Latest Catch Pics Thread

[PhishLI]

Mist and fog meant I couldn't say no to fishing tonight, but after yesterday's honey-do list I didn't have the battery left to do a 90 mile 'round trip overnight yak mission with my bud. He went there, I stayed here, and we updated each other as the night wore on, and wore on it did. I didn't get a sniff from 11pm thru 1am, and he was skunking too. Both lakes were glass-flat with zero surface activity.

 

What's a boy to do when nothing whatsoever is working in the middle of the night during the 3rd week of October? He throws a black/gold flake trail worm. A trail worm, you wonder? It's just one of half a billion torn up and discarded Senkos I've found laying on trails that I've scooped up and repaired with Mend-it. I had a black with blue flake also, but with the ambient glow of the fog the gold-flake one simply made more sense to me.

 

It got bit immediately by a squirt as soon as I let it settle in some pads. I waded my way down the shore slowly picking apart pads until I got another shorty. I updated my bud to pass on the intel, then made my way down to a large line of pads. I picked that zone apart and was finally rewarded with a nice chunk of a bass. Sent the pic, called my buddy for an update, and I could sense the despair in his voice. Nothing for him yet. By then it was 3:30 am, my lower back was barking, I'd gotten a fish with some horsepower, so I skipped on out of there. On the way home I heard a ding-ding text update. He'd finally gotten one to eat a BullShad, so he beat the skunk too. I was already comfy on the couch when he buzzed me at 4:15. He had me on speaker just before he got up to the launch, and right then he hooked a good one on a Bull Herring. I could hear him winding it in with a thrill in his voice, but it shook off at the yak. Even with the miss, he sounded revitalized. It's funny how an unexpected bite can raise one's spirits after a tough go.

 

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

31 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Fascinating. Thanks! Do you have a brand favorite?

I'm just getting started, so I'm trying to buy the wallet friendly models.

 

The BD Shad seems awesome, but you've got to glue the tail section I've found.   Bought a 6th Sense Trace yesterday, and I think it's the coolest bait I've ever owned.   The BD Shad was 25, and the Trace was 35.   Haven't gotten the Bluegills ones yet.   

 

Gonna try the Trace later today, and will report back on the differences b/t the two.

 

I like these baits because of that big Gizzard shad I found at the end of summer.  Dang near identical looking baits.  

16 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Mist and fog meant I couldn't say no to fishing tonight, but after yesterday's honey-do list I didn't have the battery left to do a 90 mile 'round trip overnight yak mission with my bud. He went there, I stayed here, and we updated each other as the night wore on, and wore on it did. I didn't get a sniff from 11pm thru 1am, and he was skunking too. Both lakes were glass-flat with zero surface activity.

 

What's a boy to do when nothing whatsoever is working in the middle of the night during the 3rd week of October? He throws a black/gold flake trail worm. A trail worm, you wonder? It's just one of half a billion torn up and discarded Senkos I've found laying on trails that I've scooped up and repaired with Mend-it. I had a black with blue flake also, but with the ambient glow of the fog the gold-flake one simply made more sense to me.

 

It got bit immediately by a squirt as soon as I let it settle in some pads. I waded my way down the shore slowly picking apart pads until I got another shorty. I updated my bud to pass on the intel, then made my way down to a large line of pads. I picked that zone apart and was finally rewarded with a nice chunk of a bass. Sent the pic, called my buddy for an update, and I could sense the despair in his voice. Nothing for him yet. By then it was 3:30 am, my lower back was barking, I'd gotten a fish with some horsepower, so I skipped on out of there. On the way home I heard a ding-ding text update. He'd finally got one to eat a BullShad, so he beat the skunk too. I was already comfy on the couch when he buzzed me at 4:15. He had me on speaker just before he got up to the launch, and right then he hooked a good one on a Bull Herring. I could hear him winding it in with a thrill in his voice, but it shook off at the yak. Even with the miss, he sounded revitalized. It's funny how an unexpected bite can raise one's spirits after a tough go.

 

 

Thread is full of diehard Bass heads, you got to love Bass to put in the work that folks like you and Katie put in especially.   

 

Beautiful fish...last one with those deep colors to it.    I did laugh that a guy who owns a small fortune in big swimbaits, picks up discarded worms and fixes them ?  

[PhishLI]

18 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I did laugh that a guy who owns a small fortune in big swimbaits, picks up discarded worms and fixes them ?  

Yeah, I'm thrifty?

[Swamp Girl]

That Trace bait is beautiful. I love the packaging too. It reminds me of the way lures used to come in cardboard boxes with beautiful graphics. I just checked. Cabela's carries the lure. I'm going to buy one.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

5 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

That Trace bait is beautiful. I love the packaging too. It reminds me of the way lures used to come in cardboard boxes with beautiful graphics. I just checked. Cabela's carries the lure. I'm going to buy one.

Nice, can't wait to see some beautiful Maine Bass caught off it.

 

100% agree about the packaging.   It's the little things sometimes.   The level of detail on the bait itself is incredible....the top of the removable tails have the same matching scale pattern as the top of the bait.  I mean no fish is ever gonna care about that, but who does.....this guy lol.   The bait is almost too pretty to fish with.....almost ?

[Swamp Girl]

Next spring, Alex, I'd like you to coach me on fishing it. I'm assuming it works in the spring. Does it?

 

Like you, I appreciate details. The devil isn't in the details. Angels are! If you glanced at me in my canoe, you'd think that I was a sad sack, but my boat is Kevlar and my paddle is carbon and my rods are G. Loomis and my reels are Stellas. However, next to a metallic flake bass boat with video game electronics rolling off of a twin-axled, chromed trailer, I would look sad with my scratched canoe and plain, dark rods with zero bling.

 

Same with you, Alex. I've seen photos of your aluminum V-hull with the trolling motor, but you're throwing $35 swimbaits and you're throwing them from a platform that's as stealthy as a canoe and puts you close to the water, like a canoe, so you can watch and learn. You put your money and your body where it matters, where you can entice big bass and then land 'em. 

 

Say, I've learned so much from you guys that I'd like to share one of the few things that I've learned on the water and that's this: Long casts catch bass. I'm guessing I catch 85% of my fish within a few feet of the farthest reach of my long casts. It's the same in Canada, where the bass have never heard people sounds and bolt when they do. In Canada, I cast as long as possible, work my lure for a few seconds, and often retrieve it at full speed to cast again. So far in Maine, I work my lure most of the way to the canoe, but here and farther north, the farther I cast, the more fish I catch. Of course, it's harder to hook a fish when it hits way yonder and especially on my beloved surface lures, but in the end, I know I catch more fish with long casts. 

 

New pond tomorrow! It's deep, deep enough to hold trout, so I'm a little nervous about the depth, and there's going to be wind too, but I do love to fish new water and I'll hug those shorelines to be safe.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Next spring, Alex, I'd like you to coach me on fishing it. I'm assuming it works in the spring. Does it?

 

Like you, I appreciate details. The devil isn't in the details. Angels are! If you glanced at me in my canoe, you'd think that I was a sad sack, but my boat is Kevlar and my paddle is carbon and my rods are G. Loomis and my reels are Stellas. However, next to a metallic flake bass boat with video game electronics rolling off of a twin-axled, chromed trailer, I would look sad with my scratched canoe and plain, dark rods with zero bling.

 

Same with you, Alex. I've seen photos of your aluminum V-hull with the trolling motor, but you're throwing $35 swimbaits and you're throwing them from a platform that's as stealthy as a canoe and puts you close to the water, like a canoe, so you can watch and learn. You put your money and your body where it matters, where you can entice big bass and then land 'em. 

 

Say, I've learned so much from you guys that I'd like to share one of the few things that I've learned on the water and that's this: Long casts catch bass. I'm guessing I catch 85% of my fish within a few feet of the farthest reach of my long casts. It's the same in Canada, where the bass have never heard people sounds and bolt when they do. In Canada, I cast as long as possible, work my lure for a few seconds, and often retrieve it at full speed to cast again. So far in Maine, I work my lure most of the way to the canoe, but here and farther north, the farther I cast, the more fish I catch. Of course, it's harder to hook a fish when it hits way yonder and especially on my beloved surface lures, but in the end, I know I catch more fish with long casts. 

 

New pond tomorrow! It's deep, deep enough to hold trout, so I'm a little nervous about the depth, and there's going to be wind too, but I do love to fish new water and I'll hug those shorelines to be safe.

Great stuff Katie and looking forward to reading the report tomorrow.    Maybe you can get one of those trout to eat.    I really like eating grilled trout.   I'm a big Loomis fan, but I've bought three Alpha Angler rods now within the last month.  These rods won't win beauty contests, but they have a unique magic about them when it comes to pinning fish.   

 

I fished that Trace a bit this afternoon but found I don't yet have the confidence with it or these baits to keep it on long, along with being a very poor bite these last couple of weeks.   Lake fell nicely from 85 to 65 degrees a few weeks ago, but now it's ping ponging back in forth b/t 64 and 67.     Not ready for cold weather, but if that means some consistent action, so be it.    

 

So I put the BD Shad back on and managed to catch a small one on it.    This lure just catches fish it seems.    One reason why I put the BD Shad back on so fast is because the Trace rises quickly, you got to really work it slowly.   It also falls a lot slower than the BD Shad even though both are labeled as slow falling baits.    The action is great on the Trace, but a little less erratic than the BD Shad when jerked.    The BD Shad is a smaller bait though.    On the face, they look like the same bait essentially, however when fished they operate quite differently.        

 

Only other fish was a quality LGM on the MiniMax 1/2oz with Armor Shad trailer.   Was stubborn the last couple outings and kept the bigger profile Jackhammer on, right when I switched today, I caught a quality, and had two other hits iirc.       

[Swamp Girl]

So, for my first swimbait, should I buy the Trace or the BD Shad? 

 

I love that evening light in Alabama. Are you able to bass fish even in January? 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

57 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

So, for my first swimbait, should I buy the Trace or the BD Shad? 

 

I love that evening light in Alabama. Are you able to bass fish even in January? 

Yeah it's year round down here......if we get snow people lose their minds ?

 

Give me some time on that bait question, I'm such a newb right now I'd hate to steer you wrong.  I can say I know you'll love big swimbait fishing as it's about the only thing that comes close to how you catch so many of your fish up top.   You're spoiled catching all those awesome fish on topwater ?

 

 

[Jmontgomery87]

A 13" tonight on the Super Spook Jr. again. Why did it take me so long to start fishing top water? It's addictive.

[GreenPig]

Yesterday's fish of 874 & 1/2 cast

[AlabamaSpothunter]

6 hours ago, GreenPig said:

Yesterday's fish of 874 & 1/2 cast

Bucca Shad?   Nice fish.   You love throwing some big baits, get great results too

[Swamp Girl]

I fished a new lake this morning. Deep enough for trout, but considering I was chucking a Whopper Plopper and wacky worm, I caught no trout. See the first pic of the cliff. Now imagine that slope extending into the water. My map showed it was 40 feet deep about ten yards from shore. I caught fish in three places: the inlet, the outlet, and a point. I only caught 17 fish, but some of them were big for me, in the 17" to 19" range. See the bass with the big belly, the sixth photo down? I photographed her twice because she was so nice, so the seventh pic is the same fish on the board. I also included two short fish at the bottom so you could see that they were chunky too. No fishing for at least three days due to cold nights. I don't like being in a canoe in my shorts when it's in the thirties. 

[TnRiver46]

8 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I fished a new lake this morning. Deep enough for trout, but considering I was chucking a Whopper Plopper and wacky worm, I caught no trout. See the first pic of the cliff. Now imagine that slope extending into the water. My map showed it was 40 feet deep about ten yards from shore. I caught fish in three places: the inlet, the outlet, and a point. I only caught 17 fish, but some of them were big for me, in the 17" to 19" range. See the bass with the big belly, the sixth photo down? I photographed her twice because she was so nice, so the seventh pic is the same fish on the board. I also included two short fish at the bottom so you could see that they were chunky too. No fishing for at least three days due to cold nights. I don't like being in a canoe in my shorts when its in the thirties. 

Nice ones as always. Do you dangle night crawlers off all the hook points on your whopper plopper? I’m just noticing they make a lot of appearances in the pictures 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

17 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I fished a new lake this morning. Deep enough for trout, but considering I was chucking a Whopper Plopper and wacky worm, I caught no trout. See the first pic of the cliff. Now imagine that slope extending into the water. My map showed it was 40 feet deep about ten yards from shore. I caught fish in three places: the inlet, the outlet, and a point. I only caught 17 fish, but some of them were big for me, in the 17" to 19" range. See the bass with the big belly, the sixth photo down? I photographed her twice because she was so nice, so the seventh pic is the same fish on the board. I also included two short fish at the bottom so you could see that they were chunky too. No fishing for at least three days due to cold nights. I don't like being in a canoe in my shorts when its in the thirties. 

SHE SAYS ONLY 17 ?

 

You so spoiled lol, beautiful fat fish!  Beautiful lake as well!     There is a certain inherit magic a lake, pond, bog, river that doesn't get pressured by humans.    

 

Great report, and get some rest......after all, your season technically ended when you called it before catching hundreds more quality fish ?

9 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Nice ones as always. Do you dangle night crawlers off all the hook points on your whopper plopper? I’m just noticing they make a lot of appearances in the pictures 

She's just ripping off Hank Hill ??

 

edited.....look up the Hank Hill fishing video, don't want to get in trouble lol 

[PhishLI]

14 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I can say I know you'll love big swimbait fishing

Careful now. You may end up picking up trail plastics in order to fund a burgeoning swim bait addiction.?

 

My bud from the other night hit 2 spots last night.

 

Lil Buddy wake.

Tiny Klash

Side Hustle Garage Bullycat wake. Yes, a catfish wake bait.

 

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

2 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Careful now. You may end up picking up trail plastics in order to fund a burgeoning swim bait addiction.?

 

My bud from the other night hit 2 spots last night.

 

Lil Buddy wake.

Tiny Klash

Side Hustle Garage Bullycat wake. Yes, a catfish wake bait.

 

 

That catfish one is crazy cool!!!   Beautiful deep rich colored fish as well.   Those are some pigs. 

[Swamp Girl]

Alex, I had a tradesman at my house yesterday and we started talking fishing. That conversation went for about an hour. He showed me fish pics. I showed him fish pics. He was stunned at the number of bass I catch, but then he showed me a photo of his boat. Gorgeous boat. Big outboard.

 

And I said, "That's your handicap."

 

The outlet for this morning's pond, with a waterfall at the end, would not permit a big boat. Too many big rocks just under the surface. Too many weeds. 

 

The inlet was the same, for when the weeds weren't on the surface, they were just under it.

 

"But my boat is so comfy," he said.

 

And he's right. And a canoe isn't comfy, relatively. 

 

To be frank, I'm a former writer for Canoe & Kayak magazine, so I'm happy in a canoe, but I'm even happier that they let me cast to bass that the guys with big boats can't reach. However, there were times this morning when I felt like the pond was designed by a miniature golf designer. They only trap that wasn't present was a little windmill. At one point, my line arced over a tree branch and when the lure hit the water, a bass hit it. There were even floating beaver logs. 

[PhishLI]

13 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

That catfish one is crazy cool!!!

And this KGB crappie is cool too, and xxxxx is cool, and on and on it goes! Next thing you know...

 

13 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

At one point, my line arced over a tree branch and when the lure hit the water, a bass hit it.

That's called "The dirty dangle".

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Just now, PhishLI said:

And this KGB crappie is cool too, and xxxxx is cool, and on and on it goes! Next thing you know...

 

For sure, these are the coolest lures imho.  It's easy enough to become a Crankbait collector, big swimbaits seems like they should come with a Surgeon's General warning ?

[PhishLI]

1 minute ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

big swimbaits seems like they should come with a Surgeon's General warning ?

Yup, and then there's an entire SB subculture.

[diehardbassfishing]

[GaryH]

On 10/25/2022 at 5:00 PM, ol'crickety said:

On Sunday, I wrote that the "Early bird gets the bass."

 

That was not true at all today. I drove to a pond I love, which is really a river with a dam that turned it into a bog. Unfortunately, there were two cars there with homeless people in them. Considering it was dark and they were parked in a gully and I was alone, I left. If T-Billy or Alex or Eric or any of you had my six, I would have stayed and launched, but none of you were there. Sigh.

 

So, I went to another pond and launched in the dark. I caught a fish on my fifth cast with a Whopper Plopper, but over the next 2.5 hours, I could only catch nine more with no pattern whatsoever. There was a gob of lures in the bottom of my canoe that I tried without much success, which was weird, for the conditions were perfect: 56 degrees at 6:00 a.m., no wind, foggy, and occasional drizzle.

 

Then it all changed. It's like someone dropped a goofy roofie into the water, for the bass were suddenly giddy. Slap happy. Not trying to eat my Whopper Plopper, but beat my Whopper Plopper. I caught 17 of them in the next 1.5 hours, but lost at least that many. They put on some air shows too and pulled like terriers. It was like a Bruce Ward Batman episode: Wam! Blam! KaPow!

 

The photos start with a couple of the pond. Then the first fish in the dark. Then some of the 27 I caught. Again, there were no dinks, like Sunday. Weird, huh? Don't the little ones have to fatten up too for the winter? 

 

If Maine bass were a candy bar, they wouldn't be the Snickers. They'd be the Chunky, short and thick. 

 

Phish, I don't own a single jointed swimbait, but seeing the fish you catch with them, I'm going to have one next spring, for sure.

 

Beautiful bass, Alex. I've never fished with an Alabama rig, but I wanna. I think I would catch two or three bass at once with one up here. 

Your like the energizer bunny. Keep catching.. ??

[Bluebasser86]

On 10/26/2022 at 12:12 PM, ol'crickety said:

Alex, how do you do ^this^?

When the bait pauses and you throw a little slack into the line it will continue around if it glides good. You can kind of see the cadence on how to do it in this video I took last Sunday.

The first fish I had follow it in this video I really made the bait 180 on the fish but I was drifting at it too fast and I think my shadow spooked it. 

 

[PhishLI]

2 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

You can kind of see the cadence on how to do it in this video I took last Sunday.

ALL net. No rim! Awesome boat flip!