windy and it was either crash into the rocks were the fished pulled me and get the picture or throw it back and run the trolling motor. On top of that I got two 2-3lb catfish,  7 crappie and 5 big bluegill.

 

 

[IcatchDinks]

@ol'crickety I had to clip that single hook off the treble and force the sharp point all the way through my hand and pull it out that way. Got to avoid ripping out a chunk of myself on the barb that way. Definitely considering going all barbless after that experience. Not so fun. First time I've ever been hooked past the barb. I've been stabbed by hooks several times, but never that deep before. 

[Susky River Rat]

@ol'crickety it’s actually not a marsh at all. It’s a flood control lake that is extremely hard to fish because it’s a flat open water tub with no structure. 

[Woody B]

I went from 2 to 6 last night.  I caught 10 Bass, mostly small.   Pictured are the first and last.  I caught 6 like the first one at the same point.  After all were that size I decided to leave Bass to find Bass.  The Bluegill spawn is going on, but hasn't really got the attention of Bass yet.  I saw a big fish chasing Bluegill on sonar.  It turned out to be a 15 pound Flathead Catfish.  (in the other species thread)  The last 4 Bass were scattered in lay downs.  Lay downs are hard (at least for me) to fish at night but the nearly full moon helped.  The wound on the last ones side didn't look like it came from spawning.  I wonder if a Heron had tried to get it.  

 

[Swamp Girl]

@Woody B: Woody, you wrote a bit back about how bass are IN wood, not near laydowns. Two questions:

 

How often do you snag?

 

When you hook a bass, how do you get it out of the tree?

[IcatchDinks]

Went fishing before church this morning at the pond I've been frequenting the past couple days and finally hit paydirt. I knew this pond held some decent fish, and I think I finally got to them while they were active. A 2" Rapala floating minnow worked as a jerk bait did the trick. I landed four bass, losing two right at the bank. (I think the hooks on the little bait are a bit too small.) I also caught a little crappie, a nice surprise since I didn't know they were in that pond. 

 

The largest bass was 17" long, had another at 16". I didn't measure the other two.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

ICD, your catch rate and catch quality are improving. I'm proud of you and happy for you! When I was young, I fished a farm pond where the bass loved the 2" Rapala. Good memories.

[Woody B]

  On 5/26/2024 at 3:22 PM, ol'crickety said:

How often do you snag?

 

When you hook a bass, how do you get it out of the tree?

Expand  

 

I don't snag that often, or at least lose lures.  Spinnerbaits are good, I can usually "feel" them out of snags.  Siebert Bladed jigs work great too.  I think something is different about them.  I'll lost a Chatter Bait or Jack Hammer within my first few casts.  For some reason I can "snake" the Siebert Fogy right through them without snagging.  Gamakatsu makes a weightless, weedless wacky hook that will bring a wacky rigged stick worm though the trees pretty good too.  

 

For me I suspect luck plays a role in getting the Bass out.   It's my theory that the Bass are coming up most of the time to get the bait.  Largemouth, especially ones 3 pounds or bigger have a tendency to jump as soon as I set the hook.  A quick horizontal rod jerk will "surfboard" them.  As long as you keep moving them fast enough they can't "get traction".   I get them out of the cover,  move the boat away, then let them fight in open water.  

[12poundbass]

Only had a couple hours this morning. Air temps were low 60’s at launch, and a stiff breeze out of the east which isn’t ideal. I had a short strike on a Plopper and lost one by the boat on a swim jig. The only catch of the day was this one by 6poundbass.

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

Thanks, Woody. I didn't know they jumped and the surfboarding technique is something I hope I can remember to use. 

[IcatchDinks]

  On 5/26/2024 at 3:47 PM, ol'crickety said:

ICD, your catch rate and catch quality are improving. I'm proud of you and happy for you! When I was young, I fished a farm pond where the bass loved the 2" Rapala. Good memories.

Expand  

 

Thanks! I think the 2" is a little lighter than I would like. It's hard to get it to any sort of depth, but I think if I put larger hooks on it, it will give it just enough weight to give it the action I want, and help remedy the hook-up issues I mentioned. 

 

I was actually quite surprised at how effective it's been at getting strikes. I almost never use it. 

[Swamp Girl]

No doubt, that 2-incher is hard to cast. I suggest you go only slightly larger with hooks. Too big and they'll impede its action. 

[Susky River Rat]

I still do it better on the susky. 

[FishTank]

Well I don't what is going on but I hit a large local pond and caught 30 bass (at least that's where I decided to stop). I only caught 2 or 3 keepers though.  It was a two hour dink fest but it was fun. 

 

And I caught another massive bluegill, around 11 inches if I measured it correctly.  

 

 

 

[king fisher]

I finally caught a good one on Saturday.  I was going to do some work this weekend, but my wife told me I should go fishing.  I always try and do what I am told so I put the kayak on the car.  I didn't plan on going until late Friday afternoon, so I wasn't gong to have time to go to a lake I wanted to try.  So I went to my old favorite, which has let me down so far this year, but was worth giving one more try.

 

I got to the lake early Saturday morning, and started fishing at first light.  The water temp was 74, wind calm, and water clarity was around 2 foot.  The water was at a perfect level, and any other year I would have had greet confidence.  There were two other anglers in a small boat, that went to the other end of the lake.  I was glad they passed the best fishing spots for this water level.  They must have been there before, when the water is up, and the far end of the lake is a flooded pasture.  I new they wouldn't be at the far end of the lake for long, so I was in a hurry to try most of the visible cover before they came back to the deep end of the lake.

 

After a couple hours I had caught a few one pound bass but hadn't had a decent bite.  The other anglers came by and reported they were skunked.

 

At 10:00 AM the afternoon winds came early.  By 11:00 the other anglers had left, and I was really wondering why I was still there.  The wind was blowing 20 MPH. and I hadn't landed a bass over 1.5 pounds.  I was working hard to get even one good cast into one of the offshore trees, before loosing control of my kayak and having to reposition.  The bass wouldn't hit my moving baits which was odd for this much wind, so I had to try and fish soft plastics.  I ended up catching a 4 pound bass on a Skinny Dipper so the day wasn't going to be a complete disaster.

 

By 6:00 PM I was tired and thinking about calling it a day.  The wind was blowing to hard to set up my tent, and I was even contemplating cutting the trip short and going home.  I decided to stay and fish hard until dark, after all that is what I came there to do.

 

I peddled over to the tree I had caught the 4 pound bass from and made a cast with a T rigged June Bug Ole Monster I had just put on.  First cast I hooked the 8.1 pound bass in the picture.

I landed a couple other 2 pound bass on the Ole Monster, then fished a rock bank with a square bill until dark, landing a bass around 3 pounds.

 

I am so glad I didn't give up.  Sometimes all it takes is perseverance to catch bass.  That and a lot of luck is what I count on most of the time.  The wind died about 10:00 PM and I was able to set up my camp.

 

The next morning I started off with the Ole Monster, and landed a 5 pound bass along with a few small 1 pounders and hooked a big bass I wasn't able to get a look at.

 

The wind started early again on Sunday.  This time of year has the strongest winds, but I have never seen it start blowing before noon.  I had to leave for home around 12:00 so I was in a hurry to fish everything I had planned on casting to.

 

I ended up at my favorite tree from past years, that so far this year hadn't produced, but it is hard not to fish history.  After a few minuets of hard peddling I had the kayak positioned to make a perfect cast.  A small bass bit the tale off the Ole Monster so I got blown way out of position while I put another one on.  The next cast I hooked what I assumed was the same small bass.  When I had the bass close to the boat I saw a flash out of the depths, that looked like a good size bass trying to grab the worm.  I got the small bass a few feet closer to the kayak when a giant bass came up and completely engulfed my small bass.  I instantly put the reel in free spool and watched the line go away from the tree.  With as much experience  I have fishing in saltwater I would have thought I would stay calm and not make any mistakes.  I didn't, I got excited and made a rooky mistake.  When the line stopped going out, I should have waited until it started running off again before doing anything, but I just had to feel if the bass was on the line.  I lightly thumbed the spool, and felt the heavy weight of the giant.  I clicked the reel in gear and was going to set the hook when suddenly the heavy weight was gone.  The big bass had let go, and I had ruined my chance at a fish of a lifetime.  I reeled the small bass back to the kayak, and when it was a few feet away the giant came and swiped at the bass.  Of course I frees pooled the small bass again, but the big one was just showing off, and wasn't about to get fooled again.  

 

All the mistakes I made were ones I never would have done saltwater fishing, but seeing a bass that size made me panic causing me to completely choke, and loose the opportunity of a lifetime.  I don't know how big the bass was, but the small bass was 12 1/4 inches and completely disappeared when the big bass hit it.

 

I had to leave early so I decided to make cast at a tree near the launch.  I hooked and landed a five pound bass, and of course I turned on more last cast into 20, but finally had to call it quits and go home.

 

I am glad to see my favorite lake still has at least one giant that will keep me going back.  Maybe with more perseverance and some more luck, I will catch one.  The lake is not anything like it was, but that only means I will have to work harder.  For now I will have to be happy with an 8 pounder, and a good one that got away story.