Super User J._Bricker Posted April 6, 2022 Super User Posted April 6, 2022 11 hours ago, HaydenS said: Had our final in state division tourneys of the year, held at Glen Elder and Wilson lake. Both lakes fished really tough, only 3-4 limits, out of 70 boats, weighed in over the two tournaments. Water temps were chilly, we didn’t see anything over 45* where we were fishing. The first tourney at Glen Elder was tough for us. We only weighed two fish that tourney, but good enough for a 10th place finish! We thought this would qualify us for state, but weren’t sure. I caught my PB smallie, at 3.5. My buddy caught a 16 inch largemouth, and that was our bag for the day. Tough day of fishing, but a good finish. Had 5.5 pounds for 2 fish. My PB smallie, and the largemouth my partner caught: The next day, at Wilson was a lot better for us. However, it was really tough. We fished from 745 to 10 without a bite. Then, we were fishing down a do-nothing bank, when we saw a shad bust, and I made a cast and caught our first keeper and second biggest fish of our bag. Then my partner caught our second keeper and his personal best smallmouth, at 4.5 pounds. Next, I caught three more keepers to fill out our limit. My partner proceed to cull out those keepers of those keepers, making our smallest fish a 16 inch smallie. I threw a magdraft for awhile, trying to catch a kicker, but couldn’t get another bite on anything from 11 to check in at 3:40. We went to weigh-in thinking we could make get a top fifteen, since 23 pounds had won an adult tourney the day before. We weighed in the first, and only limit of the day, and won the tourney by a couple pounds!! We weighed 15 pounds and some change. Congratulations @HaydenS to you and your partner on the tourney win. Putting your heads down on just grinding on Day 2 is what a good team does, well done! 1 Quote
Super User N Florida Mike Posted April 6, 2022 Super User Posted April 6, 2022 Caught 8 in a couple hours, mostly on watermelon red super fluke. The biggest was 19.5 inch… 18 Quote
Super User J._Bricker Posted April 6, 2022 Super User Posted April 6, 2022 Getting out at first light this morning paid off with this heavy 7.2lb senko fish. I gotta say it was kinda interesting fighting a fish, especially one this size on “spot lock” as she went around and under the boat before coming to net. 21 Quote
thediscochef Posted April 6, 2022 Posted April 6, 2022 Forum is aglow with beautiful bass. You love to see it. Congrats @HaydenS on your tournament success. That's freakin sweet! I went to pick my car up where it broke down in Waco over the weekend. Mechanic had her ready thankfully. Naturally this means a little bit of lake tourism - Waco is a solid three hours or so from my home, surrounded by different water primarily from the Brazos River system. I went to Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir, a decommissioned power plant lake. It's not really a great shore fishing lake from what I could tell, definitely a destination for the Jon boat. I saw plenty of signs of life, but the shore access didn't have the kind of gradient I need to work a jerkbait properly. Off to Lake Whitney - it never disappoints. I found a really cool spot right up against the dam with huge rock dropoffs to 40+ft that only come 2-3ft out of the water. The water in that area was soooooo clear; you could see huge buffalo and carps and gars swimming around. But obviously not the place for LMB this time of year. Me being me, I set up there just for kicks. I'm glad I did. I kept pulling 2-3lb wipers (edit: stripers) on a sixth sense provoke 106x. Four over two pound in less than one hour, two more that were little within that time frame. I guess I have a wiper/striper spot now. I think jerkbaits are good 18 1 Quote
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted April 6, 2022 Global Moderator Posted April 6, 2022 26 minutes ago, thediscochef said: Forum is aglow with beautiful bass. You love to see it. Congrats @HaydenS on your tournament success. That's freakin sweet! I went to pick my car up where it broke down in Waco over the weekend. Mechanic had her ready thankfully. Naturally this means a little bit of lake tourism - Waco is a solid three hours or so from my home, surrounded by different water primarily from the Brazos River system. I went to Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir, a decommissioned power plant lake. It's not really a great shore fishing lake from what I could tell, definitely a destination for the Jon boat. I saw plenty of signs of life, but the shore access didn't have the kind of gradient I need to work a jerkbait properly. Off to Lake Whitney - it never disappoints. I found a really cool spot right up against the dam with huge rock dropoffs to 40+ft that only come 2-3ft out of the water. The water in that area was soooooo clear; you could see huge buffalo and carps and gars swimming around. But obviously not the place for LMB this time of year. Me being me, I set up there just for kicks. I'm glad I did. I kept pulling 2-3lb wipers on a sixth sense provoke 106x. Four over two pound in less than one hour, two more that were little within that time frame. I guess I have a wiper spot now. I think jerkbaits are good Nice catches, those look more like striper than wiper to me 4 Quote
thediscochef Posted April 6, 2022 Posted April 6, 2022 3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said: Nice catches, those look more like striper than wiper to me They probably are stripers given the proportions I'm better at catching bass than I am identifying them lmao Quote
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted April 6, 2022 Global Moderator Posted April 6, 2022 9 minutes ago, thediscochef said: They probably are stripers given the proportions I'm better at catching bass than I am identifying them lmao I’m not 100% either, I don’t catch ‘em enough to see real life examples haha. Now white bass, aka sand bass in Texas, I catch a blue million of those 1 Quote
HaydenS Posted April 6, 2022 Posted April 6, 2022 53 minutes ago, J._Bricker said: Getting out at first light this morning paid off with this heavy 7.2lb senko fish. I gotta say it was kinda interesting fighting a fish, especially one this size on “spot lock” as she went around and under the boat before coming to net. Nice! Thats a giant! Those stripers are cool looking, if they’re anything like a wiper I bet they fought good,@thediscochef! 2 1 Quote
thediscochef Posted April 6, 2022 Posted April 6, 2022 58 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said: I’m not 100% either, I don’t catch ‘em enough to see real life examples haha. Now white bass, aka sand bass in Texas, I catch a blue million of those I know white bass tend to be proportionally taller than stripers, with only one stripe extending to the tail. Stripers have multiple stripes that meet the tail. Wipers I'm less familiar with; the wipers I could verify as a wiper in the past have had builds more like a white bass. My first inclination was that these are stripers, but I'm far enough inland that wipers seemed more likely. I do know that they hit like a FREIGHT TRAIN and fought HARD. BIG fun, I'll be back next week with a buddy. When I'm home I'll read up a bit. Any further input from the forum is always considered a cut above imo. Edit: these are definitely stripers, based on body depth alone. Wipers are deeper like white bass. Thanks for pointing me right @TnRiver46 1 Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted April 6, 2022 Global Moderator Posted April 6, 2022 1 hour ago, thediscochef said: I know white bass tend to be proportionally taller than stripers, with only one stripe extending to the tail. Stripers have multiple stripes that meet the tail. Wipers I'm less familiar with; the wipers I could verify as a wiper in the past have had builds more like a white bass. My first inclination was that these are stripers, but I'm far enough inland that wipers seemed more likely. I do know that they hit like a FREIGHT TRAIN and fought HARD. BIG fun, I'll be back next week with a buddy. When I'm home I'll read up a bit. Any further input from the forum is always considered a cut above imo. Edit: these are definitely stripers, based on body depth alone. Wipers are deeper like white bass. Thanks for pointing me right @TnRiver46 Yep, those are pure stripers for sure. On some light tackle fish that size are a blast. 2 Quote
thediscochef Posted April 6, 2022 Posted April 6, 2022 18 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said: Yep, those are pure stripers for sure. On some light tackle fish that size are a blast. They really are, I had a blast with em. I did have two little wipers at first, I can tell because they look like Sandies with broken up lines. Six total in about 40 minutes of fishing, felt like I was hooking something just about every other cast. I wish black bass fishing was like that... 1 Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted April 6, 2022 Global Moderator Posted April 6, 2022 9 minutes ago, thediscochef said: I wish black bass fishing was like that... It can be here fairly often, the trade off is they're not very big. I could pretty much all my shot last Sunday. Pull my jerkbait past any laydown, it was getting bit, but big fish didn't go 16" and most were under 12". 2 Quote
Super User PhishLI Posted April 6, 2022 Super User Posted April 6, 2022 On 4/5/2022 at 9:08 AM, HaydenS said: I caught my PB smallie Congrats! ? 1 Quote
Super User J._Bricker Posted April 6, 2022 Super User Posted April 6, 2022 21 hours ago, TnRiver46 said: Nice catches, those look more like striper than wiper to me They kinda look like fish tacos to me ? 3 Quote
Super User PhishLI Posted April 7, 2022 Super User Posted April 7, 2022 Rain was in the forecast last night, and I managed to sneak up for an hour before it hit. I couldn't buy a nibble throwing several reliable presentations that typically get bit in low 40 degree water. The other day I swapped out the day-glo yellow tail on my Rat 40 for a red/purple one. It's spring, right? It's kinda red, so why not? I did the old chuck-n-wind and a few fish followed and waked on it, but no bites. Tied on a Yo-zuri 3DR just in case they wanted something smaller. Turns out a Pickerel wanted it. Total PIA as the treble pinned its top and bottom lips closed. Good thing I checked my line. One nice pull on the 15lb Big Game, and blink, it popped easily about a foot above the lure. I dropped the slimed Yo-zuri in the bag and went back to the rat. I chucked it as far as I could down the bank over an emerging pad field and a scrapper green bass hit it hard about 10 handle turns later. He fought well for his size. The wind was blowing, my hands were soaked and freezing, so I called it a win and scooted, but I have a feeling I left a lot on the table. It felt like they were just about to really turn on. Oh well. I'm pretty hard-boiled when it comes to cold weather, but wet and cold not so much. 15 Quote
BassSteve Posted April 7, 2022 Posted April 7, 2022 My catch this morning fishing around an hour. Decided to fish plastic worms this time. Lost one fish, and Lost my hook and worm to another...the line must have been frayed/nicked and I didn't notice ?. It was a nice vmc hook too, with the corkscrew twistlock piece you twist in the head of the worm to retain it better. FYI the bass with just a hook threw the worm in the water when it was landed. It was a 5" yum dinger, black with gold flake ? 22 Quote
Jmilburn76 Posted April 7, 2022 Posted April 7, 2022 @BassSteve Peacock bass is on my bucket list, I just wanna catch 1 with some size to it! Quote
BassSteve Posted April 7, 2022 Posted April 7, 2022 2 hours ago, Jmilburn76 said: @BassSteve Peacock bass is on my bucket list, I just wanna catch 1 with some size to it! Lol just hang in there, you will. Hang on for the ride too, it seems to me that they fight more aggressively than largemouth do. They get pretty large too ?? happy fishing 2 Quote
thediscochef Posted April 7, 2022 Posted April 7, 2022 Well. I just can't stay away. I volunteered to do some logistics for my family today. My drive home took me right back by Lake Whitney. Gonna have to update my favorite. I did 15 bass in 3 hours, 12 stripers and 3 wipers. Heavy was a 3.7lbs striper. I hooked something heavy twice and had the megabass and 6thsense stock hooks both bend out on me. Gonna replace them with zowire. Also I love suspendots. Great little tool. Eventually the 35mph sustained/52mph gusts were enough to send me in. But I fished in 28/45 all day. I still plan on going back at least one more time next week despite the 4 hour round trip. It's so worth it, the fishing is great and the scenery is wonderful. I'll get back to largemouth this weekend lol 24 Quote
Super User LrgmouthShad Posted April 8, 2022 Super User Posted April 8, 2022 It's pouring rain right now and ya'll are making me wanna fish! Let me at em coach!! 3 Quote
BassSteve Posted April 9, 2022 Posted April 9, 2022 My humble catch today, lost a couple but I will take it ?. A snakehead ripped one of my finesse worms clean off the hook too...darn pest. Was a nice cool day for fishing 16 Quote
Super User BrianMDTX Posted April 9, 2022 Super User Posted April 9, 2022 I’m kinda upset. I have not killed a bass in a while but think I may have this morning. It started out crisp and cool with no breeze. I started with a Whopper Plopper (no bites) followed by a Megabass Vision jerkbait (no bites). Tried a Lucky Craft squarebill (no bites) and decided to try something different. Tied on a Jackhammer chatterbait (no bites). I wasn’t frustrated, just disappointed. I’m trying to avoid falling back on soft plastics, but with limited time, I tried a #196 Pumpkin /Black Green flake Senko wacky rig. Caught two dinks. Tried a #956 Senko Texas rig, as well as a Z-Craw worm in California 420 and a Fat IKA in Watermelon/Black and Gold flake (no bites). All these were rigged on a Gamakutsu 3/0 EWG. I tied on a Gamakutsu 3/0 round bend offset hook (which I rarely use) on my St. Croix Bass-X MLXF and a Daiwa Revros LT2000 with a Zoom Trick in Watermelon Seed. After two casts, I caught a dink. Tossed it a few more times and I thought I had a strike but wasn’t sure, so I reeled it in slowly. The line went tight then the bass ran with it. I set the hook and the fight was on. It jumped twice and I figured it was close to 2 lbs. (it was). When I boated it, I could see it was gut hooked. No biggie. I normally have no problems getting the hook out with no damage to the fish. But just as I got the hook free, it shook hard and the hook snagged a gill. It started bleeding pretty good. I got it back in the water as quickly as I could, and it swam off, but it swam on the surface about 25’-30’ before it submerged. I don’t think that’s a good sign. I hope it survives. 20 Quote
Super User DitchPanda Posted April 9, 2022 Super User Posted April 9, 2022 3 hours ago, BrianMDTX said: I’m kinda upset. I have not killed a bass in a while but think I may have this morning. It started out crisp and cool with no breeze. I started with a Whopper Plopper (no bites) followed by a Megabass Vision jerkbait (no bites). Tried a Lucky Craft squarebill (no bites) and decided to try something different. Tied on a Jackhammer chatterbait (no bites). I wasn’t frustrated, just disappointed. I’m trying to avoid falling back on soft plastics, but with limited time, I tried a #196 Pumpkin /Black Green flake Senko wacky rig. Caught two dinks. Tried a #956 Senko Texas rig, as well as a Z-Craw worm in California 420 and a Fat IKA in Watermelon/Black and Gold flake (no bites). All these were rigged on a Gamakutsu 3/0 EWG. I tied on a Gamakutsu 3/0 round bend offset hook (which I rarely use) on my St. Croix Bass-X MLXF and a Daiwa Revros LT2000 with a Zoom Trick in Watermelon Seed. After two casts, I caught a dink. Tossed it a few more times and I thought I had a strike but wasn’t sure, so I reeled it in slowly. The line went tight then the bass ran with it. I set the hook and the fight was on. It jumped twice and I figured it was close to 2 lbs. (it was). When I boated it, I could see it was gut hooked. No biggie. I normally have no problems getting the hook out with no damage to the fish. But just as I got the hook free, it shook hard and the hook snagged a gill. It started bleeding pretty good. I got it back in the water as quickly as I could, and it swam off, but it swam on the surface about 25’-30’ before it submerged. I don’t think that’s a good sign. I hope it survives. That's never a good feeling man and we do what we can to try and turn them back with minimal damage...but unfortunately sometimes we kill em. Don't be to hard on yourself because it happens 2 Quote
TriStateBassin106 Posted April 9, 2022 Posted April 9, 2022 First few bass of the year for me. Both were caught in that late march early april timespan, bite has been brutally tough for me since then, water won't warm up. 20 Quote
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