Double Digit Club, I have arrived. 2022 jerkbait grind is paying off!

[TnRiver46]

Woops…….

 

[Aaron_H]

18 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Well, somebody has to follow up a DD but at least I can do it with what I think was a “PB” as the kids say. 
 

we only had from 8-11 to fish today. Drove upstream and the river we planned on fishing was raging, overnight they ran 15k cfs and it was pretty much unfishable. So we tried plan B, river with only 4k cfs. Water temp was 45.  We fished for about an hour with no luck and I broke the bill off an original floating rapala, not a great start. Finally my buddy scores on a spinnerbait, about a 17 inch fish. Cool deal, always good for me to physically see a fish caught with one of those silly things. I didn’t want to get skunked so I reached for some night crawlers I had left over from last weekends perch mission. Not long into trying that, I got a hard hit and landed an 18” smallmouth that fought hard, had to use backreel. Next cast I get a stronger fish, it comes up in sight. It’s a big thick smallmouth. Get him into the boat and it’s at least 21” and very tall from dorsal to belly. We didn’t have a scale but both guessed it getting close to 6 lbs. I’ve caught a good many fish longer but none taller, it was heavy. Got some good pics and video , it striped up after 5 minutes in the well (making sure we didn’t have a scale)

 

 

here’s the 18” first one I got

 

and my buddy’s spinnerbait fish 

my bait of choice 

good luck groundhog 

The catch 

 

And release 

 

 

Awesome smallie! A big one of the brown variety is a bucket list fish for me, for sure. Glad we don't have them this far south, though, I can't have anything distracting me from the Florida ditch pickles. Maybe one day I'll stow away in @A-Jay's boat, sneak some casts out of a hatch when he's not looking. I'm a pretty slim guy, I think I could pull it off.

[TnRiver46]

23 minutes ago, Aaron_H said:

 

Awesome smallie! A big one of the brown variety is a bucket list fish for me, for sure. Glad we don't have them this far south, though, I can't have anything distracting me from the Florida ditch pickles. Maybe one day I'll stow away in @A-Jay's boat, sneak some casts out of a hatch when he's not looking. I'm a pretty slim guy, I think I could pull it off.

Sorry I put it here, I’ll try to fix with magic moderator power 

[Aaron_H]

3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Sorry I put it here, I’ll try to fix with magic moderator power 

 

No worries, can't be upset seeing a nice big brown football regardless of the thread.

[Fishlegs]

 

Out of the park, man! Congrats! I appreciate the mention of fish legs in your description too. ? ? 

[Aaron_H]

3 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

Out of the park, man! Congrats! I appreciate the mention of fish legs in your description too. ? ? 

 

She was like Forrest Gump, she was RUNNIN.

[ATA]

On 2/11/2022 at 5:01 PM, Aaron_H said:

Went out today at the ponds I caught my PB, wanted to see if I could make something happen. Lines in at 1:50 PM and stayed until 6:30. Bite was slow going, not much activity on top as I would normally expect for this time of year and moon phase, but I ended up with 8 (and a tilapia, I cannot escape them). Six (+ tilapia) on the jerkbait, two on the lipless. Didn't hit my first bite until ~2:35, but it was a doozy. Nice healthy 22.5" 6lb 12oz girl out of a pond I've never broken 3lb in but always had a hunch it held bigger fish.

 

I was already stoked to finally get my first one over 5 for the year, but bites continued to be slow. Got a 2lber a bit over an hour later, then just a handful of casts after I hooked into The Big One™. I was doing a somewhat brisk cadence with the jerkbait, she hit it between the second and third twitch. Twitch, twitch, then loaded into what felt like a massive log until that log let off a massive headshake.

 

A few seconds into the fight and she came up and jumped, managed to get completely out of the water and my heart STOPPED. Kept the rod loaded as deep as I could without pulling the hooks and just held on, reeling when I could in between her runs. She only managed the one jump, but dear god she had some legs on her. Eventually got her tired out enough to bring her in, and my eyes were BUGGING when I got a better look at her in hand. Got a pic and a weight, then put her back in for a breather before I got length/girth measurements.

 

She ended up coming in at 10lb 9oz. And to think I how stoked I was about the 6lb 12oz only an hour and half earlier, I was over the friggin' moon by now. She was 25" long and a girth of 19.5", but a smaller head than I was expecting. Luckily I had 5 hooks in her, because she bent out 3 of them on the Gamakatsu EWGs I have on that jerkbait. One of them was bent out so bad it snapped while trying to slowly work it back to true. I may end up switching to some heavier wire hooks (or try out those Owner Zo wire trebles). I sat with her again in the water for a little while to make sure she had a good strong release. She took a few minutes to get her energy back but I was happy to see her go.

 

The next few photos are a little tougher since my hands were shaking and my rear facing camera lens is a bit messed up.

 

I ended up getting another decent one that weighed in a 3lb 5oz, and a few smaller fish, the biggest of which was ~1.25lb. Best five for the day ended up right around 23.87lb.

 

Today might not have been a great numbers day, but oh man what an unforgettable day it turned out to be. I am so grateful to this fish for giving me such a wonderful experience, and I am super excited to see my jerkbait grind pay off so incredibly this early into the year. But if I learned anything it's that I need a consistent fishing buddy, these pics are getting harder and harder to take by myself! ?

Congratulation, I am hopping next month I am going to join the club

[N Florida Mike]

Beautiful fish , man.

[SC53]

Way to go Aaron.
I know you work hard and put in the time. 
Maybe you can guide me to one of those ?

[Aaron_H]

8 hours ago, ATA said:

Congratulation, I am hopping next month I am going to join the club

 

I'd love to see you do it! Hopefully those monster swimbaits pay off for you.

 

2 hours ago, SC53 said:

Way to go Aaron.
I know you work hard and put in the time. 
Maybe you can guide me to one of those ?

 

Thanks Steve! You are more than welcome to fish with me any time you want.

[Drew03cmc]

23 hours ago, Aaron_H said:

 

I was throwing that cheapie H2O Xpress Ultimate Jerk Shad (props to @Bluebasser86 for getting me turned on to that crackle color), and they come with mystery VMC hooks (and who knows what split rings). I 100% do not believe stock hardware would've held up to this fish, she made about a dozen very powerful runs before she was all tuckered out. Like I tell people, I'd rather spend ~3 bucks on upgraded hardware than lose the potential fish of a lifetime.

What a fish! Congrats on the fish of a lifetime. 

 

Now, what crackle color? I was looking at those jerkbaits last night in store. Are they suspending jerk baits? The website says floating is why I ask.

[Aaron_H]

25 minutes ago, Drew03cmc said:

What a fish! Congrats on the fish of a lifetime. 

 

Now, what crackle color? I was looking at those jerkbaits last night in store. Are they suspending jerk baits? The website says floating is why I ask.

 

This one, it's just called "Crackle" but it looks like their take on the herring bone/elegy bone pattern.

 

I bought 6 of them, the first one suspended absolutely perfectly but the rest are varying degrees of slow rising. Not a true floater but you may have to play with suspend dots if you want it to suspend (I caught the DD on one of the slow rising ones so they still work just fine). For under 10 bucks after upgrading the hardware it's a solid buy IMO.

[Drew03cmc]

22 minutes ago, Aaron_H said:

 

This one, it's just called "Crackle" but it looks like their take on the herring bone/elegy bone pattern.

 

I bought 6 of them, the first one suspended absolutely perfectly but the rest are varying degrees of slow rising. Not a true floater but you may have to play with suspend dots if you want it to suspend (I caught the DD on one of the slow rising ones so they still work just fine). For under 10 bucks after upgrading the hardware it's a solid buy IMO.

Much appreciated!

[Bluebasser86]

They're usually pretty close to suspending, definitely not what I'd consider a "floating", jerkbait, even though they may technically slowly float up.

 

That's my favorite color of them also. Congrats on the new PB and welcome to the DD club!

[WRB]

Congratulations on the PB DD catch and sharing your photos.

Tom

 

[Aaron_H]

3 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

They're usually pretty close to suspending, definitely not what I'd consider a "floating", jerkbait, even though they may technically slowly float up.

 

That's my favorite color of them also. Congrats on the new PB and welcome to the DD club!

 

A couple of the ones I got rise a little faster, but I'm good with it. Going to end up putting different hardware one them anyhow after how bad those Gammy hooks got thrashed, so they give me a little more wiggle room for a heavier hook. I picked up one in Ghost Shad to try as well but haven't thrown it yet. Crackle puts out a great amount of flash even in dirty water, very happy with it for the price. Thanks again for the tip.

 

I believe I'll get some Bass Pro/Berkley gift cards from FWC's Trophy Catch program for this one, might try out that Berkley Stunna next.

 

3 hours ago, WRB said:

Congratulations on the PB DD catch and sharing your photos.

Tom

 

 

Thanks, Tom! Still gotta live vicariously through you on those big teeners. Maybe some day.

[WRB]

9 minutes ago, Aaron_H said:

 

A couple of the ones I got rise a little faster, but I'm good with it. Going to end up putting different hardware one them anyhow after how bad those Gammy hooks got thrashed, so they give me a little more wiggle room for a heavier hook. I picked up one in Ghost Shad to try as well but haven't thrown it yet. Crackle puts out a great amount of flash even in dirty water, very happy with it for the price. Thanks again for the tip.

 

I believe I'll get some Bass Pro/Berkley gift cards from FWC's Trophy Catch program for this one, might try out that Berkley Stunna next.

 

 

Thanks, Tom! Still gotta live vicariously through you on those big teeners. Maybe some day.

Good time in Florida to get the big momma?

Tom

 

[Aaron_H]

6 minutes ago, WRB said:

Good time in Florida to get the big momma?

Tom

 

 

Oh I'm trying ?

[txchaser]

Outstanding!

 

[KP Duty]

Very nice aaron.  A lot of anglers here need to fly to Mexico to catch bass that size.  There are 10's here in Oklahoma, but very rare.

[Aaron_H]

28 minutes ago, KP Duty said:

Very nice aaron.  A lot of anglers here need to fly to Mexico to catch bass that size.  There are 10's here in Oklahoma, but very rare.

 

Thank you! While I may not love everything going on in my state, from a fishing perspective I am very fortunate to live here in Central FL.

 

Side-note, I just heard back from FWC's TrophyCatch program and looks like it may not be accepted due to the whole fish not being visible in the scale picture. I had hoped providing photographic proof of its length/girth would be enough to supplement the scale picture, but perhaps not. Very hard to get a fish that size in frame while also keeping the scale readable when you're doing it by yourself. I'll find out tomorrow hopefully.

[Darth-Baiter]

Wow!!!!  That’s rarified air for me!  I’ll get there someday.  Congrats. 
 

 

[LithiaSpringsBass]

Nice catch. I am a few miles south of you but lately it has been tough. Granted I am fishing my backyard pond and don't have much patience. Your post shows perseverance pays! My neighbor got this 3.5 pounder the other day in about a foot and a half of water on a wacky rig.

 

 

[Aaron_H]

4 hours ago, LithiaSpringsBass said:

Nice catch. I am a few miles south of you but lately it has been tough. Granted I am fishing my backyard pond and don't have much patience. Your post shows perseverance pays! My neighbor got this 3.5 pounder the other day in about a foot and a half of water on a wacky rig.

 

 

 

That is a solid fish. Keep at it with those neighborhood ponds, that's what I've been catching these big girls out of lately. Many of the older ones can hold some real giants. I use Google Earth Pro's past satellite imagery to weed out ponds too new to hold big ones (my cutoff is 10 years, but I prefer ponds in the 18-20 year range). That 3.5lber is evidence of a quality fishery.

 

It took me a long time of hard fishing before I started getting more consistent at triggering bigger bites. So much of it comes down to luck, but nothing beats time on the water for giving you more chances at being in the right place at the right time.

 

Keep it up, I look forward to seeing your success! I'm too far of a drive, but you can always drop me a PM if you need help (though others here will probably be more help than me).