May 24 2015 Fishing at Riley Ponds

 James Brands with his 9" Sunfish 

 

 

 A Keeper - over 14"  Largemouth Bass.

 15 1/4" Largemouth bass leaping back into the water!

 :-) the 15 1/4" bass was slippery and got away.

 

 Nice bass - we think this was the 15 1/2 incher.

 Longer than the net!

 This 16 3/4 long bass was the story of the day. We fought it to shore only to see it get off the hook and get away. However it swam in a circle, attacked the bait a second time and after another battle we landed this lunker!

 Another largemouth longer than the net!

Another huge largemouth - one of eight we released today in the 14 - 17" range.

We kept the above 17 sunfish/bluegill which were all in the 6-9 inch range.  We also released around 40 smaller bluegill, a 10 inch rock bass, and 10 largemouth bass although 2 of the largemouths were very small. We think the lengths of the others were 13 7/8" 14" 14 1/8" 15 1/4" 15 1/2" 16" 16 3/4" and one over 17". What a day fishing!

 

 

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Bass and Bluegill Catch from Skyevale Pond

Skyevale Pond Fish Catch

June 16 2012 James and I headed to a pond behind a home we were finishing off. Driving into the lot around 7 a.m.  we saw a deer. We then walked through the woods and caught around 33 bluegill throwing what we counted to be 17 back.  Many of the keepers were in the 7 to 8 inch range. The gills were nesting and after fishing one set of nests for a while we decided to move. On the way to the second spot I was casting with a Hula Popper and caught the 14 and 16 inch large mouth bass in a very short amount of time - perhaps 10 minutes. We then decided to leave with out fishing the second location because we had too many fish :-). So we were driving away by 9 a.m. only two hours later. We cleaned the fish at Grandpa Dalings farm and enjoyed a short visit there with Grandpa and Grandma. Jeremy and Leanna Daling were also there and James thought it was fun to chase Leanna with a bluegill.  

Grandpa Dalings 17" Small Mouth from Hardy Pond

17" Smallmouth Bass 

James fish to the left and Grandpa's fish to the right.

At Hardy Pond we enjoyed fishing in Grandpa Dalings boat on a very nice day. We caught and released a 22" pike, two pike in the 20" range, and a 13" smallmouth bass. The two fish we ate were Grandpa Dalings huge 17" smallmouth and James bluegill pictured in the shadow of Jeremy Daling.

Fish from Georgetown Park Caught June 11 2011

Georgetown Park Fish Catch

Fishing was not good for us at Croton Pond where we fished in the morning. At Croton we caught 4 fish to small to keep and a bluegill - 2 small mouth bass, a rock bass, a tiny pike, and a nice bluegill that we let go. We then tried below the Croton Dam and with no fish biting we headed toward home. Before we went home we stopped  at Georgetown Park and tried fishing again. Although the bluegill were small - James had a lot of fun catching them and in the evening eating the great tasting bluegill nuggetts :-) . Dad caught the perch including a 10" perch on minnows.

Picture of a 2 Foot Long Catfish Caught from Downtown Allegan

23-24" Catfish Caught from Downtown Allegan

The above catfish was caught June 02 2011when James and his dad went fishing for the day to downtown Allegan here in MI. We caught a lot of smaller fish also - 19 rock bass, five 10-11" small mouth bass, and a 12" pike which were all released. We gave the catfish to an older man who was also fishing there.

James Brands Hamlin Lake Catch of 11 inch Rock Bass 10 Inch Perch 9 Inch Bluegill and 14 inch Largemouth Bass

 The 4 Largest Fish of Each Variety from James Morning Catch 

The Hamlin Lake father son fishing tournament was from 7 to 10 oclock. During this time James caught 12 keeper fish including two 14 - 14 1/2" largemouth bass with the largest one pictured. His largest bluegill was exactly 9 inches in length. The 1st prize winning perch was 9 3/4" long. The 10 7/8" rock bass would have also won 1st prize but since James had won with the perch it was given to another fine fisher boy.

What a fun day with thanks to Mr. Larry Bertsch for the fishing tournament!

James 14 Inch Largemouth Bass from Hamlin Lake

14 Inch Largemouth Bass Caught by 6 Year Old James Brands

This largemouth bass was one of 3 for the day caught by James Brands from Hamlin Lake in northern Michigan.