Latest Catch Pics Thread

[LrgmouthShad]

Just now, RipzLipz said:

pond’s big enough

2 acres. Max depth is 7ft. Max 6ft in most places deeper along the dam. There’s just this one hole that reaches 7ft. I graphed this pond years ago. Got lots of timber too.

 

Funny thing is, when I first fished this pond, I was convinced there was no bass in it. It was that tough. And it can still be really tough at times. What we know is that they really love plastics, and especially senkos, and especially black ones. Those weren’t working great, so I had to think outside the box this break. 

[Woody B]

I was able to slip in a split trip today.  I ended up with 2 "real" bass and 5 micro bass.   I had Christmas yesterday with my Dad and Sister.  My Sister won't come if my Dad's girlfriend is invited.  (I think that's disrespectful)   Anyway,  I took my Dad and his girlfriend to breakfast this morning.   I got to the lake around 9:45 with an hour tops to fish before going to my Daughters for Christmas with her and her family.  I was meeting Mrs B there.   My goal was 1 bass before leaving.   I went to a rocky deep channel swing bank.   I had gotten my jig caught in some rocks and needed to re tie afte40 fee tr getting it loose.  I re tied, and just tossed the jig into the water next to the boat.  My reel wasn't locked, so the jig was sinking.  I was removing my coat when I noticed this, then I saw my line going sideways.   I grabbed my rod, locked the reel set the hook and boated a decent Largemouth.   The I was off for Christmas lunch with the Grandkids.   I got back to the lake around 2:30.   I was at the other end of the lake, different landing.  I went down near the dam to a 40 foot deep brush pile I know of.  I caught 2 micro spots there,  8 to 10 inches long.   That wasn't what I was after so I went to a ~30 foot deep rockpile.   3 more micro spots there.   I went back up river a bit to a channel swing that's 40 feet or so from the bank.  I caught a decent spot there and decided to call it a day.   The lake finally turned over.  I had been thinking that I had somehow missed the fall turnover.  The water stinks, with all kinds of stuff floating.  Surface temp was 49 this morning and 50 this afternoon.   I'm not sure about tomorrow.  Christmas with Mrs B's siblings ect is tomorrow at 2.  I may go in the morning.  I've still got a cough left over from Covid.  If it's raining I'll probably stay home.   

[NorcalBassin]

Took a quick solo Christmas Eve trip this morning. Sure wish we had some snow, but since that's not happening I'll keep making the most of sunny days in the low 50's. 😆

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Edited to remove oversharing woe is me stuff, it was a nice day. 

 

 

First time seeing a Coyote on the lake, and man was it mangy looking.   Crazy looking lion tail on it as well.     

 

Haven't seen the big Bucks yet as I don't see them until the rut, but this was a pretty little 3pt guy.

 

[TnRiver46]

@Team9nine, that’s some cold water. We are still holding around 52-55 and probably rising 

 

@AlabamaSpothunter, if you really want your soul crushed you could go fishing in East TN all day and catch zero fish. We don’t wanna hear woe is me I caught 5 for 18 lbs haha. I’ve literally never even come close to that in my life 

 

I’ve been seeing a few 4 pt and 6 pt bucks as well, I’m guessing the big ones stay in the shadows. 

[Swamp Girl]

Alex, thank you for having your GoPro aimed at your hands and rod. That is so informative for me. Most anglers who create YouTube videos keep the camera focused on the water, but keeping it on your hands shows me how you're working your lures and catching your big bass.

 

Sorry you lost your biggest one, but I'm sure happy you caught a pair of five-pounders. They're beautiful. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Thanks Katie, I've found watching the GoPro footage to be an invaluable tool.   

 

One of the biggest eureka moments happened last year when I realized 90%+ of the A-Rig fish I caught came right after a rod pop.    Now it's second nature using rod pops in my A-Rig retrieve.   

 

When the fish are biting it's crazy how quickly you'll learn new things or nuances to a bait.    After today I realized my default setting on a blade bait should be smoother, smaller rod lifts, letting that bait hit the bottom again for at least the first half of the cast, and generally fishing it slower than I had in the past.   

 

I should have included my technique in the video, but I just want to bomb cast that thing in 15-25fow on clean structure areas free of hard cover......let it completely hit the bottom, then begin the yo yo retrieve.    For non electronic folks, I'm looking for channel swings, pinch points, main lake points, and anywhere deep water comes close to the shore....bluff walls, sharp tapering dropoffs, etc.  For 2D/Sidescan folks, I'm looking for swaths or a carpet of bait in those same above areas, but then specifically I'm looking to see fish on the bottom or edges of the bait in order to throw the blade bait.       When I see the Bass making spaghetti lines over the bait, that's when I switch to the Damiki Axe Blade or A-Rig.    

[Team9nine]

54 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

@Team9nine, that’s some cold water. We are still holding around 52-55 and probably rising 

My first winter down here, so no idea what is normal or what to expect. Coming from the Midwest, I’m used to fishing and catching in partially frozen/iced over conditions, so I’m guessing I won’t see anything quite that severe. This particular reservoir is small and relatively shallow - about 25 ft max depth - so it is probably pretty susceptible to these sub freezing nights more than others. I need to check out the neighboring water that is considerably deeper and see if it holds the heat mass better.

[TnRiver46]

The slower moving reservoirs are the ones that seem to stay warmer . Shallow swift gets zapped cold overnight 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

@TnRiver46  Oh I'm not trying to come across as woe is me, it's just incredibly frustrating when you feel you put yourself in the right position, and in this case the fish just won.      

 

Fishing in relative, and for me at least it's only a competition against myself.   I can't try to compare my results to Milliken or guides scoping on O.H. Ivie, but I can evaluate myself based on my water's Bass population, and my own past results. 

 

[TnRiver46]

Well you’ve sure got one heck of a bass population from what I can see! 18 lbs is great bag anywhere. Hit me up if you wanna see some big drum in person 😂 🥁 

[T-Billy]

3 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Oh I'm not trying to come across as woe is me, it's just incredibly frustrating when you feel you put yourself in the right position, and in this case the fish just won.      

I hear ya. I know all about frustration lately. My last muskie was 12/9. Been skunked the last 5 trips in a row, and 7 of the last 9. All the while, I'm looking at dozens of muskie on side scan and down scan. Lot's of follows, but can't make 'em commit. Today will be my last trip of the year. Temps are fixing to crash later this week.

 Stepping back and looking at the big picture, though this fall has been frustrating, I've had an awesome year. No complaints. I'm currently at 55 muskie over 30", with  13 of those being over 40", including the new PB in my avatar. 49 of those have come since mid August when I started targeting them outside of A-Rig season for the first time.  I also caught a new #3 LM, a new #3 SM, and a new #2 Saugeye this year, and was solid numbers wise. 

 After today, it's time to catch up on the honey-do list, service equipment, make baits, and get organized for the 24 season that'll get underway sometime in March.

 Merry Christmas to Y'all, and I hope y'all have a blessed new year.

[Woody B]

Regarding water temperature.  I wonder how close our readings are from transducer to transducer.   The temperature reading from my Active Target transducer is always 3 degrees cooler than my 3 in1.   I've been using temperature readings from my 3 in 1 since I got my boat so it's the one I go by.  (I have it turned off on AT).   Both of my readings are very slow to change.   Yesterday my 3 in 1 read 36 degrees (the air temp) when I launched my boat.  It took a good 20 minutes for it to get up the the "real" surface temperature of 49.   I keep an infrared thermometer in my boat.   It reads the surface temp the same as my 3 in 1, but only after my 3 in 1 has had time to stabilize.   Surface temp yesterday was 49 to 50.  I checked 3 of the Bass I caught.  They were 48 degrees.   

 

I talk to quite a few people while fishing.  I need to start asking their temperature readings.   My sonar units have a setting for temperature offset, but I've never tried to get it "right".   I suspect readings my vary as much as 5 degrees from source to source.  

 

 

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!

[Swamp Girl]

That's another great year for you, Tim. I love how broad your success is: muskies, saugeye, lmbs, and smallies. However, your musky numbers alone constitute ANOTHER heckuva year. Go, Tim!

 

10 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

should have included my technique in the video, but I just want to bomb cast that thing in 15-25fow on clean structure areas free of hard cover......let it completely hit the bottom, then begin the yo yo retrieve. 

 

The deepest pond I fish reaches 21' at one point. Otherwise, they're all 10' or less at their deepest. So, I want to try my blade baits and your retrieval in that one place with deep water. Thanks for the coaching, Alex, and congrats again on your two five-plus-pounders.

[Woody B]

I went for a couple hours this morning.  I caught 4 deep water micro bass before I finally connected to a 3.54 pound red lipped Largemouth in 10 feet of water.   All I can find in the deep water "community holes" are 10 inch Spots.   I think they're mixed in with Crappie but I haven't thrown anything a Crappie would like.   For some reason Longnose Gar look like Spots on sonar.  I suppose it's the way they school up.   I hooked something strong for a few seconds then it came loose.  I suspect it was a gar.   Unless the weather is really nice Saturday this was my last trip of the year.  My Dad's 89th birthday is Sunday.  I'll be spending that day with him.  I've still got a lingering cough from Covid.  I suspect being out in the cold isn't helping it any.   I'm taking a couple vacation days the 2nd week of January.  I hope to be 100% by then, and back after them.   

 

[gim]

14 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

First time seeing a Coyote on the lake, and man was it mangy looking. 

That thing does look awful. Guessing the pelt isn’t worth much. 😂

[T-Billy]

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

That thing does look awful. Guessing the pelt isn’t worth much. 😂

😂 Prime pelts aren't worth much these days.

[gim]

Says the guy who has a wolf hat. 

[Creek Pirate]

.We have had drought conditions  this Fall in North Alabama, making creek fishing tough.We had warm rain moving in this morning.I knew the bass would be biting.I begged my wife to let me go for a few hours.2 hours in the rain.19 smallmouth 6 largemouth.I was ecstatic.Biggest was a 21 inch smallmouth.4.4 lbs

 

Few decent largemouth 3.6 3.8

Sorry for the bad pictures.Rain makes it tough.All caught on a small spinnerbait with indiana blade and small grey grub trailer. I would pitch the spinnerbait and allow it to simply flutter down.Keeping the line as tight as I could I would set the hook when it stopped falling.

When the rain stopped so did the bite.I did take time to watch an eagle dry itself before I left.It was definitely  a Christmas I will remember.

[Swamp Girl]

@Creek Pirate: Man, you squeezed a day's worth of fishing out of two hours. You must have made Santa's extra-good list!

 

I too struggle with photography on rainy days. I love that eagle shot. 

[Creek Pirate]

@ol'crickety: Thanks but you should know my last 2 trips to this place yielded a total of 3 fish from 14 hours of fishing lol.3 months of dry weather and it rains at daylight.It was the perfect storm if you will.I simply took advantage.👍

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

1 minute ago, Creek Pirate said:

It was the perfect storm if you will.I simply took advantage.

 

I totally understand. I tell my spouse that I don't decide when I fish: The weather forecast decides. And I love fishing after a long, warm front rainfall and right before a cold front storm. I also love fishing in the rain and in dark, which is why so many of my fish photos are soggy and shadowy. 

[Creek Pirate]

  

👍

My motto is

Never work in the rain.Always fish in the rain.

 

[TnRiver46]

A Christmas miracle came to this Scrooge today!!!!

 

I’ve had eerily similar success to @Creek Pirate lately on previous days, catching a few but it takes hours. Makes sense as N Alabama is part of the same watershed. Got skunked Christmas Eve on a 3 hour tour. Today in the rain after all the festivities around 4 pm I walked between my dock and the neighbors dock in the mud (very thick mud, check the last picture ) where the lake has receded for winter pool. I was texting my brother about the upcoming eagles game and I thought I felt a bite. Hmmm. I’m tossing a Bobby garland baby shad on 1/16 oz jig with my 4’10” ultra light rod, just hoping for a bluegill to post in the other species thread 😂 

I toss back there and hook what I thought was a log that began to swim. I’m thinking carp in the tail. Then a big SMB jumps and my line is slack. I reel in and still have a clinch knot tied, the eye of the jighead wasn’t completely closed and the line slipped thru. Heartbreak beings to set in, finally got a Christmas bite and I jacked it up…….. although I was expecting bluegill 😂 

 

I only had a few baits in my pocket so I put a 2” paddle tail on a 1/16 oz minnow head (better jighead with the eye closed) and start casting . BAM! Hard strike and drag is peeling. I loosen it even more the fish is clear off to narnia and I’m running to my right in the thick wet clay trying to get out from under the tree above my head. Not my style but somehow I forgot to click to backreel! I heard the drag screaming so I just loosened it further as a reaction . The fish gets close to the bank jumping like wild, I don’t think it was as big as the first one I lost but it was certainly faster. I landed a 2.5 maybe 3 lb smallie I’m guessing , probably 18-19 inches. What a blast on the panfish setup, a true Christmas miracle in the rain

 

[Swamp Girl]

That was an exciting story to read, @TnRiver46! Well told.