Latest Catch Pics Thread

[thediscochef]

5 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

How scared were ya? Self defense 

Lol! They were coming right at me!!

 

Nah I saw them up the trail about 30 yards and just turned around 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

@Rockhopper  What a beautiful fish, congrats on the giant!   

 

How'd you catch her, you folks that post big fish gotta give a little fish story on them 😁

[Swamp Girl]

26 minutes ago, thediscochef said:

I saw them up the trail about 30 yards and just turned around 

 

Smart. Wild boar deaths were tracked worldwide over a 20-year span and averaged 8.6 human deaths a year. I lived on a pig farm and developed a healthy fear of them.

 

11 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

How'd you catch her, you folks that post big fish gotta give a little fish story on them 😁

 

I love the stories as much as the photos.

[softwateronly]

@Dwight Hottle you're giving me the green bass envy!!  Frame's full of giants!

 

My city bass are still on bait, but not as schooled up near the magic rock.  Wind layed down a bit for the first time in 3 days, the current slowed, and the water cleared a bit.  Lost a really nice salmon that hit right at the rocks.  Felt 2-3 kicks as I tried to bring her up and turn her away from the rock overhang, saw a big, broad silver flash as she turned to dig back down and while I was trying to loosen my drag she popped free.  My line came back with a straight ryugi r-snap. 🤷‍♂️

 

Here's 3/4 of the good smallies, 9/10 landed in total and the one that came off my hair jig was definitely pic worthy.

 

scott

 

[TnRiver46]

@softwateronly, you sir are on one heckuva ride

[softwateronly]

3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

@softwateronly, you sir are on one heckuva ride

 

Thanks!  Getting a lucky weather break, ice out has been followed by a week of sun and 60's followed by 3.5 weeks of 40's.  I'm pretty sure the water is stuck between 43-46, keeps the alewives and gizzards close to the marinas and hungry smallies taking advantage.  It'll fall apart soon, just getting what I can.

 

scott

[Swamp Girl]

17 minutes ago, softwateronly said:

 

Thanks!  Getting a lucky weather break, ice out has been followed by a week of sun and 60's followed by 3.5 weeks of 40's.  I'm pretty sure the water is stuck between 43-46, keeps the alewives and gizzards close to the marinas and hungry smallies taking advantage.  It'll fall apart soon, just getting what I can.

 

scott

 

Talented and humble.

[softwateronly]

1 minute ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

Talented and humble.

 

Humble?  I claim to have a magic rock....

 

scott

[Swamp Girl]

2 minutes ago, softwateronly said:

 

Humble?  I claim to have a magic rock....

 

scott

 

Bad news. I'm in Chicago right now. You gave me the rock's coordinates, so I hired a crane to lift your rock onto a flatbed. I'm taking it back to Maine!

 

[Dwight Hottle]

@softwateronly it’s all about timing when fishing the Great Lakes region. And you’re taking advantage of it. Keep up the good work. 🤙

[softwateronly]

21 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

@softwateronly it’s all about timing when fishing the Great Lakes region. And you’re taking advantage of it. Keep up the good work. 🤙

You are certainly correct, maybe even moreso when shorebound.  

 

scott

[Eric 26]

55 minutes ago, softwateronly said:

Although I’m not fishing the Great Lakes and when I did it was for perch off of Navy Pier but I get a kick out of watching the guys fish the warm water discharges up by the power plant in Oak Creek Wisconsin, I’ve taken more than a few lunch breaks living vicariously through the boaters catching salmon.

[bp_fowler]

Oh boy, today was a day.  Temperatures are still cool with overcast skies.  I returned to the ponds I fished earlier this week.  This time better equipped to fish the stumps, laydowns, and standing timber.  
 

Still too cold for reaction baits so I only brought my baitcaster and a fanny pack with some jigs, terminal tackle a bad of 5” Dingers and a pack of trailers.  

 

I worked my way down the south bank of the first pond casting and pitching the jig in and around the wood cover.  
 

Nada, nothing. 
 

The water is super clear here and I didn’t see any fish shallow, bass or otherwise.

 

At that point I figured I was in for a long day.  
 

Continued to the beaver pond that feeds the first one.  Fished the first 2/3 of that with not even a nibble.  Made it to the upper end where most of the standing timber was at and finally got a follow.  I slowed down my cadence on the retrieve.  And I mean S-L-O-W.  The smallish fish pecked at my jig trailer but refused to eat it.  I missed one hookset and then another.  

By this point I noticed several other fish had gathered in the shallows near me.  So I gave up on the follower and I presented my jig to them one by one only for them to refuse it and even run off if I hopped it too aggressively.  
 

I guess that it was the rattles on the jigs that were turning the fish off.  Probably already gunshy be cause of the cold clear water as well.  
 

I switched the Texas rigged Dinger and resumed working my way back down the bank the way I had come.  
 

Right out the gate the T-rig got me a dink and saved me from the skunk.

With that weight lifted I proceeded to a part of the bank that is a shallow rocky flat with a drop off close enough for me to cast to. By this time a lot more fish were active in the shallows but they were all smaller fish so I focused on working my bait up that ledge. 

I had no less than four separate fish follow my bait from deeper water up the ledge.  They were bigger smarter bass and they examined my worm from a distance before slowly moving in picking it up softly and swimming away casually.
 

I was stunned.  Mostly because if I hadn’t seen them do it I probably wouldn’t even had known they had the bait.  Each time I swung for the fences and each time I ripped the bait right out of their mouths with nothing to show for it.  

 

Being able to see the bass take my bait was making me trigger happy and I was missing hooksets according.  
 

Finally I took a deep breath casted back out there and reminded myself to wait an extra second before slamming the hook home.  
 

This time a group of three bass followed my bait up over the ledge. Two of them were in the 4-6lb range easily.  I think I held my breath and I could hear my heartbeat thudding in my ears as I repeated under my to myself “please let the big one take it…please let the big one take it”. 
 

The runt shot in and gobbled my worm.  I counted one-Mississippi reeled down and set the hook.  After I brief fight I landed this fish.  Decent, but nowhere near as big as the other two.  

I’d like to end it there on a high note but of course I tried in vain to catch the bigger bass I had just seen but in the commotion of fighting the fish I had caught they must have spooked and vacated the premises.  I fished my way back to the first pond and had a couple bites but once again no fish.  
 

Lessons learned:  Clear & cold water = fish slow, less sound, less action, Last but not least wait an extra beat before setting the hook if you think they doing a soft take.

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 09:20 PM by bp_fowler
Oh wait I’m supposed to proofread before I post it.

[928JLH]

Went to Bill Williams river today to get a couple on a new reel. Miles of tullies and lay downs to fish. 

[thediscochef]

I caught a few Littles. But an experience that will haunt me for a while. The heaviest fish I've hooked all year lodged a barb in a log and I couldn't get it loose. Snap. I'm not sure what it was - i was burning a red eye shad and had that distinct feeling. The way it pulled drag makes me think flathead or gar. If that was a bass, it was easily a DD. Ugh.

[Pat Brown]

Had a pretty crazy week!  

 

Caught some big ones and some small ones and some not bass and I brought an abandoned ultralight rig back from the dead and caught my first fish shaking a crappie jig at a small pond near where my son's soccer team practices and that was incredibly fun!

 

Looking forward to the weekend fishing!

 

[N Florida Mike]

At it again this morning in the main church pond. Got a 18 inch fish first, then a 22 inch , 5 pound 4 oz tank.

 

[Pat Brown]

Beaaaaast @N Florida Mike - that's one of the best I seen you pull out of the church pond!

[Swamp Girl]

@N Florida Mike: Golly, Mike, you're yet another in the Spring 2025 Big Bass Club! What a spring it's been for most of the Big Resource gang. As I recall, it started with @AlabamaSpothunter with his seven, eight, and nine-pounders. Every time @softwateronly steps on his magic rock, he catches a big bin of footballs. @Pat Brown has also caught many giants and @Bluebasser86 goes to Texas, launches his little boat, and proceeds to catch huge bass...just like that. Yeah, his Kansas bass-catching savvy works down south too. Rockhopper caught a DD and then followed that up with an 8-11. @Dwight Hottle seems to catch a giant every three days. @Smirak boated a beauty. @Team9nine is a bass-catching machine. @bp_fowler has launched and is catching more bass than ever. @Bazoo is putting his boy on fish and @IcatchDinks somehow managed to go fishing, despite being a busy papa. @TnRiver46 is catching his usual menagerie and @Lottabass landed some beauties. @king fisher has caught some Mexico mega-bass and Jake, @Pat Brown's boy, is enjoying a spring to make the birds sing. @Pumpkin Lizard is scoring with...wait for it...a pumpkin lizard and the Texas Viking hoisted this hefty:

 

 

 

So, @Fishlegs said, "What about me?"

 

 

So, @flatcreek got in the What-about-me game too:

 

 

@928JLH keeps landing beauties. My wrist aches from seeing all these bass. 

 

 

 

 

If you're wondering why I haven't contributed a single 2025 bass to the board, it's snowing here...again...and again. However, I did drag my new canoe down to my pond yesterday evening. She's sitting on my dock, ready to launch, which I hope to do on Monday, but to a big bass bog. Fingers crossed it's not too cold for the bass to bite!

 

 

[LrgmouthShad]

Sweet job catching em, y’all 

[Fishlegs]

We may be on the board before you, but after about three trips you’ll put more bass in your canoe that most of us will catch all year.

 

Hang in there @Swamp Girl…your day is coming soon, and we’re all looking forward to that day.