[steven1smith]

We had the itch to go camping again, so we went to the same place we went this past april. Last time we went there, the dinks were almost non existent, and there was barely any vegetation. This time was a different story.

We got on the water at 6:00 on friday and surveyed the vegetation. There were ALOT of pads, but there were little channels leading through them which allowed for some easy access. I started off flipping a green pumpkin brush hog into the pads. On my first flip, my bait didn't punch through the pads, but some how landed right on top of them. I twitched the bait off of the pads when a bass hit it hard. It was only on for about 4-5 seconds before it spit the hook. No size to that one. Three flips later I see my line moving through the thick pads so I set the hook really hard and the next thing I know the whole boat is moving through the pads. It was pulling the boat! I used the trolling motor to position the boat to open water so I could try to yank this thing out of the pads. And then it jumped. I dont know how it did. It was way over 20" long and it had the biggest girth I have ever seen on a bass. It had to be easily over 5lbs, if not close to 6. About five minutes later I finally get this thing out of the pads and start fighting it in open water when the line goes slack and my bait pops right out of the water. And what's wrong with the hook? It has no barb and it is nearly straightened! My new PB was 5ft from the boat! I was really dissapointed after that...

Aside from the chaos, there is more chaos. When my dad and his friend were getting back from a short night fishing session with nothing to show for it, they come back to the dock to tie up. When the flashlight is flashed into the water near the dock, a fish jumps out of the water that my dad said was one of the biggest fish he had ever seen in his life. He said it could have easily been 5lbs, but probably WAY bigger than that, maybe even 6+. His friend said "It was the size of a small child."

We hit the water at 5AM the next morning and met one of the usuals at the dock. He was very friendly, and he is a VERY good fisherman. This guy knows what he is doing. He had already been out for about two hours, and he caught 7 bass, one of which was 5lbs 12-oz, and he also showed us a picture of the monster. He shared some of his secrets about the pond, which were very interesting. His PB from this pond is 8lbs 8-oz. Last year he caught 11 fish over 5lbs. He caught 4 over 6lbs. He didn't tell us when, but at one time he caught two bass in the 7lb range on back to back casts. He has hooked into bass that have broke him off after making him just hold on with his heavy rod and 12lb flouro. And if the 8.5lbr didn't fight that hard, those fish that brake him off have got to be in the 9 or even 10 pound range. We didn't encounter any other monsters this weekend, but it's nice to know they are in there.

The story of the rest of the weekend was dinks. I got a few on the jig, but the rest came on a weightless brushhog. The fish were holding in 1-2ft of water between the pads and the shore. We got 15 fish between 1-2lbs, and I got the best fish of the trip, this 2lb 8-oz fish.



The bite completely turned off on sunday, but we might go back in august to face the vegetation and big bass again.
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Catch and release only.
A 4lb bass is not going to grow to 8lbs on your wall.

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

[SkeeterJim]

Nice job and good write-up Steven.
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