Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Updated: My Bass Life




If you had told me 10 years ago that I would be this immersed in bass fishing, I would have told you that you are nuts. But God has a sense of humor and I've traded one intense pursuit into another.... I have chased football coaching like it was life and death for 30 years..and now I have that same drive to become better at fishing and developing our fishing program.

Like all earthly pursuits- this one will never find me the complete fulfillment that can only come from God- but fishing and football have been great gifts and blessings that the Lord has used to shape me and put me in fellowship with some amazing people.

I always loved to fish- but never had the urge to develop knowledge and skills. And, though I am working hard- the level of skill and knowledge is WAY behind those who really know what they are doing. Some of the old timers who really know their stuff look at me when I ask a question with that strange- 'you don't know about that!' look of admonishment.

But I did want to take some time to look at some highlights as far as quality fish. Again, some of these things I publish is for my kids and pride's sake- I won't be sharing on social media- but is a fun way to reflect and remember.



Personal Best: 12.5 (estimated)
29"long/ and a girth of 19"- huge belly
My Big Fish Story
Dec. 18, 2013 Private Lake in Rockford, AL

I hate that we did not have a scale-we did have a tape measure- the Bass Resource calculator listed it as 15.665

Witness: Coach Steve Renfroe

Lure: green fluke with a tiny weight pegged about 5 inches up.

In the monster's mouth was the fin of a fish that looked as big as the earlier bass I caught. This fish was stuffed to the gill and still eating!



Lake Caroline:
    8.0


June 1, 2021- Winning Edges Filming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyK_ziZjByY

Witness: Carson Miller

Lure: Night blade spinner bait from the dock

See the whole catch on video- exploded on it right at the dock!











Lake Caroline:
   7.14


May 29, 2021- Winning Edges Filming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfsBikRtRiA&t=19s

Witness: Carson Miller

Lure: Green Pumpkin monster on skip gap head

See the whole catch on video- was a blast! Used thumb drag just like I mentioned in my book.












Shimano, Lake Caroline: 7.03

June 27, 2018- Winning Edges Filming

Witness: BCS Bass Team and Lisa Talmadge, Shimano

Lure: Junebug Red monster on skip gap head

Was skinny, if fat might have been a 10.


Lake Caroline Double:
Lake Caroline, Louisville, AL
June 7, 2017 -  6.37

I caught this and Connor Peterson hung a 6.46 at the same time!

Witness: Melissa and Conner

Lure: Green pumpkin monster on skip gap head



KVD BASS

WEIGHT 6.3 LBS
Oct 11, 2016 Lake Caroline, Louisville, AL

Lure: Finesse Black Trick Worm- Drop Shot

Witness: Jack Flemming/ Grayson Morris

We were helping an MLF corporate event and we pulled up right after Kevin Van Dam had left the spot.

Jack and Grayson were trying to get me to hold it up to KVD- I just turned and looked- but the story and been growing since.

This is my Lake Caroline PR




PICKWICK BASS AGAIN!

WEIGHT 5.5
April 13, 2018
Old Steam Plant- Pickwick Lake, Florence, AL

Lure: black flake finesse skip gap shakey head

Witness: Brian Berry/ Jeff Davis


How good is Pickwick? every time I go I catch a 5 lbr!








PICKWICK BASS

WEIGHT 5.4
March 19, 2016
Barge Canal- Pickwick Lake, Florence, AL

Lure: Square Bill

Witness: Austin Luke

This may be my all time favorite fish and I LOVE Pickwick.

We were parallel casting down the barge canal when this beauty tore it up! She got wrapped up around the trolling motor and I almost lost her.






WHOPPER PLOPPER BASS

WEIGHT 5.0
March 26, 2017
Lake Caroline, Louisville, AL
Lure: Whopper Plopper

We were in the very back of a wooded cove where fish were exploding on top water and chasing shad.

A 2 lb bass exploded on my whopper plopper but missed- I could see the fish so I paused and watched it gearing up to strike when this fish came out of no where and blasted it.

Nolen Vinson (who later caught a 12.0 fish) said it was one of his all time favorite bites to watch.



PICKWICK BEDDING BASS

WEIGHT: 4.43
April 14, 2017
Lake Pickwick, Florence, AL
Lure: finesse trick work- shakey head- black/red flake

Felt like a bream tap- must have been on bed- 2 ft of water

Fun time with Jeff Davis









LAKE LION SPECIAL

estimated- 5 lbs

I sight fished this beauty- got the male first- came back later for female.

Took about 30 minutes- watched her take a blue/red speckles Ned rig

Had to fight her for 4 or 5 minutes to get her out of the weeds

April 12, 2017- after school

LOGAN MARTIN SPOT

I have come to love Logan Martin as my favorite of the Coosa Lakes...

The Coosa Spotted Bass is as mean as they come and to get this 3 lbr was quite a fight.

Caught it on black shakey head on the infamous Texaco hump.

We caught almost 80 on that day

March 30, 2016





LAKE CAROLINE BASS

I could load up the page of all Lake Caroline Bass I have caught in the year I have had the privilege to fish there. That lake is LOADED with 3 and 4 lb hard fighting fish.

Lures/ Techniques that have caught bass over 3 lbs at Lake Caroline: Texas Rig, Drop Shot, Ned Rig, KVD Lucky Shad, Square Bill, Jerk Bait, Fish Head Spin, Fluke, Whopper Plopper, Lizard, Football jig, Carolina Rig, scrounger, Pop R, skip gap head, wobble head




Here is the 'double'












It has been an amazing lake to learn on.

Since we have been going, we have caught almost 2,000 bass and taken out 1400 small ones.

This lake will continue to get better and better and I believe it will produce a 14 or 15 lb bass soon.

Who knows.... maybe bigger?



During two trips, I helped pull in TWO 12 lb fish....

More to come......
GUNTERSVILLE BLAST

WEIGHT 2.0
July 28, 2015
Lake Guntersville, Guntersville, AL
Lure: Bull Shad

This isn't a big fish- but you would never know it by the way he charged out of the grass mat I was fishing.

We missed some big ones that morning- but this one was more fun than the misses!








LAKE MITCHELL

WEIGHT 2.5 EST

Cargyle Creeek, Lake Mitchell
Clanton, AL
July 28, 2014

This one is special because I got to go back to Lake Michell after fishing it for years. But this time I was armed with a blue/black swim jig and has this beauty explode out of the grass.

Brought back good memories of that place







LAY LAKE

June 23, 2014
Beeswax Creek, COLUMBIANA, AL

Another good memory because I was just learning to swim a jig in the grass.

This was a white swim jig with a ribbits frog trailer.











PICKWICK SMALL MOUTH

April 13, 2018
Pickwick Lake, Florence

This was my first ever smallie- can't wait to get more of them this summer!







Hope I add to this fun report soon... Lord willing....



Until next time............

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