Latest Catch Pics Thread

[FishTank]

Caught 6 total and one good one yesterday. It was a strange day. It started out around 42 degrees in the morning but by noon it was 78 with 15mph winds and it brought out the pleasure boaters and nut jobs. It was hard to stay put and fish but this 22in of smallmouth fun made it worth it. 

 

Once again on BFS gear and 5lb test fluorocarbon.  It took about 10 min to bring it from the 20+ feet of water I was in.  I would have taken a better pic but it took a long time to get it out of the net and I wanted to get it back in the water. 

 

In the pic below is my Yakattack net. It's 21in wide and this guy was an inch or two wider. This also my PB smallmouth.  It was a blast.

 

[Swamp Girl]

IF I fish my friend's pond tomorrow morning, I'm going to be non-Crickety and fish a Ned bait. I'm a run and gun angler, throwing big lures for the most active fish and paddling, paddling, paddling, always moving, but I've been thinking about the two flurries yesterday where I caught most of my fish and they were at two weed beds that are still green. And I'm guessing that I could have mined more bass from those beds with a subtle, stay-on-site presentation. 

 

I'm going to scout the busted dam today. If it's safe to launch there tomorrow morning, I might. Otherwise I'm Ned fishing my pal's pond.

 

4 minutes ago, FishTank said:

I would have taken a better pic but it took a long time to get it out of the net and I wanted to get it back in the water. 

 

Thank you for protecting our beloved resource. 

 

And CONGATS on the new PB. My longest smallies ever were some 21.5-inchers, so you've surpassed me and that makes me happy. 

 

[Bluebasser86]

This past weekend I went on an adventure to catch a Missouri muskie from my kayak. Went to a little lake with a very healthy population of toothy fish as well as some really nice bass. Hadn't been there in many years, to say I was excited would be an understatement. Getting to break out my muskie baits and rods really got me going. 

It was a little cooler and way windier than I expected after making the 3.5 hour drive to the lake. Glad that I had tossed a set of thermals in last minute but was regretting the decision to tough it out in the Crocs. The lake was way down and had a lot more vegetation in it than last time I fished it. I started right at the ramp, alternating between tossing muskie and bass baits and actually had a couple muskie surface near the boat but none were interested in anything I had to offer. I was catching a decent number of bass but nothing of any size. Worked a few coves and points before I pulled into a cove I had caught one of my biggest bass ever from the lake out of some brush. I was working a Rage Bug through the brush and picked off a few more small bass. I got hit in one but missed it. After a few more pitches back, I got bit again and didn't miss. The weight on the other end told me it was a good one, and I quickly caught sight of it and realized it wasn't a bass, it was my muskie. Trying to control it and hoping my 17lb Tatsu would avoid the teeth, I reached with my net that felt so huge until I was trying to put that fish in it, but got it scooped up. My soft tape showed it right around 40". No good way to take out of the water pictures by myself, but I'll have some screen grabs from the video once I'm done with it.

10:30 in the morning on the first day and I'd already made my trip, that made the rest of the weekend easy. I worked through some more coves and picked up a nice bass out of a laydown.

I'd figured out the bass were really liking a little finesse jig. 

I was working a Berkley Slobberknocker around some pads on a mainlake point and just finishing up a cast when a shadow flashed up behind it. The muskie was close enough to almost touch the bait and followed through the turn at the boat but then disappeared. I ran several more baits through the area but it never came back.

Worked across the dam, which I never do but with the trolling motor, I was really able to cover water. I tried a lipless crankbait and started picking up fish steadily all across the dam, including one fairly healthy fish.

I ran to the back of the next big cove that had some standing timber because I remembered catching some nice bass off the trees. Well there wasn't much water around most of the trees with the water being so low. Disappointed, I kept picking through them and found one big tree that was actually still in 10' of water sitting off by itself. I hopped my jig a couple times and felt the thump through the wind and bow in my line. I thought I'd hooked another muskie until the big head clear the water. She wasn't my heaviest of the year, but at 21.75", it was my longest bass of the year.

I ran through a lot more water. Nothing I really liked and didn't catch much. I was running out of daylight and needed to setup my tent still, which I had to do at another lake 15 minutes away because camping isn't allowed on this lake. I wanted to check out as much of the lake as I could the first day so I knew where to spend my time the rest of the trip. I was getting close to the far end of the lake where I'd caught some good bass off some laydowns in past trips. Well those laydowns were mostly dry to my disappointment. I was cruising by one laydown that was actually in the water when a big swirl suddenly caught my eye. I grabbed a muskie rod with a Mepp's Giant Killer and tossed it along the laydown. I didn't get many cranks in when a muskie shot out of nowhere and engulfed it. After a brief fight, I netted my second muskie of the day! A much thicker but shorter fish at 37" inches.

This one was mean and didn't want me to get the hook out, got me a little bit in the process.

That would be my final fish of the first day.

 

The second day was a day of frustration. It started off right away when my new GoPro wouldn't even turn on. The first day I had issues with it shutting off and "repairing file", constantly towards the end of the day, which caused me to miss most of my second muskie on video. The bigger issue to me, with no GoPro, I had no way to take any pictures of a muskie except the in the net picture. Bummed, I even took it back to the truck and messed with it, no luck (of course it turned right on when I got home). The bright side in all of this, while I was messing with my camera, I noticed fish constantly messing around in the weeds by the ramp. I had a rod with a YUM Tip Toad rigged up, so I started working through those weeds. It didn't take maybe 3 cast before a muskie blasted it but missed it. I ran several more baits through but no luck. Switching back to the toad, first cast it waked back up behind it but didn't it. Next cast back, another alligator wake behind it, this time complete with fin and tail out of the water, then a head, mouth and teeth popped up and my bait was gone. This fish was another fighter, taking me around the front of the kayak twice before I got it in the net, which was received with a golf clap from the guys on the ramp that watched the whole thing go down. Muskie #3 was a 39" toad eater, my first ever topwater muskie.

My hook and toad were understandably trashed, so I switched to a Booyah Toadrunner and kept working that grass. It wasn't 10 minutes later when I had another muskie go airborne with my bait in it's mouth. When she went back down, I hammered the hooks home. The fish surged under the kayak, and the hooks pulled out.

After the morning, it got hot, sunny, and calm. I never saw another muskie and the bass I was catching were really small. I did have a few bites on a jig that felt bigger, but I either missed them or they broke me off in the wood. With my camera no longer working, and only going to have a few hours to fish in the morning, I decided to just head home a day early. It was an amazing trip and I'm not going to let it be 10 years before I go back next time.

[Swamp Girl]

Clayton's accounts are just as exciting when he's fishing on his own as when he's competing in a tournament. 

[T-Billy]

Nice work @Bluebasser86!!!  Congrats!!!

[MIbassyaker]

Well, I've managed the three outings I'd hoped for this month before hanging things up for the year. 

 

First trip I got skunked. Second trip was to a lake I have never fished before; I caught one small pike and one tiny largemouth. 

 

Third trip was better, with 12 in 3 hours --a pretty good rate for me-- but this pair of 17"s were the only ones of any size:

 

 

BFFs Lizard and Spinnerbait, enjoying the fall colors:

 

 

And that's probably going to be a wrap for me on the year. I might find a spare hour here or there to walk the riverbank and make a few casts, but the chances of actually catching any more bass before Spring are pretty low.

[Bluebasser86]

1 hour ago, T-Billy said:

Nice work @Bluebasser86!!!  Congrats!!!

Thanks @T-Billy! They don’t get nearly as big here, but anybody who chases them knows that each one feels like a real achievement. I’m hoping to do it again next year and drag a couple buddies along who have never caught one before so I can get them addicted to chasing them also 😂

[gim]

5 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

but anybody who chases them knows that each one feels like a real achievement

I know that feeling. It’s an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment.

[thediscochef]

Caught about a dozen super dinks on the dawg junior and the red eye shad today. Then these two slightly better fish, a nice chunky spotted bass and about a pound largie. Missed one really good fish but overall not a bad morning. 

[killobet]

Walk the dog kinda day😁

[A-Jay]

Had to find a way to get out on the water

as it was just stupid nice for the 3rd week of Oct up here.

Paid off too.

A-Jay

[Swamp Girl]

Another beautiful beast for Andy!

[Swamp Girl]

I fished for the fourth time in six days and am fishing again tomorrow morning at the leaky dam, which I scouted yesterday to see if it's safe to launch beside the dam. It is! Then I'll take a break for a week or so. I wanted to take advantage of our Indian Summer and I have! 

 

This morning's fishing fit the fall pattern of schools of bass here and there and long stretches of unproductive water in-between. I caught three in three consecutive casts to begin my morning. Here are two of those three, both 17-inches:

 

 

I caught more smallmouth that largemouth this morning, but I don't photograph most of the smallies because they're skinny:

 

 

I fished three lures: a Yum Ned bait, a Yo-Zuri popper, and a Depps 6" fluke. All worked about equally well. Here's a pretty 17-incher:

 

 

And here's my thickest fish:

 

 

And my longest bass at 19.25-inches:

 

 

I'm excited about fishing the river tomorrow above the leaky dam. It'll be our last warm day and it'll be cloudy and foggy, unlike this morning's sunshine. Fingers crossed!

 

I caught a dozen of this morning's bass at the pond's last weed bed. Most of the others have rotted and collapsed. @Glenn taught me that fall bass will cluster at the last greenery and he's right. You can see the weed bed behind the bass in the last two bass pics.

 

I also went an hour without getting a single hit. Fall fishing sure is hot and cold, just like the days of fall. 

 

Pretty pic:

 

[Swamp Girl]

I caught a dozen bass like this out of 56 total. More photos in a stand-alone trip report titled "I love it when a plan comes together.":

 

[A-Jay]

My Last Trip out onto Lake Menderchuck in the Pro-V Bass

for 2024 was productive .

But more importantly, it was wicked FUN !

A-Jay

[Swamp Girl]

Sigh. @A-Jay's done now too, joining @gimruis, @The Baron, and others. It's getting mighty lonely on the Northwoods lakes. At least the three anglers I just mentioned finished in style!

[A-Jay]

13 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

Sigh. @A-Jay's done now too, joining @gimruis, @The Baron, and others. It's getting mighty lonely on the Northwoods lakes. At least the three anglers I just mentioned finished in style!

Thanks 

I might still get out in the Old Town Canoe a time or two before it's all said and done.

Lake Minichuck has a few brown bass.

A'Jay

 

[gim]

My boat gets winterized on Monday.

 

I plan to muskie fish on Saturday though.  That's likely to end in failure but even so, October had some ridiculous fishing.

[Swamp Girl]

4 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Thanks 

I might still get out in the Old Town Canoe a time or two before it's all said and done.

Lake Minichuck has a few brown bass.

A'Jay

 

 

I hope you do! You might not know this about me, but I'm quite fond of canoes. 😉

 

I'll do one more hoping-for-big-bass trip and then I might do a final trip or two on my pond because I'm simply happy on my pond. 

 

2 minutes ago, gimruis said:

October had some ridiculous fishing.

 

Oh, I remember your four big bass, three weighing four pounds and one topping five. And those thick pike too! You were my motivation to go out and catch some four-and-five-pounders too!

[Team9nine]

A great fall afternoon on a local reservoir, and the bass were mostly biting crankbaits - 16 total in just over 3 hours - but the largest coming on Ned. Surface temps at 68 degrees with a nice stain to the water. Expecting cooler temps along with some cloud cover this weekend. Might be enough to break my ‘no weekends’ rule and give it another shot.

 

 

 

 

[BrianMDTX]

Summer and half of October was brutal. Hot, humid, not much action. But it has been heating up! Out for a few hours this morning. Caught 7, lost two. 
 

Started with a Zara Spook. Nothing. Used two different jigs (a 1/4 and a 3/8 oz). and the A-Jay Special. Nothing. Tried a Ned (not my favorite bait). Also nothing. Tried a squarebill (also noth…you get the picture). Cut off the squarebill and put on a 1/8 oz. bullet weight, a 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG and a Zoom Z-Craw in California 420. And that’s what they wanted. 
 

Most were 1-1/2 to 2 lbs., but one was over 4 lbs. I was using a Daiwa Aird-X MHF (which IMO feels more like a MF or maybe a MHMF) and a Garcia Black Max with 12 lb. Yo Zuri Hybrid. It’s not a top-shelf rig but it handled those bass without a hitch. Fun day! They are really smashing baitfish in the shallows. Right on the bank. I caught the last 5 by casting to where they were actively feeding. The big gal absolutely smashed it!

 

[Swamp Girl]

@BrianMDTX: I sure admire your tenacity. And I admire that big bass too!

[BrianMDTX]

@Swamp Girl I haven’t used that bait in a long time. I was going to put on a Zoom Trick Magnum but grabbed those by accident and wow! They just loved it today. 

[1984isNOW]

I basically never go fishing without my scale, but I went after work the other night. 

 

Heart stopping! Without a scale, a little heart breaking. 

 

Easily the longest bass I've ever caught, I'm going to measure my foot to above my knee for a length estimate. 

 

I think it's going to be my PB that never was, can't verify...

 

What do you think? 

[Swamp Girl]

@1984isNOW: Gosh, I wish I could help you. Your perspectives are different than what I'm accustomed to seeing. The one's that familiar to me is the mouth shot. I've learned that when a bass reaches five pounds, I can fit my fist into its mouth. It looks like your fist would fit, so if there's any truth to what I'm saying, she's at least five pounds. She does look long beside your leg. How long? I can't say.