A GREAT day! 3/18/12

Went out to Stein Lake this morning. Got there at first light and the banks were exploding with bass chasing bait fish. First I threw a Rapala X Rap. After about 5 casts I hooked into a small bass. Maybe 12 inches at best but it jumped about 3 ft. from me and quick released himself. After about 10 more casts and no more takers I tied on a gold/black back lipless crank and hooked into a monster! It gave me an amazing fight for about 20-30 seconds then managed to shake the hook loose. I was heartbroken! I have no idea how big it was. I never even got to see it. Could have been a catfish for all I know. But it was one of the strongest fish I've ever set a hook into. 2 casts later with the lipless crank I get another good whack. Not as good as the one before but still pretty decent for my first bass of 2012.
[url]http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww154/nic_sturgill/aa539343.jpg[/url]

After few more casts I snag and loose my gold lipless crank. So I tie on a green/black back lipless crank and managed to land 2 more smaller ones.
Here was one of them...
[url]http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww154/nic_sturgill/8cdf8f61.jpg[/url]

By this time it was late morning and the banks were lined with people enjoying the beautiful weather out on the lake so I decided to pack it up, go home, get the kids, and head out to a less crowded lake and enjoy the rest of the day baiting their hooks with hotdogs and unhooking 30+ bluegill/sunfish.
[url]http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww154/nic_sturgill/3e7737c4.jpg[/url]
[url]http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww154/nic_sturgill/63c937d9.jpg[/url]

We had a blast! Couldn't really ask for a better day than today. The monster that got away is still haunting me but hey what can ya do?

Some side notes:
-All bass this morning were caught within 5 ft. from the bank.
-I also threw a couple different worms, a spinnerbait, and a twister tail grub in between casts with the lipless crank all of which produced no bites.
-I noticed smaller bass were already guarding nests

Awesome!

Looks like a good time!! You may have hooked into the big one out there.
Supposedly there was one caught close to 10lbs there last spring. It was caught and released.
bassky