Latest Catch Pics Thread

[N Florida Mike]

My nieghbor Leon called and had a new topwater frog he wanted me to see . I had fished all morning and was relaxing but he’s always so excited about fishing  I met him down at the property line. He had had 2 blowups but missed them. He insisted that I try with his combo and frog. It casted probably 125 feet.

Boom! Fish on ! 😄 

He couldn’t believe it…

 

[softwateronly]

Best of the weekend!  From the pier at the in-laws, I chucked it maybe 35yds and it's still only about 7' deep.  Came on 7" flush w/ a 3/8oz free rig, had a bit of a belly on her, I'm thinking she was an early spawner and also an earlier recovery.

 

scott

 

 

[PhishLI]

Took a trip way out east with my brother to a pretty good lake for a john boat sesh. With a few days past the full moon, overcast skies in the forecast and a late moonrise, we had high hopes. But once we got there, the fog was so dense it was like fishing inside a storm cloud. Normally that would be just fine, but just like my local spots, this place has had an early explosion of lily pads, but worse than that, trolling motor battery-killing pondweed was everywhere, so we had to row. Could barely see past the front of the boat with the blinding pea-soup fog which meant every wake bait casted out ended up stuck in pads or pondweed that would not easily give up a lure. Headlamps reflecting back on us just made seeing out farther worse, so we ending up blowing up spots and killing time retrieving pricy swimbaits.

 

We finally committed to running only soft plastics through the jungle and on the bottom. Eastern north shore lakes on this island are often a few weeks behind mine, so I was unsurprised to get the tell-tale bumps and short strikes of nest guarders. We finally rowed into a small, clear patch in very shallow water way up the lake, so my brother winged out a Tiny Tum crank down wake. Got a nice fish right away, and on the very next cast to the very same spot he got a smaller fish which we assumed was the male of a mating pair. We were both whipped by then, so we rowed back, tossed down some geritol, and called it a night. When only one of us lands something, we're content with saying that the boat didn't get skunked. There isn't much that beats time spent with my brother, so it's all good.

[JayMac89]

Been slammed at work and had to work the past few Saturdays. Not alot of fishing done. Weather and water have both warmed up considerably. Got out Saturday and Sunday with no luck. I am the lead mechanic at a commercial HVAC/R shop. Which means I also have a bit of a managerial role as well as being a mechanic. Both days we were getting slammed with calls so I spent more time on the phone and helping the other mechanics out than fishing. It was frustrating. Talking to other guys out, no one was really having much luck all weekend. 

 

Monday I finally got on some fish. Only two but better than nothing. 

 

Nothing big. Nothing special. But this season I'm really dedicating myself to improving on certain techniques. Both these fish were caught on a weightless t-rigged creature bait. A technique I really want to improve on. Iv found a few things. One, I can skip a wacky rig or t rig quite easily. Which is big time. I know it's crazy to think. But my first ever bass was caught on a t rig worm, then I quickly moved on to other stuff. Due to a few different reasons but to keep this from being a novel, I'll just leave it at that. My first fish was actually caught in a cool way, at least for me. I always see you guys talking about "line watching" when talking about jigs or t rigs. Well that's how I caught this fish. Saw a boil and made a few casts, felt nothing but saw my line moving sideways. Set the hook and boom. Fish. The second fish was caught by figuring out a sort of pattern. I was casting to shoreline cover with no luck. But maybe 10-15 feet off the shoreline was some submerged vegetation and I kept seeing movement. Started targeting that. Boom second fish. Had a few more bites. Caught a few pickrel. 

 

I'm really happy with how this season is going. Iv gained a ton of confidence in jigs, wacky rigs, and now t rigs. I had success in seasons of the past. But always felt one dimensional. Or lacking in a ton of techniques. Alot has really came together for me so far. Learned a ton this season. Honestly, probably learned or had the light bulb "ah ha" moment more this season then I'm my past 2 seasons combined. That's what it's all about, learning and experience. Very very very happy with the way things are going

[Swamp Girl]

I caught 28 and the biggest five were about 18 pounds, as there were at least five 18" or longer, but the best part of the evening was simply being close to 68 years old, but still on the water, still in a slender, tippy canoe, still hearing the owls hoot, and still smelling a distant fire. I am a north woods girl, born in the suburbs, but happiest on dark and distant water. See the third photo of the grass, third pic down? That's were they were. It was too windy for me to fish the reed stump fields, so I tried grass in a protected bay and did okay.

 

I did catch a skinny 17.75-incher and put her on the bump board because she was too thin for a good lip and grip showing. I hoped the bump board might make her seem a bit thicker. It didn't.

 

The last bass looks smallish, but she wasn't. A couple of them took line under my canoe, which is always exciting and challenging. I lost a few nice ones too. I nearly always do.

 

P. S. - I'm fishing a pal's pond this week. It has potential for a bigger bass than my pond. I haven't caught a bigger bass yet, but fingers crossed as I'm fishing it again this evening. However, I'm starting to worry. There are more and more weeds and the bass are so strong. I lost some nice ones last night to weeds and as the summer progresses, that'll happen more and more. I hope to fish 3.5 hours this evening instead of last night's 2.5 hours. Hoping the wind lets me!

 

 

[MIbassyaker]

Visits to a couple of the Grand River bayous, Friday last week and this morning.  These are backwater areas connected to the lower Grand as it nears Lake Michigan, consisting of a variety of drowned creek mouths and old segments of river course.  KVD has said that the lower Grand River system was one of his favorite places to tournament fish when he was coming up.

 

Bayou 1, on Friday, had 70 degree water already. 

I caught 13 bass, most in the 13-14" range. About half came early on a buzzbait, then a bunch more on a spinnerbait, with a couple of jig fish sprinkled in.  Didn't take any pics of Bayou 1 fish, because I kept waiting for a bigger one that never came.  However, one of my favorite spinnerbaits was bitten off by some variety of large toothy beast, which I never saw, but felt for a few exciting seconds. 

 

Then, I got a few this morning on Bayou 2.

 

Some buzzbait action at sunrise produced a handful in the 15"-18" range:

 

Then things slowed down.  The next three hours produced a few smaller bass on a frog and spinnerbait.

 

Just before putting in at 10am to end my morning, I got another nice one on the last cast:

 

Which put my count at 8 for today. 

 

OK, now I need to go back to work....

[IcatchDinks]

A little pre-work pond fishing produced one tiny dink. But I caught the stupid thing three times. I refused to take his picture the first couple times, but after three attempts he finally got his photo taken and he finally left me alone. Saw very little action aside from him. Had a decent fish on the end of my line for a second, but he had sideswiped the bait and was barely hooked. A headshake freed him. 

 

[Jmurphy87]

Well my bfs gear got me a nice little bass lol. Hey at least I caught a bass and the other stuff I caught is in the other species thread.

[Swamp Girl]

I've kept my canoe at a pal's pond this week. The fishing was suddenly harder, as the reeds rose overnight and the lily pads are getting thicker. I caught 31 bass, but likely lost 40 or more. They dive, hook on a reed or lily pad stem, and shake free. I lead with the four best bass, followed by a golden light shot, then one of a smallmouth, which are never big but always beautiful, then the sunset, and finally, one of the smaller bass. 

 

I did apply @Pat Brown's advice and @T-Billy's advice to turn the fish with brute force and once they're on the surface, surfboard them to the canoe. When I remembered to do that, their tactics worked pretty well, but I didn't always remember because everything happens in a second. 

 

I'll fish my pal's pond one more time this week and next week, I'll fish two bogs, one where I caught my PB and the other where I caught three six-plus-pounders in 2023. 

 

I heard a turkey gobble and an owl hoot and saw a fox and two deer. The third bass down is a tank, huh?

[Bazoo]

I got these the other day.

 

This is the biggest crappie I've ever seen!

 

 

Beautiful sunset. If you're wondering, that thing on the left, its a knife lanyard.

 

Got these this evening on the way to bible study. He's coming back, don't let him catch you with slack lines!

 

 

[TnRiver46]

Got out from 6:45-8:45. Several little smallies and two big drum. Motor started acting weird just as I was running up the rapids back to my truck but it smoothed out thank goodness . 12 yr old harbor freight special that sits outside, might need some maintenance 😂 

 

also had to wear my wife’s purple life jacket…..

really fits my contours…….

[IcatchDinks]

11 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

 

I always love a good sunset over the water photo. It's so beautiful when the surface is perfectly still and mirrors the sky to such a degree that without a frame of reference (in this instance your canoe), you wouldn't know which way is up or down. The treetops catching fire with the last rays of the sun's light. Sunset is always a magical moment. It reminds me of a line from a Rich Mullins song: 

 

"There's more that rises in the morning than the sun. 

And more that shines in the night than just the moon."

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, IcatchDinks said:

I always love a good sunset over the water photo. It's so beautiful when the surface is perfectly still and mirrors the sky to such a degree that without a frame of reference (in this instance your canoe), you wouldn't know which way is up or down. The treetops catching fire with the last rays of the sun's light. Sunset is always a magical moment. It reminds me of a line from a Rich Mullins song: 

 

"There's more that rises in the morning than the sun. 

And more that shines in the night than just the moon."

 

Thanks, ICD. I took several photos to get the one you like. I don't know if you know this, but Maine is thick with artists. They settle here for the quality of the light. 

 

I like how the bow of my canoe is in nearly all my landscape shots. I was bemoaning the relative demise of canoes in Maine with a pal recently. Sure, there are still canoes, but they're far outnumbered by kayaks and motorboats. Canoes are beautiful to me. I love their simplicity. They're simply a hull as tricked-out canoes are rare. Canoes remind me of the famous Shaker song:

 

"Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight."

[IcatchDinks]

@NorthernBasser very nice fish! And your camera takes crystalline photos! 

[Swamp Girl]

@NorthernBasser: What a day!!! Don't forget about this thread. It's a lively one. It would be great to have you join the gang that frequents it.

[NorthernBasser]

41 minutes ago, IcatchDinks said:

@NorthernBasser very nice fish! And your camera takes crystalline photos! 

Thank you sir. Just a basic Samsung Galaxy S24.

15 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

@NorthernBasser: What a day!!! Don't forget about this thread. It's a lively one. It would be great to have you join the gang that frequents it.

Absolutely! I enjoy going through and not just seeing pics, but also reading the stories that go with them. And I love how you show that you don't need some big bass boat to get out there and chase these beautiful creature. I'd actually like to get a kayak or canoe myself so I can get on some of these smaller bodies of water that bigger boats can't. Maybe someday...

 

Tight lines!

[gim]

1 hour ago, NorthernBasser said:

Fish were very active, only interested in moving baits.

 

Those are the best days.  Chuck and wind, catch big fish.  No dicking around with the worms.

[Swamp Girl]

26 minutes ago, NorthernBasser said:

And I love how you show that you don't need some big bass boat to get out there and chase these beautiful creature.

 

I am thinking of putting a casting deck on my canoe and mounting a 250 hp Merc on it. I'm looking for a test pilot. Interested?

 

I used to live in Wisconsin and I once fished a northern Wisconsin lake down a long trail that was full of five-pounders. I wish I could remember its name as I'd share it with you, but I'm guessing it's one of hundreds of such little lakes holding big bass.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

So many awesome fish, and this thread really comes alive when the folks up north finally get back on the water.    You guys sure do make up for the lost time during the winters.  

 

I love seeing the fishy places you folks fish, @MIbassyaker and @ol'crickety look like they fish in a Thomas Kincade painting.  

[Swamp Girl]

3 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

So many awesome fish, and this thread really comes alive when the folks up north finally get back on the water.    You guys sure do make up for the lost time during the winters.  

 

I love seeing the fishy places you folks fish, @MIbassyaker and @ol'crickety look like they fish in a Thomas Kincade painting.  

 

Yesterday evening was glowing, Alex. I think the photos I took yesterday are the ones I like best of all my BR photos. I'm going fishing again this evening. I have soooooo much more energy for fishing when I don't have to haul my canoe, but it's back to hauling next week so I can fish two of my favorite big bass bogs. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

I'm glad you posted that first pic especially Katie, now I understand what you're talking about when you say pencil reeds.     I've never fished around anything like that.   My home lake has Water Willow which is native, and Alligator Grass which is "invasive" even though it's wonderful vegetation for fish.    It's very thick stuff, and you can only really fish the perimeter of it.   If you lay the hammer down upon hookup and move the fish from the edge, it's not a problem at all.   

 

I can see how those would be heart break fuel, sparse enough to fish effectively, yet clumped up enough to catch a treble outside a fish's mouth, or all together wrap your line up.   

 

I haven't seen anybody get to fish 100% unaltered nature like yourself.   To me the idea of fishing water that hasn't been altered or effected by mankind is priceless, and something that we don't really have down here.    You're already getting your money's worth on that property, love to hear that.  

 

It always amazes me no matter how remote a piece of nature I find down here, I always find at least a piece of trash.   

[Swamp Girl]

@AlabamaSpothunter:

 

Alex, there are acres of those pencil reeds at my pal's pond. They're so stiff and fibrous that when a bass attaches my lure to one, I have to paddle to the reed to free the lure. Oh, well. Sometimes I win and sometimes the bass win. I'm going to try a spinnerbait and buzzbait tonight. 

 

My pond doesn't have those pencil reeds. It has lily pads, meaning, according to Glenn, a softer bottom. However, my pond also has rocky bottom and that's where I catch smallmouth. 

 

If I find trash, which I rarely do, I always pack it out. 

 

As far as my pond property, I took a couple friends down to it and the wife said, "It's wild. It's you." 

 

 

[T-Billy]

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

I am thinking of putting a casting deck on my canoe and mounting a 250 hp Merc on it. I'm looking for a test pilot. Interested?

Hold my beer. I got this.

[MIbassyaker]

3 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I love seeing the fishy places you folks fish, @MIbassyaker and @ol'crickety look like they fish in a Thomas Kincade painting.  

 

I do try to keep all the residential development, agricultural machinery, and industrial waste just a bit out of the frame...

 

To be fair, while it is an honor to be categorized with @ol'crickety, there are about the same number of people living within an hour of my house as the entire state of Maine, and every place I fish is within that radius --even the quieter places are not as untouched as I sometimes try to make them look. 😎

 

[MIbassyaker]

1 hour ago, T-Billy said:

Hold my beer. I got this.

 

We need video of this.