For my ponds, I consider:
-0 fish day = SKUNK!
-1-3 fish day = Not bad.
-3-5 fish Day = Good day
-5-9 fish day = Excellent day
9+ fish is a stellar day on my ponds, rarely happening.
For size,
-0-1 lb. = Dink
-1-2 lb. = average fish
-2-3 lb. = Chunker
-3-5 lb. = Giant
-5-8 lb. = HUGE bass
Anything 3+ makes my week!
What about you?
3 lbs a good one
4 lbs is a real good one
5lbs is a d**n fine fish
6lbs holy crap
7lbs judas priest
8lbs crikey!!! Only seen one of those from local water
"Good Fishing" for me happen Any & Every Time I'm able to get out on the water ~
But more specifically I guess there are two situations that really do make me smile a little more:
1) whenever the pre-arrival pattern & technique actually works
and
2) Whenever I figure something out that takes some quality fish, especially of it's new or different.
Honorable mention goes to Ice Out & the first day I see my favorite humans pulling their Jet Skis for the season.
A-Jay
It varies from lake to lake, but some basic averages would be:
1-2 lbs - This is the most common size I see on most waters
3-4 lbs - This is a little above average, but nothing to get excited over. Most decent places here have these and you should expect to catch 1 or more in an 8 hour day of fishing if you're doing things correctly.
5-6 lbs - This is a good fish, and it automatically makes a trip worthwhile for me if I catch 1 or more in this category. While not totally uncommon, this is far from a guarrantee every trip out either. That is why this size bracket is the benchmark of a good/more memorable day here, at least for me. This is especially nice when you're fishing a new lake/pond, it's one thing to go somewhere that you know has good fish, but finding a new place w over-5's is always a good thing.
7-8 lbs - This is getting into a different category here. You may go a couple of months b/w catching one of these, depending on where you fish (hugely important), how often you fish, and your skill level.
9-10 lbs - This is about the upper limit that you can expect around here. Anything over 10 is highly exceptional.
I'd estimate that over 95% of bass fishermen in my area haven't caught a legit 10 lbr, although almost every one you meet will tell you they have
The typical story: I was younger, caught it at a farm pond on a beetle spin, couldn't believe it,....no, no pictures, we didn't have a camera.......
**The state record is a little over 14 lbs in TN, but I only know a couple of guys who have caught a bass over 10 lbs. here.
Early in the season, I got good numbers, small size. Now when I go late I'm getting a handful of good fish. I got three 5 pounders and one over 6 lb in one week. I'm only catching maybe 3 or 4 a trip, but size more than makes up for low numbers. I'd rather catch one 5 pounder than twenty 1 pounders. Topwaters just before dark seems to be the ticket right now. My guess is that should last through the dog days.
When I get to go I expect to catch 50 plus fish on my favorite lake with 1 or 2 5 lb and over. Other lakes I'm happy with 10 fish , period .
Anything under 10 lbs is a dink, period.
3 lbs is a good one, 5 lb is a great one here in Mass. I get out a few times a week and generally catch a few slobs right after ice-out and a few more in the heat of the summer. This year I haven't gotten anything bigger than 3lbs. That dreadful winter must have affected the fish differently and I am unable to adapt.
0-1lbs / dink
2-3lbs / good
4-5lbs/ d@mn good
6-7lbs/ hawg
8-9lbs/ rare
10+ / Record Books (state record for lmb is 10lb 7oz
In Minnesota, especially in the metro area, bigger bass are rare. 2lbs are solid, 3-4lbs are pigs, 5-6lbs are giants, 7+lbs are potential lake records. The state record is 8lbs 15oz. Its sorta sad knowing that a trophy class fish up here doesn't even raise an eye down south. As for numbers, I consider 15 fish in 4 hours a solid day, but not amazing.
0-1 lbs - dink
2-3 - average
3-4 - good fish
5-6 - great fish, picture worthy
7-8 - most PR's in my neck of the woods
9-10 - Unicorn
For my lakes, I consider:
-0 fish day = SKUNK!
-1-3 fish day = Idk I'd rather catch none than catch 1-3
-3-5 fish Day = meh
-5-9 fish day = Pretty good
9+ alright now I'm onto something
For size,
-0-1 lb. = Dink
-1-2 lb. = Dink
-2-3 lb. = alright but not great
-3-5 lb. = getting there but need another 10
-5-8 lb. = Pretty big but not big enough
-8-10 lb. = I'm having a good day
-10+ = Now were talkin!
Anything 6+ makes my week! I have a lot of un-made weeks. Have lost 3 10+ and a near 15 in the last 2 months now.
1to 2 pounds is solid
2 to 3 is big
3to4 is a hammer
Anything over 4 your going to be linked status
Most of our lakes around here a 3-4lb fish is good, 5-6 is great, but up to 9 is possible.
Numbers depends on location. I'd rather fish all day for a 5lb+ fish versus 50 dinks. Any body of water I fish is be disappointed if I didn't land 10+ fish per couple hours.
I'm blessed to live where I do, west central Florida, so with that being said, I fish for bass mainly in the winter/spring when they are spawning. Somewhat spoiled as I have been doing this a looooong time but it's gotta be 5 to be good. 7ish is nice, over 9 is what I'm after.
Some days you zero, Florida cold fronts can completely shut them down, but an average day is 15 to 20, a really good day is 25, and have had many 75 to 100 fish days. Now most will will be the bucks 3 or under but usually get several over 5.
The rest of the year I fish for Snook. Nothing like em. Use the same tackle and many of the same lures. They are incredible fighters. If there were snook distributed all across the country there would be no Bass Pro Shops, no Bass boats, no bass tournaments, it would be all Snook. Trust me on this.
In my neck of the woods it depends a lot on what body of water but generally speaking I consider 3# a decent fish. 8# is trophy size. Average is prob right around 15".
I just love to catch them. I've had days where I'm tired of catching 50 smaller fish but there have been plenty of days where I'd loved to have caught anything at all.
50 fish days, 9lb. dinks? I need a Rx for stronger antidepressants!
A good day for me is averaging one keeper (18in.) along with a few dinks over four hours.
My best outing this year produced four keepers in less than an hour and a total of 14 fish.
I think I need to find some new water.
On 7/30/2015 at 2:55 AM, Raul said:Anything under 10 lbs is a dink, period.
Anything over 5 lbs is a giant, period. LOL
Depends on the water I am on
My close to home lake:
0-1lb - Dink, and there are a lot of them
1-2lb - Not bad, but could do better
2-3lb - I'm getting excited, they are getting good
3-5lb - Wow, this came out of this body of water?
5-6lb - Picture moment, excited, may actually yell
Over 6lbs - Adrenaline has taken over, I forget the camera and throw my pliers in the drink instead of the fish. . . (I did this last year)
Numbers wise, my close to home lake produces about 0-10 per outing, so it can be great or frustrating. I have a numbers lake I fish, but they are pretty much all dinks. My profile pic comes from my numbers lake. I have pulled some nice ones out (3-5lb), but they are few and far between. I like my numbers lake though because its always fun to pull in a fish!
Man, it's easy to be jealous of you guys down south. In PA, largemouth over 5lbs and smallmouth over 20" are considered trophy. My PB largemouth was 6.5lbs and smallmouth was 19" and a fat 4lbs and change (it looked like a brown football with fins). I haven't been able to get out as much as I used to, and now I'm happy learning new lures/techniques with my time on the water, even if it doesn't bag me a monster or 20 fish on every trip. That said, the feeling of putting together a 20+lb limit up here is incredible when it happens.
The lake I fish sees some very heavy fishing pressure.
1 fish = Thank Goodness I didn't get skunked
2 to 4 fish = Pretty good day
5 to 9 fish = Very good day
10+ fish = Yahoo!
0 to 1 lb. = Dink
1 to 2 lbs. = Average size caught usually.
2 to 3 lbs. = Above average
3 to 4 lbs. = Good size bass
4 to 5 lbs. = Very good bass
5+ lbs. = HAWG!
6, 7, and 8 pounders have been caught out of this water, but those have been in the fall and winter when the weekenders stay home.
I just got back from a great trip to Canada and we caught exactly 400 over 106 hours during 7 days fishing. One fish was 20" and four and a half pounds, the next best was 17.5" and we had a good number of 17" fish with the average five fish bag each day consisting of 15-17" fish.
On 7/30/2015 at 10:39 AM, davecon said:I'm blessed to live where I do, west central Florida, so with that being said, I fish for bass mainly in the winter/spring when they are spawning. Somewhat spoiled as I have been doing this a looooong time but it's gotta be 5 to be good. 7ish is nice, over 9 is what I'm after.
Some days you zero, Florida cold fronts can completely shut them down, but an average day is 15 to 20, a really good day is 25, and have had many 75 to 100 fish days. Now most will will be the bucks 3 or under but usually get several over 5.
The rest of the year I fish for Snook. Nothing like em. Use the same tackle and many of the same lures. They are incredible fighters. If there were snook distributed all across the country there would be no Bass Pro Shops, no Bass boats, no bass tournaments, it would be all Snook. Trust me on this.
I fish for snook year round, as much as being my favorite fish to catch they don't come close to a jack or tarpon. I do quite bit of bass fishing too much more in the winter, I eyeball the sizes. Given the choice I'd rather catch 20-22" bass on ul and light spinning than bass 25"+ with heavier gear pulling them thru muck and vegetation. To me it isn't the size, it's the lite gear used and catching them in open water that excites me more.
Southwest Louisiana & Southeast Texas coast
Skunked: once or twice a year
5-10: slow day
10-15: average
15-20: good day
Under a pound: tight-eyes
1 1/2 to 2 lbs: average
2 to 3 lbs: good
3 to 5: you can brag
6 lbs plus: hawg
Toledo Bend
Skunked: not in 12 years
Under 1 1/2 lbs: tight-eyes
2 to 2 1/2 lbs: 14" keeper
5 bass stringer 15-20 lbs: also ran
5 bass stringer 20-25 lbs: in the money
5 bass stringer 25 lbs plus: took the money
8 lbs plus: kicker fish
10 lbs plus: made the lunker club
13 lbs plus: Share A Lunker
On 7/30/2015 at 8:13 PM, Catt said:Southwest Louisiana & Southeast Texas coast
Skunked: once or twice a year
5-10: slow day
10-15: average
15-20: good day
Under a pound: tight-eyes
1 1/2 to 2 lbs: average
2 to 3 lbs: good
3 to 5: you can brag
6 lbs plus: hawg
Toledo Bend
Skunked: not in 12 years
Under 1 1/2 lbs: tight-eyes
2 to 2 1/2 lbs: 14" keeper
5 bass stringer 15-20 lbs: also ran
5 bass stringer 20-25 lbs: in the money
5 bass stringer 25 lbs plus: took the money
8 lbs plus: kicker fish
10 lbs plus: made the lunker club
13 lbs plus: Share A Lunker
Nice to see I fit in the good days category hahaha. Just average size though
1 - 3 bass, a slow day
4 - 6 bass, a fair day
7 - 10 bass, a good day
10 - 15 bass, a very good day
16 or more, an outstanding day
Size
0 - 1 pounds a dink
1 - 2 pounds average
3 - 4 pounds nice fish
4 - 6 pounds big fish
6 or more, a trophy
I live in western Colorado. This applies to largemouth mostly, though smallies can grow to 4 - 5 pounds out here and I've seen sixes in the Yampa River and Jordanelle Reservoir.
SirSnookalot,
I know exactly what you are talking about.
Never have enjoyed winching fish out of heavy cover with a flipping stick.
I normally use a medium light spinning rod with a 2500/3000 size spinning reel.
Don't care for jacks but I often catch juvi tarpon up to about 40 pounds with the occassional 120 plus. On light tackle they are great.
I fish out of the way places and rarely see many other boats which is why I don't normally target the poons but still manage to catch quite a few as "bycatch". Not a bad deal.
You didn't know that everyone here boat flips 4 pounders while talking on their cell phone and shakes 3 pounders and below off the hook before they get to the boat?
When I catch 3 pounders I'm happy every time, no problem admitting that! I consider 2 and up good fish anywhere...any time! I love to catch fish, no matter what the size so anytime my thumb is scraped up and I have that fish smell on my hands I consider that a good day/night.
When I go fishing I usually stay for 8 to 12 hours. 50 fish is only about 6 fish an hour .
3lbs and up gets me excited anything over 5 makes me go iaconelli! lol
On 7/30/2015 at 2:55 AM, Raul said:Anything under 10 lbs is a dink, period.
This made me lol, an I needed that today. Thanks!
16-18" - nice
19-20" - big
20"+ - approaching my PB
Anything about 6lbs is good in my book, about 8lb and above is really nice and of course above 10 is excellent in extreme S. FLA, were aren't central FL by a long shot!
I see most guys posting numbers of fish per day. Because one guys day might be 12 hours and somebody else's day might only be 2 hours, it's hard to make a comparison. I seldom will go fish just to get out of the house for a few hours and If there isn't a reasonable expectation of having a "good" day, say if the river is high and muddy from recent rains, I don't go out. I also take over night or multiple day trips to better waters to up my chances of catching fish. For my own records, I keep track of fish per hour.
< 1 Fish Per Hour is a bad day.
1-2 FPH is so-so
2-4 FPH is about average
4-6 FPH Is a pretty good day
6-10 FPH Is a great day.
I fish for smallmouth 90% of the time. Any river smallie over 12 inches is going to be fun to catch especially on light tackle. Most guys here would consider a 12 incher a dink, but that 12 inch RIVER smallmouth will drag a 16 inch lake largemouth all over the place. So for me, they are all good but everything over 12 is a lot of fun.
When on the river fishing for smallies,
Below 12" dink
12-16" average
18-19" trophy for the water
20" and above Make my river carreer, got one this year and fish is 9-10 years old
Largemouth on local and northern WI lakes pretty much fall into same category with a better chance at a 20+ fish.
Honestly don't really measure or weight anything anymore. I suppose a 6+ lb LMB or a 4+ lb SMB are "good." Have caught 1-2 of both in the last calendar year but 99% are smaller than this.
3lbs is a solid fish 5lbs and up are really good.
Last Sunday I went to a local pond to try and get a nemesis smallie that I had seen cruising the bank the last three times I had been there. Got there at 6:45, caught her 2.5 pound butt on my second cast (on a black cavitron), fished for about 15 more minutes and said, "screw it, that made my week." So one 2-3 pound fish is enough to make me call it a good WEEK, let alone day. At least I was out there...
3+lb is a good fish in the ponds I fish but being a bank fishermen I can't compete with numbers (most of the times). Although an angry 2lber can really put a smile on my face when he/she doesn't want to be pulled out.
In north nj:
2lbs and under is average
3lbs+ is a Great fish!
2-3 good fish per hour is a good day
4-5Lber is a good fish,
Anything over 6 is very good....
I haven't had the best year but in the last week I've caught 4 4lbers which for MA is pretty good. Last Sunday I caught 6 fish in 2 hrs and that has been my best day of the year and all of them were over 2lbs so I had a great day. Caught all of them on a bladed jig from bluebasser so thanks man you've made my year so far.
On an normal day on my "fishing day" (my 1 full day off each week), I expect to catch over 30 fish but I'd rather catch a few big fish, just doesn't work out that way a whole lot.
For most lakes I fish 2-3 is a solid fish, 4-5 is a kicker, 6-7 is the fish of year most likely, 8+ I've never caught one in Kansas
I'm good with any bass over 12", but the ones that are 16" or more grab my attention, especially if they have the girth to go along with it. 20"+ is a trophy for me.
Location is everything. In CT
6-13" fish dink
14-17" fish good
18-19" made the week
+19 only had about 5 in two years
I would catch some good numbers 2-3 fish per hour is good more than that things were really looking up.
IN Wa
6-11" dink
11-14 decent
14-17 might have made the week might even get two but unlikely
+17 I have a PB of 4lbs 9oz in this state taken this week.
I hear a lot of people doing well on the east side of WA but out on the Kitsap Peninsula things are a little more difficult. I dont have any electronics and that is killing me here as compared to CT.
Numbers here are very low and size is also smaller. 5 fish in 8 hours is good.
On 8/1/2015 at 4:44 PM, Angry John said:Location is everything. In CT
6-13" fish dink
14-17" fish good
18-19" made the week
+19 only had about 5 in two years
I would catch some good numbers 2-3 fish per hour is good more than that things were really looking up.
IN Wa
6-11" dink
11-14 decent
14-17 might have made the week might even get two but unlikely
+17 I have a PB of 4lbs 9oz in this state taken this week.
I hear a lot of people doing well on the east side of WA but out on the Kitsap Peninsula things are a little more difficult. I dont have any electronics and that is killing me here as compared to CT.
Numbers here are very low and size is also smaller. 5 fish in 8 hours is good.
Yup, that´s what I mean, location is everything.
IN Gto and Jalisco
10< lbs --- dink
In Tamps or Sinaloa
11 lbs < ---- dink
Now, kidding aside, nowadays I´m happy with anything I catch.
Any on my hook
MN bass
Under 1lb - dink
2lb- small
3lb- decent
4lb- nice
5lb - big
6lb - giant
7lb- Once in a lifetime (for most)
8lb- once in a few lifetimes
9lb- Congrats you have the state record
I'm in Kansas City area. No boat, all bank.
Since the beginning of 2014, I've caught hundreds of bass. Summer/early fall is tough. I may get 1/hr.
Spring, early summer, fall feeding...I may get 10/hr.
Keeper is 15".
So during the more fun times, if I don't get at least 2-3 keepers, it's a tough day.
But...since the beginning of last year (2014) I've only caught 1x 6lbs, 3x 5 lbs, ~10-12x 4lbs. (1x 8 lbs)
We're at that time right now when the heat index is 107deg and the big ones are super lazy. I haven't caught a keeper in a few outings.
So this time of year, I often switch to light tackle or ultralight tackle and catch bluegill or enjoy the smaller bass on smaller gear until they pick back up again.
Oddly...last Sunday, I was fishing Mepps#4's and caught 3x channel. (Along with 11x dinks)
Our state record is 13# 14oz but that's held since 1966, so it was a freak-fish that was super uncommon for this region. Most people that I've talked to that have fished for a long time have a PB somewhere in the 7's.
I do have a local lake that I can catch all the dinks I want. Generally 1x every cast to every-other cast. It's way over populated.
I also have a farm pond I can go to where I I often catch 10-16/hr. Some in the 4# range.
Well I'm from south ga. so when it comes to fishing for bass or any fish for that matter I guess I'm pretty lucky. We have mild winters and for the most part excluding the end of november, december, and january you can catch a good number of fish.
13 inches and below can get annoying
2-3lbs Is a quality fish
4-6lbs Is pretty big
7-9lbs Is a fish I will take a picture with
10lbs-over Is a huge bass.
I have access to some awesome 10-20 acre private ponds, and If I told some of you the number of 6.5lbs. + fish we've caught out of them in one day I suspect some would call me a liar so I won't. As for total fish caught, I've caught well over 30-40 on a single trip a couple times, but again those are private ponds that see only the owners and me fishing for them. On public waters I would say any 6lber is a big fish and 1-3 fish an hour (depending on season) is excellent. There was a 17lb bass caught this year here in ga from a small lake somewhere around north ga. If I remember corectly the lake was under 100 acres. I see pictures of a few 14 pounders caught here and there, I think if Ga. could up its Dnr salary and this state would start putting more money back into our lakes and pfa's we could see a lot more of these fish being caught. I've been fishing Ga's public lakes and pfa's for 18 years and I've been stopped and checked by a Game Warden twice. I understand in North Ga. they're a bit more abundant but once you get down below the piedmont region they are few and far between. I can't tell you how many times I've watched a bank fisherman with a bream pole and bucket sitting on a pond dam at a Pfa catch and toss a 10 incher in the bucket without a second thought. (Sorry for the rant)
Nice thread, I've always wondered about this as I live in the northern suburbs of Chicago.
0-.5 LB - FML
1-2 LB - Average
2-3 LB - Above Average
4-5 LB - One of the best days of the year
6-7 LB - My year is made
7+ LB - Who's your daddy?
3 lbs is a good one, 4 is big, 5+ is a giant. I usually seem to catch 5 or 10 three pounders between catching a 4+
Same for me! A good day though is a limit of fish.On 7/30/2015 at 2:14 AM, ColdSVT said:3 lbs a good one
4 lbs is a real good one
5lbs is a d**n fine fish
6lbs holy crap
7lbs judas priest
8lbs crikey!!! Only seen one of those from local water
I'm having fun with any bass over 12". Never ashamed of a 3lb average for a 5 fish bag in any event up here. Won't win too often but it's nothing to be ashamed of on any day. If I can bag 15lbs I've had a fun day!
In NC and SC fish between 1-3 lbs are common. 4-6 lb. fish are considered good. Anything 6-8lbs. is great and over 8lbs. is outstanding. There are always big fish you just gotta find them and get them to bite. They don't get big being stupid. Smaller BOWs in the spawn are key if you want to catch a PB.
Give me many dinks I'm happy. It doesn't matter bigger is good too. Even those chain pickerel 12" to what ever I'm happy.
On 7/30/2015 at 8:27 PM, kingmotorboat said:Nice to see I fit in the good days category hahaha. Just average size though
Man i wanna fish Toledo Bend if thats the numbers yall get, especially since im just down the road from it. UnfortunTey not having a boat makes it a bit tough to fish out there
On 8/9/2015 at 10:46 AM, bassarmy7 said:Man i wanna fish Toledo Bend if thats the numbers yall get, especially since im just down the road from it. UnfortunTey not having a boat makes it a bit tough to fish out there
I live in lake Charles so usually fish Calcasieu river. As I said average size but good numbers. Sometimes I hit Toledo and usually do pretty good
On 8/9/2015 at 10:52 AM, kingmotorboat said:I live in lake Charles so usually fish Calcasieu river. As I said average size but good numbers. Sometimes I hit Toledo and usually do pretty good
Im up at FT Polk and we have a couple fishing ponds on the base that are stocked by the game control out here every couple years. The issue is i have never seen them monitored and have seen folks using cast nets to catch em in the shallows that combined with people who never put any back makes it difficult for those who just want to catch fish for fun
On 8/9/2015 at 10:57 AM, bassarmy7 said:Im up at FT Polk and we have a couple fishing ponds on the base that are stocked by the game control out here every couple years. The issue is i have never seen them monitored and have seen folks using cast nets to catch em in the shallows that combined with people who never put any back makes it difficult for those who just want to catch fish for fun
Yea I knew you lived at Polk from a couple of convos we had but I.never knew that kinda stuff was happening to the ponds on base
On 8/9/2015 at 11:03 AM, kingmotorboat said:Yea I knew you lived at Polk from a couple of convos we had but I.never knew that kinda stuff was happening to the ponds on base
Ya its pretty sad that a select few folks gotta ruin it for everyone. Seen it happen at Anacoco a few weeks back down below the spillway
On 8/9/2015 at 11:06 AM, bassarmy7 said:Ya its pretty sad that a select few folks gotta ruin it for everyone. Seen it happen at Anacoco a few weeks back down below the spillway
Not cool
On 8/9/2015 at 11:09 AM, kingmotorboat said:Not cool
Yep any fish for me is a good fish. Ill never keep any of em no matter how big or small they are to
<1lb Unless the water is below 50 degrees I hate these fish
1-2lbs Average, enjoyable unless I have to use a wacky senko to catch them
2-3lbs If I find a place where that is the average, I'm never fishing anywhere else
3-5lbs Solid fish, I'm excited now
5lbs and up only bite when I don't have scales with me
A 3-4lb fish is big one where I fish. Most of the time I'm catching 1-2lb although I did catch my personal best this year which was 7+.