Where were you at a year ago?

[colbypearson]

Same fish different day. Old bites new bites, it's all the same after a while

Pretty much been thinking the same thing lol.

 

One year ago today, I was probably looking forward to the same bites I am at this exact moment, lol .

[Razorfish]

Last year I was dragging senkos on my float tube

[Mossypumpkin]

Some interesting stories Love reading them...

[barse41]

I was praying for rain. Same story this year.

[smalliebigs]

I felt like I fished better for largemouth this year, making better decisions and some key new learnings to get on some kind of pattern more quickly. I think I've gotten better at not camping on the "old favorite" spots for too long and moving to look for new water which resulted in a broader range of "hot spots". However the end results don't really show it. I'm still documenting each swimbait catch, and I caught 33% less fish than last year, and the average size was about the same. For some reason I had a lot more fish come off the hook this year, which accounts for some of that, but I think less time on the water was the real problem.

 

But, it was a banner year for stripers which I only target for 2-4 hrs a trip over a one month period or when a school happens to come up around me during the rest of the year. I don't track data on them, but probably four 30+ fish "days" and around 200 stripers total.

[Chase]

A year ago i had started really getting into swimbaits but just going through the motions. I had got a few in oct and nov on storm 5" shad swimbaits since i didnt have poles big enough for the larger swimbaits....did good with those actually sticking half a dozen between 4lbs and 8lbs...as well as my pb 10.80lbs. In dec 2012 i had my two swimbait setups which are what i currently use. One is a dobyns 807 with a lexa and the other is the dobyns 908 with the lexa. Fished for the next probably 2-3 months with swimbaits and got maybe 2 fish on the rago top hook. Definately not thinking about what i was doing other tha just going through the motions.

 

Oct 2013 started chucking the swimbaits again and started out with my first glide bait being the roman made and my first trip out with it nailed two 5lbers in about 3hours. Next trip casted it off...pretty pissed since it was also a custom painted on by pizz. Started reading more about swimbaits and picked up the 250 ss.... Started going out sunup to sundown and really putting the time in and trying to figure it out. Definately i different feeling from a year ago....dont feel like i am just going through the motions feel like each and every trip....hell i cant even explain the feeling....just like things are falling into place. Had a few missed fish on the hudd and savage gear baits before getting the 250. First trip out with the 250 and my world got rocked not only by the fish caught but by the followers and what i learned from them. Had 30+ follows 4 fish in the boat and missed 6-7 fish either half way to the boat or right at the boat. Amazing day and really not only opened my eyes to the power of the bait but to how many big fish there truly are in the lake...and actually feel like after fishing the bait for a few weeks that i can start to eliminate water that i dont need to waste time on. The bait is amazing but what i have really gotten from it more than the fish caught on it are the areas to key in on and also fish other baits in those areas. I have some great success on the bait but also have had many days with nothing caught on it. I feel like i have just scratched the tip of the ice berg and am truly excited for what the upcoming months have instore and will continue my sunup to sundown trips.

[Archtx9]

Last year this time I was just learning the 250. Lake visibility was about 10 feet plus. Over the next few months I landed a 12.44, 10-13, 10-7, 10.0, 9-10, 9-9, 9-9, and numerous 8s 7s. Fast forward to today, the lake authorities have dumped close to 50 grass carp per acre, and the lake is a virtual mudhole, with visibility a silty max of 2 feet. All the vegetation has been eliminated. But right now my conventional fishing buddies are whacking DDs on crank baits and Crigs, fishing the only thing left ....deep brush piles. I'll adjust to something I don't mind hanging up......maybe the swimjig!

[SeanM]

A year ago I knew a lot more than I did now. By that, I mean there was a lot of stuff I had heard that I assumed to be fact. Way too many hours on the water later, I don't really know anything, other than I think time/place is almost everything. Getting past the hows of different baits and getting more into why they work has been confusing and fun. I'm less afraid to do something different and less afraid to throw conventional tackle if I feel the situation calls for it. I'm less concerned with baits and more concerned with fish behavior in general. Hopefully eventually those things will line up into a coherent understanding of what's going on in the water.

[J_Davis]

A year ago, I finally convinced myself to buy a used JSJ for $35 and two 6" Hudds for $15 each. No swimbait rod, no idea of what I was doing, and thought those baits looked huge. Now, it's nothing to drop $50+ on one bait, but I haven't spent much more than that and always have at least one "big" bait tied on, even in tournaments. I still couldn't even justify buying a Bull Shad, and now I have 5 or so.

[Mossypumpkin]

I was praying for rain. Same story this year.

 

I feel ya. We never got our fall rain at all! It was a horrible swimbait fall

 

Chase, that's awesome! I would love to fish a 250! Someday..

[bigworm]

A year ago I knew a lot more than I did now. I don't really know anything, other than I think time/place is almost everything. I'm less concerned with baits and more concerned with fish behavior in general. Hopefully eventually those things will line up into a coherent understanding of what's going on in the water.

 

This is the real truth. There is no right answers ever. It is a new trip out all the time, especially with the frequency that I get to fish. Time on the water lets you know key spots, hit those spots frequently in one day and you will eventually get em. Time on the water IS everything. Learn your lakes. Almost any bait can get them to bite when they are feeding.

 

A year ago I was hoping I would get to fish more than once a month. It barely happened...

[Sumeeezy]

a year ago i didnt have any swimbaits. Now I have 3 hudd 68's, two s-wavers, and an assortment of trashfish, inline talons, etc. still working on it...

[bigbyrd07]

A year ago I was in the midst of a slump that lasted from November through Janurary. I had just gotten back into swimbaiting seriously has I had not been doing it as seriously since around 2009. My guide selects that I had since for years were all broken and the calico special that was my first real swimbait rod from back in 03 was broken too all my calcuttas were shot and I was fishing with a mojo and a revo a year ago. I had started fishing with swimbaits with an AC plug and surf rod for stripers in 97 with my Dad at Castaic. Around 2003 I got into fishing green bass with swimbaits really hard and at my peak around 06 07 08 09 my three set ups were my calico special paired with Calcutta 400 okuma guide select orginal xh with a Calcutta 400b and another guide select paired with Calcutta 300 I would sneak from my friend or I would take the 400 off my calico special to put on the okuma and put an international 975 level wind on the calico special. I also would fish a shitty low profile pacifica reel given to me by a friend until it blew out on me. I want to thank my friend Casey who guys by WRHguy for helping reignite my passion for swimbaiting but now IM a striperhead all the way looking for a unicorn. So I know this is long winded but a year ago I was fishing under matched gear for the baits I am throwing now. I still have my trusty Calcutta 400b I was able to trade in my broken okuma guide selects for new ones awesome warranty over there. I also now fish a musky rod from them that is rated for baits up to a pound I also now have a komodo 350, an Irod jumbo swimbait rod, my trusty calico special should be up and running in a month or two and I should be getting some more Calcutta 400s for a great deal soon.

 

I now have a arsenal of baits I would never have had dreamed of a year ago to have. I still have old chewed up ospreys hudds and eagle swimbaits to remember the old times with but a year ago compared to now. I have travelled light years in one year and I think I have made leaps and bounds beyond not just where I was last year but also compared to five or six years ago in terms of knowledge and skill. I still love green bass I had a teener yesterday stalk my deps right after I had twenty plus striper chase it in gotta love those high mountain lakes haha.

[Ceaser]

I was sitting here racking my brain on how to catch these tidal water beasts. The same thing i try to do every night.... Try and take over the delta i never stop thjnkjng about catching these fish... I dont know what this next year will bring me, i take fishing day to day spot to spot hr to hr. its always changing and proving to me i dont know ish about catching these fish. Staring at a paper map and combing google earth for new cover or structure, trying to find my next pb.

[jomama]

a year ago, i was only amazed at the size of swimbaits, and their ability to catch fish, but had never thrown one. ltrain introduced me to swimbaiting a little while after, and it's been a pretty slippery slope since.