Latest Catch Pics Thread

[Swamp Girl]

24 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Thanks @ol'crickety, I had made a boo boo at work and she insisted we go paddling instead of me stewing over it 😂 

 

SHE COULD BE A LIFE COACH TOO!

[IcatchDinks]

A little pre-work fishing. All very average bass, but any size is fun. 

 

 

 

 

[TnRiver46]

2 hours ago, Jigfishn10 said:

I'm really trying to figure this one out

 

J/K Bud...looks you had a great sunset night with your wife.

Hahah! We live right next to an airport on an island, constant air traffic all day long and they fly low over the boats on the takeoff/landing . They have landed in the water dozens of times! 😬 

 

one crash landing I believe was the inspiration for the movie “cocaine bear” but I haven’t seen it. There was a guy that tried to parachute out of his plane with a backpack full of cocaine in the 80s and his parachute failed and he went splat 

 

https://www.wate.com/news/local-news/cocaine-bear-smuggler-knoxville-true-story-documentary/#:~:text=A documentary titled Cocaine Bear,untimely death outside of a

[BluegillsTightlines]

Caught these two bass this morning to lift my spirits. Last two times I fished two weeks ago, I lost SIX in a row due to a combination of poor hook ties, getting caught in weeds, and me not checking my equipment for proper functioning-- my Shimano Coriolis quit reeling and wouldn't do anything, ended up losing a couple fish due to that. I believe it has a bad gear, gotta open the chassis and check it out. But swapped my daiwa over to my new lews speed stick 7'0 and got these two out of thick grass. Tied a Palomar knot to the hook this time and there was no slipping. It felt good to get back on the board and get some confidence back. Also felt good that recognizing where I messed up and correcting it paid off immediately. Not giants , but they were both great fighters.

 

I LOVE that speed stick rod. Gives me some extra leverage to fish weeds.

[The Baron]

We got quite a bit of rain yesterday, and it was still raining too much for me until late morning today.  I didn’t fish yesterday, so decided I’d go ahead and get a little wet this afternoon (I don’t like the idea of my boat carpet getting soaked - I need to get over that, as I feel it may be an irrational concern 🤷🏼‍♂️).  So I launched just after noon, with some off and on misty rain but the overcast and light wind were perfect for throwing a Whopper Plopper.  I started by letting the wind drift me along a 5ft. flat that drops off into 15-20ft. with weeds on the slope.  I caught a 2# smallmouth, then a 1.5# largemouth, and a short while later a 4.1# smallmouth.  I tried a crankbait very briefly, but there’s just enough weed for that to not work. I dragged a worm in the weeds a bit with zero success, then went off to try another offshore hump that rises quickly to 10ft. from 50ft. of water.  I threw the WP around there with only one small miss, then caught a small one on a dropshot.  This is the very clear water lake that I’m still learning (it’s called Loughborough Lake, if y’all want to check it on a map).  I went to explore a bay and found it too shallow, so started exploring and covering water again with the WP.  The shore I went down is also 5ft. deep flat rock with very sparse weeds for a good distance out, before dropping off into 15-20ft. of water.  I started catching a few, then the pattern finally dawned on me I was getting fish along the dropoff from 5ft of water - lmb if I threw more over the 5ft. flat and smallmouth off the deeper side.  Once the lightbulb went on I stayed on that edge and caught 1/2 doz. in about 20 minutes, including a pair on consecutive casts.  I would have liked to stay, but had to get home to help with dinner and prep for a family beach day tomorrow.

 

Side note, I picked up a Diawa cc80 off FB Marketplace recently, to pair with a 7ft. medium bait caster I have.  It casts like a bomb and I’m very impressed with it for a $100 CDN reel (I paid $60). 👍🏻

 

@ol'crickety - note that I took your advice and fished in the rain.🙂 Making long casts and covering water like @Pat Brown recommended… and yes I got a lot of my bites shortly after starting to retrieve, so more or less at the ends of the casts.  Good coaching, both of you. 😎  The best 4 fish from today… 

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, The Baron said:

I started catching a few, then the pattern finally dawned on me I was getting fish along the dropoff from 5ft of water

 

I don't always discover a pattern, but when I do, it's the best.

 

1 hour ago, The Baron said:

I got a lot of my bites shortly after starting to retrieve, so more or less at the ends of the casts.

 

Sometimes I can cast a lure half of forever and when it lands, I hold on because I've caught so many on my longest casts. I'm glad long casts worked for you too. 

[IcatchDinks]

Nabbed another smallie after our weekly volleyball night. 

 

[Swamp Girl]

@IcatchDinks: You are most excellent at squishing fishing into all the other fun in your life. 

[Swamp Girl]

Squishing Fishing would be a fun YouTube series. It would be about an angler who doesn't have big blocks of time to fish, so he/she fishes on the fly, I.e. on the way to the grocery store or stopping to cast into a river by the road.

[IcatchDinks]

8 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Squishing Fishing would be a fun YouTube series. It would be about an angler who doesn't have big blocks of time to fish, so he/she fishes on the fly, I.e. on the way to the grocery store or stopping to cast into a river by the road.

Welp. Now I gotta get a GoPro. 😆

 

 

2 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

@IcatchDinks: You are most excellent at squishing fishing into all the other fun in your life. 

I take my inspiration from the local crackheads who find all manner of ways to fit their addiction into their daily lives...

 

It's a problem... I may need help... 

 

😂

[TnRiver46]

[T-Billy]

The night bite continues to be slow. I got started about 02:00 and by first light just after 05:00 I only had half a dozen bass and this nice eater eye. Best bass was this 3.42#. I also lost a much better eye while trying to turn my light on to net it. That's the second time in two weeks I've lost a big eye like that. They're all getting boat flipped going forward.

After daylight I found some muskie stacked up in the back of a bay, right in the creek channel. 6 follows with two of those buggers nipping the grub off the back of my double 8 spinner. 🤦‍♂️ Grrr...

 On the way back to the ramp I stopped to chat with a buddy. He also moved six fish this morning. Difference is, he put four in the net, with two over 40. He also got a 47 yesterday afternoon.  Thus proving... I suck!!! 😂

[IcatchDinks]

@T-Billy, 2 things: 

 

1: I had forgotten that you also catch bass. 😆 

 

2: I know from seeing all your posts and the beautiful muskie you routinely catch that, while you may struggle occasionally, you definitely do not suck. 

[Swamp Girl]

I agree with ICD. Tim rocks.

[T-Billy]

38 minutes ago, IcatchDinks said:

2: I know from seeing all your posts and the beautiful muskie you routinely catch that, while you may struggle occasionally, you definitely do not suck.

Yeah, I do OK. Just a little self deprecating humor there. I tell ya though, those slimy buggers will humble ya. 

 It doesn't help my ego any that the two guys I compare my success with are a full time guide, and a guy who's lived on the lake and muskie fished it for 40 years. I'll have my first full year of chasing them in next month. I'm a wee bit behind on the learning curve compared to those two guys. LOL!!! They're both great mentors to me though. I'm blessed to have their guidance and friendship.

 

[Swamp Girl]

17 hours ago, T-Billy said:

I'll have my first full year of chasing them in next month.

 

This surprises me, Tim. It feels like you've been hunting muskies for much longer.

 

I'm just glad that Tim and @TnRiver46 are catching fish. This thread has been pretty quiet. Too hot to catch bass? For me, its the wind. It won't stop blowing. I'll launch tomorrow evening when it dips to 6 mph, but even that's more than I like. 

 

When I launch tomorrow, I'll only have spinnerbaits and jigs on my line. I made a rare new lure purchase of three Terminator titanium spinnerbaits and they're so pretty, I have to try them, and @PhishLI coached and encouraged me to use jigs, so I'll try those too. Over the last half century, I've jigged plenty for walleyes, but that's a different type of jigging. So, no poppers, Ploppers, or underspins tomorrow! 

 

Can I troll a spinnerbait? I ask because when I cross the tomorrow's pond to reach the area where I'll cast, I like to troll so that I'm fishing every single second. And can I troll a jig? FWIW, I catch some bass every trip by trolling. I've just never trolled a spinnerbait or jig. 

[LrgmouthShad]

@ol'crickety you can troll both. Yeah thread is a little quiet. We did good in NC but I’ve just been logging my reports in my own thread. 
 

I’m back in TX and Stillhouse Union Grove Ramp is back open. It’s one of the tougher areas for me to figure out but one of my favorites for night fishing. You know what that means 

Rumor has it that @thediscochef’s bank fishing conditions are about to get right, too.

[Swamp Girl]

Go get those night bass, @LrgmouthShad! You too, @thediscochef!

[Woody B]

19 hours ago, T-Billy said:

I also lost a much better eye while trying to turn my light on to net it.

 

I lost a few fumbling for a light, and still occasionally lose one fumbling for my net.  I use one of these lights and no longer lose fish trying to turn my light on.  This light has a sensor you just wave by to turn it on.  I can pick my arm up, waving my bicep past it to turn it on without taking a hand off my rod.   

https://www.amazon.com/Rechargeable-Christmas-Waterproof-Flashlight-Repairing/dp/B0B4KJ3MWK/ref=sr_1_9?crid=3RC8FYH9SPAJZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.X4FB1XekOcJowkux5Ayim4UW-BPqenb5rDcz0IF0nYOCb6XgWZIrNnWctj68GPsy73p7-08wZl1CCWoZNIAOEBgO-O4q_0AQfPORY6QoVMsQ1NzOkQvYxfgTWCHAkGyg2eiAYv9CXJ5ZxpYvYt031U1zdXjtQmZzYEZfRy9Y29LBDClg5qU0mxevBaYV1qNW548uANvxpsF_G7qZZQCEhTmH0jgOrS6XDz7rslsAhBKBqlc6ZYwQOFOU68GObCS6lKztcGtbIHQsRk5zLXXWfb5mk4mm4DlOfkGFglgJbXQ.1CCRRz1zwV_ZiwyenV1JW4MwwBvWTEFfugdPouwdCds&dib_tag=se&keywords=head%2Bworn%2Blight&qid=1720880112&sprefix=head%2Bworn%2Blight%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-9&th=1

[Fried Lemons]

Quick 4lber before the rental boaters ran me off the lake. This fish fell for a 13” worm stitched over main lake structure. Super hot, calm conditions combined with pressured fish  called for a less orthodox approach.

[Swamp Girl]

@Fried Lemons: How long is that worm???

[IcatchDinks]

Nabbed a couple of small bass this morning.  Both of em on the Mepps #5

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

@IcatchDinks: It's good to see a Mepps being used. They're oldies, but goodies.

[TnRiver46]

Got in some of what I believe was earlier referred to as squishing (squishing in fishing before a social function) from 7-11:30 today , captured a couple. One Kentucky spot on the besotted popper, also got to use my new seaguar braid. Pretty cool stuff ! That popper is light and I was throwing it quite a ways. The smallie hit half a purple worm on a jighead. Water temp 75 upriver 
 

here’s the line tied to backing via alright knot, it’s pink and yellow like a fly fishing strike indicator 

 

 

[T-Billy]

7 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

This surprises me, Tim. It feels like you've been hunting muskies for much longer.

I started actually targeting them with the A-rig in the fall of 22, but it was just last August when I started buying muskie gear and fishing for them outside of the cold water seasons.