If the cows are fighting, then the bass are bitting. Day 2 of Big Bass action!

[LowHybred09]

Everyone has heard the saying that when the cows are feeding so are the bass...well this time when the bulls were fighting, the bass definitely were bitting. This was day 2 of my friend Mike and I's float trips. We hit the same flow and got on the low clear water kinda late. First day the water has been down since all the rain so I knew fish would be hitting. Started with my black skirt, double bladded buzzbait and my J-13. My buddy was tossing a J-11. Also had my shakyhead. Started out floating over a 3lb shoal bass in 8 or 10 ft of water. Turned around and tossed my shakyhead/worm and he grabbed it...set the hook with no results...just fed him a worm, just jig returned to me. Put another worm on and he hit again, but somehow he has learned to suck worms off shakyhead jigs...which is unusual, I get real good hook up % on shakyheads. So I missed my first big bass but a few minutes later I get another bite on worm, set the hook and broke off my mono leader, a few seconds later and the fish jumped trying to shake my jig head...was about 2lbs.

Then my buddy all the sudden has his 5ft light spinning rod doubled over. He netted the bass, a good spot but while weighing it(2lb 6oz) it flopped and came off the scales so unfortunatelly no pics of it. I felt terrible because it was my friends biggest bass of the two days so far. But I was paid back..don't worry. A few minutes later we hit a deep bank with a lot of blowdowns. My buddy fished the other shallow rocky side. The sun was briight and high but I had a feeling to try my buzzbait, wasn't having luck on my rapala or worm in a litte while. I start with the double buzz with a red trailer hook. A few casts in and a big fish jumps all over my buzzbait and I got it hooked good, main hook and all. It went to pulling and I could see it was a 3lb + largemouth bass. He pulled some drag and fought real hard for a LM. My net got stuck so I lipped him. Put him on my berkly grip and set it in the water before weighing or taking a picture so I could get ready and my friend could get to me. Worst mistake o have ever made...the bass still had life, jumped and somehow unlodged the berkly grips out of it's mouth and was gone! I know it was about 3.5lbs at least....so you see, I was paid back for losing my friends bass.

But then the river just gets downright cruel..or fate does. I turn and cast one tree down from the last and a giant bass jumps on the buzzbait first cast after losing other fish off of gripper. I slam the hook home and it's a monster largemouth...and he has a buddy right by his side same size or bigger even. The bass I had hooked was at least 6lbs and he jumped clear out the water b/c the othe LM was trying to grab the lure. It was an amazing expxperience until the bass runs under my kayak and my drag sticks...the bass pulled free! UGH!!!!!! Almost tossed chunks I was so mad and upset. In a matter of five minutes I had two bass on, landed the 3lb +LM and then lost him and then lost a lm over 6lbs and that's estimating small. The bass was huge and it was crazy that there was another one just as big...imagine if I would have had a 6lb bass on the main hook and a 6lb bass on the trailer hook....would have been the coolest catch ever. Still neat now looking back but I let the curse words fly after all that.

Well, had to move on. Didn't put the double buzz down the rest of the day and caught a few spots, and a couple shoalies on my J-13. Then we get in the same creek I caught my 4lb shoal bass yesterday, I was about 25 yards from where I hooked the shoal bass yesterdat throwing the buzzbait. Tossed it in a mangled mass of wood and worked it out slow....oh yeah, worked the buzzbait real slow, but had it where the blades hit each other so it was loud. Well a bass slams it deep in the wood amd swallows the buzzbait...this time I fair a little better, at least at the end. At first he went down in the wood and for a second had me tied up. Thought I for sure lost it until it pulled up over the limb it was under and went behind my yak. I turned and let it run, was another BIG largemouth....my net stuck AGAIN, so I pulled it in by hand, it had the buzzbait main hook and all...at this point I had put 2 trailer hooks on the buzzbait because of short strikes. Missed about 15 fish on the buzzbait and landed 9. Not a very good ratio. The largemouth weighed 3lbs even. Finally got a picture of one of our good fish. Thank god I didn't drop it in the water before all that was done.

My buddy at this point has caught about 7 bass, most under 2lbs but over 1....he hooked another really good spot late in the day on his J-11...all his fish came on that. I felt better that he was catching fish today and caught 2 spots over 2lbs...this one was 2lb 3oz! Had the fattest belly on a spot I have ever seen..almost like it's disformed or something. Right after that I saw a fish hit something, threw my J-13 over it and the fish whacked it. Was tiny, ended up being about a 9oz redeye bass! The fish was shorter or about the sam length as my lure. Lol! I could not believe a 7 or 8 inch redeye(the one pictured) actually tried to eat my J 13! Thats a pretty big meal for that little bass. Was my last fish of the day, a tiny redeye on a huge lure. It's kinda washed out looking but it has the white tipped fin and horizontal rows of dots below the lateral line and a tooth patch on it's tongue. Not as neat looking as in the spring when you can see the blue on em, although the one I caught a few weeks back was similar. I ended with 9 landed and like 6 quick releases not including that huge 6lb lm. My buddy also ended with 9....lost about the same, 4 or 5.

The fighting bulls, hence the title


My spot on the buzzbait, had it by the 2nd trailer hook only


My 3lb even largemouth


Another view


My buddy Mike w/ a LM


Another spot on buzzbait


Mike 2lb 3oz spot with fat belly


My washed out redeye bass

[smiley]

Wish I could have gone with you guys. Glad you caught some nice fish! Can't wait till I'm feeling better so I can fish!

[turkey]

nice looking fish

[Owl]

Way to go! Looks like it was hot!

Can I ask another stupid question? I see alot of nets with folks when they are yak fishing. Is that to keep from leaning over to land the fish and causing a capsize? Or just in case you get one of those MONSTER bass!? Seems like it would get in the way alot, unless it's always stowed behind you like in that one pic. You might be able to use a net made for trout fishing for most of the bass if you always net 'em. They have short wooden handles and would probably be ok between your legs until you needed it - although if you get one of your 3-4 pounders LoHy, you'd be lucky to get all of him in a trout net!




Hope you feel better soon there, smiles.

[turkey]

Low, that largemouth looks a lot like a spot....awesome markings on that beast!

[Lawnmowerman]

After trying to take the net with me, I've decided not to.
Carry a net to keep treble hooks out of fingers, legs, etc...
I had mine up front, but don't take it anymore.
Maybe one day I'll take it, maybe not.
For the time being, not.
BTW, that rope is no longer there either.
This pic was taken when I was trying to decide how to set up this yak.

[turkey]

i have one of those trout nets, owl. i thought about taking it but decided against it....could use the space for something else. a smaller net would be easier to carry, though.

[dmurf2005]

a trout net takes up little space...its the way to go IMO. of course I ride a 119 I could fit a kayak in my canoe

[waderjon]

Not sure if there is much to it but I have always taken notice to what the cows were doing on the way to go fishing.

My grandfather use to say the following
If the wind is from the west the fishing is the best.
If the wind is from the east the fishing is the least .
If the wind is from the south lets head for the house.
If the wind is from the north..Its cold..Why would you want to go fishing

Another great post Lowhy..Congrats !!

[Owl]

Guys, maybe I've just been super-lucky all these years - or maybe it's different in a kayak(let me know, if so since I'm planning on one day getting one) - but I've been bass fishing for about 25 years now and the only time I've ever got a hook in my finger, wasn't in my finger - it was in my leg and it was not from a fish! LOL I had a small rapala hangin about 10 inches off my rod tip while getting ready to cast. A bee buzzed my leg and landed on me and I "nutted up" and did what I always do when a bee is around - I did a dance. I can't help it. I hate the things! well, needless to say I do my best not to react to any flying/stinging thing when I've got a rod in my hand now because I put two of the trebles in my leg. I pushed 'em through and cut the barbs off and went on fishing( got a tetanus shot the next day just to be safe)


Again, I'm not somone who has done alot of fishin for river bass, so please, please correct me if there's something different about it - but in my experiences if you play the fish well and grab him with authority when you do lip 'em, there's little chance of the getting a hook in your hide. There's always a chance of it, but I've never used a net and maybe I've just been lucky. If so, then knock on wood and thank you Lord!

If I need a net in a kayak, I'll sure get one. Maybe the moving water and boat and all make it a better solution than just lipping em?

thanks guys.

[PawPaw]

Owl.....I've been fishing all my life and bass fishing since I got my first driving license at 16. Until this year, I have lipped 100's of bass with my hand and have never
gotten bitten by any hooks in my hand. About a month ago, when fishing with Lohybred09, I caught a 3lb. spotted bass on a Rapala J-13.
The fish was calm as could be until I grabbed its lower jaw to swing into my yak. When I did so, it shook with all its might! The results....well
one of the trebles imbedded into my right hand middle finger to the bone! Even being careful and forceful sometimes isn't good enough. I don't
use a net but do use my lip gripper (pincers of peril) when landing fish with any lure with treble hooks! I don't have enough room in my
yak for a net. My lip gripper also is used to place my fish back into the river prior to weighing and photos to keep them healthy prior to release.
This is my 2 cents worth. Click on the link below for a photo of the fish gripper tool I use.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te....form1&Go.x=15

[LowHybred09]

Way to go! Looks like it was hot!

Can I ask another stupid question? I see alot of nets with folks when they are yak fishing. Is that to keep from leaning over to land the fish and causing a capsize? Or just in case you get one of those MONSTER bass!? Seems like it would get in the way alot, unless it's always stowed behind you like in that one pic. You might be able to use a net made for trout fishing for most of the bass if you always net 'em. They have short wooden handles and would probably be ok between your legs until you needed it - although if you get one of your 3-4 pounders LoHy, you'd be lucky to get all of him in a trout net

I use a light aluminum habdled bass net that tucks nicely behind my seat and Smiley's net is a little smallr and fits under her rear bungees. It is really because of all the big hard pulling shoalies we keep catching on J-11's and J-13's with all the trebles. Those fish pull so hard you only get a giant treble in your leg once hopefully. I learned a big lesson when a big fiesty spot put a number 4 or 6/ which ever is bigger in my leg. Not good. Net from now on! Plus the heartbreak is sickening when you lose a giant shoal bass right next to your yak because you barely had him hooked. The last big shoalie I caught on my j13 on Tuesday fell off into my net when I pulled him to it!