Fishing Forum

Went out for a day of one of my favorites - live bait fishing for spring bass/cats/white bass/etc on the channel ledges. It is a lot of work because the live bait of choice is threadfin shad, and finding them can be tough. An old man with a big cast net has to pick his battles. I just can't throw 12 pounds all day like some of those young whippersnappers (spur, ssimons, drc). An aside - what exactly is a whippersnapper and are there old ones too? Anyway, I spent a considerable time this morning in the 48 degree wind getting wet and collecting a good bunch of shad.<br /><br />I had to hunt a bit on the ledges to find a happy spot, and when I found one it was plumb full of short largemouth. After having to suffer by catching a bunch of those, I discovered where the bigger ones were hiding and managed a few nicer bass in the 4 lb range. There were also a number of good spotted bass that visited the boat, along with a nice smallmouth, a couple of blue cats, and a channel cat. <br /><br />I was surprised to find that it was 3:00 in the afternoon. Must have been fun! I don't do many long days on the water any more. I had kept 5 bass today (hey, I threw back oodles of 'em) and they gave me some really nice filets. Mary is looking forward to a few dinners. It's all her fault. Holler at her.<br /><br />Here is the nice smallmouth from today: