Super User Goose52 Posted January 24, 2016 Super User Posted January 24, 2016 I actually caught this bass on January 9th but didn't post back then as I still had soft water and was busy fishing! Hardwater and icy roads for me today so I have time to post. First bass of 2016 - 23" / 6.85 pounds on an orange belly craw Red Eye Shad. This fish was caught after a heavy rain in only about 3-4 feet of water, near the outflow spillway of the lake. This 'ole girl was probably holding out of the current, watching for something tasty to drift by. Meanwhile, I aim my cast parallel with the flow, and swim the RES towards the spillway. Shallow water so no yo-yo retrieve, just short pauses. Splash down, start retrieve, about the 2nd pause, BAM. Cold water so not as big a fight as a nearly 7 pound bass would usually give, but the fish hit about 100 feet out so I had some fun getting the fish back to the bank and she pulled drag a couple times. A great start to the year...but if this year is like last year, my biggest bass in January ends up being the biggest of the year so it could be all downhill from here... 29 Quote
68camaro Posted January 24, 2016 Posted January 24, 2016 Dang.....great fish and what a way to start off the new year. Congrats. I just checked my fishing holes and they are still snowed/iced over so need till next weekend for ice to melt. Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted January 24, 2016 Author Super User Posted January 24, 2016 7 minutes ago, 68camaro said: Dang.....great fish and what a way to start off the new year. Congrats. I just checked my fishing holes and they are still snowed/iced over so need till next weekend for ice to melt. Thanks! The ice is starting to melt off the roads today so I might be able to drive to a couple lakes today to check the hardwater situation. Based on the weather forecast, I might have open water by Tuesday or Wednesday. 7 minutes ago, roadwarrior said: Nice fish! Thanks RW ! Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted January 24, 2016 Super User Posted January 24, 2016 Outstanding ! Way to peak early. And you love that bait ~ and apparently, so did she. Congrats A-Jay 1 Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted January 24, 2016 Author Super User Posted January 24, 2016 14 minutes ago, A-Jay said: Outstanding ! Way to peak early. And you love that bait ~ and apparently, so did she. Congrats A-Jay Yup - seems like I often reach for that orange belly craw color in winter...seems to work - catch fish... 2 Quote
Dypsis Posted January 24, 2016 Posted January 24, 2016 Nice Goose! I've been at work since Friday morning, hopefully leaving tomorrow - haven't even thought about fishing.... Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted January 24, 2016 Author Super User Posted January 24, 2016 5 minutes ago, Dypsis said: Nice Goose! I've been at work since Friday morning, hopefully leaving tomorrow - haven't even thought about fishing.... Sounds like you work in a profession affected by massive snowfall...stay safe out there! Quote
Super User fishinfiend Posted January 24, 2016 Super User Posted January 24, 2016 nice fish and nice set up! Quote
Super User deep Posted January 25, 2016 Super User Posted January 25, 2016 Ol' Goose is sandbagging! Quote
EricTheAngler Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 I like that set up you have there! Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted January 25, 2016 Author Super User Posted January 25, 2016 Thanks guys! The combo is just a 7'7" M Tatula rod and Tatula Type R reel. Nothing special but the pair make a nifty open water lipless crank rig. 1 hour ago, deep said: Ol' Goose is sandbagging! Yeah - I caught that fish back on the 9th but then today I was thinking: "that might be the biggest bass I get this year." So, I decided to finally post it ! Bass candy for some of the folks that will have REAL hard water for a couple more months !! Quote
Super User Bankbeater Posted January 25, 2016 Super User Posted January 25, 2016 Nice bass! Way to start the year! Quote
Super User senile1 Posted January 25, 2016 Super User Posted January 25, 2016 Very nice fish, Goose! You catch a few stout ones on that RES color every winter if I recall. 2 Quote
Super User Darren. Posted January 26, 2016 Super User Posted January 26, 2016 Dang, Goose! That's a HOSS! Well done! Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted January 26, 2016 Author Super User Posted January 26, 2016 Thanks again guys! It's always good to be "catching" in January and not staring at an iced-over lake. I've had mostly hard water for 6 days now but did find some little open pockets to cast into on a couple of those days. Supposed to rain all day tomorrow and I expect I'll have some bigger holes in the ice by tomorrow afternoon - INCLUDING the spillway where I caught this bass. Wanna guess where I'll be tomorrow afternoon, rain jacket on and rod in hand... 15 minutes ago, senile1 said: Very nice fish, Goose! You catch a few stout ones on that RES color every winter if I recall. Thanks - and you have a good memory ! I posted up pics of some of those winter RES bass over in the Tackle Forum in the "Orange Belly" thread including that 8.4 I caught on New Years Eve a while back. Quote
Super User senile1 Posted January 26, 2016 Super User Posted January 26, 2016 15 hours ago, Goose52 said: Thanks again guys! It's always good to be "catching" in January and not staring at an iced-over lake. I've had mostly hard water for 6 days now but did find some little open pockets to cast into on a couple of those days. Supposed to rain all day tomorrow and I expect I'll have some bigger holes in the ice by tomorrow afternoon - INCLUDING the spillway where I caught this bass. Wanna guess where I'll be tomorrow afternoon, rain jacket on and rod in hand... Thanks - and you have a good memory ! I posted up pics of some of those winter RES bass over in the Tackle Forum in the "Orange Belly" thread including that 8.4 I caught on New Years Eve a while back. Thanks for pointing that thread out to me. I had seen the title but hadn't read the thread yet. Quote
Super User Jigfishn10 Posted January 27, 2016 Super User Posted January 27, 2016 Dam Goose52, that's a sweet fish! Congrats on an outstanding kick-off to the season! John Quote
Airman4754 Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 Beast! My favorite lure to catch fish on is a lipless. 100% of the time all three species hit it like a freight train. I bet that one was a blast! Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Super User Posted January 27, 2016 Thanks again guys ! Many of my lakes started to ice-out today, including the area where I caught this bass; BUT, no takers there today... Quote
DesertBass Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 Hell of a way to start the season !Wtg! Quote
hookset on 3 Posted January 31, 2016 Posted January 31, 2016 On 1/27/2016 at 0:25 AM, Goose52 said: Thanks again guys ! Many of my lakes started to ice-out today, including the area where I caught this bass; BUT, no takers there today... Goose,I have inquiry about your area lakes' water color. Is the water stained a certain hue, like green ,tannic, other? Nice Lunker, by the way. hookset on 3 Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted January 31, 2016 Author Super User Posted January 31, 2016 23 minutes ago, hookset on 3 said: Goose,I have inquiry about your area lakes' water color. Is the water stained a certain hue, like green ,tannic, other? Nice Lunker, by the way. hookset on 3 Thanks ! On the water clarity, unless we have a heavy rain to muddy things up, the water here this time of year is CRYSTAL clear in all 11 lakes that I fish. In summer, the lakes are all different depending on a number of factors, with several usually remaining very clear all year, and some where the water will stain a bit (green). Except for the fall turn-over, the worst water clarity I have is usually about 3 feet visibility, and that's in only a couple lakes that have a heavy concentration of curly-leaf pondweed - when that stuff starts to die off in August, the water stains-up pretty fast. Quote
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