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Had this one yesterday on the Hudd gill- super slow crawl and BAM there she was. not the biggest fish at 4.74 but GHAWD DAHAM SHE THICK.

Hey SU Happy Holidays, In October I caught my PB and now that our season is coming to a close (at least for me) I thought id share the story for anyone who cares to read. In August I started exploring a new body of water about 40 minutes from my house. I had a good feeling about this particular body of water after I caught a 5.2 on a gizzard wizard mid summer (a class of fish I have never been able to catch in the summer time relative to the waters I had been fishing). This catch gave me the confidence to make the drive more often and take the roughly 1.5 mile long hike to get to this spot. Besides the fish the water seemed promising structure wise with quick drop offs into "deep" water pretty much directly off of the bank, large chunk rock/boulders and what seemed to be a plethora of small baitfish roaming in the shallows. Fast forward to October I was there one morning before work fishing the shoreline exposed to the sun first. I was using a Doomrider I had painted by DS Customs painted in a bluegill pattern, fishing the bait with a very slow consistent retrieve with the occasional reel twitch every couple handle turns. Previously I was fishing this bait with # 2 ST-36 hooks but for whatever reason that morning before heading out I switched them out for the Mustad KVD Short Shank Triple Grip #1. This weighted the bait down just enough to get slightly deeper on the retrieve. I fished my usual 4 spots with no luck and on my way back I figured id stop and fish one last spot but only do a cast to my left and to my right paralleling the shoreline because I was running out of time. My cast to the left produced nothing so I made my "last cast" to the right up tight to the shoreline. Mid way through the retrieve BOOM the bait gets thumped so I swing and start grinding the fish in. Once I got the fish directly in front of me that's when I started to panic seeing that the fish's head and mouth was larger then any I have caught before. I got the fish on the scale and on the measuring board and she went 6.3 pounds by 22.25". She was safely released back into the water quickly after I had taken my photos. I know this isn't the largest fish compared to a lot of other members on here but regardless it was a fun and rewarding catch for me. Definitely one of those situations that make you feel like the time, effort and money spent was well worth it. Im not in a rush but I'm looking forward to meeting with my next PB whenever that time may come.

This!

I rinse and wipe mine down after every use. I also keep it in a custom made wrap. Zero issues...

I had the red one and even had to use it as a paddle to row multiple times and I can say they hold up pretty well. there was some discoloration but the paint on the measurements never faded. theres some pics of the board for reference ps. I gave the board to my homie and after a slight coat of clear it went back to new RPReplay_Final1696178032.mov

Had an amazing trip last week and caught my 5th DD at 10lb even! Also caught a 9lb, three 8lbers and a 7lb (the rest were < 6lb). The 10lb cleared the water a foot right at the boat, it was a fight I won't forget! I've been focused on hunting trophy bass for almost 10 years now and this trip is what makes all the work, time and money worth it! Sorry for all the pics, but I'm a little pumped that God blessed me and the stars lined up...lol.

Was just sitting here thinking about how effed a lot of the northern guys get in the SU tourneys and battle due to climate. For starters, southern/western guys have 12 months to win a tourney and qualify, whereas northern guys have about 8 months to do the same. Then, as far as the battle, the northern states are starting to see frigid temps in late October and some years even seeing ice starting on in some places. Soooo…. Any logical reason the battle couldn’t be held a different time of the year? Like a rotating schedule or something? Or even just weeks earlier so the northern guys didn’t have to fish freezing temps? Seems like over the years plenty of northern guys qualify for the battle but at this rate it will never be won outside the south or west coast. Any thoughts?

Found her next to wood cover, she took me under a log I was lucky to land this one guys lol Blue Monday Tk with the transfer tail no lip

I hit up brock on ig or email him

My state is in my bio (MS)!

Relatively new to swimbaiting; new to the board. Enjoying seeing everyone else’s PB’s so I wanted to post mine. Caught in March this year on an 8” Magdraft. 8lbs 9oz. Absolutely thrilled, and have really enjoyed learning to throw big baits.

Hows the tail? If its bent it will wreck the action 100%

Solid one. Well done.

Blimp

Ya, I mean if nothing more I’m just thinking something for a change up. I think you have some great anglers around the country that are just getting the shaft due to an unfortunate location. As far as the monthly tourneys, same thing. It’s does just suck that some guys have ice a few months a year, but that alone is favoring a southern guy to qualify and win the battle. Let’s say you have an equal number of guys fishing the tourneys from both the north and the south. And all those guys are equally as good as each other. In theory, you’d have 6 guys from the north and 6 from the south in the battle, except the fact that 3 or 4 of those months can’t be won in the north due to ice. So naturally there are always going to be more southern guys in the battle, meaning the odds will be forever in favor of a southern guy winning it. I’m also certainly not complaining. It’s a free entry tournament. Just some thoughts. And I know we have handicaps that absolutely help the northern guys. But a handicap doesn’t do much good when you’re iced in lol.

So, this was my first year qualifying for the “Battle For The Underground” tournament., however I have been trying for a few years to qualify and been following along. I don’t like to complain, but I do agree with you @Mossypumpkin on the timing of the “Battle” specifically. Looking over the history of winners, statistically, I already know due to some of the reasons you mentioned, the odds of even catching a contender is slim to none here in the northeast compared to the south or more so the west coast where majority of past winner all hail from. In reality, I don’t think there is much you can do regarding the monthly tournament, we live where we live. But I would most definitely like to see the “Battle” moved up a few weeks earlier.

@JacksonF any insight?

I have had a Lew's SuperDuty 300 for a few years now and it takes abuse very well. II use it mostly summer night fishing in current that is very hard on all gear, and it has been very reliable.

Nice one

To all my 3:16 Lure Company brothers: Mickey is getting ready to do a pre-order on the 6” Baby Wakes shortly. It’s been a while since he’s made them available on his website. That is all I know, so if you’re like me and like to throw them, please make sure to check daily with the 3:16 Lure Company website. Cheers!

Way cool Brotha! You were obviously able to find & key in on them pretty well. I’m curious about how specific the bite was, in regards to the usual suspects of factors (Time/Loc/depth/Lure profile & style vs color of offering & cadence of movement vs lack there of or were you fortunate enough to locate & rouse up a few wolf packs and catch via dealers choice al La carte… Asked out of pure enthusiasm & genuine curiosity and a good place and not some troll trying to undermine… Sometimes we really have to work for every bite with ever changing conditions etc while other times lining up time and location puts us amongst the stars. Either way the visceral engagement and consistent positive feedback from our query is Life giving, and I’m truly pumped for you. Shoot me a PM when time permits. No breakdown to geeky for me:) Cheers

follow @ swamp_water_swimbait_co on Instagram, central Florida bait maker

May 27th 2022 Tucked away on Memorial Day from all the boat traffic. T-boned the Toxic WNC didn’t have a scale unfortunately. 22” fish and filled out like a Lake Biwa bass… what’s your estimate

First pond this morning was all muddy did a lap and left. Hit another pond down the road using a Realprey Pond Shiner, they always produce in cold water, water was 49/50 degrees. Had a few short strikes from small fish but couldn't hook up. About an hour in I got the slack knock hit and that's usually a good fish and it was. Tipped the scale at 6-13, I thought for sure it was a 7, It was thick fat fish with big shoulders. Been a dismal season and this lit the fire under my ass again lol

Great fish

Solid one! Well done.

Just finished this 9", 7.4 oz gizzard shad glide. Haven't had a chance to really test/tune yet but made a couple quick test casts and it glides nice and wide on a steady retrieve and isn't hard to 180 with a jerk/pause. Probably shoulda made fins too but it'll just be a reason for me to make another. Probably try to thin down the next one to cut weight a bit. With such a big, heavy bait I figured I'd try swivel hangers to reduce leverage. Wound up using 300lb test saltwater swivels, drilled, screwed and epoxied into a body cavity. Still need to play with this method a bit more but feel it's a good start. Will try to do a swim video soon

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