2026 freshwater catch thread

Duckmauler dhc

Duckmauler dhc

Old Mossy Horns
I’ve been so busy I had forgotten that the year had changed. Day 2 on lake hartwell yesterday and it was a blast. We had one of those triple digit days. 30ish largemouth, idk how many spotted bass and lost count of the hybrids and stripers. Yesterday evening we got on some gigantic schools of hybrids/spots/largemouth all mixed together and it was nearly every cast for almost 2 hours. It didn’t seem to matter how much pressure that lake gets, those are the dumbest(funnest) fish of anywhere I go. Didn’t take many pictures yesterday as the action was so hot I just didn’t really have time to. IMG_1170.webpIMG_1171.webpIMG_1166.webpIMG_1164.webp
 
Last edited:
07E30089-0B4F-40B3-A293-06E8A866C41B.webp

Can it just be wintertime for the rest of the year? I know we probably need some rain but this low water for the past 4 months has been a gift from heaven for the fishing. We were having a livescope fiasco and then the water temp creeped up to 50-51 this afternoon and that sw west kicked up and they started swallowing a crawfish #5 shad rap to the crushers on 45 degree banks with wind and rock. Ended up with 40ish bass and about 30 bonus big crappie we found this evening. Glad the weather is gonna turn back cold though. I want this pattern to last a long time if possible.
 
4616BE2C-1B64-4533-82F7-F7245C27D728.webpBAD02F09-B2B8-41E7-B155-3BD9039575CC.webpFAC64F89-4415-4DCE-B19F-20005468D574.webpD34B6BC2-0359-40BA-8391-DEAF56F739E3.webp

near triple digit day in 39 degree water. It was nothing short of incredible. Possibly one of the best days I’ve ever had on the water in the month of January. Dad and I pulled idk how many double and I watched him catch 12 in a row on a jerkbait at one point. Ended up with 23 lbs. The fishing this winter is the best of any I can remember.
 
Duckmauler dhc said:
View attachment 193017View attachment 193018View attachment 193019View attachment 193020

near triple digit day in 39 degree water. It was nothing short of incredible. Possibly one of the best days I’ve ever had on the water in the month of January. Dad and I pulled idk how many double and I watched him catch 12 in a row on a jerkbait at one point. Ended up with 23 lbs. The fishing this winter is the best of any I can remember.
Click to expand...

Im sure this weekend there will be a pic of you with an inch of freezing rain on your rod holding a 3lber, if not hell has froze over.
 
Scrub said:
Im sure this weekend there will be a pic of you with an inch of freezing rain on your rod holding a 3lber, if not hell has froze over.
Click to expand...
If I wasn't working I'd be fishing today and tomorrow.....I hope to be able to get out at least one of the bitter cold days next week.
 
1B2B0E7A-BADB-4BDA-AF9A-B7E9932855EE.webpC3800322-53B6-4556-9508-64BDDB1DC8A9.webp

The subfreezing temperatures were a little too much for the old man today so I went solo. Most of the water on the smaller lakes is solid on top right now so I traveled down to some old stomping grounds. I found the fishing to be just like old times. Never saw a soul fishing, just a hand full of duck hunters. Water was 35-40 degrees and iced over in places. I caught a 3 pounder on my first cast and it was on from there. Put 61 on the fish counter and had almost 21 lbs. I can’t get enough of this cold weather.
 
06CDC1A6-E33F-4B46-B5A6-3512759C0329.webp

Same body of water as last week. Water was a good 4 degrees colder and the fish were grouped up in MEGA schools in the same areas as last week but were very hard to get along with today. It was cloudy and breezy all day until 4pm and the sun popped out. I had 7 fish at 4 and caught 26 in the last hour and a half. Lost several more during that time. Didn’t take many pictures because I wore gloves most of the day. Also Managed to catch 3 crappie that were over 2 lbs with the biggest being 2.84.
 
Last edited:
IMG_2103.webpIMG_2107.webpD97D6A24-697E-41DD-99E7-D4AEE452A6E0.webp

The old man turned 73 today and got his birthday big bass right off the bat on his second cast which weighed 5.01. Had to break ice to get to some of the places I wanted to fish on the lake. Put 37 bass in the boat, a couple yellow perch and a pile of slab crappie. Water temps were 35-38 all day. Bout as cold of water as I have ever fished that wasn't completely frozen. The bass were not agressive in the least and not easy to find. Mostly pinned down to the bottom but if you put it on their nose they would react at times. The crappie were suicidal.
 
Last edited:
Duckmauler dhc said:
View attachment 194651View attachment 194652View attachment 194653

The old man turned 73 today and got his birthday big bass right off the bat on his second cast which weighed 5.01. Had to break ice to get to some of the places I wanted to fish on the lake. Put 37 bass in the boat, a couple yellow perch and a pile of slab crappie. Water temps were 35-38 all day. Bout as cold of water as I have ever fished that wasn't completely frozen. The bass were not agressive in the least and not easy to find. Mostly pinned down to the bottom but if you put it on their nose they would react at times. The crappie were suicidal.
Click to expand...
Nice. I need to find your crappie. We went from a 3 man limit 2 weeks ago to just a handful of fish on our most recent trip. They simply would not bite anything.
 
wolfman said:
Nice. I need to find your crappie. We went from a 3 man limit 2 weeks ago to just a handful of fish on our most recent trip. They simply would not bite anything.
Click to expand...
Almost everywhere I have been in the last month. They have been very willing to bite if you can just find them.
 
Now that baby sister is out of the hospital and recovering well Junior was begging me to go fishing/hiking today. I figured the water in the creeks and rivers was still a tad cold but I would not deny his request. I loaded the truck and off we went. We walked 3+miles of trails and water and finally in one of our last stops Junior caught a largemouth and I have never seen him so happy. With the recent weather it’s been a long while since we’ve been out. Hoping for a lot more of this and some boat time in the near future. I’ve had as much sitting in the house that I can stand.IMG_2315.webp
IMG_2286.webpIMG_2269.webp
 
Duckmauler dhc said:
Now that baby sister is out of the hospital and recovering well Junior was begging me to go fishing/hiking today. I figured the water in the creeks and rivers was still a tad cold but I would not deny his request. I loaded the truck and off we went. We walked 3+miles of trails and water and finally in one of our last stops Junior caught a largemouth and I have never seen him so happy. With the recent weather it’s been a long while since we’ve been out. Hoping for a lot more of this and some boat time in the near future. I’ve had as much sitting in the house that I can stand.View attachment 195022
View attachment 195023View attachment 195024
Click to expand...

Good Job 👍
 
1748B0E6-2BB3-42BF-A9F7-F319CFCC228C.webpBC1D9CD6-FF86-4D0C-B1CE-B6ACA444C8B0.webp

7 hours spent on the water on a fine fishing day. It rained most of the day but never so hard that it was miserable. They bit all day long. We put over 80 in the boat. Water is still cold and they are still schooled up in the winter haunts. Fishing is limited for me right now glad I got to feel the tug a few times today.
 
Duckmauler dhc said:
Now that baby sister is out of the hospital and recovering well Junior was begging me to go fishing/hiking today. I figured the water in the creeks and rivers was still a tad cold but I would not deny his request. I loaded the truck and off we went. We walked 3+miles of trails and water and finally in one of our last stops Junior caught a largemouth and I have never seen him so happy. With the recent weather it’s been a long while since we’ve been out. Hoping for a lot more of this and some boat time in the near future. I’ve had as much sitting in the house that I can stand.View attachment 195022
View attachment 195023View attachment 195024
Click to expand...


NIce! I know that spot!!
 
When the water hits 52 degrees for the first time.....that's when it all breaks loose. I have not seen it do that in a non power plant lake yet and this is the latest that the water has stayed in the 40s that I can remember in a very long time. When it warms over the weekend it's gonna get stupid. I hope I get to partake in some of it next week if the weather cooperates and I can get the kids out on the boat. If not we will chase the creek and pond fish.
 
Duckmauler dhc said:
Now that baby sister is out of the hospital and recovering well Junior was begging me to go fishing/hiking today. I figured the water in the creeks and rivers was still a tad cold but I would not deny his request. I loaded the truck and off we went. We walked 3+miles of trails and water and finally in one of our last stops Junior caught a largemouth and I have never seen him so happy. With the recent weather it’s been a long while since we’ve been out. Hoping for a lot more of this and some boat time in the near future. I’ve had as much sitting in the house that I can stand.View attachment 195022
View attachment 195023View attachment 195024
Click to expand...

Your little boy is getting not so little. "Sigh" Time flies!! 🙁
 
Duckmauler dhc said:
Now that baby sister is out of the hospital and recovering well Junior was begging me to go fishing/hiking today. I figured the water in the creeks and rivers was still a tad cold but I would not deny his request. I loaded the truck and off we went. We walked 3+miles of trails and water and finally in one of our last stops Junior caught a largemouth and I have never seen him so happy. With the recent weather it’s been a long while since we’ve been out. Hoping for a lot more of this and some boat time in the near future. I’ve had as much sitting in the house that I can stand.View attachment 195022
View attachment 195023View attachment 195024
Click to expand...

They have mama's nose?
 
Nice. Me and buddy fished in a public n.e. ga lake yesterday in my little boat. We caught a few small bass, couple of crappie, a lot of mid sized bream and some small perch. He did catch one huge bream. I think we probably caught around 50 fish or so total. We could've definitely had a good fish fry with the bigger half if we were keeping.

It still has some warming up to do before it gets really good. About a month and it will sure enough be good! Not bad though
 
0966D403-6F57-46A1-B8D2-0376654D9629.webpCF68FE10-5E86-4B2F-B8D4-6219F3A9BF5D.webp
IMG_2828.webp
The water warmed up fast but unfortunately the bass have not caught up with it. On the first stop we put an 5.5 and a 3.5 in the boat. Caught 3 more nice ones really quick all on the same stretch and I thought it was on but that was the end of it. Only had 3 more bites the rest of the evening. Unfortunately Junior got skunked and he is ready to fire his guide but baby sister got to reel in her first fish today. She did exceptional in the boat today. She lasted 5 hours with zero fuss and did not come close to any accidents. Kids had a blast. Hopefully next week we will get back at it and put a few more in the boat. It did my soul good to have them both out on the water this week.
 
Fished Norman yesterday. Water was gin clear and very few bites. Threw everything but the kitchen sink at em. Talked to quite a few guys and they had the same results so I wasn’t to upset about 😂
 
Just got home from wylie...pounded the docks this morn, because that's where I wanted them to be..hehe...finally backed off to some ledges, and started catching some on spinnerbait, slow rolled....most were in less than 3 ft. Water was 54 to 58°... I know of at least 2 diff tx's this weekend...is it wrong for me to wish for rain
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top