captainhookset Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 April 9th 2024. North NJ. We launched the boat around 6:45am, and the Lowrance said the water temp near the marina was 47.4, We decided as the sun was coming up we were going to run to the south end of the lake, an area I hadnt fished much over the last two years. The south end is much shallower, and loaded with grass. I figured I could find warmer water, and sure enough found a section of the lake that was getting nailed by the rising son, and by 10am the water was close to 51. After throwing the 10oz Mattlures trout for a few hours, i decided my neck needed a break. Tied on the Raid Gravity Impact shad, in the Clown colorway. Everyone loves red in the spring, but i've never had much success with it. Figured the redhead on the Clown wouldn't hurt. One of the houses on the lake had a giant cement retaining wall, which looked like a good place for fish to warm up against. My buddy suggested we should give it a few casts. A few minutes later my rod bent over - the bite was subtle but I knew right away I had hooked something big. I initially thought it was a pickerel or pike or musky - but once I saw her come up my heart started thumping. I don't carry a net on my boat because, A - i always skunk, and B - it just adds to the clutter. She was way too big to swing her in so I bent over and scooped her into the boat. The thickness of her jaw blew me away. It was like a solid rock. After screaming and high fiving for a few minutes, I put her in the livewell to relax a bit. Also the first time i put a fish in my livewell,. and my boat is a 2021. Thats what i'm talking about - when i say the last few years have been absolutely terrible for me, thats not an exaggeration. I was starting to question if it was even worth it - pulling the boat out of the garage the night before so i don't wake the boys, taking a day off work to go for a few hours on the days they go to daycare, putting the boat back into the garage and having to push it by freaking hand bc my driveway and garage are so tight - and having nothing to show for it. Yesterday was a reminder to me as to why i do this and why bass fishing has made me happy for decades. The older i get, the more expensive the rods and reel and boats become, but at the end of the day we do this because there is ALWAYS A CHANCE that you will find the big mama jamma. Thanks to Michael aka jewjitsu mike for sharing the moment with me. I dont know his name on here but hes a solid bro. Rod - Designo Leben Slang "illest" Reel - Daiwa Zillion HD 8:1 Line - Seagar Tatsu 15lb Bait - Raid Gravity Impact "Clown" PB Largemouth - 6lbds, 12oz Harshwaters, SoFloW, twil93 and 16 others 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishfoo Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 Way to go Hookset that's a beauty!! captainhookset 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mossyback Angler Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 Hell yea brother, congratulations. The struggle is real here in NJ for them quality bass, but all the effort finally paid off. Solid one to be proud of. Good write up, and enjoyable read. captainhookset and maine y yak 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKNNH Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 Beautiful fish! How you liking that Wraith illest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harshwaters Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 Congrats on your new PB. Great looking Bass. Been looking at the Raid GI for awhile now. Guess it's time to pick one up. captainhookset 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainhookset Posted April 10 Author Report Share Posted April 10 11 minutes ago, PKNNH said: Beautiful fish! How you liking that Wraith illest? LOVE IT. Could be one of my top all time favs for the 1-3oz stuff. It could probably handle a jig too. PKNNH 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewbee Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 As a fellow NJ Resident... Represent! captainhookset 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chang127 Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 Congrats on the PB! How'd you work the lure by the wall when you got bit? Were you casting your lure parallel with the wall? captainhookset 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTier525 Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 Good work! Congrats that’s why u gotta keep grinding. Zero to Hero is no joke. captainhookset 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainhookset Posted April 11 Author Report Share Posted April 11 6 hours ago, chang127 said: Congrats on the PB! How'd you work the lure by the wall when you got bit? Were you casting your lure parallel with the wall? No, it was super shallow up against the wall and had some scattered rock so I wasn't comfortable pushing the boat up close. I was out in about 7' casting as close to the wall as possible and crawwwling the bait back to me. Like barely turning the handle. chang127 and maine y yak 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maine y yak Posted April 12 Report Share Posted April 12 That's how ya do it! All the grind pays off and those bites we never forget - because the work put in is part of the whole experience! Congratulations on a great PB and a nice write up. captainhookset 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_larkin3 Posted April 14 Report Share Posted April 14 Beast of a fish! captainhookset 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbass Posted April 14 Report Share Posted April 14 That is a NJ trophy. Congratulations captainhookset 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainhookset Posted April 15 Author Report Share Posted April 15 3 hours ago, bassbass said: That is a NJ trophy. Congratulations Thanks brother! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim137a Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 Incredible fish for our area - fish of that caliber don’t come easy especially on that lake. Congrats captainhookset 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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