mrl0004

Took the 'yak out to a local creek in hopes of finding some crappie. Instead I found bluegill and lots of cats. I had fun for the most part, but I also threw quite a few adult temper tantrums due to getting hung in overhanging trees, boats swamping me, losing my stringer and attached fish, and strong currents. Even with all of that I saw through to the good things. Caught around 5 or 6 nice bluegill and lost count of the cats. All fish were caught on Gulp! maggots fished under a bobber. I saw a lot of snakes, what looked like a bobcat, and a lot of gar (still can't catch them). Enjoy the pics!

FYI-the stringer picture was before I lost it!

buckhunter14

Congrats. just got in from a few hours of fishing. The spinnerbait bite was incredible for me today, landing about 40 Largemouth, over half on Strike King Spinnerbaits, a few on jigs, and a few on cranks/traps.

Nice fish!

mrl0004

Thanks! I have rarely, if ever, fished spinnerbaits. I have several, so maybe I should give them a try. I went yesterday to the lake and threw some crankbaits from shore with no luck. I need to wait until I have my kayak there so I can get to the other side of the lake. I have a lot of cranks, topwater, and spinnerbaits, but I just don't feel as confident with them as I do with jigs. But yet I haven't had a lot of luck with jigs in freshwater. I need to just get out of my comfort zone I guess............BTW, 40 Largemouth!?!?! Holy cow that's a lot of fish! That's catching bass like people catch bluegill! lol

My second biggest bass was caught trolling in my kayak with the crank below.

buckhunter14

Type of lure really depends on time of year and fish activity. It hard, but you have to force yourself to think like a fish. Spinnerbaits are extremely effective when bass are up in the water column and chasing minnows or baitfish. Today, there were constantly bass chasing bait on top of the water and little minnows would break the surface, as soon as my spinnerbait hit the water I'd hook into another fish. I always experiment to challenge these ideas and I hit very few fish on crankbaits today. I also should have tried the plastic flukes, but ran out of daylight.

Now jig fishing for bass is a completely different approach and mindset.

mrl0004

I have caught my biggest bass jigging with a Gulp! minnow on a jig fished around submerged structure! Yesterday I threw some Gulp! 3" shiner minnows parallel to the bank in between crankbait tosses, no luck though. Jigging is just my comfort zone from years of very active saltwater fishing. Caught tons of fish with that method and I almost stubbornly try to apply it to any type of water or target species. Unfortunately for me, sometimes it works, and sometimes it does not. I should do more like you said and try to think like a fish instead of having a predetermined method and sticking to it no matter what.

Hoyt HavocTec

That's a nice cat. Too bad on the crappies and the lost stringer. I lost my favorite knife yesterday, had it clipped to my pocket and it caught on my cast net when I was trying to catch shad for bait.

Looks like you had a hell of a time though.

mrl0004

It was fun. Sorry about your knife. I have lost a few of those too. When I find an arrowhead, I kind of laugh to myself and think, I bet whatever indian lost this was pissed because he probably spent hours making it. Maybe people will say the same when they find our knives years down the road. This is my biggest cat ever, but in all fairness, I rarely "catfish." They are more often than not a by catch for me. I love eating them, just prefer panfish or bass typically when I'm fishing.