Hope everyone had a good Labor day

Well.... Lost the biggest Bass I've ever seen this morning. I know we all have lost fish stories, I need to get this one off my chest before my wife kicks me out of the house for constantly telling her how bummed I am. Flipped into a hole in the Lily pads about foot behind the pad line, the wind had just turned in and this was the first bank to get hit by it. Didn't feel the bite at all, was popping the lure off the ground and initially thought I was snagged, gave it a big pop to break it out of a pad stem when it started swimming into open water, leaned back on it and immediately my reel started peeling drag ( I lock my baitcasters down and use my thumb to give drag normally) kept pressure on it watched it jump in front of my kayak, it was the thickest and longest bass I have ever seen! Kept fighting it, it kept swimming and pulling drag, jumped a couple more times (my heart stopped every time it breached the surface.) I tried to stay cool and adjust my rod angle as it was swimming behind me, as I swung my rod from right to left the fish changed direction and the rod went completely straight for less then a second. Unfortunately that was long enough to shake the hook. I just sat there for 15 minutes with my hands on my head. I have caught a few just under 8 pounds and this fish made those look and feel small. On a positive note my knots and held strong, rod and reel were doing their jobs. Complete user error was the cause for losing it.

Thanks for reading, let me know the biggest Bass you guys have seen and lost. Pretty sure this would have been my first ( maybe only) double digit bass.

Found a few 3 pounders buried deep in the Lily pad fields in shallow water.

Proud dad moment, Daughter caught her first bass with no assistance this morning through a wacky rig senko off a rock point. My kids are the only ones I'm ok losing a contest to! 😂

Here is one more clip from last weekend. He missed the frog initially so I casted a slow sinking bait as a follow up right on the grass line he came out of. What do you guys throw as a follow up bait? This coike is quickly becoming a favorite.

Here is a trimmed video of a frog fish I caught last Sunday. There is a debate on whether you should set the hook right away or give it a second to feel the weight. I like to give them a second before cracking em. Are you guys quick hook setters or do you let them eat it a second?

Picked up a couple of these about a year ago and stuck them in the back of the tackle mound not knowing what to do with them. They have become kind of a big deal these days, question is when is a good time to put down confidence baits and pick up something new to try?

You guys have a bait that if you catch one fish on it, you won't put it down? So the rest of your day is either awesome or miserable. For me today it was the frog. Caught this little 13 incher and mentally put all the other rods in the truck. No luck the rest of the day but every cast I was waiting for that next blow up!

Pitched and flipped for a couple largies. 4.3 pounds and 5.6 pounds. Handful of little guys as well. They all looked post spawn, HUGE mouths but not a lot of width.

Do you guys have any tips for getting into the middle of these pads? The fish start blowing up and I can't find an effective way to get out in the middle.