Greetings from NW Indiana

[CDMTJager]

Lifetime fisherman here. Fished all over the lower 48 as far west as Colorado and Utah, south to Key West, as far east as Maryland as far north as UP Minnesota and both Ontario and Manitoba Canada. Like to catch what ever is biting but smallmouth are my A#1 favorite fish but creek fishing for steelhead and salmon are tied for a VERY close second but due to species availability and geographic convinces I mostly chase largemouth as I am mere minuets from good largemouth fishing and unfortunately lost 90% of my once very close and excellent public access smallmouth fishing. 

Have caught countless numbers of largemouth between 3Lbs and 6Lbs but only three between 8-9Lbs and never one 10Lbs or more. Also caught countless numbers of smallmouth between 3Lbs and over 4Lbs a few 5lbs but never one over 6Lbs or over.

Unless it's a goodly number of panfish, some walleye or northern (northern pike is my favorite FW eating fish) I release 100% of all fish I catch post picture and haven't kept a bass (LGM or SM) in decades.  

I'm one of those guys who as long as the water is open literally fishes in all weather conditions day or night time and while fishing loose all sense of or concern for time and can fish endlessly hour upon hour weather their biting or not. Unfortunately I am currently boat-less and relegated to bank fishing 99% of the time, but did buy a Kayak recently, but have yet to try it out.

 

Last night got my PB for my closest local lake on, a well over 6lb largemouth on a Scum Frog using 65lb Power Pro but she got off. Actually bent AND twisted the shaft going to the duel hooks so severely it is beyond repair. Kind of a heart breaker. Still do not understand how she #1 got off as both hooks remained intact and she was on long enough to jump 3x #2 twisted the hook shaft. Bent I can understand how but I have no explanation how she managed to twist the hook shaft. 

Best day this year (and in recent memory) was walking on and fishing public docks in lake Eire in Sandusky OH while my sons were at Cedar Point got one 3lb+ smallmouth first cast using live softshell crayfish and then over the next nine hours got 37 sheepshead on and 29 in two biggest tied at over 28". But not another smallmouth. Released everything.

[A-Jay]

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~

A-Jay

[GRiver]

Hello from the Sunshine State of Florida.

[GaryH]

Welcome aboard. Great intro.

[Susky River Rat]

Greetings! Sounds like you just love fishing. I was out around Lafayette, Ind about a month ago for work. Didn’t get the chance to fish since I flew out.

[12poundbass]

Welcom to Bassresource 

[Scott F]

Hi! I’m in Northwest Indiana too! Welcome!

[Log Catcher]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

[Swamp Girl]

You've caught lots of big bass! 

[Bazoo]

Howdy from Kentucky. I might not be quite as dedicated as you are... but I could hold my own with ya! Glad to have you aboard. Plenty of awesome articles and threads here to help you expand your fishing knowledge.

[Darren.]

Welcome aboard! ??

[CDMTJager]

On 9/3/2023 at 7:49 PM, ol'crickety said:

You've caught lots of big bass! 

Thank you all for the replies.

I must confess although I do well enough at my local lakes, and bass of 2-3lbs are common, I use to have access to some quite good private ponds since the age of 10 and for about 8 years from 1987 till 1995 had access to some great private farm ponds, unfortunately all before I ever thought of carrying a camera and long before cell phone cameras were a thing. Save for my PB bass of 9lbs 11oz that came from Devils Kitchen lake in southern IL, all of my my over 6lb bass came from privately owned waters. The private lake and pond owners always gladly gave me permission because I never kept a single bass including one day I caught back to back bucket mouths one a 7lb+ other was 8lb+ but that was the condition of using that group of ponds. Keep all the gills and sunfish I wanted but no bass. The owner wasn't kidding either and banned for life his own son in-law because he also caught two 7lb+ bass in a day and kept both and because he found out he never got either mounted or ate either he just let them rot he banned him from his ponds for life. 

 

As far as my smallmouth success is concerned I use to fish the state line power generating discharge (lake Michigan) at least 3 days a week often 5 or 6 days a week year round for over a decade and was of the opinion then and now you had to go to lake Eire to get better smallmouth fishing within a less than a 4-5 hour drive from my home. Sadly there is no longer access to that area. My best day ever at state line generating plant was when I and my two friends took two neighborhood kids fishing and I knew the conditions were perfect. I bought literally 10 dozen softshell crayfish at $7/dozen and between the five of us caught and released well over a 100 fish that day about 55-65 were actually sheepshead and the rest about 50-60 were smallmouth bass. You could catch a sheepshead on nothing more than a claw on a 1/8oz lead head jig dragged on the bottom on either side of the break wall. 

Never caught sheepsheads in those numbers before and never at the astonishing rate we did that day. That was over 20 years ago and I still see those two boys that have since grown into men and fathers themselves and they still talk about that day when I see them.

I deeply miss that spot as 3-4lb smallmouth were commonplace to catch and 5lb smallmouth although not common were not strangers. I use to carry a Berkley electronic fish scale or "de-liar" as we called it so I wouldn't get accused of exaggerating the weights of the fish I caught and released.

Never did reach my goal of a 6lb smallmouth before access was ended. I have a few friends who are IL residents who do well fishing the harbors and other lake access in IL, but for years all I owned were extended cab pickups with 8' beds so I getting to the areas by way of LSD was a no go and I just loath going onto Chitcago these days. 

[Swamp Girl]

With your long history of big bass, you're in good company. There are guys here who have caught 8 lb.+ smallmouth and largemouth in the high teens. I can't say this with certainty, but I strongly believe that some of the world's best bassers are members of Bass Resource and they are generous with their wisdom. Ask and they will answer.

 

The Fishing Reports forum is a fun place, for you get to see what these talented fishers catch and share your catches too. 

 

I urge you to launch your kayak. I'm a paddler, as are many BR (Bass Resource) members and there's no way I'd catch what I catch without my canoe. I fish swamps and it's pert near impossible to cast from the shoreline of a swamp. 

 

8 hours ago, CDMTJager said:

The owner wasn't kidding either and banned for life his own son in-law because he also caught two 7lb+ bass in a day and kept both and because he found out he never got either mounted or ate either he just let them rot he banned him from his ponds for life. 

 

Good. I'm glad he was banned for life. 

 

[CDMTJager]

4 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

I urge you to launch your kayak. I'm a paddler, as are many BR (Bass Resource) members and there's no way I'd catch what I catch without my canoe. I fish swamps and it's pert near impossible to cast from the shoreline of a swamp. 

 

Actually off today and are trying to finish outfitting my kayak. Bought a Sun Dolphin SS 12 new unused from a guy at work. He literally bought it left it unpacked in the factory box sat in his pole barn for over a year and I bought it off him for a price I couldn't pass on. Actually wouldn't have been my first choice but at less than 1/2 to 1/4th the cost of any other new kayak I bought it. I'm a big guy around 250lbs and absolutely did not want a sit in kayak and as I have bought some decent electronics will need a kayak with a significant weight limit beyond my own weight combined with 2-3 poles and additional gear. I am making a very serious effort to bring the barest of minimum gear out while fishing but between myself my, a paddle and compact back up paddle, electronics, transducer, the mounting hardware for same an anchor, and a hand bilge pump I needed over a 300lb weight limit and the Sun Dolphins 500lb weight limit was a big factor in buying it.

 

I'm VERY excited to get fishing with it as there are A LOT of smaller lakes near me with absolutely horrible shore access and excellent structure that is inaccessible due to no shore access or to far from shore. Watched a guy in a kayak fish one such lake near my home (lake is a FAR walk from the parking area and has no boat access at all so its kayak or canoe only) absolutely murdered the bass using soft plastics (yes many times while fishing I carry a small compact pair of B&L Elite 7x24 binos) and I can count on one hand how many times I've ever seen a kayak on this lake.

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, CDMTJager said:

Actually off today and are trying to finish outfitting my kayak. Bought a Sun Dolphin SS 12 new unused from a guy at work. He literally bought it left it unpacked in the factory box sat in his pole barn for over a year and I bought it off him for a price I couldn't pass on. Actually wouldn't have been my first choice but at less than 1/2 to 1/4th the cost of any other new kayak I bought it. I'm a big guy around 250lbs and absolutely did not want a sit in kayak and as I have bought some decent electronics will need a kayak with a significant weight limit beyond my own weight combined with 2-3 poles and additional gear. I am making a very serious effort to bring the barest of minimum gear out while fishing but between myself my, a paddle and compact back up paddle, electronics, transducer, the mounting hardware for same an anchor, and a hand bilge pump I needed over a 300lb weight limit and the Sun Dolphins 500lb weight limit was a big factor in buying it.

 

I'm VERY excited to get fishing with it as there are A LOT of smaller lakes near me with absolutely horrible shore access and excellent structure that is inaccessible due to no shore access or to far from shore. Watched a guy in a kayak fish one such lake near my home (lake is a FAR walk from the parking area and has no boat access at all so its kayak or canoe only) absolutely murdered the bass using soft plastics (yes many times while fishing I carry a small compact pair of B&L Elite 7x24 binos) and I can count on one hand how many times I've ever seen a kayak on this lake.

 

Be sure to buy some wheels for your kayak.

 

I have good luck fishing water in Maine that is only accessible by small boats. I might fish a lake with a ramp this week, but if I do, that's a rare event for me. When I scouted that lake, I saw two bass right beside the ramp, so it seems it's full of bass.

 

You are smart to bring a backup paddle. I've dropped my paddle many times and used my backup to fetch it. 

 

Only 2-3 poles? That'll make for a clean boat, but I typically take 6-8 poles and nearly always use them all. I'm always switching outfits, trying to crack the code. I'll catch a bass with one lure and immediately switch, wondering what else they'll hit. 

 

Take your camera too! The BR crew love to look at bass! 

[whitwolf]

Welcome!

[lanzbass]

Greetings and welcome to the forum ?

[Glenn]

Welcome home! We're glad you're here.