# A New Personal Best!



## FishinsMyLife (Apr 25, 2009)

Since I can't really maneuver myself in a boat well due to my knee, I opted to fish off the pier at the big pond I caught these fish out of https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7877 I caught 10 or so golden shiners on a tiny fly "carolina rigged," and I was using them as bait. I caught a two pound bass and a two pound pickerel and the action quit. Right before I left, I saw my cork go under and I knew it was a good fish. The last two shiners in the bait bucket were the biggest and were around 8 inches long :shock: I set the hook, and the fish took drag. When I got the fish up, i was shaking. Unfortunately, the bass was gut hooked and couldn't be revived. this was a big old fish and I don't know how much longer it would have lived anyway. Since it died, I'm getting it mounted. Length and girth measurements put the bass at 11.74 pounds when it was right out of the water. Eggs were coming out as I held the fish upright. 

Pictures to come soon!


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## Jim (Apr 25, 2009)

Too bad about the fish, but congrats on making the double digit bass club! (A huge goal of mine) :beer:


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## FishinsMyLife (Apr 25, 2009)

28 inches long









The red happened when the picture was sharpened...


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## tailgrabber (Apr 25, 2009)

WOW! That's a monster.


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## jkbirocz (Apr 25, 2009)

OK, you are not allowed to fish again until I atleast catch a 5lber. I have caught nothing but small bass so far this year and I am completely jealous. Just kidding, but damn, that is an awesome fish. I could only dream to find one like that in PA. Our state record is right around 11lbs, we have them, but they are extremely hard to catch. 

Congratulations, that is a fish of a lifetime, you should be very proud. Yeah, it sucks it was guthooked, but how many more years would that fish have lived?!? Beautiful fish, it should be a really nice mount.


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## Nickk (Apr 25, 2009)

:shock: nice fish! :shock: 

I missed the story, what happened to your knee? get 'scoped?


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## FishinsMyLife (Apr 25, 2009)

Nickk said:


> :shock: nice fish! :shock:
> 
> I missed the story, what happened to your knee? get 'scoped?


Yep, tore my meniscus and got scoped. Dang knee's nothing but a pain... :lol:


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## switchback (Apr 25, 2009)

That's a nice fish. Congrats!


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## Zum (Apr 25, 2009)

Wow,congrats on the PB.
Hope they do a great job on the mount.


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## BassAddict (Apr 25, 2009)

WoW Really impressive!!!




Tell us about the fight, did you have to let it take drag a few times to wear it out?


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## Waterwings (Apr 26, 2009)

Excellent catch! Congrats! 8) =D>


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## FishinsMyLife (Apr 26, 2009)

When I set the hook, the bass took a good bit of drag. It didn't really fight too hard after that. It was just a weight resisting whatever I tried to do to it. It ran under the dock and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I got it to come out, and that was the end of the fight.


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## lswoody (Apr 26, 2009)

Way to go!!!! That's a good'un!!! Congrats!!!


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## Captain Ahab (Apr 26, 2009)

Nice bass - really really nice bass


I am very concerned about your choice in footwear - those ARE NOT loafers


image how big the bass would have been had you been wearing your loafers?


Was a shame you had to kill the fish but that is the risk we all take when we fish. I suggest eating it and getting a replica mount or, almost as good, have a few of the photos blown up and mounted in a frame professionally. I enjoy looking at the angler and his fiah far more then a dead stuffed bass on the wall


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## Brine (Apr 26, 2009)

Nice Fish FML,

That's a sho nuff wall-hanger.


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## Jim (Apr 26, 2009)

Captain Ahab said:


> Nice bass - really really nice bass
> 
> 
> I am very concerned about your choice in footwear - those ARE NOT loafers
> ...



I agree, take some nice pics of it, send it off for a replica and eat it.


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## mr.fish (Apr 26, 2009)

That is one big ass bass. 28" is def. worthy of a wall mount. Congrats on such a pig.


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## Specknreds (Apr 26, 2009)

Congrads on a real HAWG!!!

Have you or anyone else tried circle hooks for Bass? I rarely fish freshwater but I use them in saltwater and for catfish. It takes a little getting use too since you DO NOT set the hook. I haven't seen a gut hooked fish since we started using them.


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## FishinsMyLife (Apr 26, 2009)

Specknreds said:


> Have you or anyone else tried circle hooks for Bass? I rarely fish freshwater but I use them in saltwater and for catfish. It takes a little getting use too since you DO NOT set the hook. I haven't seen a gut hooked fish since we started using them.



I did a my previous trip to this pond. I got zero hook ups with them. I know not to set the hook. I might need to try bigger hooks, or try hooking the shiner through the back (I've been hooking them through the lips). I'm gonna have to figure out how to make them work because I don't want to kill another big fish like this..


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## Specknreds (Apr 26, 2009)

What size are your baits and hooks? I've found that you need to let them run a little longer with a circle hook. The bait needs to get deep because the hook needs to seperate from the bait to be truely effective. You do not want to hook a shiner through any bone or hard spot. I've found that hooking live bait behind the dorsal fin works pretty good. Barely hook the shiner, just enough to allow you to throw without slinging the bait off. Most of the time a bigger hook works best if the fish aren't shy of an exposed hook.


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## ilinimud (Apr 27, 2009)

Nice one man! That would be less than 2 lbs off the state record in my state (IL)


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## FishinsMyLife (Apr 27, 2009)

Specknreds said:


> What size are your baits and hooks? I've found that you need to let them run a little longer with a circle hook. The bait needs to get deep because the hook needs to seperate from the bait to be truely effective. You do not want to hook a shiner through any bone or hard spot. I've found that hooking live bait behind the dorsal fin works pretty good. Barely hook the shiner, just enough to allow you to throw without slinging the bait off. Most of the time a bigger hook works best if the fish aren't shy of an exposed hook.



That's what I'm going to try next time. A bigger circle hook with the shiner hooked through the back. When I was using the circle hooks before, they were probably to small and I was hooking the shiner in the lips.


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## Loggerhead Mike (Apr 27, 2009)

thats a monster!

congrats on the mount it's gonna look sexy


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## russ010 (Apr 27, 2009)

Dang it Boy!

I do believe you're going to pull a bigger one out of there... especially if it had golden shiners in it - that is like the #1 protein meal for south carolina bass


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