So Close to my 1st DD largie.long

[leachman90]

Went out today for the 1st time in about 3 weeks to REALLY target some largemouth.Did'nt get on the water til about 11:15am so it was aready getting hot.I float tube so the water even at 82degrees felt good.I was fishing one of the Thompson Seep lakes out of Basin City.I started off fly fishing which is something I only do once or twice a year.I hit a 2.1 after only about 15 mins of fishing so I thought that was a very good sign that they would hit off the surface.I made my way out to the middle of the lake where there are alot of stick-ups(russian olives)and some grass stick-ups.I was flipping a Doublewide Beaver with no success then remembered about the fly fishing.So I went to a buzzbait(black&blue Strike King with 3 blades) all over this area.I was at the end of one of my retrieves and had looked away for a moment when I felt a good hit.I new it was a good fish but had not seen it yet.I back paddled real hard to get away from the trees so she would'nt dive back down in them.When I 1st saw her I could'nt believe my eyes.First thing I thought was"this fish could go 11lbs".Before weighting her I put her on a rope and went back to shore.This is something I do with big fish because it is to hard to get good weight and messurements on them in a float tube.When I got to shore the 1st thing I did was messure her girth which was 19.5 and length was just shy of 26in(25 7/8.It took a few moments to get a good weight on her(she was not to happy)but in the end she weighed 9lb11.2oz.This is my new PB bass.It took me about 20-25 mins to get her to be able to swim on her own again.She seemed like a very old fish,her eyes were kinda blueish gray and all glossy and her back hump was the same looking color.I was'nt sure if she would survive or not,I sure hope she makes it through another fall,winter and spring.The survival of these big fish are very important to me.After that I continued to throw the buzzer and hit at least 10 more fish on it including 3 fish at 4+lbs each.I did hit 4 fish on the DW as well.My total weight for 5 fish was 24.9lbs which is also a PB.It was a day I could not have written up any better on paper,just a beutiful all around day.The LORD is way to good to me. GB...Jim


By the way the Wash St record largemouth is 11.75lbs,so yes I did allow myself to dream all the way to the shore.lol
I did take lots of pics but unfortunately I almost always fish alone so the pics never do justice.Needto figure out a way to take a tripod with me some how.Just so hard in a tube.

[Skeeterman]

Congrats on your pb hope you get your dd soon.

[DeltaDan]

Congrats Leach !!

[Guest]

Congrats... Lets see a picture!

[Fish Chris]

First off, congrats on the new PB ! Very nice fish.

One thing is for sure; When you get your first DD bass, we will all know "it really was a DD bass" !!! Do you realize how many guys would have called the fish you just, a "DD" ?

I think your "actual DD" is coming soon ! You totally deserve it !

Fish

[bassenvy]

man what a catch! I'm from Wa as well and know that's a kong for those parts. If only Northerns got as big as the Floridas.

btw my bro had that eff'n record with a 12.1 or 12.3 out of Potholes in '92...just had to be a late sunday with no one around!

congrats again!

[Hollywood]

nice catch! Keep casting Leach your DD day will come!

[leachman90]

man what a catch! I'm from Wa as well and know that's a kong for those parts. If only Northerns got as big as the Floridas.

btw my bro had that eff'n record with a 12.1 or 12.3 out of Potholes in '92...just had to be a late sunday with no one around!

congrats again!

I have heard about that fish bassinenvy.Just like the Cali guys we are a pretty close knit group here in Wash as well.And working at Sportsmans I hear just about everything that happens in the basin,I have just learned to filter out the Bull.lol

Thanks guys for the nice comments.If I had known she was so old I probibly would not have used the rope on her.I do pray that she will be OK.I do not know anyone that is more protective of the fish than myself.

I just got the pics back Tom they just never seem to come out right when I am alone.I have one where I tried to hold her out,most of her is in it.I only tried that once because she was so tired.I will try to post that one.

[leachman90]

Did'nt work.

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

A great catch..Considering it is a pure northern, it is just as good as most DD's..

mac

[mark poulson]

Congrats on a great fish, and on a great effort to save her.

[bassenvy]

man what a catch! I'm from Wa as well and know that's a kong for those parts. If only Northerns got as big as the Floridas.

btw my bro had that eff'n record with a 12.1 or 12.3 out of Potholes in '92...just had to be a late sunday with no one around!

congrats again!

I have heard about that fish bassinenvy.Just like the Cali guys we are a pretty close knit group here in Wash as well.And working at Sportsmans I hear just about everything that happens in the basin,I have just learned to filter out the Bull.lol

so you know this is no story he's got the fish on his wall...on the 6 hour drive home she lost weight so he told himself he knew he had it no use braggin' about it. The mount looks amazing! he's got an 8 next to her...ofcourse this was before replica's were any good.

A great catch..Considering it is a pure northern, it is just as good as most DD's..

mac

I'd like to see the mouth on that bad girl....northerns have ginormous mouths cause of their slower growth rate in Wa. 2lb'ers have the mouths of 4's etc..

[hunterdave]

Nice fish!! And congrats on the new PB!

Dave

[ttb31183]

Awesome fish! That is a big northern strain. My biggest is 7.5 up here.