AnthonyCatlow Posted December 17, 2023 Report Share Posted December 17, 2023 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. SumoNinja, GTier525, burkekr17 and 25 others 28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mossyback Angler Posted December 17, 2023 Report Share Posted December 17, 2023 Are you kidding, that’s a phenomenal catch for our NJ waters, congratulations Anthony on the PB. I know you been putting in work towards it, and it paid off big for you. Great write up and recap of the story that led to this beauty. Always makes the images that much more interesting. Be proud and tell your story. AnthonyCatlow and jonboatjake 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splitshot Posted December 17, 2023 Report Share Posted December 17, 2023 Congratulations great looking fish! AnthonyCatlow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTier525 Posted December 18, 2023 Report Share Posted December 18, 2023 Nice fish man!! Congrats on the Pb! AnthonyCatlow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbass Posted December 18, 2023 Report Share Posted December 18, 2023 Congratulations great fish AnthonyCatlow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassinMass978 Posted December 18, 2023 Report Share Posted December 18, 2023 Congratulations. Serious gut on that one AnthonyCatlow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_larkin3 Posted December 18, 2023 Report Share Posted December 18, 2023 Congrats! 6lb in NJ is no joke! AnthonyCatlow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
22RangerZ520R Posted December 19, 2023 Report Share Posted December 19, 2023 Congrats! Definitely fat and healthy! AnthonyCatlow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenPig Posted December 19, 2023 Report Share Posted December 19, 2023 That's a great fish brother. AnthonyCatlow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim137a Posted December 19, 2023 Report Share Posted December 19, 2023 A fish like that in NJ from the bank in December is an absolutely amazing catch. CONGRATULATIONS AnthonyCatlow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jm Apostolakes Posted December 19, 2023 Report Share Posted December 19, 2023 Beautiful fish, I always enjoy hearing about the guys that travel to a spot thats not super close.....and then Bang; it happens! AnthonyCatlow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefchris Posted December 20, 2023 Report Share Posted December 20, 2023 awesome fish and great write up man, the way that fish is built is crazy. you put your time in man, thats a well deserved fish for sure. congrats AnthonyCatlow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CG_Fishes Posted December 20, 2023 Report Share Posted December 20, 2023 Phenomenal catch! Anything over 6 in the Northeast is a true trophy in my mind. What a build that fish had as well. Congrats on a great catch and fantastic write up AnthonyCatlow and B_larkin3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted December 21, 2023 Report Share Posted December 21, 2023 Congratulations! A well built fish indeed AnthonyCatlow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyCatlow Posted December 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2023 Thank you everyone for the kind words! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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