Pre-spawn beast

[Swamp Girl]

I moved my canoe off the waterfront lot I bought because that pond is the very best for producing solid fish (nearly every fish is between 16" and 18"), but not the best for producing bigger fish. So, I launched at a bigger bass pond and only caught four. Two were like the first bass below. Then I caught a three-pounder. Then I caught a 22-incher who is either pre-spawn or she swallowed a softball. It was breezy today, so I did a lot of trolling. When she hit, my rod went back and stayed back. I always paddle hard when I get a hit trolling to set the hook and load the rod with tension. I had just dropped my cell phone in the water, so I was sad about that and my depressed state kept me cool through the entire fight. I'm not going to call her beautiful because she frankly looks deformed with eggs, but she is magnificent to me, one of the best bass of my life. I start with a couple lake pics, then a sample smaller fish, then the three-pounder, and then two pics of the beast.

 

My length to weight chart says she's about 6.5 pounds, but in her pre-spawn state, she might be a bit bigger. 

 

 

[12poundbass]

Holy smokes, nice one! 

[Dwight Hottle]

Makes the long winter wait worth while.

[Jar11591]

North Country Monster! With a gut like that and 22”, that fish should be every bit of 6.5lb. 

[pdxfisher]

That fish has never seen a minnow it didn't like  

 

Great report and congrats on that piggy! What were you trolling with?

[Fishlegs]

Wow! What a way to kick off the season!

[Swamp Girl]

2 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

That fish has never seen a minnow it didn't like  

 

Great report and congrats on that piggy! What were you trolling with?

 

A shad-colored Keitech on an Owner underspin. I normally cast this lure, but the wind made trolling easier. 

 

Here's the close-up I posted in the Latest Catch thread. If you zero in on the mouth, you can see she's past 22". What's funny is her head. It looks small in the photo below, but I could easily have inserted my fist into her mouth:

 

[Bankbeater]

That’s a nice hawg right there!

[Alex from GA]

🤩 WTG.