Pika206 and I took advantage of our day off to hit up the old local favorite lake of ours once again before he and the Mrs. relocate to Portland, OR. Fishing conditions couldn't have been better. The air and water were warm (water was like bath water), overcast skies above and a faint fog forming on the water from the evaporation. The water was warmer than the morning air. Shortly after we put the canoe in and before I could even get my tackle attached to my line, Pika nailed a pair of 12 inchers. Wow, this was going to be a good day, I could tell! We checked out the concrete garages where you can usually find a fish, but no one was home today. Decided to get aggressive and put on a weedless spinnerbait on my MH 7' Cabela's ProGuide casting rod with 17lb fluorocarbon line and casted INTO the lily pads! (Yeah, 17lb test was risky for that kind of venture, but it was the best I had at the time) It turned out to be enough though and no lines broke. First fish for me came on a cast at the edge of some lily pads on the east bank. It was cool because I could see the fish take the bait! Set the hook and reeled in as fast I could to keep him out of the weeds. The 6:3:1 gear ration on my Abu Garcia reel really helped pick up that line quickly before the bass could close the distance and wiggle out. I realized then, that this was one big fish! Didn't bring the scale that day (darn!) but he was about 24-26 inches long. Anyone care to guess the weight, either randomly or using your fishing wisdom? Based on feel and the fact that I momentarily had trouble lifting him up for the photo shoot, I'd say he was around 4lb + change. This would be a personal best for me, even after fishing Potholes last summer. After that, Pika and I circled the lake once more and picked up four more fish in the 1-1.5lb class, but Pika said he only counted 2 more since 2 didn't get to the boat. I call it long-distance-release. At one point, Pika had a fish on and used the landing net, and then I had one too. I yelled to hand over the net, but he was still working on his fish. After about 30 jumps and wiggles, my fish finally tossed the lure and made a mad dash to freedom. -_- Great day to fish though! Total fish C&R'd: 8 LMB, and half were in the 1-4lb class. This was probably the best day for bass on Bitter for either of us, ever. Feel free to chime in what you think the true weight of the larger bass is, but be sure to explain your answer. I'm curious to see what people think.

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