Tokyo Tony Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 Hey Guys, I think it's been a while since I posted anything in this section, unfortunately. I haven't been fishing as much this year as last, and at my home lake the bite has been unusually weak this year, at least for big fish. I've had a couple 4.5 lbers, some 4's, and tons of 3's and under, but nothing big for me (5+), until last Saturday 10/10. I took my friend out for the day, and it was a cold, very windy day, which made it really tough to fish in the canoe. Whitecaps were spraying us, and although the trolling motor battery ended up holding pretty strong (didn't have to paddle thank God), going into the wind resulted in a speed of +/- 0.25 mph :-) Most of our day was spent getting to a spot, anchoring, and casting downwind. We started on a grass flat in 7-8 fow. This flat has been great the past two months, resulting in good numbers on a variety of baits (chatterbait, spinnerbait, crankbait, and especially dropshot). However, probably due to the fact that the surface temp has dropped from 72 two weeks ago when I last fished there, to 61 on Saturday, and also because the grass is dying (slightly brown), the flat was totally vacant as far as we could tell. We went downwind to the south end of the lake which is shallow and weedy just to get a few bites. I knew we could get some in the reeds, and was just trying to put my friend on a couple bass to avoid the skunk. It worked and we each caught two fish in the 1.3-2 lb range. We fished a few different spots with limited success, then motored into the wind all the way to the north side, where we also had limited success. At this point we were drifting with the wind along the northwestern shore when I realized we were on top of a submerged roadbed that often has a lot of fish on it, so I told my friend to drop the anchor so we could fish it for a while. I tied on a black/blue 3/8 oz Eakins jig with a black/blue Ragetail crawfish trailer, hoping the bass would be scouring the rocky roadbed for craws. I made a short cast and hooked up immediately with a 1.5 lber. The next two casts to the same spot resulted in two more fish of similar size. A little while later, I made a long cast (as long as possible) to a different part of the roadbed, twitched the jig a couple times, and felt a mushy weight. I set the hook, and for a split second it felt like I was hung up, until I felt the patented LMB head shake. Feeling the weight, I instructed my friend to please grab the net because I knew this was gonna be a good fish. She came to the surface, thrashed around, then went back down. As I horsed her to the boat, she rose again, then dove straight down. On that MH rod I have 40 lb Power Pro with a 17 lb test Berkley 100% flouro leader, and I have the drag cinched down pretty hard. She was able to pull a good 6-8 feet of line, which impressed me. After a flawless net job (thanks Nick), I was able to hold her and appreciate her beauty. If she's been caught before, it hasn't been for a while - her mouth was unscathed, and everything about her was beautiful, including her nice pot belly. Needless to say, she made my weekend, and I feel a lot better about an otherwise slow fishing season after this fish. Not a giant, but a nice, fat chunk. I lost my scale a couple weeks ago, but estimated her at 5.5-6 lbs - as usual, the pics don't do justice. What do you guys think she weighs? Quote
Fat-G Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 That's a nice bass right there. 4.5 pounds. Quote
Super User Grey Wolf Posted October 12, 2009 Super User Posted October 12, 2009 Nice bass. How long was it ? Quote
Tokyo Tony Posted October 12, 2009 Author Posted October 12, 2009 Thanks guys. I never measure the length, nor am I good at guessing :-( Looking at the picture, 5.5-6 seems high to me as well, but you had to be there ;-) Quote
-HAWK- Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 Thats a great fish and great pictures! Id guess right around 5lb 5oz. Congrats Quote
Super User Paul Roberts Posted October 12, 2009 Super User Posted October 12, 2009 Pretty fish. Good story too. Is this your lunker pond? Quote
Tokyo Tony Posted October 12, 2009 Author Posted October 12, 2009 Thanks guys. No Paul, this is my new lake. About 500 acres, 65 feet deep at the deepest part. I love this place. Unfortunately, due to the fact that I leave my canoe at this lake, I haven't fished Huge Pond much. I will be fishing it a few times this November as long as it's not frozen. I have a feeling we're in for a terrible winter. Quote
Big-O Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 WTG Tony Really nice fish and great story. I've noticed Spongy jig bites are often larger fish and looks like it worked the same in your situation as well. www.ragetail.com Quote
Uncle Leo Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 Nice bass Tony, I would say she pushes 5 lbs. Beautiful color! Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted October 13, 2009 Super User Posted October 13, 2009 Great story, great fish and a very nice pic. Congratulations! 8-) Quote
christopherjake Posted October 13, 2009 Posted October 13, 2009 Awesome looking fish. Beautiful weather!!! Quote
SoFl-native Posted October 13, 2009 Posted October 13, 2009 That's a nice bass right there. 4.5 pounds. ^that. Good job. Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted October 13, 2009 Super User Posted October 13, 2009 Great fish, Nice photos and excellent story ! As a fellow canoe fisherman I can certainly relate to those very challenging weather conditions. You guys hung in there and were rewarded ~ A-Jay Quote
Tokyo Tony Posted October 14, 2009 Author Posted October 14, 2009 Thanks everyone. Can't wait to get back out there this weekend 8-) Quote
Mrs. Matstone Posted October 14, 2009 Posted October 14, 2009 Great fish and nice pics too. Congrats! ;D Quote
paul. Posted October 16, 2009 Posted October 16, 2009 great fish Tony. i'll just say it's a big 'un for sure. great catch man. i know you were stoked. probably still are over a hawg like that. Quote
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