02-14-2010, 10:00 AM
Freida and I hit the late bite from 5 til dark. All I can say is WOW, for the size. We fished with Panfish Assassins on 1/32 oz jigs with a very slow retrieve. Lots of pauses and some tiny shakes. The first fish that I caught was a 14.5 inch bruiser that I didn't weigh, gave it away to some guys and a 5 or 6 year old that came and fished with me, along with 6 other nice keepers. Most of the early fish were at about a 6 count and I never saw or felt the bite with any of them, other than line just a wee bit slack or just a wee bit tight. When it's like that I always wonder how many I miss, probably lots. Once I said goodbye to the them I went to work trying for just a few more. Right at dusk the big ones really turned on and I had 2 13.5 inch fish that were just massive, one was 1lb 8 ounces and the other was 1lb 9 ounces. The 14.5 was much bigger and might have been better than 2lbs. That's my first TARP in a while. I am glad that I finally broke down and bought a digital scale. It's nice to know how the fish this time of year compare with the fish that we caught in the fall. I think that the fish are much bigger with the roe building up for the spawn. I ended up catching 5 more really nice crappie. While in the area I also caught two stripe and a keeper bass. The bite was slow but the big ones are really starting to bite. Maybe the fish will be even bigger this year than last! Wouldn't that be great!