How did you catch your PB? Detailed account, story time 2024
Dwbassin reply :
This is something I never get tired of thinking about or seeing. I saw my best friend catch his pb and can re account the moment precisely. My pb was caught on what was a rough day. I always went to this one pond in MD cause the year before I had caught some 4 plus pounders and my pb. I just started getting obsessed and really diving into bass. That year completely cemented it. I knew fish would be bedding, so one night I worked till around 6 am and decided I was going to the pond for the heck of it. I worked 20 hours with a 4 hour nap in between and had to go. It’s a nice spot, a haven of sorts in a bustling city. Back in the woods a ways were I hunt, and a big chunk of woods so no one ever goes really. It’s at the end but Right off 95 so you still hear traffic. Anyways, I fished all morning without a bite. It was the first 80 degree day of the year and hadn’t got above 65. It just felt right. I was flipping with my first $100 plus rod, to no avail but with pride. Just bought Tungsten weight and was getting the feel of it. My dad swears by double tailed hula grubs and I grew up on em, hadn’t used them so I tied one on. Deep purple with a oil spilled colored drop shot weight. I make it to EXACTLY we’re I caught my pb the year before. It was a joke how I caught it honestly. I’m finishing a cast, and I’m seeing these dead rasa stalks in the bank. I’m giving it a hop every 2 to 3 seconds. For some reason I did this all the way up the bank till the water is literally 6 inches deep. I hope it and few a thud, just one and mind you I’m glassing it and can see perfectly. Never saw the bass. Instinct just set the hook and I’ve never felt this immediate power run until just last week. It took off and instantly I knew it was big, I turned it around and it Ran back the other way a good ways. I slid down the bank and i reeled it up and finally realized what it was. I lipped it as it was flopping in almost exactly were it was lying unseen when I hooked it. Only fish I caught that day and the feeling was like nothing I’ve ever had. Now I battle with finishing every cast methodically. It also taught me to just fish and fish through those slow days, and to take my time cause I never stop, I just panicked and fished to fast. Learned a lot that day and had the best feeling in the world for 20 to 30 seconds.
PAbasser927 reply :
Mine was on the second cast of the day and the very first time I ever tried fishing a fluke. On top of that, it was a day that I wasn’t at the lake to fish; I was there to paddle with my wife and brought a rod just to toy with. After searching for my first five pounder for a year and a half, I had finally made the mark a week before with a 5-4. Then I happened to hook into my 6-6 a few days later while I was barely even fishing. Just goes to show that you never know when it’s going to happen!
Dens228 reply :
My took a lot of hard work and time. My daughter and son in law had just bought a house in a suburban subdivision that has a 10 acre pond completely surrounded by houses. My youngest son and I went over to visit, purposely getting there early in order to see what kind of fish were in the pond. We get there and I decided to try a purple wacky rigged Senko. On my second cast something very big took it and I looked at my son and said, "Well, now we know there are catfish in here". As the submerged and still fighting hard fish swung towards the bank near my son he said, "Dad it's a bass" and I replied that he was crazy, there was no way there were bass as big as whatever was on the end of my line in this pond.
I minute later I had my 8 pound 3 oz largemouth PB!
12poundbass reply :
My PB smallmouth came a few weeks ago hopping a jig in a river down the road from my house. 3 lbs 10 oz
My PB green bass I got doing my favorite type of fishing. I was throwing a frog around lily pads, the frog got to a small opening and the water just exploded 5-4! That was about 12 years ago early October cold, windy, and pretty breezy. My wife and I only caught 4 or 5 that day but the smallest was 2-8, the rest were over 3. That was a good day for Michigan.
Dwbassin reply :
On 6/19/2019 at 7:41 PM, Dens228 said:My took a lot of hard work and time. My daughter and son in law had just bought a house in a suburban subdivision that has a 10 acre pond completely surrounded by houses. My youngest son and I went over to visit, purposely getting there early in order to see what kind of fish were in the pond. We get there and I decided to try a purple wacky rigged Senko. On my second cast something very big took it and I looked at my son and said, "Well, now we know there are catfish in here". As the submerged and still fighting hard fish swung towards the bank near my son he said, "Dad it's a bass" and I replied that he was crazy, there was no way there were bass as big as whatever was on the end of my line in this pond.
I minute later I had my 8 pound 3 oz largemouth PB!
That’s awesome you had your son there with you. Now you have access to a honey hole too. The glory of ponds
On 6/19/2019 at 7:52 PM, 12poundbass said:My PB smallmouth came a few weeks ago hopping a jig in a river down the road from my house. 3 lbs 10 oz
My PB green bass I got doing my favorite type of fishing. I was throwing a frog around lily pads, the frog got to a small opening and the water just exploded 5-4! That was about 12 years ago early October cold, windy, and pretty breezy. My wife and I only caught 4 or 5 that day but the smallest was 2-8, the rest were over 3. That was a good day for Michigan.
To catch a pb on a frog is as good as it gets, crazy you caught it in the cold on topwater too. Always wanted to fish your neck of the woods
Troy85 reply :
I was visiting family in South Carolina. My cousin took me to a pond, I wasn't really into bass fishing at this time, just inshore saltwater. I remember we had to carry his 12' Jon boat across a two lane highway, over the guard rail and down an embankment to get to the water. We had been catching a few fish, mostly on TX rigged worms. I was throwing a 7" blue Culprit worm. We came up on this small grassy point. As we got within casting distance, there was a spot on this grassy point that just spoke to me. My first throw to the spot I wanted was off target, so I reeled in quickly and threw back, 2nd cast was off again. So I threw back a third time, and it was spot on. I let the worm sink and I felt the slightest bump. It was so subtle, that I remember thinking to myself "was that a fish or bottom? I'll set the hook just to be safe". When I set it, it didn't move much, like the all the smaller ones we had caught. It took off to the left towards deeper water. I told my cousin it was a big one, I don't think he really believed me at first. I still remember when it first broke the surface, big ole black eyes and mouth wide open. We had forgot the net so my cousin told me he was going to "lip it". I remember telling him "IF YOU MISS THIS FISH I'M GOING TO THROW YOU OUTTA THIS BOAT!" He didn't miss, we got it in the boat. It weighed in at just over 9lbs. I've been hooked on bass fishing ever since.
We hit that same spot on the way back and I hooked up with another nice fish. It jumped completely out of the water and threw the hook. We estimate that one was about 6-7lbs.
12poundbass reply :
On 6/19/2019 at 8:02 PM, Dwbassin said:To catch a pb on a frog is as good as it gets, crazy you caught it in the cold on topwater too. Always wanted to fish your neck of the woods
When the pads start to die in the fall that’s some of the best frog fishing. The week before that I was on the same lake doing the same thing, spent 3 hours just throwing a frog to the pads and catching them almost every other cast. I’ve never experienced anything like that before, it was awesome.
813basstard reply :
1/2 ozLipless crankbait (OG Shad color)
Reeling it so slow to the point of it almost not moving. 15-17 ft of water.
I feel Deep strong pull..tell partner “put your rod down, I’ll need you”
She jumped once, I thought it was a humpback whale in Nova Scotia. Didn’t let her jump again, she ran under the boat, I took it off the drag and put it in my thumb like I know what I’m doing (????). “The next time she comes close you grab any part of her”
9.1
That was two weeks ago
Fried Lemons reply :
I was fishing a canal below one of the locks. There was a good amount of water flowing over a mixture of gravel and large boulders. I knew the bass were post spawn and were stacked up feeding in the outflow. In a previous trip I had caught several 3's and two 5's but on this particular day I only had a 3. I moved slightly downstream where I could just barely see the top of a large solitary boulder. I cast out a flat sided squarebill upstream and allowed it to float past the boulder before starting the retrieve. Just as my crankbait dove from sight I felt a heavy, unmoving weight on the end. This was a very snaggy spot so I assumed I was caught on a log or a rock. I gave the bait some slack hoping it would float free. That was when the snag started to move and I knew I had something big. It was the first bass I'd ever felt pulling drag. When I brought it close and it first broke the surface I couldn't believe the size of the head and mouth. My previous long standing PB was a 5lber which this one shattered at 7-4. This was four years ago and I still play it through my head sometimes.
CroakHunter reply :
It was early May. We were fishing our semi-annual tourney. There were fish in all three phases of the spawn. We started out around 6 a.m. throwing top waters and other reaction baits. Landed a few dinks but no keepers or any type of pattern yet. Around 715 we decided we would fish out deep on a few brush piles we have marked. 2 cast into the brush I am working my 10.5 inch straight tail worm. (Which I rarely threw before June). Up and over a branch when it kind if hangs in the v of the brush. I give it a little slack and shake my rod tip. I feel a "thunk thunk" and my line is slowly moving deeper amd away from the brush. I set the hook and the fight was on! She jumped 2 or 3 times, with numerous tail walks. I get her near the boat and she makes one last dive under the boat, ripping drag, but eventually she gives up and my partner executes a perfect net job. Not knowing how big this fish was, but knowing it was my pb, would help us into the money, and more than likely win myself big bass I was more than pumped. I even yelled "wooooo, this has got to be better than drugs!" She weighed 7.2lbs. Hadnt been caught in over 11 years. She was tagged and was caught just 50 yards from where I caught her. We got 2nd in the tourney and I won big bass.
moguy1973 reply :
My PB smallmouth (in my avatar picture) came about 3 years ago on Columbus Day. Went to a local river access that isn't known for big fish, or any fish really, but this day I figured what the heck, I was close and had the day off so why not. There's a big pool under the bridge at this access that had some leaves and other debris on top swirling around in the eddy that the pool forms. I started out using a walk the dog that kept getting leaves caught on the hooks making it hard to work, but on one cast I got a huge blow up near the only piece of cover that was in the pool, a rather large log that had lodged itself up against the bank and was sticking out in the water near the bank. I thought it may have just been a gar since there are a lot of gar in this part of the river typically. To remedy the leaves getting snagged on the treble hooks of the walk the dog I switched over to a texas rigged Zoom Horny Toad. The very next cast i dragged the frog across the log and another huge blowup, only this time I had the fish hooked. I still thought it was a gar as it didn't fight much, then when I saw it I realized it was a rather large smallmouth. I got it up on bank and it ended up being a 21.5" 4lb 7oz smallie. Probably a catch of a lifetime on this river as not many that size are on that stretch anymore.
My PB largemouth came earlier this year on my in-laws pond. In the past it has yielded a lot of big green sunfish and a few smaller largemouth bass although my wife had caught a 6lb 10oz monster right after my in-laws bought the place. Usually it's full of grass to the point you can't fish it but this year they've gotten it under control with some grass carp and it's been fishable. That day I caught several fish in the 3-4lb range and caught my PB of 4.52lbs as the biggest. Nothing really exciting as it's a farm pond and I caught it on a wacky rigged senko in a shallow part of the pond where they were most likely setting up for pre-spawn.
Catt reply :
February 3rd 2007 was a nasty cold morning with Northwest winds at 15-20 mph, a slight misty rain falling, and temperatures in the middle 30's. After having launched out of Jack's 944 Marina I made the short (2 minutes) run to the mouth of Bull creek trying to stay out of the wind and some what warm. Having rounded the corner I dropped the trolling motor, picked up my Rat-L-Trap rod again with the thought in mind of keeping moving and staying warm. My third cast was into the mouth a cut leading to a boat shed which I knew had stumps on the west side, after turning the handle 4 or 5 time my trap stopped solid, I tell Pat d**n to close to the stumps so I push the trolling motor handle towards the mouth of the cut while stepping on the switch. At the exact same instance my line starts zinging towards deeper water rod all bowed up & drag slipping; I immediately scream at Pat get the net. By now the boat is moving off to my left the bass is moving off to my right and I'm nearly on my knees in front of the console with the upper third of the rod in the water. Pat net in hand is now on the front deck killed the trolling motor and with a swift motion netted the hawg; which ends up weighing in at 12 pounds 8 ounces.
Scott F reply :
I don't even know what my personal best is, how much it weighed or when I caught it. I probably have a picture but personal best doesn't mean much to me.
Bass Ninja reply :
Man I get goosebumps just reading this thread!! So my PB was caught on a lake in northern Maine 4 years ago. I was camping with family and some friends, and the first morning I got up right at sunrise to hit the water in a kayak. It was one of those mornings that I dream about, 60 degree weather, partly cloudy, water like glass with fog rising off the lake. I was just getting into freshwater fishing, so my uneducated self was only armed with a couple texas rigged weightless senkos and a couple top water poppers that I threw with my 2-piece 6.5ft cheap spinning rod with 8lb mono. I tie on the popper, go around the corner to this cove, go near the bank where some trees are over hanging the water and cast the popper out a few times working it really slowly. 3rd or 4th cast, all the mono with its memory gets a big ole birdnest. With the popper still out there, I strip off a bunch of line, and work on clearing the mess. Took me probably 2 minutes, but I finally got in untangled. I sit back in my kayak seat, look around me to enjoy the quiet peacefulness of the lake, and then start reeling in the slack. With most of the slack in, I'm ready to start working the popper again, so I give it one barely noticeable twitch. The water exploded as my popper disappeared and I felt the weight of the fish pulling line off and I heard the drag singing my favorite song! I was in shock for about two seconds before I remembered I should probably set the hook. Fought the fish for a couple minutes before I was able to lip it and pull it inside my kayak. I turn my kayak around to paddle back to camp to wake everyone up and show them, and I see my friend standing on the dock watching me. Only thing better than catching a nice fish is catching it in front of an audience! That largemouth weighed in at 6lbs 4oz.
Koz reply :
The things I remember most about my PB are that it was another day I was blessed to be fishing with my son and that it was brutally hot outside with a heat index above 100. Most of the lagoons we fish have little or no vegetation, but this small 1.5 acre lagoon did have some along one of the banks. I cast parallel to the bank with a Texas rigged Senko and that did the trick. The fight wasn't any more or less than a 4 pounder and it weighed in at 6.8 pounds.
The PB I remember most was my son's first bass that was over 5 pounds (it's my avatar photo). We had fished in that spot a few days before and he was cranky because I had been catching 4 and 5 pounders and he was catching 2 and 3 pounders. He REALLY wanted a big bass. So when we got to the spot I told him to throw his white spinnerbait in a certain location, and being in a cranky mood he refused and just sat on the bank. So I threw a white spinnerbait in that spot and on the first cast landed one just under 5 pounds. He was not happy ????
So we head to that same spot a few days later and he's elbowing me out of the way to get to that particular spot. His rod wasn't rigged and mine was so I kidded him that I was going to get the first cast. He didn't think that was funny at all. Anyway, he finally gears up and on his second or third cast lands one that weighed in at 5.5 pounds. I don't think I've ever seen a bigger smile on his face, even after a great pitching performance or great day of hitting. He went on to top that later in the summer with one just under 6 pounds, but that first 5 pounder of his is the one I'll remember most.
Bankbeater reply :
Temp was 75 degrees at 5:30 AM when we launched. My partner started catching bass on a buzz bait right away. I was using a jitterbug and getting no bites. At about 5:55 AM I decided to change up the retrieve so I cast out over a road bed and just let the bait sit. After about 30 seconds I engaged the reel spool and when I did that the jitterbug turned toward me. That’s all it took. There was a huge boil in the water and about 5 min later I had a new pb of 6 lb 2 oz.
StretcherJockey reply :
PB Largemouth was on a small TWRA lake in West TN. Any of you guys from the area can probably guess where. Overcast with impending TStorms probably 75 degrees out. First week of May. 8lb 11oz with a Zoom Ol Monster. Caught a 5lber maybe 10mins later and had to get off the water due to lightning. Capped off the best week of bass fishing I’ve ever had in terms of size. 7 bass over 7lbs with numerous 3-4lbers in 5 days of fishing. All on the same sub 600acre lake. Never experienced anything like it before or since.
I like my PB Smallmouth even better though. Yellow Creek on Pickwick on my 15th birthday. Dad and I caught tons of largemouth that day on rocky secondary points in about 10-15ft of water. Not a single smallie on that pattern and not a single fish shallow until we eased into a little cove where I pitched a black trick worm on a shaky head into a lay down and pulled a 5lb 12oz smallie out of less than 2 feet of water. Never in a million years would have expected any smallmouth, let alone one of that incredible caliber to be in a place like that.
Bluebasser86 reply :
My PB largemouth was in Mexico. I was fishing an 8" Zoom lizard on a deep drop. I'd given up on a cast and was reeling it in quickly when I saw the huge shadow right behind it when it got close to the boat. Out of desperation, I released the spool and started pulling off line. No depthfinder, but I knew we were in at least 20' of water. My bait and the shadow disappeared out of sight, my line sank for a couple feet and then just stopped, no jump or thump, just quit sinking. I knew there was only 1 real reason that could have happened, so I hammered back on the rod and she was almost instantly on the surface. My guide had seen the whole thing and was right there with the net and she tailwalked in, the whole fight lasted 5-10 seconds.
My PB smallmouth was just a little over a month ago.
A-Jay reply :
I caught my personal best LMB while on a 5 day trip to Lake Baccarac in Mexico - November 2013.
"Came on the third day late in the afternoon just before sunset. While fishing a ¾ ounce SK Redeye Shad (Sexy Shad) in front of some bushes on a “nothing” bank, I hooked what eventually turned out to be a new PB. The fish hit like a freight train and immediately ran for the bushes, I managed to turn her. Next she went way under the boat attempting to get free, I managed to foil that one. Then in a last ditch effort she went straight for the trolling motor, but my man Dwight had my back. With cat like reflexes and lightning speed, he snatched that baby up and out of the water leaving this now less inspired Trophy bass nowhere to go but in the net. Once our guide Manual placed the net bag onto the deck, with my heart just about pounding right out of my chest, the bait fell from the fish’s mouth. Wow, lucky for sure and quite a rush.
This fish weighed 11lbs 11 ounces was caught on Nov 11th (11-11) ~ now that's going to be a hard one to forget.
After getting a weight, photos and successful release, I had to take several minutes to collect myself – I had a bit of the shaky hands thing going on. It was cool.
By now the sun had just about set and once I could no longer feel my pulse in my face, I went back to fishing. The magic continued on my very next cast. An 8lb 14.25 ounce bass sucked down that redeye shad and the fight was on. To tell you the truth, I don’t really even remember the fight. I was still numb from the previous events. Somehow the fish ended up in the net, there was a weight and some pictures taken in the dark and then she was released. That’s 20+ lbs in two casts. It was like dream – the good kind. "
As for my Personal Best Smallie ~ here's that deal . . .
Headed north on the interstate at zero dark thirty this morning. Got on the water at daylight and made it up to my ‘spot’ just before sunrise. It was a calm & unseasonably warm morning with air temps in the high 50’s and water temps in the low 60’s. Started out working a flat that has an inlet dumping out onto it. The water was back to its usual clarity (super clear) and the bass were already chasing bait when I arrived. With plenty of neck turning swirls all over the place, expectations were high . . . . . . . .
My first two presentations were both topwater (a walking bait & a twin fluke rig). I had the twin GoPro’s mounted and at the ready, hoping to capture some early morning topwater action. I was only casting into 4 or 5 feet, so it’s not like they weren’t seeing it. Well, these baits drew zero interest. I was unhappy as I fully expected one or both baits to get hammered. Didn’t happen.
After about 20 minutes of unsuccessfully trying to force feed the bass, a little breeze came up along with some cloud cover. By the looks of the sky the clouds weren’t going to last too long. So I aborted the topwater and headed up wind of what I though was the prime area. Busted out a spinnerbait & went to work. I got a strike right away but I blew the hookset and was left with a torn trailer. Replaced and went back to launching that bait for all I was worth. After about 10 minutes, I had a nice rhythm going; bomb a cast, burning back – bomb a cast, burning it back – you get the idea . . . . ..
Then, made a cast, turned the Calcutta 200D handle about 5 turns and the bait just stopped. I put the boots to her and there was that familiar feeling – the one where I kind of know it's a big fish but so often in these waters, the ‘big fish’ have big teeth. So I say out loud “hope it’s a bass” – but not actually believing that the chances are very good that it is. It’s pulling pretty good but it doesn’t jump – not helping my cause. Pulls some drag – then I get a glimpse – Holy Smokes, it looks like a bass – Holy Smokes – It Is A Bass and it’s BIG ! Turned on the Gopro’s in time to catch the end of the battle & the net job which went pretty easily thankfully.
Once I lifted her up out of the drink and laid the net bag on the deck – I was Blown Away – This bass was Crazy FAT ! Put her right in the live well, took a minute to compose myself (insert go completely nuts off camera) and then weighed her – came up 7.29 lbs - twice. Totally Insane. Oh and blind in one eye.
I didn’t measure her length or get a girth (I wished I had) before I released her. But she was stressing in the live well and I definitely wanted this one to swim away. SO as quickly as she came – she was free . . .I may never catch a heavier smallie - but I'm good with that.
A-Jay
WRB reply :
This topic has been repeated several times, search for person best it's well documented.
Tom
Dwbassin reply :
On 6/20/2019 at 1:22 AM, Scott F said:I don't even know what my personal best is, how much it weighed or when I caught it. I probably have a picture but personal best doesn't mean much to me.
Interesting point. Once I hit around 8 I enjoy every bigger bass (4 plus) a lot, but now I just wanna catch a dd
Dwbassin reply :
On 6/20/2019 at 11:59 AM, Bluebasser86 said:My PB largemouth was in Mexico. I was fishing an 8" Zoom lizard on a deep drop. I'd given up on a cast and was reeling it in quickly when I saw the huge shadow right behind it when it got close to the boat. Out of desperation, I released the spool and started pulling off line. No depthfinder, but I knew we were in at least 20' of water. My bait and the shadow disappeared out of sight, my line sank for a couple feet and then just stopped, no jump or thump, just quit sinking. I knew there was only 1 real reason that could have happened, so I hammered back on the rod and she was almost instantly on the surface. My guide had seen the whole thing and was right there with the net and she tailwalked in, the whole fight lasted 5-10 seconds.
My PB smallmouth was just a little over a month ago.
That’s great and all, but we are talking about a Mexican bass, unless I missed it I need a weight cause I know they’re monstrous
On 6/20/2019 at 12:23 PM, A-Jay said:I caught my personal best LMB while on a 5 day trip to Lake Baccarac in Mexico - November 2013.
"Came on the third day late in the afternoon just before sunset. While fishing a ¾ ounce SK Redeye Shad (Sexy Shad) in front of some bushes on a “nothing” bank, I hooked what eventually turned out to be a new PB. The fish hit like a freight train and immediately ran for the bushes, I managed to turn her. Next she went way under the boat attempting to get free, I managed to foil that one. Then in a last ditch effort she went straight for the trolling motor, but my man Dwight had my back. With cat like reflexes and lightning speed, he snatched that baby up and out of the water leaving this now less inspired Trophy bass nowhere to go but in the net. Once our guide Manual placed the net bag onto the deck, with my heart just about pounding right out of my chest, the bait fell from the fish’s mouth. Wow, lucky for sure and quite a rush.
This fish weighed 11lbs 11 ounces was caught on Nov 11th (11-11) ~ now that's going to be a hard one to forget.
After getting a weight, photos and successful release, I had to take several minutes to collect myself – I had a bit of the shaky hands thing going on. It was cool.
By now the sun had just about set and once I could no longer feel my pulse in my face, I went back to fishing. The magic continued on my very next cast. An 8lb 14.25 ounce bass sucked down that redeye shad and the fight was on. To tell you the truth, I don’t really even remember the fight. I was still numb from the previous events. Somehow the fish ended up in the net, there was a weight and some pictures taken in the dark and then she was released. That’s 20+ lbs in two casts. It was like dream – the good kind. "
As for my Personal Best Smallie ~ here's that deal . . .
Headed north on the interstate at zero dark thirty this morning. Got on the water at daylight and made it up to my ‘spot’ just before sunrise. It was a calm & unseasonably warm morning with air temps in the high 50’s and water temps in the low 60’s. Started out working a flat that has an inlet dumping out onto it. The water was back to its usual clarity (super clear) and the bass were already chasing bait when I arrived. With plenty of neck turning swirls all over the place, expectations were high . . . . . . . .
My first two presentations were both topwater (a walking bait & a twin fluke rig). I had the twin GoPro’s mounted and at the ready, hoping to capture some early morning topwater action. I was only casting into 4 or 5 feet, so it’s not like they weren’t seeing it. Well, these baits drew zero interest. I was unhappy as I fully expected one or both baits to get hammered. Didn’t happen.
After about 20 minutes of unsuccessfully trying to force feed the bass, a little breeze came up along with some cloud cover. By the looks of the sky the clouds weren’t going to last too long. So I aborted the topwater and headed up wind of what I though was the prime area. Busted out a spinnerbait & went to work. I got a strike right away but I blew the hookset and was left with a torn trailer. Replaced and went back to launching that bait for all I was worth. After about 10 minutes, I had a nice rhythm going; bomb a cast, burning back – bomb a cast, burning it back – you get the idea . . . . ..
Then, made a cast, turned the Calcutta 200D handle about 5 turns and the bait just stopped. I put the boots to her and there was that familiar feeling – the one where I kind of know it's a big fish but so often in these waters, the ‘big fish’ have big teeth. So I say out loud “hope it’s a bass” – but not actually believing that the chances are very good that it is. It’s pulling pretty good but it doesn’t jump – not helping my cause. Pulls some drag – then I get a glimpse – Holy Smokes, it looks like a bass – Holy Smokes – It Is A Bass and it’s BIG ! Turned on the Gopro’s in time to catch the end of the battle & the net job which went pretty easily thankfully.
Once I lifted her up out of the drink and laid the net bag on the deck – I was Blown Away – This bass was Crazy FAT ! Put her right in the live well, took a minute to compose myself (insert go completely nuts off camera) and then weighed her – came up 7.29 lbs - twice. Totally Insane. Oh and blind in one eye.
I didn’t measure her length or get a girth (I wished I had) before I released her. But she was stressing in the live well and I definitely wanted this one to swim away. SO as quickly as she came – she was free . . .I may never catch a heavier smallie - but I'm good with that.
A-Jay
I was wondering if that was yours. Watched a couple of your videos and noticed you are quick with the go-pro and see why you turn it off to geek out. Every video I’ve seen of guides in Mexico they are great net men
928JLH reply :
I was 16 and it was July. Went out that afternoon in 120+ temps to a public fishing dock. I read an article in a fishing magazine about the AC Plug catching huge bass in California. The local Walmart had an assortment of them on clearance for super cheap. I chucked that thing for hours without a bite. Pretty frustrated and I was going to leave soon. Water was very clear and I seen some artificial habitats quite a ways out. Backed off the spool tension knob and cast just beyond it. Started burning it back and she flew out and smoked it.
Pretty lucky to have landed it. Back then I was clueless (still am ????) throwing swimbaits on bad gear. I used an old ugly Stik, a quantum iron reel, and 12lb mono. A fella that showed up probably 10 minutes prior to hooking into her ran across the dock with a net. I didn't even have one. He helped me land her. He had a scale too which I didn't have. 7lb 3oz largie. Almost 19 years later still haven't beat it.
BigAngus752 reply :
Mine was 40 years ago. I was just a kid. Family vacation at Lake of the Ozarks. Dad made me get up early one morning to go fishing at a state or county park that was on the lake. We walked the bank and he spotted a point with enormous, VW Beetle-size boulders stretching off the point just a few feet under the water. He said, "That's the spot" even though he'd never been there before. We waded out, walking from boulder to boulder. He warned me not to slip a leg between them. We got out a ways and I started casting an inline spinner. After awhile Dad let me use his brand new Rapala Floating Minnow. I was so proud that he let me use it because he didn't spend much on fishing lures and this thing was new and it was his favorite lure. I started casting and jerking it. A bass came out from between the boulders and hit it like an attack dog. I set the hook more out of shock than fishing skill. I started reeling and to day I remember as clearly in my head as if it happened yesterday that fish jumping, bending back and forth in the air trying to shake that lure that was stuck front and back trebles in it's lip. I remember the sun reflecting off of it in the air. I was thrilled and terrified. Dad was bounding from boulder to boulder toward me and pulled it out of the water for me as I got it close. It was 5 1/2 pounds (I can't tell you exact ounces because Dad only had a ratty old spring scale). I remember Dad holding it up and telling me it was the biggest bass he'd ever held. I remember how heavy it felt and being scared when I held it that it would swallow my hand with that huge mouth. I remember it all clearly, like it just happened.
Dad's been gone 29 years. I still have his Rapala. The trebles are rusty and I never, ever use it. I just started bass fishing again a couple years ago. I know I'll catch a bigger bass eventually. I've come close a couple times already. Some days I go out and I want to catch an 8lb bass. Some days I just want to keep my PB that I have already.
Dwbassin reply :
On 6/21/2019 at 2:25 AM, BigAngus752 said:Mine was 40 years ago. I was just a kid. Family vacation at Lake of the Ozarks. Dad made me get up early one morning to go fishing at a state or county park that was on the lake. We walked the bank and he spotted a point with enormous, VW Beetle-size boulders stretching off the point just a few feet under the water. He said, "That's the spot" even though he'd never been there before. We waded out, walking from boulder to boulder. He warned me not to slip a leg between them. We got out a ways and I started casting an inline spinner. After awhile Dad let me use his brand new Rapala Floating Minnow. I was so proud that he let me use it because he didn't spend much on fishing lures and this thing was new and it was his favorite lure. I started casting and jerking it. A bass came out from between the boulders and hit it like an attack dog. I set the hook more out of shock than fishing skill. I started reeling and to day I remember as clearly in my head as if it happened yesterday that fish jumping, bending back and forth in the air trying to shake that lure that was stuck front and back trebles in it's lip. I remember the sun reflecting off of it in the air. I was thrilled and terrified. Dad was bounding from boulder to boulder toward me and pulled it out of the water for me as I got it close. It was 5 1/2 pounds (I can't tell you exact ounces because Dad only had a ratty old spring scale). I remember Dad holding it up and telling me it was the biggest bass he'd ever held. I remember how heavy it felt and being scared when I held it that it would swallow my hand with that huge mouth. I remember it all clearly, like it just happened.
Dad's been gone 29 years. I still have his Rapala. The trebles are rusty and I never, ever use it. I just started bass fishing again a couple years ago. I know I'll catch a bigger bass eventually. I've come close a couple times already. Some days I go out and I want to catch an 8lb bass. Some days I just want to keep my PB that I have already.
Even if you break it that will always be your personal best moment
Alec McMillan reply :
It was August of last year. I was 15 and it was 100 degrees. I went to a relatively large pond that I had never fished before and I found a creek area that looked pretty juicy. I threw a black and blue chatterbait with a biospawn exoswim trailer. First cast got nailed within 2 feet of the bank. Set the hook really hard, fought her for a minute, and eventually lipped her and got her on the bank. I was freaking out, the biggest bass I had ever caught before that was a six pounder, and this shattered my old PB. I weighed her on my scale and she turned out to be 10 pounds and 4 ounces. I still can't believe to this day that a ten pounder was sitting in less than a few feet of water in summer, and that I caught it first cast in a completely new pond. To this day I have only caught 2 other fish out of that pond. Crazy experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. Hopefully I can break it one day
N Florida Mike reply :
Caught mine when I was 19 years old. It was the last day of the year. Warm and windy as I recall. I had not had a bite all morning. Around 11:00 I made a perfect cast that the wind took and just missed the edge of a stand of cattails, landing 1-2 feet from the bank in a slightly deeper little hole, 3-4 feet deep. I remember saying out loud " Bill Dance makes a perfect cast " And thinking It was such a good cast I ought to catch a good fish there. It was kind of a protected little cove formed by the cattails on either side. I was using a grape Mann's Jelly worm. Felt the tap, set the hook, and the fight was on. She tried to jump but could only get head and shoulders out of the water. The fish fought left, right, left , right as I got her closer with each run. Finally lipped her and couldn't believe It. Based on 3 sorry scales and length , the fish was 8 1/2 to 9 pounds.
An interesting side note is that my son caught his 2 biggest within 30-40 feet of the same spot as mine. His biggest One was almost exactly the same size as my pb. Caught almost 40 years later.!
The pic is my son's 2nd biggest , which was 8.2.
WRB reply :
I suggested searching the site for personal best and thought that would be easier then recounting something over and over. I treid the search this morning and with 572 pages decided that wasn't practical. Glenn started a show your personal best thread in 2011 that has lots of stories and photos so search 19.3 lb bass" under "what's your personal best" and it's all there.
Tom
superkamikazee reply :
Caught my PB 4.5 lb'r on a 4" senko wacky rigged, skipped it under a low hanging tree. The leaves and limbs were only 1-2' above the water, but over hanging the water a good 5'. Small lake, a lot of vegetation and muck on the surface with pockets of open water. Sun was out after being overcast and sprinkling rain all morning, 6pm, skipped the senko under the tree and let it sink. Didn't even feel or see the line move, I just checked for tension and the senko would not budge. So I set the hook and the fight was on. Caught on a 15 year old 2 pc 6' ugly stik, medium action, had the rod bent in half lol.
CrankFate reply :
Disney World guided fishing. September 2001. Desolate river area near the now closed and removed Disney Institute and what is now Disney Springs. Trolling live shiners 1-2 boat widths from the bank. Missed a few massive hits on my ultralight JDM Rods that I just got as a gift. No they were not set up right. The guide insisted I use one of his properly rigged rods after the several massive bites broke my line before the hookset, because the trip was almost over and it was too hot out. Bam! 30 seconds later, monster bass. It was big enough to easily swallow a house cat or small dog whole.
Any other big bass (about half the size of my PB) I ever caught, was on a worm, either real or rubber, rigged various ways, right up against the bank—but never an actual Senko.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 6/20/2019 at 5:35 PM, Dwbassin said:That’s great and all, but we are talking about a Mexican bass, unless I missed it I need a weight cause I know they’re monstrous
It was 10lbs 2ozs and, believe it or not, extremely skinny. My guide said it would have been a 13 or 14 pound fish it hadn't been so thin.
Brandon O'tinger reply :
Mine was last Monday. while I said in my original post I used a live shad, I actually used live bluegill. I had several encounters with it a few days prior where it had stolen bluegill from me that I had set the hook on and was reeling in. So last Monday I decided to catch a bluegill to hook up and see if I could get it to strike again. I did so and had it hooked just after 2:30 that day, sadly as i tried to hoist it over the dock railing, the line broke. About an hour and a half later, it miraculously returned and took another swipe at a bluegill I was reeling in. So I caught another one and threaded it on my Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6000 reel/Abu Garcia Vigalante 2.0 7 foot medium rod. It absolutely slammed that one, and this time I made sure to loosen the drag a bit and worked it around the back of the dock, through the grass and over to the bank where I lipped her. I was as stoked. I got her weighed(4 and a half pounds) and snapped a picture, held her like a wwe championship belt. and walked over to the boat launch where I revived her and released her.
Dwbassin reply :
On 6/23/2019 at 12:48 PM, Bluebasser86 said:It was 10lbs 2ozs and, believe it or not, extremely skinny. My guide said it would have been a 13 or 14 pound fish it hadn't been so thin.
Wow you’re not kidding that is a skinny 10 pounder, never thought I’d say that. The head gives away how big it truly is
Dwbassin reply :
Well guys I found a place we’re my pb will more than likely be broken. I caught a 4.75 on a soft plastic swimbait after going through the motions. Stuck with that and hooked one, she peeled around for 3 minutes. Saw her multiple times and didn’t bring my net. Between 6 to 7 pounds she was, shook me of cause I was pulling her up and she shot up and gave me a head shake. I was told this place has multiple 7 plus pounders caught and a 9 or 2. Not a heavy bass population and good forage and lots of cover so I’ll report back when the pb is busted lol
BubbaBassin’ reply :
On 6/20/2019 at 12:23 AM, Catt said:February 3rd 2007 was a nasty cold morning with Northwest winds at 15-20 mph, a slight misty rain falling, and temperatures in the middle 30's. After having launched out of Jack's 944 Marina I made the short (2 minutes) run to the mouth of Bull creek trying to stay out of the wind and some what warm. Having rounded the corner I dropped the trolling motor, picked up my Rat-L-Trap rod again with the thought in mind of keeping moving and staying warm. My third cast was into the mouth a cut leading to a boat shed which I knew had stumps on the west side, after turning the handle 4 or 5 time my trap stopped solid, I tell Pat d**n to close to the stumps so I push the trolling motor handle towards the mouth of the cut while stepping on the switch. At the exact same instance my line starts zinging towards deeper water rod all bowed up & drag slipping; I immediately scream at Pat get the net. By now the boat is moving off to my left the bass is moving off to my right and I'm nearly on my knees in front of the console with the upper third of the rod in the water. Pat net in hand is now on the front deck killed the trolling motor and with a swift motion netted the hawg; which ends up weighing in at 12 pounds 8 ounces.
Honestly came here looking for your story. Was not disappointed.
CI-200Bantam reply :
My personal best largemouth came out of Marsh Creek Lake in SE PA a few years ago. Scorching hot day in mid-August, perfectly clear water (we were in a drought at the time) where you could see all the weeds and fish slipping around 15-20 feet below the keel of our boat. Dad and I had caught a couple bass up 2lbs that morning on crankbaits and minnow baits, but nothing was biting after about 10AM. Right around lunch-time we're fishing a deep weed bed with jigs and I switch to a spinnerbait with orange and yellow in the skirt to mimic a yellow perch. After fishing that for a bit, I toss the spinner behind our boat and prop the rod on the floor and under the corner of the cleat in the back corner of our boat and sit down for a drink, trolling the spinner slowly cause we're cruising along the weed bed with the trolling motor running. As soon as I open my water bottle, the rod bucks like the bait locked up on a log and the drag starts running. I dive for the rod to make sure it doesn't go in the drink and fight the 6+ lbs bass that engulfed the spinnerbait, keeping it hooked after several jumps and tailwalks. As soon as it got to the boat Dad netted her and we both started shouting we were so excited!
moguy1973 reply :
I’ll have to update mine. Caught my new PB largemouth yesterday out of the same pond my previous one came from. This one was 5.20lbs. Thought it was much smaller when it hit my wacky rigged senko but then it surfaced and then ran like a freight train to and under dock I was fishing from. Didn’t want to come out but finally my wife was able to net it.
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