JUNGLE JIM 1

Here is a better look at what the jig looks like. Tied some in four different sizes this morning. Trying to cover all the bases.

I caught a couple nice ones today. Water is clear and cold but they liked black 3/32 hair jigs. Caught 14 in three hours, either fat pigs or dinks. Nothing in between sizes. County park lake.

Nice !! Probably has a belly full of crawdads.

Very nice smallie, the Big keeps putting out fish like this. Thanks for posting.

Your good day would be my best day, especially with the walleye and hybrids. I dream of days like that.

Congrats on getting out and catching some fish, despite the heat.Nice healthy bass.

Serious shoulders on those smallies, some really stout fish. Congrats to you all !!!!

Nice smallie, did you wade that stretch?

If I tell my son I caught a 20 inch smallie I'd better have proof or it didn't happen. i've caught a couple 8 lb largemouth that didn't count because I didn't get a picture and it seems that a camera in my tackle bag is a jinx. Almost always have the phone with me. I like to rub it in a bit with him since he has to work when I'm fishing. He says someone else caught the fish and just let me hold it. Only time he ever admitted to me catching a big bass was when he was there and we weighed it in at 8-02.

Bad thing about fishing by yourself is it's harder to take good pics. Thanks for posting these Seth.

I just got a new phone so I probably don't have everything set up right. I will text pictures to Seth.

I haven't fished Big River since February because the bass have been biting pretty good in the little lakes around my house. I decided to give it a shot at a couple public accesses this morning before it got hot. I started throwing a whopper plopper before the sun got above the trees. First fish turned out to be a carp between 15-20 lbs. that hit the plopper, my first carp ever caught on topwater.A carp that size in current is too much, it wore me out but the knot held. Didn't get a picture because phone was in bag and had to follow it some distance downstream before I got it to the bank. Caught a few small bass, nothing picture worthy so I drove to the next access. Started off with the plopper and caught a small bass right off the bat. After about 5 minutes I made the perfect cast about a foot from the rock wall on the other side and on the first rip this smallie crushed it. Got two fantastic jumps out of it and then it stayed deep the rest of the way.Was really lucky because it was only hooked by one hook on the rear treble.It was somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 inches. Handle length on the rod is 15 inches long so it was close to 20, maybe a tad over or under. My biggest out of there in the last 10 years. It swam off strong and maybe I or someone else will catch it. Fish this size deserve another chance. It keeps reading upload failed. I'll keep trying. I 've been trying but uploads keep failing. Sorry, try again later.

What a mess. I wonder where all the trout are now.

April showers, ya right. Maybe we needed some rain but this is crazy.

Nice fish, looks like fun. I couldn't tell what kind of snake was in the photo. What was it?

Great pictures, looks like you both could have hit him with a rock.

Pictures.

I went back today and caught four more. Three were 3-5 lbs. and caught a giant that was 8-10 lbs. Had it in my hand and was scrambling up the concrete when it shook hard and I dropped it. Tried to chase it down and in the process fell and cut up both knees and one hand. Touched it one more time before it swam off. Released the other two and had to keep the smallest one that went belly up when I tried to release it. I would have had the big one mounted, hope I catch him/her again. Three were caught on a whopper plopper topwater. Only missed one today. Sure is fun when the take it off the top. I caught some nice bass too.

I caught this hybrid out of a tributary of the Meramec in STL county. It was 23.5 " and weighed 5.75 lbs on my scale. Lost three other fish that I think were hybrids as well when hooks pulled out after having them on for a few minutes. Caught several chunky bass around 15", two were smallmouth/spot hybrids and a few small white bass. I was using 6lb. test swimming Keitech swim baits and hair jigs. Those hybrids sure can pull. I'm hooked on them now .

Unger Park is way down, lowest I've seen it and I've been fishing there since the 80's. River is rising and starting to fill it back up so I tried for an hour. No crappie which was my target fish but caught a bass and then hooked a monster queen crappie that turned into a pumpkin after a couple minutes. Ugly drum!!! I'll say one thing about drum. They aren't shy and will hammer a crappie jig. Caught three of them and they all hammered that jig. Pic is of the biiggest one. Fish were in water less than a foot deep. If lake keeps filling might see some action from crappie this weekend.

I had the lake to myself other than two guys who fished for about 20-30 minutes and left. It was a chilly, cloudy day which kept most fishermen home which is how I like it.

I made a few more this morning, not that I need them because I don't lose many but I got some new eyes in that really reflect light well and couldn't resist. These are 1/8 oz.

Critter craw, awesome ties in this thread.

I'm amazed how far this thread has gotten, very entertaining to say the least. Thanks, you managed to get a few chuckles out of this grumpy old man. And then the topic switched over to daughters. I have three myself as well as three granddaughters with the oldest being 14. The two oldest play hockey and since the oldest had out grown her goalie skates my better half promised her a new pair. $400, are you kidding me!!!!!!!!!! And that wasn't the top of the line. I thought I was finished when the last one moved out 2 years ago but the merry go round just keeps on going. Today I get the honor of paying for my son's wedding rehearsal dinner. It's only money.

Top color has been the black/white/red combo but to be honest that color has been so good with the clear water that I haven't been trying anything else hardly. These look alive in the water.