AllyKat
Angler
Got out after work on friday. I have not had a great bass season yet, and was itching to get on the board. Broke the inlet @6pm. I gave fluke a thought with 2 hours before sunset and tide change, but resisted the urge. Sent out the trolling rods `with mojos and within minutes we were rewarded with a slot 32 inch bass. Kept at it for a while for one more knock down that we did not convert. The happy free swimming bunker showed up, so we snagged a few and put them in the livewell.
Decided to switch it up and drown some bait. Sent a live down to the bottom, as well as up high, and then chunked another. The bottom live bunker got some attention for a few seconds (bitten in half), and then I saw the chunk rod twitch...picked it up, pointed it down and started to reel. For a few seconds, I thought I was stuck on the bottom, until the line started to come off the reel. I was in awe of how heavy and powerful the fish was. This was no lazy sand shark, and not the usual quick burst and top water dancing of gators. The fish stayed down low and did not want to come up. It took some back and forth until she came up 100 feet from us. Big swirls coming from the massive tail. We were trying to remain calm in the organized chaos. My buddy tried to slip the net under the big girl, but she was almost too big for it...reset, after one more line peeling run, and we worked her boat side again and lifted her onto the deck. We were amazed at the size of the big girl. Easily the biggest bass we have every caught on my boat. Got the circle out of the jaw, and measured quick....48 inches. I was not going to try and weigh her, but we quickly put her back in. It took 10 minutes of swimming the big girl, but she was gnawing on my thumb and swam off strong.
We left them biting about 9pm as we both had early morning obligations, but those 30 minutes of madness on the chunk were well worth it. We managed 4 fish in that time, a 26, 35, 40 and the 48. We ended up keeping the 35 also because she was gut hooked and bleeding bad. We also had another one spit the hook halfway up. An amazing evening that has only made that itch want to get scratched a lot more.
Decided to switch it up and drown some bait. Sent a live down to the bottom, as well as up high, and then chunked another. The bottom live bunker got some attention for a few seconds (bitten in half), and then I saw the chunk rod twitch...picked it up, pointed it down and started to reel. For a few seconds, I thought I was stuck on the bottom, until the line started to come off the reel. I was in awe of how heavy and powerful the fish was. This was no lazy sand shark, and not the usual quick burst and top water dancing of gators. The fish stayed down low and did not want to come up. It took some back and forth until she came up 100 feet from us. Big swirls coming from the massive tail. We were trying to remain calm in the organized chaos. My buddy tried to slip the net under the big girl, but she was almost too big for it...reset, after one more line peeling run, and we worked her boat side again and lifted her onto the deck. We were amazed at the size of the big girl. Easily the biggest bass we have every caught on my boat. Got the circle out of the jaw, and measured quick....48 inches. I was not going to try and weigh her, but we quickly put her back in. It took 10 minutes of swimming the big girl, but she was gnawing on my thumb and swam off strong.
We left them biting about 9pm as we both had early morning obligations, but those 30 minutes of madness on the chunk were well worth it. We managed 4 fish in that time, a 26, 35, 40 and the 48. We ended up keeping the 35 also because she was gut hooked and bleeding bad. We also had another one spit the hook halfway up. An amazing evening that has only made that itch want to get scratched a lot more.
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