[PECo]

I beat the heat today and went fishing in my kayak on Spring Pond from 5:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Despite the forecast of sunny skies, it was overcast until noon. Hallelujah! I decided to fish up the W shore, because my father-in-law caught a decent 18-incher in the SW corner of the pond the last time we were there. Until that fish, I had never seen one taken off the W shore in the S cove.

To paraphrase Steven1Smith, the early wacky-rigged watermelon/red flake Yum Dinger gets the fish. I had my best day on Spring Pond in a while. I caught only largemouth bass, 11 in all:

18 inches, 2 lbs 8 oz, SW corner
16 inches, W shore, S cove
16 inches, 1 lb 11 oz, W shore, S cove
16 inches, 1 lb 13 oz, W shore, S cove
14 inches, NW corner of S island
12 inches, E shore, N by hyacinths
11 inches, E shore, N by hyacinths
14 inches, NE cove
12 inches, NE cove
19 inches, 2 lbs 6 oz, E shore, S of basalt boulder and pebble beach
11 inches, E shore, S cove

Here's the 18-incher:



I caught the 18-incher on my second cast and the first 16-incher on my third cast. I didn't weigh the first 16-incher, because it had swallowed the hook and I didn't want to stress it any more after removing the hook with my forceps.

The last two fish were caught on a soft plastic crawdad with an appropriately-sized jig head. I think I'm going to start using larger soft plastics more often, instead of worms. Bigger bass seemed to love the crawdad. I was five feet from the shore when I tied it on and threw it into the shallows next to my kayak to see how it would sink/swim. The 19-incher swooped in, grabbed it and pulled it 10 feet up the shore. The fish spit out the lure, but I reeled it in, straightened it out, threw it 20 feet up the shore and the fish grabbed it again immediately. I was surprised that the 19-incher weighed less than the 18-incher. I guess it was a skinny fish:



I hooked a 3+ pounder on the crawdad off the E shore on the S end of the S cove that pulled my kayak around for several seconds. I saw very clearly that the hook was through its upper lip and was taking my time reeling it in when it dove, banged against the bottom of the kayak and somehow managed to spit the hook. I know that it was over 3 lbs, and while I was yelling "Sonofab*tch!" over and over, I was left to wonder whether it was over 4 pounds. Sonofab*tch!

All in all, though, I had a terrific morning. I even got a light case of largemouth bass thumb. Like Flipper said, It sure beats working.
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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

[DV]

Looks like a good outing, I also hooked into something large my last time there. I was surprised by the amount of vegetation growth since my last visit.

[PECo]

Derek

The water's still a little murky, but there are fewer weeds in the pond now than there were a few weeks ago. I was able to see that the W side of the S cove is very shallow. A large area is only a couple of feet deep. It's so clear of weeds that I was wondering whether they had used an herbicide in there. However, I forgot to look at the sign before I left.

Phil
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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

[DirtyDawg10]

Nice job catching the bass, Phil. Catching bass is definitely better than working. I left work an hour early today so I could get some more practice throwing frogs. I ended up catching another on a frog today but no pics. It was only about a 1 pounder.

[Bass Sniper]

what do you do for a living that you fish every freaking day while im at work reading these posts? and are they hiring?
_________________
"Taco flavored Doritos
And my orange life vest
caught a hundred pound sturgeon
On twenty-pound test "

[PECo]

Bass Sniper

I married well. I never thought that I'd leave the Chicago area, but five years ago, my wife took a job in Hartford. I told her that if she took the job, I wouldn't go back to work, but would stay home to keep house and care for our kids. She actually went for it. I'm the luckiest person I know.

Phil
_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

[Bass Sniper]

im jealous
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"Taco flavored Doritos
And my orange life vest
caught a hundred pound sturgeon
On twenty-pound test "

[Fishface]

Nice job Phil excellant report as always. I'm sure the house and the kids are well maintained.

Tim

[SkeeterJim]

Awesome job Peco. That has to be one of your best outtings yet. Oh, and the pics are getting better.

Jim
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Eat, Sleep, Fish......I Love my SKEETER ZX225!!!
If I didn't have to work for a living....I'd be fishing.
If I'm not in my Skeeter then I'm in my Hobie!

[PECo]

Jim

That last fish is still haunting me. I've promised myself that I'll bring the next big one onboard the kayak as quickly as possible.

Phil
_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

[steven1smith]

Nice trip PECo. Those wacky rigged yum worms seem like they will always catch fish.
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Catch and release only.
A 4lb bass is not going to grow to 8lbs on your wall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxCdnQ8WEfQ

[rjskeeter]

NICE JOB.SOUNDS LIKE U HAVE A GREAT WIFE.I WISH I HAD MORE TIME TO FISH. ALTHOUGH I DID JUST SPEND A WEEK ON WINNP. IN NH LAST WEEK BECAUSE OF MY WIFE SO I GUESS IM LUCK Y SHE ALSO DEALS WITH MY TOURNY FISHING ALL THE TIME SO I SAY WE ARE PRETTY LUCKY TO MARRY THE ONES WE DO.
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remodeling contractor

[PECo]

rjskeeter

My wife mentioned for the first time tonight that she feels like a fishing widow, sometimes. She didn't put it exactly that way, but that's the gist of what she said. I told her that if she really doesn't want me to get a bass boat, I would get a Hobie Mirage Pro Angler, instead. She replied, "If you got a bass boat, we'd never see each other. We hardly see each other already."

The funny thing is that I almost always fish during the day, when she's at work. And when I fish on weekends, it's often with her dad. But you're right, we're each lucky to have an understanding wife.

Phil
_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

[DV]

Phil, honestly I think a bass boat would shorten your trips. Less time unloading, more time fishing. "No luck here, lets try over there..." Our boats can really hamper our decisions, more time trying different baits to tempt inactive fish vs more time looking for active fish. Maybe a compromise is in order, less days spent fishing... but more days spent catching.