Big Bass, Big Crappie

Took Chads advice and just took off yesterday. Three hour drive up to see the family no traffic. Started fishing about an hour before sun started to set. Could see fish swimming in and out of the weeds but they were not interested in my baits.

Getting closer to sunset still no takers.

Almost dark still lazy fish every where.

About an hour after the sun went down. There was splashing and big fish jumping but still no bass caught. I turned my light on and could see this bass going after crayfish in the very shallow water.

Why wont the fish bite.

Decided to go very shallow with a 10 inch Zoom worm 8 inches below the surface, under a slip bobber. Casting out into 6 to 8 feet of water and bringing the worm in very very slow to where the water was only 2 to 3 feet deep. Bobber down, fish on one after another. Switched baits a few times and nothing biting again. Switched back to the Zoom worm and the fish were back on the hook again. I guess they were just lazy and did not want to chase. It would have been a great night for minnows as bait. Once I set the hook on the bass they sure woke up fast. All good fights with a few jumps per fish. As the night went on the bass got bigger, not as many catches about one every half hour or so. These were some strong bigger bass making my drag scream, then reel the fish in and then the drag scream out again. Fished until almost sunrise then off to sleep, very long day. Kept three big bass for the family, and one surprise large crappie for me.

Sorry forgot the picture.

The crappie was a nice surprise. I did mention this before I think anyway. If you are fishing big bass in the summer late at night there are usually big crappie hanging out with the bass. Problem is catching both bass and crappie with the same bait. Quite a few times last night my bobber took off but did not go down with the Zoom worm on. This always lets me know a big crappie is trying to eat the worm. The bobber stays on the surface mostly as the crappie drag it around from side to side. When the bobber starts to move away from me, that is when I set the hook. If you pull back too soon you lose the fish. I missed a few crappie trying to set the hook too early LOL. Caught a few that were only 10 inches, so I only kept the one in the picture.

Great job as always, CM, and glad you were finally able to get to the lake and fish!

I have also noticed that bass is finicky recently. it maybe something to do with the water clarity (stained from algae) or abundance of food, not sure.

Great that you were able to figure it out, change your presentation and catch them.

I've been doing some pike fishing lately on lipless cranks . Maybe will post tomorrow.

You could be on to something there about the water. There was a lot of floating stuff on the water and under the surface etc. As for food I saw more crayfish than I have ever seen in my life. I bet if you guys out there check the inside of the fish you are cleaning you will find many crayfish. Look forward to your next post JB.

Awesome post CM. Those are some absolutely awesome photos. Those bass at night are so cool. Another informative post. Really enjoyed the read and looking at the photos!

Well done Jaime. very good report and pics.

Thanks for the feed back. You know what's weird, we say you are up there in the great white north, where the fishing is amazing. 50 years ago when I was 8 the fishing down here was like it is where you are now. And 50 years before that you did not even need a boat to fish in Ontario. There was so many fish you just walked on them, over the water until you found the one you wanted. LOL.

So many fish in Canada when our forefathers came to explore it.

Or should I say exploit it.