let me tell you a little story....

[Red]

....about Cliff the unprepared, idiotic angler!

First let me say this.  I know some of you probebly know this and maybe even live by this rule when fishing.  Always be ready, you never know when that one big bite will come.

now the story.....

i have been out fishing all day today and me and my buddy managed only a couple small fish, we had tried everything and they just were not biting very good.  but we kept at it anyway.  now the average catch for us recently has been about 1.5lbs, which is pretty good for this tank.  occasionally we get one 2.5lbs or so, fun either way.  well we were talking about leaving for the day cuz we didnt figure we would catch anymore.  i grabbed my other rod(mistake #1, crappy rod and not too powerful, i dont like to use it but i do on occasion to avoid re-tying so much) and i threw out the lake fork live magic shad into very shallow water that we have not caught any fish from in a long long time, they have all come from deeper water.  i start crankin it in and i am not paying any attention to my fishing(mistake #2) and i am sitting on my butt indian style(mistake #3) and yappin at my buddy about who knows what(mistake #4).  and then it happened, my magic shad gets slammed, and i mean SLAMMED!! literally less than 6 feet from shore!!  it surprised the crap out of me because of mistake #4, i get in a sorry excuse for a hookset because of mistake #1,2, and 3.  i see the fish and immedialy get to my feet and realize that it is a freakin monster!!  now you can think what you like, but i am not exaggerating when i tell you this fish was pushin 10lbs!!  i have never caught a fish that big, my PB is 4.1lbs, but i have seen the many hawgs posted on here and this fish was a giant!!  so anyway i am fighting the fish now very intently due to a big log nearby and the fact that it was so big and so close to shore i obviously know i is not tired, then i feel the lightness of my rod and see my magic shad flying back at me!!!!  then i look and see this fish just sitting there staring at me, as if to say "haha good try sucker!!"

i got a really good look at her and she was so freakin huge!!  26 inches or better i bet, and fat too!!

now for a few questions for you guys

first here is a pic that will give you a good idea of where i am fishing, i threw my bait about ten feet to the right of the two trees you see in the background.  thats in about 2-4 feet of water, it drops down to about 10-12 feet if you go about 25-35 feet to the right of them, thats where we have been catching most of our fish, in the deeper water.

 do you think this big bass had a bed in that shallow water?  is it even time for spawning and what not? i dont know much about that. i am determined to go back and catch that fish, but what are the chances it will still be there?  what should i throw to increase my chance of her biting again?

any info you can give me will be great!

lesson learned tho, you wont catch me being unprepared for that one big bite EVER again!!

Cliff

[dumb_dog11]

interesting story

i can answer one of your questions of what to throw next time

NOT the magic shad, or any other bait you use a lot or it has seen a lot, throw something unique and original, maybe work on something tonight, no matter how odd or bad, and throw it at it tomorrow

dd11

[David P]

What's the water temp like there?

Another little something I realized and experienced yesterday.

The fish looks bigger in the water / splashing around and jumping.

I swear I had a easy 10 and possibly pushing 11 or 12 yesterday. Once I got her to me, and held her, I was worried that she'd fall just shy of 10, which she did by 5ounces.

Don't beat yourself up too much, that's just fishing.