Time of day pb?

[smalliebigs]

That is awesome. I don't think I've had one of those "I'll never forget the whole day" days since I moved down to SC. It will happen this year.

 

Lowrance should come out with a new GPS unit. It doesn't show you where you are, it shows you where Don is fishing at that moment.

[fishnmike]

Great stories and great detail Don. Lots to learn there.

[eyra_kid]

Great stories Don. Can't imagine having days on the water like that.

 

I'll share a little bit about my PB's. I am still trying to beat my pb largemouth from age 15. Actually my 15th birthday. That was 18 years ago in late June. Didn't weigh, but measured 23 inches (prob 7lbs) and caught from a small lake in western KS on 4 inch worm. Real bass mecca out there. Time of day was approx. 2-3 pm, so mid-afternoon. Kinda seeing a pattern here based on other posts.

 

Personal best smallmouth is more recent. Caught 10-11-09 in the hour before dusk. In fact, the majority of smallmouth I have caught 4lbs or larger were in that same period. One year, I had 13 in the 4.5 to 5.5 lb range. And for three years, I had a streak going of catching my personal best the second week of November, on the same lake in the same spot. My pb measured 22 1/2 inches long, but again didn't weigh. Photo taken on big Golden Rule. Estimate 5 1/2 to 6lbs. She was a long, lean fish typical of this lake. Swimbait fish? Not technically. I was using a grub with a swimbait boot-tail though, fished on a jighead Mission-Fish style. Look up Berkley T-Tail Minnow; you'll get the idea. Right on bottom dragging from rock to rock. It would pull up to a rock, line tightens, then it pops loose. Drag to the next rock, gets caught momentarily, then pops loose. Suddenly, one rock started swimming off.

 

[Bassindon69]

schmith12 and eyra_kid , thanks for those stories Very cool!

 

Another quick one. This one was not my own, I was the back seat. This guy is (to me anyway one of the best sticks I knew) Don't know what he is up to today. Talked a few times on the phone and that's it. Jake is the ONLY person who put me on DD's, 3 of them. I had put at least 5 others on DD's and more on a PB back in the day . But Jake had never gone in my boat. I went in his about 3 trips back when.

 

This is not so much a time thing but just a sick trip with more PB in it. Some of you know this old story too (sorry) But for those that don't, here it is.

 

We caught our fish on two spots that day. Jake got two 11's on the 1st spot and I got two 11's on the 2nd. Jake had caught a 45 lb limit (5 fish) and I my self in back had a 43 lb limit for (5 fish) Together our best 5 went 53+ lbs. We had a total of 13 fish this day. I'm sure he will never forget that day either There was a tourney going on that day too. I would NEVER want to bring that to the scales. It would spark many to beat a lake up with that being caught. But we laughed knowing what we had and what others would say if we did . So this was a best 5 combined PB.

I know Jake had a 17 fish day once too He didn't have the 5 fish weight I did but a AWESOME day none the less. He put me on a DD at another lake also (that's a stick in my mind). Here is that pic, My two look like to fat sisters and his two were long sisters (four 11's)

[eyra_kid]

Wow. That's incredible, Don! Thanks for sharing that story. Hudd fish that day?

 

It's kind of funny. I've been a finesse addict for years. It's kind of how I started bass fishing. And I live in a state where any of the four fish you're holding would be nearly a state record. Until recently, a 12-lber set a new record.

 

Anyway, a couple of my mentors who are early 70's now are devoted finesse fisherman. Their goal every outing is to catch 101 bass in 4 hours between two people. They catch a lot of dinks, and they catch a few good ones. I've used finesse techniques to win a few tournaments and catch some big fish (by KS standards).

As I've jumped into swimbaiting, I'm researching and acquiring proven baits sure, but I'm really looking at techniques and concepts. And to my amazement, a lot of the same concepts and techniques I've been successful with finesse fishing, are the same or very similar to what swimbaiters use. Anyway, I'm digressing from the main topic of time of day. But I really hope to break that PB largemouth this year on a swimbait. You guys will be the first to hear about it if I do!

[High Power Swimbaits]

I agree with most that early afternoon is the best time for me for big fish. My PB was caught in the early afternoon.

 

From 2005 to 2010 I guided full time with anywhere from 200-300 days a year spent fishing. Most of that time we were targeting big fish. In more than 1000 days on the water there were very very few fish over 8lbs caught in the first couple hours of the morning out of more fish than I could count over eight pounds caught. There were no fish over ten pounds caught, that I can remember, in the first couple hours of the morning, a few caught in the 10 am till noon time frame with most caught in the 12pm till 4pm time frame.

 

When I used to fish at night more often 11pm till 2am was my best time for big fish.

 

On most days when we get a good big fish bite we get a good early bite for smaller fish then nothing for 2-3 hours then a few bites from big fish in the early afternoon. Most people leave the lake after the slow period just before the big fish bite. At times I have had to convince clients to stay and catch there PB because they think from there own personal experience fishing the fish have shut off and will not feed again till just before dark.