Fishing - PB Catches (Sept 2021 - End of 2024)

Here are my personal best fishing catches from September 2021 through the end of 2024!

... and the start of some visual record of my various outings going forward to better keep track of highlights. It's hard to keep track of or remember everything after a while, even with the notes. 

Previous to Sept 2021 I hadn't bothered to measure/weigh most of my fish or keep any written logs whatsoever... just a load of unlabeled photos by date/trip. I started going back out regularly around (2013?) after a long time off the water.

I've definitely caught bigger Largemouth Bass than below (around 4-5lb by the comparative look of my photos), and similar sized Smallmouth, but the rest are definitely my best all-time catches per species up to the end of 2024.

Note:

• Most if not everything here is from Stony Lake, ON unless otherwise noted
• All of my fish are 100% catch and release, always

Here goes...

PB Muskie! (38")

• Date/Time: SAT Sept 11, 2021 / 10:37 AM
• Location: Stony Lake, ON (Burleigh Bay)
• Gear: Ned Rig (Z-Man) / 7' MH Spinning Rod w/ 12lb Flouro
• Depth/Terrain: 12-18ft / Rocky Point w/ Weeds + Shells
• Weather: Overcast
• Notes:
• Bit on the bottom and entirely bent out my hook
• Reasonably certain I caught this same exact fish the month before on a heavy California Swim Jig, very nearby in a shallow weedbed (which I lost just at the last moment while netting it)
• Since this trip I've mostly been casting my Ned Rigs on a 7' M Spinning Rod w/ 7lb Flouro, or a 7'2" ML
• Caught a few others this weekend as well, on a Tail Spinner (Jackall Deracoup 1/2oz, etc.)

PB Walleye! (7lb)

• Date/Time: SAT May 15, 2022 / 9:22 AM (Walleye Opener)
• Location: Stony Lake, ON (Clark's Bay)
• Gear: Tail Spinner (Jackall Deracoup 1/2oz) / 7' MH Spinning Rod w/ 12lb Flouro)
• Depth/Terrain: 1-2ft / Shallow Weedbed
• Weather: Clear, Calm
• Notes:
• Likely this one was still in its spawning area
• Wide, shallow bay (1-10ft) was choked with weeds and was paddling around w/ the motor raised
• Was using a Tail Spinner most of the weekend due to some success the previous year-end and in this case was burning it on the surface over very shallow weeds
• Caught a few more this weekend 4lb and under w/ the same setup
• Since this trip I've mostly been casting my Tail Spinners on a 7' M Spinning Rod w/ 7lb Flouro

PB Largemouth Bass! (3.5lb)

(I've definitely caught bigger Largemouth Bass than this before, mostly on topwater baits, but I don't have any recorded measurement or weigh-ins from back then.)

• Date/Time: MON Aug 01, 2022 / 4:02 PM
• Location: Stony Lake, ON (Juniper Bay)
• Gear: Finesse Swimbait w/ Jig (Megabass Oakashira Screwhead w/ Z-Man MinnowZ (WHT/CHRT)) / 7' L Spinning Rod w/ 7lb Flouro)
• Depth/Terrain: ~4-6ft / Shallow Weedbed
• Weather: Clear, Calm
• Notes:
• Literally a second after a much bigger boat sped right past me well within casting distance...
• Caught this in its wake
• And my dad was along in the boat for this one (for a 4d weekend)

PB Smallmouth Bass! (4.7lb)

(I've caught a couple other Smallmouth Bass just about this same size before, on some medium sized diving crankbaits, but I don't have any recorded measurement or weigh-ins from back then.)

• Date/Time: FRI Sept 13, 2024 / 2:59 PM
• Location: Stony Lake, ON (Main Lake / Open Water outside Juniper Bay)
• Gear: Tail Spinner (Jackall Deracoup 1/2oz (CHRT)) / 7' M Spinning Rod w/ 7lb Flouro)
• Depth/Terrain: 14ft / 1 of 3 Offshore Humps within 20-25ft
• Weather: Clear, Calm
• Notes:
• Bit on the bottom while retrieving through the weeds and starting pulling real hard once hooked
• Took a lot of line and a long while to slowly drag this one up to the boat
• Had been fishing this grouping of Offshore Humps / Weedbeds I'd had marked on my map a few times, but this is the first worthy catch from that spot; 
• I've since been catching more here and most recently a pile of Walleye skirting around the area over the course of 2x weekends

(More to come...)