Bested by a blind squirrel

[The Baron]

So, my son and I spent a couple days at a friends cottage on the weekend.  We’ve been there a few times this summer and done some fishing.  I’m trying to figure out the lake in a 14ft. tinner with no electronics and no trolling motor, just contour maps and my best guesses.  So far, it’s been hit and miss.  We’ve tried frogging and other surface lures, wacky rigged senkos, Texas rigged worms for largemouth and crankbaits, surface plugs and mostly drop-shotting for smallies.  Most times we go out (a couple hours at a time, usually) we catch a handful of small bass - most less than a pound.  We have caught some better fish including a +/- 2.5lb. largemouth.  My friend is not a fisherman at all and has gotten to teasing me with pictures of local kids catching some nice bass and an old book full of b&w photos of big bass.  Every time we come back he wants to know how we did and laughs when we give about the same answer.  It’s actually started to get annoying.  
 

This weekend, their nieces boyfriend (probably about in his late 20’s) was there.  He enjoys fishing and his lady had bought him a Walmart spinning combo and a box of assorted hooks and carnival coloured grubs.  Literally a kids fishing outfit.  He was fishing off the dock so I said hey, let’s go out in the boat.  Super nice guy, but he had no idea what he was doing.  He routinely forgot to open his bail to cast and was fishing with a plastic grub on a hook with a couple small split shot on the line about 2” above.  He could only cast about 15ft. and his line looked like probably 15# mono with lots of coils going out into the water.  I caught several of my usual tiny smallmouth, he caught a couple rock bass.  But a very nice guy and we had fun chatting.  
 

Anyway… my son and I left Sunday night.  My buddy texted me a picture of their guest holding about a 3# smallmouth last night, laughing and saying there are big bass in the lake so next time we come up his nieces boyfriend will take me out and show me how to catch them.

 

I know it’s hilarious.  And I’m really happy for his exciting catch.  But, holy cow it’s annoying! ?

[NavyToad]

My wife exclusively throws a 3” grub on a 1/8 jighead and has outfished me many times. She varies colors but that’s it. Usually tied on using the filipina mystery knot. 

[Functional]

i've been convinced its usually because its stuff the fish have never seen before...as you say it was a kids set. I'd just about put money on the fact that few of us would ever throw things like that because its not a color that goes with water clarity, the hatch or its too small.

 

Happens to me too and it drives me nuts lol.

[gunsinger]

Yeah, I've been in a boat where a novice fisherman (or woman) was catching things when I wasn't.  In fact, I was once that fisherman.  A friend took me out on the Connecticut River (I think) when I was stationed at Ft. Devens, MA (30 +/- miles west of Boston).  Anyway, I threw a craw colored crankbait towards this huge bolder in the river.  I over casted and the bait went beyond the rock.  It was semi-hung and I popped the line to try and get it back.  It came flying back over the rock and hit the water about 20' behind me.  By now, the line is all wrapped around my hat and it takes me a while to get it unraveled.  I finally start reeling in all the loose line and, lo and behold, there's a fish on the other end.  It was my PB smallie at 3lb's.  I did absolutely nothing right to catch her. 

 

My fishing partner, who was teaching me how to fish, just looked at me and shook his head in disgust (as he was skunked at that point).  

[scaleface]

I had my cousins kid in the boat . He has no idea what hes doing so I'm instructing him .We are out on a point with a marker buoy  marking a drop off . I tell him to "Throw at the general direction of the buoy. There is nothing behind us but deep water . There are no bass out there . " He throws a plastic worm behind us and a 4 lb bass intercepts it as its falling into the abyss .