FishDr Posted November 21, 2012 Report Share Posted November 21, 2012 I decided to head out with a friend yesterday for a combo species trip. The first part of the plan was to hit a small lake for bass on swimbaits and whatever else they might want (I was only throwing swimbaits) and then we'd transition to a larger lake just at dusk to try for trophy walleye. The plan, worked, sort of. My friend's first cast with the biggest yum dinger I've ever seen (7" or so - looked like an extended hot dog) slowly crawled in about 17' got picked up by a nice 17" bass. This was in 45F water - definitely not warm, and below the limit of where I'd caught swimbait fish before. Naturally, I ignored that temperature notion and started off throwing a 68 Hudd. I pretty much stayed with it for the afternoon session, with a couple of minor distractions courtesy of the 9" Slammer and a 6" BBZ-1. I tried slow rolling, bottom bouncing, waking (the BBZ and Slammer), and just about every other retrieve I could think of and the fish just didn't want to play. When we had about 5 minutes left before it was time to head to the next lake and I was, frankly, disgusted. The birds of prey were doing well - they'd nailed 3 trout while I was watching, but the bass weren't nailing trout, or at least not nailing my trout. I fired off a long cast with the 68 and instead of fishing it like a good SU person should, I decided to burn it back on the surface, leaving a nice trail of disturbed water behind it. And wouldn't you know it, halfway back to shore a bass came up and choked it! Not a big fish (if you squint just right it makes 15"), but hey, it's my first bass on a Hudd in 2 years (blame the Slammer, Shellcracker, Rising Son, and 6" BBZ for that) and my coldest swimbait bass yet. After that, there was the requisite "we can't leave just yet" 10-minute extension, but no other fish wanted to play, so we piled into the truck and made tracks for the bigger lake. We got there right at dusk, the witching hour for the big 'eyes and started fishing. Within 20 minutes I had a fish, a big fish boil at my feet as I lifted the lure out of the water - nothing like that big eruption at your feet when you can't see ish! Instead of dropping the rod back down and figure-eighting the fish, I jumped up and back like a little bunny - I may have even squealed! When I regained my composure, I made more casts and got well and truly thumped on the 68, but the fish didn't stick. That was my last hit of the night. About an hour later, my friend had a sizeable fish blow up at his feet on a swimbait, and again no hook-up! The worst part of the night was when I upsized to a regular ROF 5 8" hudd and got it snagged - no amount of walking up and down the bank would free it, and eventually I popped it off. Grrrrrrr! And I just blew the rest of my fishing budget on the black Friday (Tuesday?) sales, so there's no replacement in the near future. However, a few minutes after losing the Hudd and right after a herd of deer wandered past (leaving thoughts of what was tailing the deer and would it prefer a short, slow human as a snack), I looked down and saw an anchor that looked brand new. So, I lose a Hudd and gain an anchor - I reckon I can sell that puppy on Craigslist and use the money to get a new Hudd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Baiter Posted November 21, 2012 Report Share Posted November 21, 2012 Good work, Doc!! Time to restock!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectrum Posted November 21, 2012 Report Share Posted November 21, 2012 Always like reading your reports. If you need/want a ROF 5 to replace that one, shoot me a PM and I'll send you one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echoedd Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Nice report and fish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishDr Posted November 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 @echoedd - thanks! @Spectrum & Darth Baiter - thanks for the offers, but I still have a couple in the "stash" - just don't tell the CFO! I'm going to try to get out again tomorrow or Saturday to see if I can do better on the bass and 'eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWIMBO Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 Nice job Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flaswimbaiter Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 Nice one Doc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRIZZ Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 Doctors in the house, beauty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassninja Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 SWeet fish and I'd say he was just a little bit hungry fro a trout. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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