OH HEY 'YALL WHERE ARE YOU...

[Krome Brite]

Since this would be more appropriate on this board, I'm just curious, what's the biggest bass you've ever caught and what did you catch the big brute on? images/icons/tongue.gif images/icons/shocked.gif

[Jennie@ifish]

Whoo hoo! We have a bass and panfish board!
Tillamook area doesn't have the lakes that I used to have handy for this type of fishing, and I miss it.
I fished Coffenbury, Cullaby, Sunset and Smith Lakes for bass and panfish.
I rose early in the morning, before any of my neighbors were up. I packed my rods, and headed out to my lake of the day.
I met some of the most wonderful people on the dock at Cullaby Lake. The water was glass like in the morning, most always with a cover of fog lifting from the Lilly pads.
My memories take me back to an older couple who would meet me there every morning.
He was an avid trout fishermen and would catch those stocked trout when no one else could hook them.
His wife was always there next to him, with the same excitement and dedication to the sport that held his attention.
A fine union. The only kind, and the kind I dreamed of having with my mate.
They were always glad to see me and welcomed my company. We shared snacks and conversation in the early morning light.
Hooking a whole worm onto a long hook with no weight, I would toss it off the dock, and as it fluttered down it would often be attacked by a bass.
I spent hours in the very same place, sitting on the hard wooden bench on the dock in the corner, with a bobber and worm teasing the blue gill. Crappies on little white jigs.
Sometimes I veered right on my journey and chose Sunset Lake. The water would boil on the shoreline, the carp doing their seasonal spawning.
If the rain was coming down in torrents, I rigged up my hook with power bait or a worm injected with air. I leaned my rod over the picnic table and rushed back to my car. My radio was tuned to the morning classical station. Sometimes I wouldn't have time to pour a hot cup of coffee before my rod danced to the echoes of the music.
I loved those mornings! I loved to watch the cars drive by, on their way to work, I imagined... I felt lucky. Lucky to have to go haul in a fish every 5 minutes in the pouring down rain, and lucky not to have a 9 to 5 job! Sometimes my coffee cup did not ever get filled before I had to head home to relieve my husband of child duties, before he went to work.
My very luckiest and favorite memory is of my husband arriving home from work in the evenings.
It was time for me to have a moment without kids. Time for me to sit quietly beside Smith Lake.
I crossed our road, made my way through the over grown thickets and huckleberry trees, and finally to the broken down dock that was my very own fishing hole.
Rarely did I catch fish here. Peace is what I was after. Two times though, I was rewarded memories that I will cherish forever.
The dock that once stood strong on this lake, was failing badly. When I first discovered it, it was precarious and dangerous. I'd have to drag boards from the shoreline to patch holes so I could hop from one to another to reach the fishing water.
At one time, I remember dangling my hook, with worm impaled, through the broken slots in the wood. I was shocked by a strong jerk! It was a blue gill the size of my hand! Soon, I abandoned my rod. I grabbed a cheapo pre snelled hook. With nothing more than a worm and six inches of leader material, I caught blue gill after blue gill! I release them all, but apparently they were nesting under this dock!
The next year found the dock nearly totally destroyed by storms. After noting this, I trecked back up the overgrown field to get my sturgeon rod, with 40 pound test line. I cast out a large treble hook, and dragged the boards of the broken dock to clear a small area to fish from shore..
Back to a bobber and worm and my bass rod. I thought I had destroyed any chance of actually catching a fish. After all, the water was terribly disturbed by my de-construction.
I sat down in the tall grasses staring at my bobber and slapping bugs... lost in thought, enjoying the sounds of the lake and my peace.
The wind blew to the south and bobbed my bobber slowly with it.
Wait. My bobber went west! Oh, West did it go! Wester and wester and then down!!!
"FISH ON!" I cried so loudly that my husband, three house lots away, heard me! "HELP!" I cried! This was no ordinary fish! "WHOA! JEFFFFFFFF!!"
True love that it was, he bounded down through the fields to watch and assist.
The dang fish promptly wrapped himself around an old piling and stuck fast. There was no budging this critter. He held like the dock should still be standing and sound. He held like he was impaled in cement. He held!!!
I pleaded to my husband to help me, help me, help me!
Help he did.
Fully clothed in his work suit, he waded for me, into that chest deep, spring cold lake water, unwrapped that fish, and presented to me a 5 1/2 pound bass that I will forever treasure the memory of.
True love? Well... Jeff didn't fish much, and he shortly thereafter left the marriage.
I can only wonder if he left the family after questioning his sanity. You can only ask so much of a non fisherman.
I think I pushed him past the limit.
Bass and panfish, or any-fish, I fish.
Would Bill wade chest deep in his work clothes after a fish for me?
Only time will tell.

[Jellyhead]

WWWeeeeeHeeeee!!!!!!

A warmwater board! Cool! Well, my biggest bass to date is 8 1/2lbs. out of Cullaby lake. I turned her loose, so she's still out there if you want to catch her.

Aaron

[Grits]

I caught a real hog in Carolina, it was a 10 lb largemouth caught and released on a rubber worm.

[ 07-12-2001: Message edited by: Grits ]

[Tanner]

My biggest Largemouth ever was a 7 lb largemouth out of Lake Oswego when I was 12 years old. I caught it on a Rebel Deep Wee R crawfish pattern crankbait.
My biggest smallmouth was a 6 lb hen taken at the mouth of the Yamhill River on a Mann's 10 plus crawfish pattern crankbait.

[DF]

I really dont know much about bass fishing. I have tried it a couple of times with no succsess. BUT! its time to learn images/icons/grin.gif images/icons/grin.gif

[steelhead_fishn]

Well, my biggest bass is a mere 6 pounder out of a little pond we like to fish. The great thing about bass fishing is the fact that you can catch big fish our of little hidden ponds! Anyway's I caught this fish, and a whole slew of 5 pounders with my usual late august technique. Big black buzzbait hucked out over the weeds as far as I can go, then I just rip it back very speedily hoping for a reaction strike. My friend pulled an 8 pounder out of this very same lake so we know there in there now.

[Krome Brite]

Great stories everybody! Let's hear some more! My biggest bass to date is about 6 ounces images/icons/blush.gif and was caught on a worm images/icons/blush.gif.

images/icons/tongue.gif

[rob allen]

My biggest bass was caught from silver lake (cowlitz county) about 6 years ago it weighed 8lbs9 oz was caught on a black and blue jig and pig. It was caught weighed and released.
This last spring I had the shock of a lifetime while pitching the same rig from the bank at dumpy old lacamas lake I caught a bass that weiged about 7lbs maybe more. this fish was also released.
I have caught a lot of 3-5 lb bass all right here in the northwest. They are out there guys and nor near as rare as you'd think. there are a lot of big bass in the NW. Just nobody fishes for them

[local_hooker]

My biggest is only 5 1/2 pounds, but that was in Idaho where the pond was frozen 6 mo. out of the year. I have not bass fished here much, other than the Vernonia pond because it's so close to home. The same day I caught the 5 1/2 #er, I also caught 5 others over 4#'s.

[THE REEL HEY_YALL]

Hey Krome Brite and others, sorry to not have jumped over here sooner, but the fish are in so ya know duty calls images/icons/tongue.gif

Well let me see, the biggest fish caught by me would be 13.5 pounds ( images/icons/shocked.gif ) I got it about 10pm on a moonless night using a chatter buzz, buzzbomb. I was doing product testing, and needless to say, it was the only buzzbomb I used forever after that. images/icons/smile.gif
However, I never got the fish in the boat to weigh it, but we were still in the same spot when the cousin hooks the fish using a Rat'L Trap images/icons/rolleyes.gif

Instead of releasing the fish, he keeps it, and I'm thinking it's going to be mounted, but instead of getting mounted, the fish got eaten...lol I've got the pics of this brute back home, so I'll try to get mom to scan the pic and send it to me.

I think the biggest landed and recorded is 8 pounds. The largest caught in a tournament was 6 pounds. Both on charteuse, rapala shallow runners.

They don't start getting trophy size back home until it starts breaking 6 pounds, but seasoned guys won't start looking at a trophy until it's in the 8's or 9's.

I 99% use topwater lures, so that would be a Zara Puppy, a Torpedo, a Buzzbomb, a broken back rapala, and a thunderstick. All have caught 100's of 5's and 6's. With the Zara Puppy catching the most numbers of fish in public places, some private lakes as well. And the Torpedo frog colored, catching the most in private lakes and small water ponds with cover.

[Salmonator]

I have my biggest on the wall at 9lbs even. It might have gone a few ounces more after riding for 15 minutes on the bottom of my little pram before I weighed it on a calibrated digital scale at work. It was caught here in Albany at Freeway Lakes around 9 years ago on a homemade jig and pig. About the only time I fish anymore (if at all) is from late Feb to May for the big pigs before they spawn. I've hooked into fish there that I know would have gone over 10lbs, and I know of several that have been released between 9 and 11lbs.... Joe

[Trout,myster]

Can't remember the biggest largemouth, but my biggest smallmouth is 6lbs 5oz from a lake in the Portland area caught on July 27th some years ago. Fish picked up a pearl white gitzit. Was hard to do, but she's still on my wall. Bigger?? Yes, I've lost some that were. Those were all probably 9 lb. smallies!! Easy to estimate the weight on those long line releases!

Which lake? I'd rather not say but most who fish for smallies know which one anyway.

Really nice to see a warmwater board on here, too. For other tidbits, 2 walleye caught 2 weeks ago near Portland. One 4 lbs and the other caught by my buddy (first walleye) was 7 lbs.even. Nice fish...great BBQ!

[Krome Brite]

Dang, all these fish are good sized. I didn't even think there were many bass around here bigger than 3-4 pounds. But Hey_Yall's estimated 13.5 pounder, that's almost 2 pounds bigger than Washington's state record caught back in 1977, or something like that, wow! Bet that fish was a little ways away from the record books down south, though?