Latest Catch Pics Thread

[TnRiver46]

@throttleplate, I catch a decent amount of walleye on lizards as well 

[Swamp Girl]

@Blue Raider Bob,

9 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Can't wait to see your pictures when the weather warms up and they start really eating!

 

Yeah, 24 is the most I've caught in 2023. I'm thinking they'll become friskier and friskier.

 

I lost quite a few at the end. It's so tough to play a fish when the wind is howling and my canoe is skittering. 

 

I appreciated how they were all fat. This pond doesn't grow long bass. The longest I've ever caught was 18", but it does grow one fat bass after another.

 

Of course, Bob, you're welcome to fish this pond anytime you want to vacay in Maine. I'll be your guide!

 

28 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Awesome stuff Katie, and get a DAYGUM STUD tomorrow 

 

Gosh, I hope so. Big fish are so unforgiving. They're wily and strong and if I make one mistake, I likely lost my only chance for that session. I am excited to use my just-arrived Livingston Bull Nose wakebaits. There's a big flat with emerging vegetation and I think the Bull Nose will skim the tops of the weeds. 

 

 

[thediscochef]

The year of pain continues, this is all I got this morning. Water temps are touching 80. Massive amounts of shad all around but nothing feeding on them. I guess I'll try night fishing, I'm lost at this point lol

[throttleplate]

4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

@throttleplate, I catch a decent amount of walleye on lizards as well 

 

[gim]

My Father and I had a pretty epic day targeting brown bass on Mille Lacs.  Not a ton of fish, but all quality ones.  My Father tied a PB with a 21 incher, and I caught two over 20 inches.  I weighed one of them just to see how much it weighed and it was 5.65 pounds (5th photo).  None of the smallmouth we caught were under 18 inches.  They were all prespawn females.  We even caught three accidental walleyes, one of which just happened to be in the keeper slot which was a pure stroke of luck.  This is a very big lake, and the wind rarely cooperates.  I only have a 17.5 foot boat and I need it to cooperate in order to fish where and how I want to.  For the first time in 3 years, that occurred yesterday and it paid off.  A perch colored jerk bait did most of the damage.  I feel very fortunate to have caught these fish.  Here are a few photos.  I'd like to thank @A-Jay and @Dwight Hottle for their advice, education, and inspiration when it comes targeting smallmouth on big waters.  They are a big help when it comes to this specific type of fishing.

[throttleplate]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

My Father and I had a pretty epic day targeting brown bass on Mille Lacs.  Not a ton of fish, but all quality ones.  My Father tied a PB with a 21 incher, and I caught two over 20 inches.  I weighed one of them just to see how much it weighed and it was 5.65 pounds (5th photo).  None of the smallmouth we caught were under 18 inches.  They were all prespawn females.  We even caught three accidental walleyes, one of which just happened to be in the keeper slot which was a pure stroke of luck.  This is a very big lake, and the wind rarely cooperates.  I only have a 17.5 foot boat and I need it to cooperate in order to fish where and how I want to.  For the first time in 3 years, that occurred yesterday and it paid off.  A perch colored jerk bait did most of the damage.  I feel very fortunate to have caught these fish.  Here are a few photos.  I'd like to thank @A-Jay and @Dwight Hottle for their advice, education, and inspiration when it comes targeting smallmouth on big waters.  They are a big help when it comes to this specific type of fishing.

 

The weather looks as cold as i was thursday. Did you keep the walleye or did dad take it?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

My Father and I had a pretty epic day targeting brown bass on Mille Lacs.  Not a ton of fish, but all quality ones.  My Father tied a PB with a 21 incher, and I caught two over 20 inches.  I weighed one of them just to see how much it weighed and it was 5.65 pounds (5th photo).  None of the smallmouth we caught were under 18 inches.  They were all prespawn females.  We even caught three accidental walleyes, one of which just happened to be in the keeper slot which was a pure stroke of luck.  This is a very big lake, and the wind rarely cooperates.  I only have a 17.5 foot boat and I need it to cooperate in order to fish where and how I want to.  For the first time in 3 years, that occurred yesterday and it paid off.  A perch colored jerk bait did most of the damage.  I feel very fortunate to have caught these fish.  Here are a few photos.  I'd like to thank @A-Jay and @Dwight Hottle for their advice, education, and inspiration when it comes targeting smallmouth on big waters.  They are a big help when it comes to this specific type of fishing.

Beautiful big brown fish, congrats!   Great to see you back on the water again, and also great to see you fishing with your dad.....you already won once you two launched the boat

[gim]

18 minutes ago, throttleplate said:

 

The weather looks as cold as i was thursday. Did you keep the walleye or did dad take it?

Thursday wasn’t too bad. It rained for about half an hour in the morning and then it was a mix of hazy wildfire sun and clouds. I let him take the walleye home.

 

I wasn’t fishing today, but it would have been nasty out there. It was 42 degrees when I got up and there was a stiff NW wind.

[Bird]

Wife and I camped all week on the lake and had perfect fishing weather.

Water temp 70* and thick overcast skies.

This lake has VERY steep banks, did very well all week on 1/8 Shaky head/Zoom speed craw and Jackal flickShake 4.8 watermelon candy.

[throttleplate]

4 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I wasn’t fishing today, but it would have been nasty out there. It was 42 degrees when I got up and there was a stiff NW wind.

 

Thats what it was here thursday, cold and windy but the fish were biting.

[Swamp Girl]

Well fished, @gimruis!

 

Those are beautifully marked bass, @Bird.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Would have been an amazing day, but I had my first big fish (5lb+) get hooked poorly resulting in some bleeding.    She absolutely choked that big 7.5" Shimano head first and that stupid treble went under the first gill slit.   I was able to go underneath and remove the hook and the wound wasn't very traumatic, but you read stuff and some people will tell you it's a 100% death.   It makes me sick, and I pray to God she lives.  If I quit this awesome sport it's because of the guilt.   Never felt this way growing up, but now I'm a bleeding heart.  

 

Sorry I had to get that off my chest.   

 

Caught a super healthy 6.6 on a buzzbait, as good of an explosion as the lost giant video I posted a few weeks ago, one that you know instantly that it's the right kind of fish.   Stupid GoPro was filming upside down.   I got to disable that rotate feature.

 

Then I caught the 7lb fish on the Shimano swimbait.  

 

Lastly I caught a Warmouth which was magnificent, I love these little dudes.   If they grew to LGM size, nobody would fish for LGMs.   

[Swamp Girl]

5+, 6.6, and 7 lbers???????

 

And you still have something in reserve to love the lovely Warmouth!

 

Alex, I'm so proud of you. I have never had a fishing session like that and likely never will. Incredible. That's Mexico resort-grade fishing. 

 

As far as the fish surviving, I fish around bald eagles. When I fished below waterfalls in northwestern Ontario, there were often eagles there watching, waiting, and hoping. One time, I hooked a little smallie and when I released it, it was clearly hurt. Not bleeding, but hurt. So, I went back to fishing and within a couple minutes, an eagle descended and grabbed it. I've caught thousands of bass in Ontario over decades and that was the ONLY TIME I've ever seen an eagle swoop to a fish I hurt. My point is that bass are pretty sturdy. In the video, you return that goblin to the water ASAP. I think that's the MOST IMPORTANT thing we can do to protect them. They're drowning in our air, just as we'd be drowning in their water if something took us down.

 

And if the bass dies, it will be eaten. Nothing is wasted in nature. And she's already reproduced several times, so her genetics aren't lost.

 

Still, after all I just wrote, I love that you're affected. I would be too. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

You're a special person Katie, I truly mean that, and I take comfort in your words!  The first 10mins I still had that narcotic high going on from catching a good one, but as each hour went by until I posted that and heard comforting words from you, the guilt feeling has grown.   I don't feel guilty about harvesting game, but when I'm not trying to harm these critters since they generate so much joy in my life, it's just soul wrenching hurting a special one especially.   

Thank you for the kind words as well, just to clarify a bit....it was just two nice ones, the 6.6 on the buzzer, and then 7 on the Shimano swimbait.   

 

Fishing at least for me is the ultimate test in persistence, as well as managing your expectations and frustrations.   Mon-Thurs, every day I got stuck in a thunderstorm on the lake, so much so that a really nice gentlemen waived me down today and gave me his card with his number and a few of his neighbor's number in case I got in trouble.   "Me and my wife love to watch you out there fishing, but sometimes we worry about you because you don't seem concerned with the weather".  I explained to him my singular focus on my white whale and told him I'll send him pics of her if I get her, or he'll see me riding the Pequod to the Icey depths ? Really classy and kind act.  

 

I got the smallest taste of @king fisher life today, and I'd like a refill, and make it in a larger glass ?   

[Jar11591]

5 hours ago, gimruis said:

My Father and I had a pretty epic day targeting brown bass on Mille Lacs.  Not a ton of fish, but all quality ones.  My Father tied a PB with a 21 incher, and I caught two over 20 inches.  I weighed one of them just to see how much it weighed and it was 5.65 pounds (5th photo).  None of the smallmouth we caught were under 18 inches.  They were all prespawn females.  We even caught three accidental walleyes, one of which just happened to be in the keeper slot which was a pure stroke of luck.  This is a very big lake, and the wind rarely cooperates.  I only have a 17.5 foot boat and I need it to cooperate in order to fish where and how I want to.  For the first time in 3 years, that occurred yesterday and it paid off.  A perch colored jerk bait did most of the damage.  I feel very fortunate to have caught these fish.  Here are a few photos.  I'd like to thank @A-Jay and @Dwight Hottle for their advice, education, and inspiration when it comes targeting smallmouth on big waters.  They are a big help when it comes to this specific type of fishing.

@gimruis Good to see you’re finally able to bass fish. Nice to way to open the season!

 

@AlabamaSpothunter Now that’s a day! Looks like that 7lb was sitting right at a inflow pipe? That warmouth is the nicest colored one I’ve ever seen. Thought it was a cichlid at first.
 

I can certainly relate to the guilt when fish are inadvertently harmed. Our sport needs more people who care about the well being of the fish. And the way you care about the fish, you are waaaayyyyy net positive as far as fish surviving due to proper handling vs fish harmed inadvertently.  

[AlabamaSpothunter]

@Jar11591 Thanks so much for those comforting words friend, means all the world to me!  I knew you'd understand as you're all about taking care of these special fish.   This is a special place full of special people like you and Katie, pretty rare thing these days.

 

I pulled up to that spot and said if anything ever looks money, it's this right here.....4 days of heavy rains dumping straight into a shallow flat that drops off to 30ft within 30-40ft.    Bet that girl was just sitting up there with her nose in the current just slurping.    Something about the day of a new moon.   Lots of my bigger fish have come on new moon days.  

 

Agree on the Warmouth, never seen one that dark before.  Such cool, mean little fish ?     

[throttleplate]

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

an eagle descended and grabbed it.

 

[Swamp Girl]

5 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

 I don't feel guilty about harvesting game, but when I'm not trying to harm these critters since they generate so much joy in my life, it's just soul wrenching hurting a special one especially.

 

You're right about intentional harvesting of game to sustain our lives and accidentally killing being different. The latter is the worst. But, in the end, you don't know her fate. You cited a 100% mortality rate, but there's no such thing. There are always survivors. Heck, we've all seen the photos of fish maimed by muskies and Great Blue Herons who live on and there are so many stories of our species who inexplicably recover from 100% mortality situations.  

 

Well, I'm off, and fingers crossed that I don't get hurt nor hurt and I hope I get to dance with a great goblin or two like the mighty Alex just did!

[Dwight Hottle]

@gimruis You had a true quality outing congrats to you & your dad. 
@AlabamaSpothunter Nice score on that new bait. I haven’t got mine wet yet but you just motivated me. 
 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

2 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

@gimruis You had a true quality outing congrats to you & your dad. 
@AlabamaSpothunter Nice score on that new bait. I haven’t got mine wet yet but you just motivated me. 
 

Thanks Dwight!   Can't wait to see the giants you produce on this bait.   It's a blast to fish with, and a buddy recommended putting a "tracer" on the forehead of the bait which I'm going to do.   Also need to play around with suspend dots as it won't take much to get this bait to suspend.    

 

Again looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this bait.

 

 

5 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

You're right about intentional harvesting of game to sustain our lives and accidentally killing being different. The latter is the worst. But, in the end, you don't know her fate. You cited a 100% mortality rate, but there's no such thing. There are always survivors. Heck, we've all seen the photos of fish maimed by muskies and Great Blue Herons who live on and there are so many stories of our species who inexplicably recover from 100% mortality situations.  

 

Well, I'm off, and fingers crossed that I don't get hurt nor hurt and I hope I get to dance with a great goblin or two like the mighty Alex just did!

You're absolutely right Katie, I've caught some otherwise perfectly healthy fish this last year that look to be true survivors of some pretty traumatic injuries.    

 

Can't wait for the report, I hope while I'm typing this you're boating a giant in the most secluded beautiful bog ?

[Woody B]

I went this morning from 5:45 until 10.  Caught 9.  No "real" dinks, at least by my standards.  The smallest ones were 2 poundish.   I caught a 3 1/2 pound spot within my first dozen casts.  Later I caught a 3 1/2 pound Largemouth.   The early ones came on a Devils Horse.  The later ones on a Bladed jig.   I left the lake aggravated with 2 messed up rods.  The insert in the tip fell out of one.   The other has a big groove/crack in the tip insert.  Both started "feeling funny" so I looked and saw the problems.   I've got a friend who builds rods for Carp fishermen.  These 2 will be going to him tomorrow.  I might just start buying Ugly Sticks and throw them away when a guide fails.  I fished for 30 years with no guide failures.  I've had 4 now in the past year.   

[Swamp Girl]

Alas, the bass won. And one. Yes, I only caught one. I did have a big one erupt beside my canoe as I lifted a Livingston Bull Nose out of the water and it seemed big based upon the noise and violence, but since this is a tale told by an idiot, it might have been just sound and fury signifying nothing.*

 

*I apologize for going full nerd in this sentence. 

 

Anyway, here's the one fish. It's beautifully dark, but a Chicken McNugget for Alex's toads.

 

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

9 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Alas, the bass won. And one. Yes, I only caught one. I did have a big one erupt beside my canoe as I lifted a Livingston Bull Nose out of the water and it seemed big based upon the noise and violence, but since this is a tale told by an idiot, it might have been just sound and fury signifying nothing.*

 

*I apologize for going full nerd in this sentence. 

 

Anyway, here's the one fish. It's beautifully dark, but a Chicken McNugget for Alex's toads.

 

 

 

And that fish would have just eaten the two I caught earlier like peanuts ?

 

It's a beautiful fish, and the fact you only got one confirms the fact you were fishing the right way for big fish imho.   She's a coming for you, I have absolutely zero doubt about that.    

[GaryH]

22 hours ago, gimruis said:

My Father and I had a pretty epic day targeting brown bass on Mille Lacs.  Not a ton of fish, but all quality ones.  My Father tied a PB with a 21 incher, and I caught two over 20 inches.  I weighed one of them just to see how much it weighed and it was 5.65 pounds (5th photo).  None of the smallmouth we caught were under 18 inches.  They were all prespawn females.  We even caught three accidental walleyes, one of which just happened to be in the keeper slot which was a pure stroke of luck.  This is a very big lake, and the wind rarely cooperates.  I only have a 17.5 foot boat and I need it to cooperate in order to fish where and how I want to.  For the first time in 3 years, that occurred yesterday and it paid off.  A perch colored jerk bait did most of the damage.  I feel very fortunate to have caught these fish.  Here are a few photos.  I'd like to thank @A-Jay and @Dwight Hottle for their advice, education, and inspiration when it comes targeting smallmouth on big waters.  They are a big help when it comes to this specific type of fishing.

Outstanding ???

[Texas Flood]

First river smallie of the year. Caught him on a Tokyo Rig. This was the first time using the TR, but I really like it. Can’t wait to see how it works on the lake next week.