another matt minnow toad 2024
paul. reply :
had a few minutes to get after 'em today. grabbed my rod and jumped in the truck. still had the matt minnow tied on from the last outing i posted. and since this little bait produced an 8+ last trip, why in the world would i change anything? after a few casts, i felt the bait get slurped up and drove home the steel. good 'un! after a few tense seconds, i got a good look at her and this was no doubt the best fish i've had on in months. i was able to close the deal and i sure was tickled. what a fish! another whale on the minnow. 
bocabasser reply :
right on paul! i have a tourny at lake okeechobee on saturday and i am looking forward to throwing my matt minnow. another good one you got there.
SWH reply :
Congrats Man that is an awesome fish!
Fat-G reply :
Nice fish!!!!
simplejoe reply :
Wow, That's a nice fish. Did you weigh her?
bassman31783 reply :
Beautiful fish man.
bryand82487 reply :
Was there anything special done to this pond to produce bass that big or did they just stock it and the fish grew to that size? Those are some huge bass!
D4u2s0t reply :
wow, that's a great fish!
paul. reply :
thanks y'all. to answer questions, yes i weighed the fish. 9-12. and i don't know if this qualifies as something "special" being done to the pond, but the formula is simple. good habitat + ample forage + selective harvest = trophies. it will work anywhere in the country. manage properly for big bass and it's not that hard to produce them.
chubaka reply :
Man your killin it out there.
roadwarrior reply :
Great fish, fantastic pic!
;D ;D ;D
Mrs. Matstone reply :
Awesome fish Paul! Congrats to you! ;D
Krzkev reply :
Another great one there Paul, (or is it?) No disrepect intended, but I fish a series of golf course ponds, and I don't think any of them are more then 3 to 4 acres max, some of them may only be an acre or so. Point is, that I catch a decent amount of big bass out of those lakes. And as far as I know bass can live 10 year or so, right. I think you, are as well as myself are catching the same fish over and over again, Just alittle bigger the next year. Like I said, no disrespect intended, I still love pulling in a toad as often as I get the opprotunity to. Do you think this is the case with some of your giants, and do you see marks on thier jaws that you remember making yourself? Just wondering.........
Tokyo Tony reply :
Unreal Paul, another great fish there. Love the obese ones :-)
senile1 reply :
Quotethanks y'all. to answer questions, yes i weighed the fish. 9-12. and i don't know if this qualifies as something "special" being done to the pond, but the formula is simple. good habitat + ample forage + selective harvest = trophies. it will work anywhere in the country. manage properly for big bass and it's not that hard to produce them.
That's a beautiful bass, Paul. I've wanted to ask you about this pond, or is it a group of ponds? Do you own and manage this water? Whoever manages this water is doing a fantastic job. 
steezy reply :
Darn thats a NICE fish. You are killing me catching those hawgs in a pond.
Dont know about anyone else but I just ordered some "matt minnows".
paul. reply :
QuoteAnother great one there Paul, (or is it?) No disrepect intended, but I fish a series of golf course ponds, and I don't think any of them are more then 3 to 4 acres max, some of them may only be an acre or so. Point is, that I catch a decent amount of big bass out of those lakes. And as far as I know bass can live 10 year or so, right. I think you, are as well as myself are catching the same fish over and over again, Just alittle bigger the next year. Like I said, no disrespect intended, I still love pulling in a toad as often as I get the opprotunity to. Do you think this is the case with some of your giants, and do you see marks on thier jaws that you remember making yourself? Just wondering.........
no offense taken. actually glad you brought this up. this gives us a golden opportunity to discuss the power of catch and release. yes i absolutely know that a lot of the fish i am catching are repeat customers and i've said that several times on here. i'm not going to go back and check the weights, but from memory, this fish was a little over 8 early pre-spawn. when i caught her post spawn, she was a little under 8. now, after a big fall feed, at 9-12, this is the biggest this fish has ever been and she demonstrates potential to be a 10+ by next spring if she continues to survive and eat well.
the important point here is this. if this fish had been caught by someone, kept, and mounted at 8 then she would have never had a chance to be 9. if i would have kept this fish yesterday at 9-12, then she would have never had a chance to make it to 10. some people complain that they don't think they'll ever have a legitimate shot at a big bass where they live and sadly, for some people that is true. not because a trophy is not possible in their waters, but because other folks are just not gonna allow it to happen because they keep fish before they have a chance to reach their full potential. even sadder is that some of the very folks who complain about not having access to big fish have shot themselves in the foot out of ignorance because they are keeping the fish that have a shot at becoming giants. that is one of the big reasons we don't have more trophies available to us - angler impatience and the "bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush" philosophy. people catch a 6 pounder and it's the biggest bass they've ever caught. " no way i'll ever catch one bigger than this!" they think. so off to the taxidermist the fish goes and with it goes any chance that the fish could have become a real monster. either that or the fish is mishandled for way too many pictures and shortly after it is finallly released, it dies anyway. once either scenario happens, the angler who caught it has no chance whatsoever of catching it again down the road when it weighs 2 pounds more. he has also deprived someone else of the chance of catching it. and probably worst of all, he has removed that bass' genetics from the system, making it much less likely that there will be any more quality fish produced in that particular system - particularly if the system is small to begin with. not that i have a problem with someone keeping a big fish. they caught it and it's theirs to do with as they choose. i'm just saying that folks shouldn't cry that they can't catch an 8 pounder out of a pond when they kept the 6 that would have become their 8.
the reality is this. you can have a pond with one 6 pounder in it and 20 2-3 pounders. the 6 pounder has demonstrated some real growth potential whereas the others have not. if i had to bet on one of those 21 fish to reach 10 pounds, my money is on the 6. why? because it has already demonstrated some amazing growth potential and out-performed its competition. and if i want to ensure that fish the absolute best chance at becomming a giant, i am going to remove some of the 2-3 pounders to further eliminate competition for food. not every bass has a chance to become a legitimate trophy any more that every person has a shot at standing 6'5" or becoming a world champion body builder. genetics are far more important than most of us realize. it takes big ones to make big ones.
so yes, i am catching a lot of the same fish. that's how i designed it from the beginning. sorry for the soapbox. hope it didn't sound too preachy. but to me, catch and release is our best shot at making sure that one day all of us catch the fish of our dreams.
QuoteThat's a beautiful bass, Paul. I've wanted to ask you about this pond, or is it a group of ponds? Do you own and manage this water? Whoever manages this water is doing a fantastic job.
thanks. i have several spots that the fish i show y'all come from. some of them i help mange. this particular pond i do not own. but i do all the management on it by myself. it's my pride and joy.
but it's not that hard. trust me, if i can produce fish like this, anyone can. just remember the formula.
thanks again for the nice words y'all.
SPEEDBEAD. reply :
You know what? After reading that, I am even more glad to have met you last year.
You have got to be one of the most humble people I have ever met and probably one of the people with the least reason to be humble.
You my friend, catch some amazing fish. Glad to see they are being caught by an equally impressive person.
J Francho reply :
Paul, I'm stealing your verbiage on why not to take the biggest fish. Its logic I also subscribe to, and your explanation is plain as day.
Congrats on the fish as well
roadwarrior reply :
GREAT POST!
b.Lee reply :
Great fish!
Need to start fishing more...
Big-O reply :
BEEEEEUTEEEFUL Fish...... WTG Paul
www.ragetail.com
Fishing Cowgirl reply :
Wow! Nice fish! I would nearly need a ventilator to get my breath back if I landed something that big! I can only dream and if I did, Hubby would have to re-tie my hook, my hands would be shaking too much!
nUgZ reply :
Great job Paul!!
-HAWK- reply :
Once again Paul, you go and round your self up one of those Big ladies. Congrats!!
So Paul I gotta ask. How much for a Guided trip on your lunker lake??? ;D :D ;D
EastTexasBassin reply :
Nice fish paul!
Simp reply :
Paul truly is the Jedi Master Yoda. Not only is he a skilled Jedi angler he grows these young Padawans to enormous size. May the Fish be with you my friend.
Bassin_Fin@tic reply :
Great catch man!
No,not preachy at all. In my opinion, (and I could be wrong for telling somebody what to do with their fish :) ,I think it is a crying shame how so many people just don't get it,especially in small waters.
Bass Junkie reply :
Nice fish!!! Out of curiosity, what was your setup? And how does that minnow cast? I'm deffinatly lookin' into those. Again, great fish!!!!!
paul. reply :
that's one of the really cool things about this bait. it's a swimbait that does not require specialized swimbait equipment. here's what i've been throwing it on.
pfleuger trion baitcast reel.
20 lb. berkley big game (green)
gander mtn 6'6" med. hvy. fast action rod.
the minnow casts very well with a 4/0 1/4oz. weighted swimbait hook. not quite like a rattletrap mind you, but not bad at all. trust me, you'll get plenty of distance out of it.
Dr Pigg reply :
Great post on catch and release bass management. Why take a big fish home? Be selfish and put it back--you'll have more confidence everytime you return to that lake.
With a picture,wt., and length--a replica is to easy and just makes more sense!
Paul--one of the best posts in the last month---THANKS
ilovefooffur reply :
That girl is humungus!!! Nice catch.
NewAngler reply :
You're the man, Paul. Plain and simple.
BassDeaton01 reply :
That's a hawg right there!
ChiCityBasser reply :
Nice fish and great post
brushhoggin reply :
i will admit it.........i'm jealous
Mattlures reply :
i think Paul needs to teach me how to use my baits
I think he catches more fish then I do. Paul you couldnt be more right. I managed a couple ponds years ago and the formula realy is that simple. Soo many people think the only reason the bass get so big in Cali is the trout. That is part of it but they dont realize how much C&R of trophy bass is practiced here. I have heard of tires being slashed from sombody who kept a big bass.
I remember I got in an internet argument with aguy who actualy said you should keep all the big bass so the little ones could grow big. Sometimes its like trying to reason with a drunk. You obviously get it and are reaping the benefits of proper management and skills with the rod.
Thanks for posting about the minnow!
mrlitetackle reply :
paul.
you kill me man!
what'a beast,
congrats on another wonderful fish!!!!
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