[Hawghunter]

I went out this morning before the weekend crazies took to their water toys. I caught 7, only 6 of which qualified. I played Stretch Armstrong with my first bass, but try as I might, he still remained 11.5 inches. Upon landing one bass, the hook and the bait fell out of his mouth. I must have just skin-hooked him. On another, I had to carefully dislodge the hook from deep inside the fish. So, two of my photos do not show the bait in the mouth and according to the rules, must be disqualified.

I did not feel right about sticking the fish again and cheating just to make qualification. So.....here are pictures of 6, to take my count to 4.

By the way, the last fish is a nice 16+ inch Smallie, that fought like the devil as all Smallies seem to do. He had some choppers on him like his grand-pappy was a Walleye or something. Tore me up something good. Of course, I became a total idiot after I caught it. I was so enthused about finding Smallies that I immediately cast back to the spot.........

Yup, my line separated and I helplessly watched a hook, a sinker, and most importantly, 1/4 of my Minda Craw arsenal hit the water and sink to oblivion. :wack: :sad2:

CHECK YOUR LINES AFTER EVERY HOOK-UP FOR ABRASIONS AND NICKS!!!!!

 

[Hawghunter]

Here's the others....by the way, the smallest of these was 12" on the nose. Honest!

All of my fish today were caught T-rigged, with a 1/4 tungsten sinker (unpegged) and a 5/0 EWG Gammie. I used a Daiwa spinning reel on a BPS CarbonLite med-heavy rod with 10 lb TransOptic line. I fished the ledges anywhere from 5 to 25 feet. We had a very clear, bright day so the deeper water was actually more productive. I just twitched and lightly hopped the bait on the bottom and through some grassy weeds.

Edited to remove non-qualifying fish.

 

[Ahamrick]

Very nice. Great job. :flag2:

 

[Jared]

awesome job! Way to kick this Bait Bash off! :clap: you definitely set the bar high!

No worries though folks... 1st 2nd and 3rd place all get prices

 

[Dr. Laser]

awesome job! Way to kick this Bait Bash off! :clap: you definitely set the bar high!

No worries though folks... 1st 2nd and 3rd place all get prices

Prices? we can buy them? :neener:

 

[Minda Lures]

NICE Fish!!
Great start and a good size smallie to boot!

 

[toad]

:clap: :clap: Well done, Hawg! I went out today but left the Mindas and code at the house. :wack:

 

[retired-psg]

Hawg Those are some nice lookin fish ya managed to catch :thumbup01: :thumbup01: :thumbup01: :thumbup01: :thumbup01: :thumbup01: :thumbup01: :thumbup01: :thumbup01:

 

[huntanglergirl]

awesome job! :thumbup01: :thumbup01: i lost a few right at the bank that im still kickn myself over but ill be sure to have more on monday to give ya a run

 

[stgfish]

Good job Hawg! Way to get things started.

 

[Bassburner15]

Dang awesome start!

 

[rsawyers]

Nice hope my day on the lake tomorrow is as good as yours today.

 

[Hawghunter]

Y'all just go get em. I am telling you these things catch fish. Check out Warny's post in this forum to see better results than I could manage. Wow!

Toad, pick your venue and go get 'em. I had absolutely terrible conditions today but still managed to get a few. Sometimes the baits are better than you are and you get to land some.

 

[CaptainMo]

Way to start it up Hawg!!! :clap: :thumbup01: :clap: :minda:

 

[Tackle Addict]

Way to go! what color did you catch em on? I can't wait to get out there and fish with em myself.

Thanks Tackle Addict

 

[fish4funinfl]

Way to get it started

 

[mlsims]

Way to go Hawg!! Those are some great fish to start us off. :thumbup01: :thumbup01: :thumbup01:

 

[arwin]

Good start, keep it up.

 

[Hawghunter]

Way to go! what color did you catch em on? I can't wait to get out there and fish with em myself.

Thanks Tackle Addict

These fish were caught on the brown-colored craw. Right before I caught my first little non-qualifying bass, I got hit by a pike. He was not too aggressive, but he hit the craw three times on the way into the boat. I knew what was on the other end of the line and I was reeling the craw in like a crazy man. More proof that you can't out-reel a fish if they are interested in the bait.

 

[Hawghunter]

Well folks, I went out today and caught 4. Only 3 qualified for length, the runt was 11" Actually, one of these fish is just 12". I squeaked by on that one eh?

Look at the size of that 18+ inch-er there. She fought like Sonny Liston. She did 4 tail walks on me on the way into the boat before I netted her. Over 6 lbs too. I couldn't believe how heavy and fat she was. I was quite surprised at her girth and total weight.

Unfortunately, none of these fish qualify. Do you see anything missing in the pictures? Look closely and you will not see a single bait in the mouths of any of these fish. That is because I am a total idiot who seemingly cannot un-learn old habits. I always take the hook out ASAP when I land a fish, and I did so in these cases as well. It wasn't until I uploaded the photos that I realized what I had done. :wack: :wack: :wack: :cussin: :cussin: :cussin:

Dang it all. That hawg there really tore up my craw, which is now about 25% Gorilla Glue from its battles this morning.

Edited to remove non-qualifying fish.