How Often Have You... 2025

...come close to beating your PB? Do you constantly catch fish that you think may have bested your record but, upon closer inspection/measurement, was just a tad smaller? Or is your PB considered an anomaly (at least in your personal fishing experiences) and you haven't come close to it since?

I happen to fall in the latter category. How about you?

Well my pb in Maine (where I have lived for the last 31 yrs) is 6-1. I took a trip to Falcon a couple yrs back and caught a 7-9. So, no, I have not got one close to that yet....yet.

Depends where I'm fishing.

A-Jay

  On 2/28/2015 at 10:13 AM, A-Jay said:

Depends where I'm fishing.

 

A-Jay

Mexico doesn't count

  On 2/28/2015 at 10:17 AM, slonezp said:

Mexico doesn't count

Shut up and just come down with us -

You'll change your tune and 10 minutes . . .

And we can definitely put Lake Erie in there . . .  

A-Jay

  On 2/28/2015 at 10:23 AM, A-Jay said:

Shut up and just come down with us -

 

You'll change your tune and 10 minutes . . .

 

And we can definitely put Lake Erie in there . . .  

 

A-Jay

Maybe next year. I'm planning on another shoulder surgery this fall. With any luck after it's done, I'll be able to put in a full day of bass fishing. Jigging for walleye is getting boring

I don't think about a pb to much. I know both of mine small and large. Didn't weight them. funny thing they were both caught in about 2 feet of water. One early and one late in the season.

The biggest fish I ever caught is always a thrill but not my main focus when out there.

Sorry rambled to much in my own thoughts. Seeing fish that other people have caught around here I know my pb's aren't anomalies.

I've had her on more the once

closest i have come is within 10 oz. once.  after that it's 2 pounds away and then downhill from there.  kind of bittersweet fishing every trip knowing you've more than likely already caught the biggest bass you're ever going to catch in your lifetime.  but short of anything that involves God, family, close friends, or health, there ain't much in this world i would trade that 30 seconds for.

6 weeks after catching my PB, I caught one just 8 ounces lighter.

What I liked was it was caught on a different lure, different technique, different location and different time of day than my PB. Nothing breeds confidence like knowing you are more than a one trick pony.

  On 2/28/2015 at 1:08 PM, paul. said:

closest i have come is within 10 oz. once.  after that it's 2 pounds away and then downhill from there.  kind of bittersweet fishing every trip knowing you've more than likely already caught the biggest bass you're ever going to catch in your lifetime.  but short of anything that involves God, family, close friends, or health, there ain't much in this world i would trade that 30 seconds for.

Talking about that one pounder in your avatar?

No. Nothing has come close to the two 8-pounders I caught so far.

But still hoping.

  On 2/28/2015 at 10:50 AM, EvanT123 said:

I don't think about a pb to much. I know both of mine small and large. Didn't weight them. funny thing they were both caught in about 2 feet of water. One early and one late in the season.

The biggest fish I ever caught is always a thrill but not my main focus when out there.

Sorry rambled to much in my own thoughts. Seeing fish that other people have caught around here I know my pb's aren't anomalies.

Feel exactly the same way.

Don't know what my PB is and really don't care, for me it's about enjoying fishing each time I go.  I'd hate to focus on that PB and keep missing it or even keeping track of numbers to compare one year to another, sounds like it's a set up for disappointment and depression.

  On 2/28/2015 at 10:07 AM, BooyahMan said:

...come close to beating your PB? Do you constantly catch fish that you think may have bested your record but, upon closer inspection/measurement, was just a tad smaller? Or is your PB considered an anomaly (at least in your personal fishing experiences) and you haven't come close to it since?

I happen to fall in the latter category. How about you?

I was within an oz of matching my PB, last yr. My fish was not an anomaly, its a common range for LMB. I am still on my hunt for my anomaly though. 

  On 2/28/2015 at 10:11 AM, Smokinal said:

Well my pb in Maine (where I have lived for the last 31 yrs) is 6-1. I took a trip to Falcon a couple yrs back and caught a 7-9. So, no, I have not got one close to that yet....yet.

I am in the same boat. Here in the NE due to the article winters (shorter growing seasons) it is tough. My personal best since starting fishing for 10+ years is 6 lbs evens. I catch a dozen or so fish every year in the 5.0-5.5 lb range but getting into the upper 5.5 lbs is tough, even through the ice.

This was a few years ago:

  On 2/28/2015 at 3:25 PM, Fisher-O-men said:

Talking about that one pounder in your avatar?

lol.  nah, that's the one that came within 10 oz. of my pb (personal biggest).  personal best is another story.

lots of folks equate personal best with the biggest fish they've ever caught.  that's not necessarily true for me.  for me the best bass i ever caught was the first one, which i would most certainly dub a dink by the standards i use today.  still, it was the one that started this awesome addiction, so it was by far the best.  another memorable one for me was a big fish i discovered in a pond way back in 2005 because of all the memorable moments over the next few years trying to catch her.  she was by far the "smartest" fish i have ever encountered and she outsmarted me many more times than i outsmarted her.  so holding her on the rare occasions that i "won" was always special.  another very special one wasn't a bass at all but a big catfish that my youngest daughter caught when she was very small.  i still remember her thinking the fish was talking to her.  so every time she went to that particular body of water she started making catfish noises trying to get it's attention.  many other very special fish come to mind over the past 40 years as well.

for some folks their "best" might be a fish that won a tournament for them.  for others it might be a fish they caught while fishing with a good friend.  for others, it might not be a fish they caught at all, but a fish that was caught by someone special that they were sharing the boat with. 

though i cherish all the great fishing memories i've been blessed with over the years, i try very hard to measure myself by what i am doing on the current trip, not what i did years ago.  sometimes i am a good fisherman.  more times, i'm terrible.  reminding myself that i am only as good as my current outing helps with humility and a desire to continue learning - both of which i think are very important to enjoy this great sport to the fullest.

For me it`s the second version. I haven`t come close to my PB what I caught in my youths. I sometimes feel like the waters are getting poorer and poorer in producing and keeping alive bigger size bass. When I was a young I heard stories about someone catching 8 pound beasts almost everyday. Good times back then!

For smallmouth I have caught two other bass 7oz & 13oz short of my PB. Largemouth I just recently caught so it could be a while.

Every fish I catch is my new personal best

I seriously broke my PB 5 minutes after I broke my PB. Best day of fishing ever.

Since I caught my current PB in 2005 I haven't come within 2 pounds. 

I really dont know what my PB is. Ive caught a lot of bass in that seven lb range and quite possibly a couple to hit 8. It seems that is about the upper  limit swimming in our public lakes  up here. Anything bigger is rare. Private waters is a different story. A friend caught a huge fish in a strip pit. I made him upset because I jokingly said that fish didnt count because he caught it where others cant fish . LOL

  On 3/1/2015 at 8:00 PM, scaleface said:

I really dont know what my PB is. Ive caught a lot of bass in that seven lb range and quite possibly a couple to hit 8. It seems that is about the upper  limit swimming in our public lakes  up here. Anything bigger is rare. Private waters is a different story. A friend caught a huge fish in a strip pit. I made him upset because I jokingly said that fish didnt count because he caught it where others cant fish . LOL

Biggest bass I've ever seen swimming in the wild was in a small, public lake in NE Missouri, bigger than anything I saw while I was in Mexico either time by a couple pounds for sure and maybe pushing state record size. The lakes in Missouri put the lakes in Kansas to shame. 

  On 3/1/2015 at 8:46 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

Biggest bass I've ever seen swimming in the wild was in a small, public lake in NE Missouri, bigger than anything I saw while I was in Mexico either time by a couple pounds for sure and maybe pushing state record size. The lakes in Missouri put the lakes in Kansas to shame. 

I think I heard you mention this before. Was it at Hazel Creek ? Its managed for lunker bass {18 inch length limit] and Musky. Ive only fished there once and caught two muskies on french fry worms . I hope to get back there this season .

  On 3/1/2015 at 9:09 PM, scaleface said:

I think I heard you mention this before. Was it at Hazel Creek ? Its managed for lunker bass {18 inch length limit] and Musky. Ive only fished there once and caught two muskies on french fry worms . I hope to get back there this season .

Yes, it was at Hazel. She was big enough to tow my friends 16' Lowe Big Jon a considerable distance before she straightened a 5/0 Mustad Ultra bite hook. It seems the population out there has exploded since the introduction of the lily pads. That lake could be completely insane if all those little fish start to grow up as big as all the older fish in that lake, 20, 25, even 30 pound bags wouldn't be out of the question. 

I worked on catching a fish that I was pretty sure was bigger than my pb. Didn't catch her but she bit my senko three times.

I have been 1-02 off my pb. That was a couple of years ago.

The year I caught my pb was the best year of basin I've ever had. I can't tell u how many 4-6 pounders I caught but I did get lucky enough to catch 3 over 7 two on buzzbaits one on a crank. PB came on a buzz. The first one over seven my son was throwing rocks into the water, the bass hit it three times. When I first hooked her I handed the rod to my four year old, then she jumped and daddy decided that the little guy may need some help! My PB came early one morning and was seriously seeing how high I could make the duckweed and pondmeal fly of the blades. She demolished that bait! And is to this point the biggest bucket mouth I've caught.

Haven't caught one close to my personal best in the last few years but I did lose one that was extremely close. I saw it jump then it ended up diving down into some rocks and cut my line. My personal best is 7.31 and that fish was pretty similar so it possibly could have beat it.

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