[LzeroKI]

Hey Guys,

Like I've said before, I'm very new to fishing. I've been fishing all of 3 times so far in my life.... Well, I guess third time's the charm!

Caught this fish this afternoon, I was fishing a small pond across the street from where I work (between Kernersville and Wallburg). It's right next to the road, but fairly quiet.

Anyway, this was the first time I fished that pond (I walked over after I got off work around 5, or really even looked at it. It had a lot of plants and Lilly pads around the shore, along with a few submerged trees; from what I've read it seemed like a good pond for fish to hide out in. I spent about an hour and a half fishing along various spots on the shore with a baby brush hog on a Carolina rig without much luck (mostly getting hung up in Lilly pads and branches).

Near the end of my "session" I noticed some fish "blowing up" some spots a little ways down the bank from me and a big grouping of "air bubbles" that seemed to be moving around in front of me (I think this indicates a fish maybe?) so I switched to a $1 chartreuse buzzbait I bought at Walmart and cast towards the bubbles. My line drapped over an overhanging branch after I cast, but the lure made it in the water. I started reeling it in and shaking a little to get off the branch and WHAM, I feel my line go real tight. I start pulling in the fish and actually have him suspended over the water with my line on the branch for a few seconds before the branch snaps and I finish reeling in the fish.

It was so exciting! I might have shouted out a few expletives in celebration hahaha.

Sorry for the long post guys, just SO excited and proud of my 1st catch! I think it's a small mouth bass, but my buddy said it looks like a hybrid or large mouth to him. He said something about it having to do with where the mouth ends in relation to the eye? Can anyone explain?
Here's hoping this is only the first in a long line of bass!

 

[tallastro]

Nice largemouth

 

[riverrat1]

That's a good one. Congrats

 

[jimsnores]

Congrats. I remember the first time I caught a decent bass. I was literally shocked. It seemed like a giant pig to me.

As commented on above, it's a largemouth. You might want to check out this link ( http://www.riverbassin.com/what-the-heck-kinda-bass-is-that/ ) on bass species ID. For the most part, pond bass in NC will be largemouth. Some rivers fairly near you have largemouths, spots and smallies.

 

[cmckearney]

Nice! I'm around Winston when I'm not at school, PM me if you ever want to meet up or want to try some new spots.

 

[Fish_Fiend]

Lots of guys on here in and around your area. Hit me with a pm if you ever want to head sout about 30 minutes.


Gene Red >X< Asheboro

 

[h2ohhh]

Congratulations on your first fish!!! Can't tell you how many times I've made a 'bad' cast and caught a good fish. Those bubbles you saw were likely from a turtle and not a fish. Also a good method for working those pads, weeds and blowdowns in a pond is to fish a plastic worm rigged weedless (hook embedded inside the worm) with NO weight or just a small split shot and toss it in and around the cover. Fish it VERY slowly. Purple or Black in dark or stained water and Chartruese or 'Motor Oil' are my favorites in clearer water.

 

[4acres]

Ah, a quick learner. Congratulations.

 

[Bleedingblue]

First, congratulations on your first fish. I've caught quite a few fish over the years doing what you did.

Second, the fish is definitely a largemouth. If you are ever in doubt, the fastest way to tell is look at where the hinge point of the jaw is. If it is past the eye then it's a largemouth. If the point is infront of the eye then it is a spot or smallie, although you won't easily confuse the coloration of a smallie with a largemouth. The article jimsnores linked is also very informative, if you want more details.

The red line in the pic is the hinge point of the jaw. See how it is behind the eye so this is a largemouth.

 

[rmhpmi]

Atta boy Lzero! I've caught more than one bass after making what I thought was a "bad" casts. My buddy is always telling me I have to fish where the fish are! Keep practicing and Fish ON...

 

[Jay]

Congratulations on your first fish, and it was a largemouth bass on a buzzbait no less! That's one heck of a start for excitement, and its a nice fish too. I am sure you're hooked for life now.

 

[grandpaa]

Keep on fishing they do get a lot bigger,you can do it just stick to it.Good going on the fish

 

[jerry condrey]

Excellent. Not many of us has that kind of luck for our first fish!

 

[RaymondWells]

Congratualtions, very nice first fish!!

 

[LzeroKI]

Thanks for all the responses and congrats guys! I really appreciate them! I'm not exactly sure how big it was or how much it weighed, but I'm getting the impression that while it wasn't a "hog", it was certainly above average for a first fish from a guy who's put his line in the water for a total of 3 afternoons!

I didn't know about how to determine lmb vs smb based on the jaw pivot point, that's good to know!

I'd say I'm definitely "hooked" now! I'm going to try to go out to a pond this weekend, and then down to my dad's dock on Lake norman next weekend. He's not a big fishing guy but he says he sees people fishing a lot up on the north end of the lake past the railroad trestle. If I catch anything I'll post it up here!

Again, I really appreciate the responses and offers to go fishing. This forum/community has been really welcoming so far!



One question, this bass had my rod just about bent in half while I was pulling him out of the water, does that seem like something to worry about in regards to my rod being too weak? It feels fairly "whippy" (though what do I know??) and it seems to have a slow action (a lot of the rod bends under load, not just the last couple feet). For what it's worth, it's a Daiwa Samurai combo I got at Dicks Sporting Goods for like $25. Thanks for any insight you guys can give me!

 

[zky1812]

but I'm getting the impression that while it wasn't a "hog"

It's your story, you tell how you want too. Let them prove you wrong. Besides your a fisherman now, ain't no one going to believe you anyway.

 

[Bleedingblue]

One question, this bass had my rod just about bent in half while I was pulling him out of the water, does that seem like something to worry about in regards to my rod being too weak? It feels fairly "whippy" (though what do I know??) and it seems to have a slow action (a lot of the rod bends under load, not just the last couple feet). For what it's worth, it's a Daiwa Samurai combo I got at Dicks Sporting Goods for like $25. Thanks for any insight you guys can give me!

You can look at the rod and tell what the power is. Down near the handle there will be some writing on it. They usually tell the length of the rod, the power, and often the recommended line weight. Typically for bass in cover you would use a Medium or Medium-Heavy. You would want the line rating to be at least up to 10 lb but it will be listed as a range like 8-14 lb. If it doesn't reach these levels it may be a bit light for what you are doing but that doesn't mean you can't use it, you'll just be a bit more at the mercy of the fish.

 

[SurfRider]

As Andrew noted, the action and strength of the rod are usually printed on the underside just above the handle. If you're fishing where you will need to be hoisting the fish out of the water using the rod and line (not where you can reach down and liplock the fish before lifting it) then you will want a medium-heavy rod in my opinion. Smaller fish are no problem, but you start getting mid-sized or larger fish and you certainly can break a rod or the line.

I personally like a medium-heavy rod if I'm going to need a solid hookset, like with soft plastics (Texas rig, shakey heads), and I like medium action for baits where there is an open hook and/or the bait is moving (buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits). The exception is that with weightless worms and finesse worms, the medium action is still better than M-H. I only have one Heavy-action rod that I bought for punching grass mats and frog fishing when I went down to Lake Guntersville last year - have to be able to pull the fish out of the thick hydrilla and milfoil before it buries itself and then haul it in with 15 pounds of grass draped over its head. I sometimes use that rod when I'm dropping plastics into really thick wood cover where I need to be able to overpower the fish and get it out of the wood super quick before it wraps me up.

Congrats again on your first fish, that's a nice one. Calling a fish a "hog" or "pig" is a subjective term depending on what for any given person is a big fish, but that one you have pictured is a good chunky fish no matter who you are.

 

[lewisfishing]

The water above the trestle in Norman is usually a pretty good area to fish, ESPECIALLY when they are pulling water. this will be easy to tell because your boat will want to keep floating back toward the main lake!

Fish the bridge pilings and the trees that are still in the water with super flukes or small crank baits and you should find something that will take you on.

Be careful, though. IF you are using a boat to go up there, the water gets really shallow just after the Buffalo Shoals bridge until you get in the actual river channel. With the water being low right now that means you need to go slow! Once in the channel, it will get deeper, up to about 10 to 13 feet, depending on where in the channel you are.

I would stay to the right side of the lake after going under the bridge. The water is a bit deeper on that side. Keep an eye out for tree tops and rocks.

Once up there, you should have pretty good fishing. It will stay pretty navigable until you get to the I-40 bridge. Get on your trolling motor up that way, if you have one. there are lots of rocks on the bottom up there, but the spots like to school in the cooler water up that way.

 

[SurfRider]

Lake Norman may give you your first comparison between a Spotted Bass and a Largemouth Bass. That's Lewis' backyard there!