(As of 4/9/16...)
Some are light line personal bests, some are big fish personal bests, but all were a total blast to catch. I'll give a quick muddled rundown of them in the order of which they were caught. Keep in mind that all but one was caught from the bank:
The oldest picture chronologically is that of my Dad and I posing with my big ol' Drum that barely overshadows my big ol' afro. I gotta be honest, I barely remember this. All I remember is how there were limbs hanging over the water where I was fishing, and I actually got the perm to look like my second cousin.
Obviously lacking in style and a tan above the elbows...next in line is the one of me as a sophomore in highschool in my Mom's kitchen posing as a fishing nerd with my personal best largemouth that held for years until I decided to take the time and effort to learn some technique. I this was the first real bass experience for me and I caught it on a Classic Fire Tiger Rat-L-Trap. This is also the only personal best I caught from a boat.
The next one in order of time would be the one of me standing on a dock of the least likely place I would think I could catch this 21.5" beauty that had my jaw dropping for hours. My daughter and I had just left WalMart where I had purchased a 3-pack of Bomber crankbaits. I really wanted to test them out and see how they were tuned, so I got sidetracked on the way home at a small lake near a neighborhood not too far from my home. I had heard that this lake had nearly been milked dry a couple years prior due to a drought, so I wasn't intending to feel any opposition on the end of my line, but on the 4th cast with the Sexy Shad color...my rod doubled over and IT WAS ON!! I caught so many bass that year, but none larger. My daughter didn't understand why I was so excited...but I was flipping out even an hour after I landed it.
The big Hawg 8.25lbs largemouth would come next on the timeline. I often follow a "40-minute rule" that states if I haven't done well at a location in 40-minutes, I'll move to a new body of water. This particular morning, my Dad and I were fishing a small lake and I had only caught 2x little dinks in 40 minutes. We decided to shove-off to another smaller lake and follow the 40-minute rule. My Dad went left, I went right...I started yanking them out left and right and capped off the awesome morning with this beautiful trophy largemouth that I had been seeking since my early 'teens.
About 1 month later, I snagged a 4-foot grass carp in the exact same hole on 12lbs mono that I eventually lost. I fought that monster for an eternity and got his tail onto the bank...TOUCHING THE GRASS!! Then I reached down to try to lip him and he flopped his tail twice, broke my line and went on his merry way. The following morning, I was completely blessed with yet another master angler-sized fish in the form of a 16" Crappie caught on light tackle and a Tiny Trap in the exact same place from whence I pulled the big Hawg bass. The following week, I did the same thing in the same place and was rewarded with another beautiful crappie measuring 15". There's something magic about that little fishing hole for sure.
The same weekend yielded a new personal record for me on light tackle by way of a 4lbs largemouth bass. I was throwing a chrome / blue back bleeding Tiny Trap on 4lbs mono and an ultralight glass rod sporting a vintage 1980's Ryobi ultralight V-Mag 3 reel. This I believe was the straw that broke the Rat-L-Trap's back and afforded me the opportunity with Bill Lewis Outdoors as a Field Staffer. I tend to approach bass fishing a little differently by way of light tackle when the bite gets tough or I just want a different experience. Tiny Trap's are the virtual Ned Rig of crankbaits and seem to really pay out in that arena.
Days later, I landed this beautiful 16" White Bass on a Pink / Black Tiny Trap in the same area as the 4lbs largemouth. This was my third Angler Award for the year and a real confidence booster in the capabilities of pink lures. I have literally annihilated white bass on pink 'Traps.
In the spirit of light tackle, the image of me with the 13" White Crappie was a wonderful morning adventure at the most surprising little pond that ever held a nice crappie. No larger than 35yds across, I've caught several nice crappie out of this little puddle in the ground...and tossed them back to fight another day. It's one of those little magic spots that I don't think anyone even realizes can hold a fish. Likely why they are big and voracious.
This year (2016) has been a little different in that I have been wrestling Moby Dick on a more regular basis by way of Carp. The image of me holding the 27 pound grass carp is my personal biggest freshwater fish caught on MH bass gear and 14# Stren monofilament. The largemouth weren't biting anything I threw at them. I had finally coaxed one ashore with a silver Mepp's Aglia #4, so I stuck with the little inline spinner in hopes that I would run into his friends. This was the second grass carp I have accidentally snagged with that lure.
Only 4 days later, the panfish were calling my name. I headed to a big local lake with my Diawa Pixy spooled with 8lbs monofilament and my ML Bass Pro Micro Lite rod. The water looked like it was boiling in places, though I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was causing it. I threw a 1/32oz Beetlespin for into the turbulent mire and thought I got hung up, but my snag started talking back. I tussled with the 20# Common Carp for 10 minutes and got him within a foot of the bank. To my terror, I saw that my safety pin jig spinner had come unclipped and was just barely holding on for the ride. I reached out and clipped it right as the gargantuan carp hit round 2. I fought him for another 5-10 minutes and finally lipped him to shore.
It's still early in the year and I plan to add more to this as I go, so stay tuned.
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