Whats The Story Behind Your Personal Best?

[NCLifetimer]

So we can see about how big most people's personal best is, but their is always more of a story then that. So lets hear it...

I caught my PB(8lbs 5oz) in a farm pond on land that has been in the family for about a hundred years. A creek was flooded about 20 years ago to make the 4 acre pond. Lots of memorable afternoons fishing on the banks of that pond. Caught on a shallow crank bait next to some flooder timber about 2 weeks ago in early December of all times of year. Their has got to be a 10lb'er in their somewhere. I won't talk about my personal best in a actual lake...

[Goose52]

LMB - 25" / 9.06lb - caught this past February on a Z-Man TrailerZ Chatterbait tossed with a spinning rig that cost less than $100 for rod, reel, line, and bait.

The full story was here: http://www.bassresou...page__p__756243

[Packard]

I just started getting in to bass fishing this year and I fish mainly from my Ocean Kayak Prowler Trident 13. I was fishing with my dad who has the same kayak as me on Lobdell for the first time. I was throwing a T-rigged gycb senko and felt a bite. I set the hook and the fight was on. My dad didn't realize that I had a fish on and casted his crankbait over my line..... I freaked out and the fish dove into the weeds. He just buried his head in there and I manged to pull him out after tons of pulling and cranking my 6' M rod. I got it to the kayak and netted him. He was a 21" 6lb LMB which is above average for Michigan. (State record is 10 or 11lb I think) It was my biggest LMB and I was ecstatic. It was the biggest bass me and my dad had caught all season. I hope to beat it next season.

[deep]

My PB came from my local lake. And I caught that fish twice! In three days. The first time, I caught her on a senko, and I didn't have a scale on me that day. The next time I hit that lake, I armed myself with a scale; just in case. Guess what, I caught that fish again, on a 1/4 oz jig with a chigger craw trailer, from the same general location. It was a very distinctive-looking fish; so I knew it's the same. No pics though. It was getting pretty dark, and my cellphone camera sucks even in the middle of the day.

The biggest "legit" fish I caught was a 7# 11 oz. She ate an LC Gunfish. It's strange, but 4 of my 5 biggest fish came in on deadsticked topwaters. Big fish don't like to work hard!

[Jigfishn10]

I caught my PB about a week and a half after ice out this year. I had just made a spinnerbait in which I tied on a rabbit strip (zonker strip for the fly tyers here) for a trailer so I wanted to try it out just to see if the rabbit strip had any action to it. I took only my rod and that spinnerbait and spent about an hour when I felt like I snagged. I usually reel right thru most snags with a spinnerbait, but for some reason I popped my rod tip and low an behold I had a fight on my hands. I had no scale but it measured out to 23 1/4" L x 21" G.

BTW, the rabbit strip had great action for a trailer.

[Bass_Fanatic]

I was fishing the first week of March on a lake that is known for white perch, not bass. I had found a shallow creek channel (5 ft.) running through a flat full of button woods. I caught a 6 and a 4 right off the bat. Then at about 9:30 I flipped a Rage Craw by a cypress tree in the middle of the channel and hung a pig. Got her in the boat and weighed her in at 8lb 14oz. It was my PB. I was debating on mounting her, so I put her in the livewell. Fished a little while longer there then ran across the lake to a cove with the same type of cover. On my way in there I scared a big fish off of a cypress tree, but figured it was a gar, but on the way back out I snuck up to the tree and she was back on the bed. I could tell she was huge so I began casting to her. After an hour and a half, she finally bit a clear flake trick worm that was soaking in front of her for 5 minutes. Got her in the net and knew she was bigger than my 8 lb 14oz fish. I then realized that I had left my scale on my back deck when I ran across the lake and it had flew out of the boat. I had to drive to the marina and get them to weigh her for me. She came in a 10lb 1oz. I threw back the 8lb 14oz fish and mounted the 10lber!

[Scorcher214]

Was fishing a buzzbait for the first time and was catching them left and right. Was fishing from shore and saw a tree that had fallen into the water, Buzzed it over the top of it and boom went the dynamite. Didn't have a scale back then or any kind of camera with me. Lifted it up and tried to put that feeling in my head. Went home and stopped at a party store to get some ice, lifted and 7lb bag, and right there I knew I had caught a 7lb bass in Michigan, watup!

[SDoolittle]

I caught my PB(8lbs 5oz) in a farm pond on land that has been in the family for about a hundred years.

Same here!

My brother and I had a few dozen minnows that we were planning to use for crappie fishing at the lake, but for some reason we decided to stop at the pond en route. We caught a bunch of small bass, and I was ready to go. I didn't like wasting all our minnows on those dinks, but my brother was having fun, and he talked me into staying for a little longer. I was bored with the live bait fishing, so I picked up a baitcaster and tied on one of those cheap, $1.00 Wal-Mart spinner baits. My first cast was wild and landed in some thick vegetation. As soon as I pulled the spinner lose, a big fish engulfed it. I didn't get much of a fight out of her. She buried herself in the weeds, and I had to horse her out along with a huge clump of weeds. I knew it was a big fish, but I was thinking maybe five pounds. It wasn't until after I removed all the vegetation that I realized she was much bigger. She went 7.5 lbs.

[38 Super Fan]

Earlier this year I went fishing with my Father to a small pond we'd never fished before, I had no idea what, if anything, was even in it. I just started out tossing a little 1/8th ounce Orange Rooster Tail to see if I could maybe catch a couple bluegill, I think I caught one Bluegill, then a couple little Largemouths, and then a big 6lber nailed that little rooster tail. I couldn't believe it, that fish shattered my old PB.

[Bluebasser86]

I caught my PB my first trip to Comendero in Mexico. The lake was 42 feet high (yes 42) We were literally fishing treetops of huge trees that had leaves and everything and it made for really tough fishing. I was fishing a Rapala Skitter Pop and had just caught a 7 pounder and was still pretty high off that when a big fish followed my bait to the boat while I was reeling in. I didn't get a good look at it because it was getting late and starting to get dark but I could tell it was huge. I quickly grabbed a rod with an 8" Zoom Lizard and dropped it straight down. It sank about 3 feet and stopped. Knowing it was probably at least 50 foot deep where the boat was sitting I hammered the hook home and she was immediately on the surface. She tailwalked to the front of the boat and then towards the back of the boat and my guide was ready with the net, fight probably lasted less than 10 seconds. She was very, very skinny but weighed 10lb 2oz, probably would have been 13 or 14 pounds if she wasn't so skinny.

My best from the states came from a tiny 30 acre state lake in Kansas. There are several brushpiles on the lake and it's only about 3-7 feet deep through a majority of the lake. We were playing follow the leader with the only other boat on the lake and came to a brushpile that I knew was sitting right on the edge of a good drop. The other boat had already fished it but didn't pull anything out so I pitched my YUM wooley hog into the tree. I hopped it a couple times and carefully slid it up and over a limb. As soon as it cleared the limb I got that bite that you just know is a big fish because your whole rod jumps. I hit her hard and she dove under the boat and then jumped and tailwalked by the side of the boat. My friend just stared at the monster mouth shaking back and forth until I said "I might need the net for this one!" He jumped down and grab the net and quickly scooped her up. She was probably one of the nicest looking bass I've ever caught and at 7lb 14oz is still my best one outside of Mexico.

[slonezp]

KY Lake. Was fishing with my son and my dad on our annual trip. My dad and I were crappie fishing while my son was casting for bass. He was catching bass after bass and razzing us. I kept telling him it's quality, not quantity.Within 2 hours after we started fishing I landed this girl on a crappie minnow. Between 6-7lbs.

That trip was the best trip we had with dozens of bass in the 3-5lb range.

[5bass]

Mine came from a local golf course pond. We had got there about high noon and the sun was beating down. The bluegill were spawning and on one side of the pond they had their nests in one isolated area, it had to be 15-20 beds with bluegill sitting on them. We had fished around the pond and caught a few smaller bass but we noticed one big bass was continually running up on those gill beds and terrorizing them. I threw every bait I had at that bass, casting all around the deeper edge of the beds to no avail. As soon as we would leave that area, we'd see the water cutting up while that bass had made another swoop through the beds. Long story short.....I caught that bass with a bluegill, on the outside edge of the beds on the first cast. 9 pounds. 20 years ago.

[ww2farmer]

I topped my old PB of 6lbs 2oz with a 6-10 just this fall. We were rained out at work by noon, so I hit the lake after lunch, I started off deep, smallmouth fishing, but after 2 hours with out a bite I bailed on that, water temp was 50-51 so I went shallow looking for LM, just hitting different depths till I found some. I ended up with what would have been a 20+ lb mixed green and brown fish sack that day with that big fish.

[Red]

I don't know the weight of my PB cuz I don't have a scale. I caught several this year that would rival the one I caught a couple years back. The most memorable one was caught on a Cavitron buzzbait with a skirt that I tied on. My buddy and I were literally about 20 feet from the ramp right after sundown, we were going to leave. I said, "one more cast" and nailed this one right along side the ramp over a small brush pile.

[flippin and pitchin]

Geez Cliff, nice one. My PB LM is a tie at 7-13. The first one was in 2 feet of water in July about 25 years ago. I little tuft of water celery, an in-ine buzz bait. 28-1/2 in. long and skinny as a rail. I picked up another 7-13 this past April on a spinnerbait at Clear Lake. Much shorter and a belly bigger than mine. My PB smallie is a 5-5 and I got her in April on a Normans DLN in 10 feet of water on a sand flat with scattered boulders. Obviously, from what else i've read here, I need to fish more ponds ?????

[Hyrule Bass]

caught my personal best of 20 inches 4 1/2 pounds in September of this year on a drop shot with a night crawler at Smith Mountain Lake. I was night fishing off a dock. Just out of reach of casting distance from the dock is a creek channel. then to the right there is a point running out towards the creek channel and several tree stumps. The water was kind of low that weekend, i caught her in maybe 3 feet of water out towards the point and tree stumps.

My personal best on artificial is 4lbs 20 inches from a pond. caught her on a weightless baby rage craw, swimming it across the top of the water with the two pincers creating a wake from their flapping. that was also this year in the summer. also caught the same fish in February on a husky jerk and didnt take a weight.

[RyneB]

personal best was last year. I was fishing a strip mine in the dead of summer. Blue bird skies and about 100 degrees. I was casting my Rage Eeliminator to a shallow point. I turned around and threw horizontal to the bank but the cast took off on me and sailed farther than expected. I was working the Eeliminator back on top in 32 fow when i had a huge blow up. It ended up being an 8 lb lmb that had another giant swimming with it. I dont imagine the fish was hanging out on top. Visability is 20 plus feet so im assuming he came from the depths. Iv had a place in my heart for the Eeliminator ever since.

[Jim H.]

Strange but trrue. My PB tournament bass was 7lb15oz winning me the big bass money and with 2 other nice fish, winning the event.

My actual best was never weighed and cost me a friend! Our club was sponsoring a charity tournament and the evening before, my friend and I were just boating around the lake enjoying a brew and watching the sunset. Suddenly we saw a big fish strike a skipping shad. I stopped the boat and my friend made a very long cast with a topwater bait. The monster blew up on the lure but didn't connect. I had a tiny crankbait rigged on a spinning rod with 8lb test and made a cast near the spot... and the battle was on. She was in the brush, then around the trolling motor. and back into the buckbrush. Finally I was able to lip her and got her into the boat. She was HUGH!

My friend was stunned and said "My God, that's the biggest bass I have EVER seen. That sucker has to be well over 10 lbs (the lake record was 8 1/2 lbs)."

My thoughts at the time was : "So what? I don't want to eat this fish and I can't afford the bucks to have it mounted, so what AM I going to do with it? I decided to let it go.

Then my "friend" says "of course you are going to release it, right?"

So I did, and he hasn't spoken to me in the last 20 years.

[psuangler91]

I'm not sure exactly which was my personal best but they were both around 4 pounds. the first one was caught in Canada on a 9" Yum Dinger T rigged and dragged along the bottom under some lilly pads, He was a monster to me then and I thought he was at least 5 cause I had never caught a fish even close to that before but we weighed it at 3.9. The Second was caught the day before my first tournament during practice. My partner was in the front of the boat and we were both throwing spinners at a cluster of bull rushes on Clear water lake in Michigan. He was hitting it with a chartreuse and didn't pull anything out. Then I took my turn and I had a white single colorado with a chartreuse grub trailer. I threw in between the edge of the main clump and a small bunch of rushes just off that. He hit it right as it passed between the two and I instantly knew it was a good one. I actually was thinking maybe it was a pike. He was rippin drag and I was trying as hard as I could to pull him in without horsin him. whenever I pulled him up next to the boat I was so psyched I lipped him and pulled him up and my partner and our boater were both smilin and high fivin me. I'd say he was 4 and a half but my boater kept saying 4 flat. Anyway, next year I'm determined to get a five.

[psuangler91]

Then my "friend" says "of course you are going to release it, right?"

So I did, and he hasn't spoken to me in the last 20 years.

So he's mad that you caught what he thought should have been his fish or he's mad you let it go and didn't get it mounted? That is weird, sorry to hear that

[Randall]

My story was posted here a little over a year ago. I tell the details of the story later in the thread on the third page.

[Greed]

This last spring I stumbled upon a school of prespawn females moving shallow to feed. Long story short is that it was a magical and I managed two four pounders in two casts, my pb at 6#, and multiple three pounders before and after. Not too shabby for an hour fishing session before I had to go to work.

[zip pow]

My pb came on guntersville in the spring had just bought my first bass boat and was just going to the lake to make sure everything worked on it I carried one rod and a trap made first cast caught 9lb10 oz hog I was glad I bought the boat.

[WRB]

My PB was caught March 1993 from lake Castiac. The day was light rain and light wind, 2 days before the full moon, ideal conditions for giant pre spawn bass. I was fishing a major staging point that I had fished earlier at dawn without any success and returned about 9, slowly worked my way close enough to where I thought a big bass may be located and made a long cast about 90' with my hair jig/Super pork trailer. The bass was in about 17' of water when the strike occurred; a nothing strike the jig just stopped falling sooner than expected. Reeled the line tight and sweep the rod back into a solid hook set. The bass made a short run then came up and head shaking half body jump and dove back down into deeper water. I knew the bass was a giant, but was surprised when she came into few about 6' deep below the boat and turned to make another run; I was sure this bass was in the 20's and a possible world record.

She turned out to be 19.3 lbs on a certified scale; 28.5" long with 28" girth.

Tom

[Goose52]

Everyone has had great stories so far...but I gotta say that I REALLY enjoyed Randall's and WRB's - you guys are 'da man! (da men... )