My college roommate caught this Largemouth in a Vermont lake last weekend. It’s a great fish in any lake but an awesome fish for Vermont as the state record is just over 10lbs!  Looks to me that his fish is in 4-5 lb. class.

You gotta love a 5 lb. Largemouth. I’ve always thought that size really begins to show the Largemouth was designed to be an eating machine.

Also very impressive is the fact that he landed it successfully in all those reeds while in a canoe.   He was using a plastic lizard and a spinning combo.

I took the boys camping Monday night.  While fishing Tuesday morning, I hooked a large mouth that turned out to be about 2lbs.  After setting the hook, I gave the rod to our 3 year old.  He gave his all just trying to avoid being pulled into the lake!  His little face was half psyched and half terrified by the battle.  To land the fish, I reeled and he held the rod.

He catches little sunfish all the time but after feeling this fish on the end of the line, he said, ” I only want to catch bass from now on…ok Daddy?”

Don’t we all son, don’t we all.

Shutterfly is a great online source for printing photos.  Both my wife and mom have used it and been pleased with the results.  They can do simple prints in any of the traditional sizes but I think the coolest thing they do is make huge poster sized prints. The offer below is  for new customers.

This photo is from recent trip to Big Lake, La. I am fishing off a 900 foot pier on Lake Calcasieu. We usually fish through the night under green lights.  The lights bring in bait fish by the trillions…reds and trout follow.  I was using my 9wt. fly rod, sinking line, and a clouser pattern.  Red Fish on a fly rod are tough to beat.

It looks very possible that there is a new world record for the Largemouth Bass.  The current record is 22lbs 4 ounces and was caught over 70 years ago.  The picture below was taken from Field and Stream. The fish was caught in Japan and weighed in at 22 lbs 5 ounces. If the record is officially certified, I have to believe that no one was predicting the record breaking fish would be caught in Japan.

Both boys did a great job at a local fishing derby this weekend. The older won first place in the most fish category.  The youngest finished third in the same category. The derby was two hours long and both boys worked hard for a trophy.  I was in charge of everything except reeling in. The older casts on occasion but it is still a mystery as to where it will go :).

We used night crawlers with an old school red and white bobber. The boys  reel in slow and the blue gill can’t resist.  Our secret is a size 12 hook with a wide gap.  Just about any sized blue gill can pick it up and the hook is so small that as long as I can see it in its mouth, I can use my surgical pliers to get it out.

I was a proud pappa!

The boys caught dinner tonight!  We were trolling in our kayak with a jig. One holds the net and the other holds the rod.  They switch after one catches a fish.  We found a school of Crappie and made three passes. The small Bluegill was a bonus.  The rig we use is ultra light. Any size fish bends the rod in half and the boys smile ear to ear. We breaded and fried the fish in canola oil. They were great.

Free T-Shirt

thefishicaught.com is offering a free t-shirt for the best photo of kids fishing. My wife will be the official judge.  To enter, email a photograph to dlworks@sbcglobal.net under the subject Photo Contest.  Please specify if you’d rather we not post your photo on the blog. At the end of July, we’ll choose a winner and give out a free shirt. 

Below is a 30lb Chinook sent to us by gallery member ibgrizz. His gallery is awesome!  The Salmon are running in Alaska now and this Chinook is a beauty.  I have a very hard time telling a Chinook from a Steelhead (which is not a salmon).  If you are as salmon ignorant as myself, check out this site. It gives a great description of the 5 North Pacific Salmon species.

If you have some great photos to share, go to our gallery and start your own free album.  It’s an easy way to share your photos.

Orvis has a perpetual sale on its most popular trout flies.  Some anglers call them “generals”. They are fundamental flies that every box should include because they can be applied to many situations. For $9.95, they’ll send you 20 of their best flies with out charging any shipping.  When you factor in the free shipping, it’s a great deal. You can’t beat fifty cents for great fly patterns.  Especially if you are like me and spend a lot of time in the trees!