Best day of fishing?

[Ersteman]

My best day of fishing was with a guide in Michigan on a small lake. First time fishing jerkbaits. My 2 brothers and I caught 20 smallmouths. A 6, a couple 5s, a couple 4s and some others. Beautiful fish in an overcast and chilly day. I'll never forget it.

[hawgenvy]

On 2/2/2016 at 11:52 AM, geo g said:

You want some stories that sound special.  Here in South Florida we usually have seasonal rains and seasonal dry periods.  The everglades are effected greatly by these drops in water levels.  Usually the glades are three or four feet deep in the great marsh.  The bass are way back among the reeds where you can't get to them, and they are feasting on all types of critters among the stems.  When the water really drops fish have to find deeper water or become gator food as they become trapped.  They have dug canals 10 feet deep all though the marsh to help control the flow of water during heavy rains.  During drought times these canals become full of bass that come from miles away to survive the shrinking shallows.  During these periods the catching gets  crazy.  I have been out from 7:00 to noon with a partner and we have caught over 250 bass in five hours.  You would come in with your thumb bleeding from lipping fish.  Ten in a row on ten casts is not unusual.  You would catch fish of all sizes during these periods.  It is something really special, and unique to south Florida.  This remains until the rains come and they head for the flats again.  South Florida is truly a special place with loads of bass, peacocks,  freshwater snook,  land locked tarpon, Oscars, snakeheads, and about every other type of exotic found in the tropics.  Everyone that fishes the glades on a regular basis experiences these concentrated feeding frenzies.   Besides fishing, Over the years I have seen a large snake in the marsh, a Crocodile, heard a panther on the spoil banks and islands calling to another cat, Lemurs in the trees bouncing from branch to branch.  Never a dull moment in the glades.   On a normal year this crazy period will last several months, until the rains come.

Lemurs?

[geo g]

3 hours ago, hawgenvy said:

Lemurs?

Yes Lemurs, whether  released on purpose or escaped during Hurricane Andrew, there was a happy population of Lemurs in the trees out in the glades by the Indian Reservation.  At least 10 of them.

[hawgenvy]

7 hours ago, geo g said:

Yes Lemurs, whether  released on purpose or escaped during Hurricane Andrew, there was a happy population of Lemurs in the trees out in the glades by the Indian Reservation.  At least 10 of them.

Amazing. Thanks, good post on the glades. I'll be out there late spring -- if the water level actually drops this year! Lake O is the highest it's been in many years. When I do I'll keep an eye out for lemurs.

[DogBone_384]

I haven't had my best day of fishing, YET. 

I look forward to a better day every trip out ?.

[CJ]

I've had days where I threw back over 25 4 lb. plus smallmouth and won a tournament with 27 lbs(avatar pic). I had a day last year when I caught my PB with my best fishing bud y'all know, Paul. It was a great day! But my best day was when my son Gavin caught his PB at 4 lbs. when he was 9 years old. I don't think I have the picture on this PC but he out fished me that day 29-27. To me, that's what it's all about. Gavin will be greater than I ever will be or was. Big O coined the phrase as "The Masters Plan".

[Bankbeater]

My best day of fishing was about 4 years ago.  I took my daughter out bluegill fishing on a local subdivision lake.  She had my old kiddie pole and I had my ultralight rig.  My bait never got wet.  Between taking pictures, helping to bait hooks, and taking bluegill off of the hook the time flew by.  She caught around 50 in 2-1/2 hours.

[Florida Cracker2]

Since most everyone is talking bass, I will keep to it. My best fishing days have been fishing salt water. But my best bass day was about 25 years ago I was at a orange grove drainage ditch about 25 foot wide and a little over 10 miles long that ran the perimeter of a grove. Usually it is so badly choked with hydrilla it can't be fished. That day they had the spillway that drains it into a large drainage canal open and the waterflow had all the grass laid flat. Using firetail black worms I caught one after another nearly every cast until I ran out of time and had to leave. I don't know how many I caught in the 3-4 hours I was there, but it was a blast. Most only in the 2-3lb range and only one over 4. Now you can't get to it anymore unless you work there. 

[Airman4754]

On 2/3/2016 at 4:51 PM, drew4779 said:

I almost hestitate to post this, since this sounds so unbelievable, but a buddy and I once caught over 200 smallmouth in a day at Lake St. Claire.  I was literally exhausted by the time we went in.  90% were at least 2 lbs with the largest being 6. I can't imagine ever having another day like that again.

I believe you. We have some mass number smallie lakes but they won't have that size for another decade. 

Did you have the hook set jerks in your sleep that night? My wife always tells me I do at night after we fish one of those. 

[paul.]

any trip with my wife, my kids, my dad, or my buddies.  to me its the company and the good times that make the trip.  sooner or later you're probably going to forget how many or how big.  even if you don't forget, sooner or later you realize that how many or how big matters to very few people except you.  but the smiles, the high fives, and the laughter come back to visit often and call to mind a time when just for a minute, life was perfect.

[slonezp]

Best bass fishing trip so far was my first trip to KY Lake. It was the week of Easter 2008. This was our annual spring break trip with my dad and my son. The lake was at flood stage. We had nothing but a Hot Spots lake map and basic electronics. My son and I decide on a spot that was visually appealing. Dad had his heart set on crappies and my son was casting for bass. I was switching back and forth from minnows to bass baits. My son started catching some decent sized bass and my dad landed some crappie. I hadn't caught a fish yet after maybe an hour of fishing. They're both razzing me and I replied I'm going for quality, not quantity. Shortly thereafter I casted a crappie minnow about 2ft down off the bobber into some brush right on the shoreline. Bobber starts bouncing up and down like a bluegill. I set the hook and land my PB bass which was pushing 7lbs. That trip we caught more quality bass than any other trip we had taken in the past, and any trip since. 

 

[A-Jay]

I feel Extremely Fortunate in that I've had some memorable days "Fishing".  Some of them did include me catching a few.

However, The Very Best ones weren't about me.

A-Jay

A-Jay

[Hog Basser]

I've had two best days so far, hope to add many more in the near future once my sons get old enough to fish.  

1. 22 years ago with my older brother (who I lost almost 15 years ago) on a farm reservoir in eastern Arkansas.  This was leased land that we had for duck hunting, but could fish it too.  This reservoir was loaded with 5 lbs bass and you could catch one on almost every cast.  It was loaded with gar too.  Well, I caught a gar that, once I got it to the boat, I had a hard time getting the treble hook out of its beak.  I was using pliers and the gar was so strong that it ripped the pliers out of my hand with one twitch and lodged the hook in my finger.  One more twitch and it laid my finger wide open.  The fishing was so good my brother wouldn't leave.  He took me back to the bank in our little jon boat and dropped me at the car.  I drove back to where we were staying and cleaned it up, bandaged it and headed right back out for more fishing.  That was a good day and a great memory.  He taught me everything I know about fishing.  That reservoir no longer has the fish it once had because the landowners didn't manage it for that and ended up draining it a few times since then.  

2. Now I'm passing that on with my nephews.  I've had a few good trips with the older one, but the younger one kept getting skunked.  Well, in the same general area in eastern Arkansas, we now have some of our own land with a fishing lake on it (something my brother would be proud of).  This was the closing weekend of duck season (just a few weeks ago) and it was unseasonably warm, so what else to do but go fishing!  Nothing better than getting some ducks in the morning and fish in the afternoon.  Well, I only caught one bass, but my (previously skunked) nephew caught 10 bass and a crappie on the same crawfish crankbait.  I was much happier watching him be successful than catching fish myself and I hope it continues.  I think both my nephews now have the bug.  The best part is, most of the fishing gear we use and that crankbait were my brother's.   He is still helping us fish after being gone 15 years.  I've added a few new rods/reels and baits, but the bulk of my stuff is due to my brother being such an avid fisherman and it is the reason I fish today.