Was supposed to start fishing around 06:00AM alone, but woke up late and ended up going around 02:00PM with my dad... It was his first time fishing this whole year so that was good. Well, lately I have fished much better than him, but as we started out, it did not look that way... He had bite after bite, fish after fish and me... none. He caught a bass and 2 big bluegill, and had two bass come off before he got them out of the water... and this was before I even had a bite! All that I managed to do was get my new Bandit crank stuck, but I eventually got it back
![Roll Eyes (Sarcastic)](images/smilies/rolleyes.gif)
.. Anyways, I thought I would switch to a worm.... but that didn't help so I made the switch to a YUM lizard, since the bass were just about to start spawning I know they would be on the lookout for those critters in the shallows. I saw many big bass in their nests but they would just nudge it or suck in the tail and sort of play with the lure... I threw my lizard into a patch of lily pads and I thought it was stuck in between the opening of one of the lily pads but I decided to give it a nice pull, I noticed that I had something pulling it back... Boom... Bass #1.. about 14 inches. As I moved on I would get a couple more bites but no fish to show for it... Until I moved to a very quiet, dark place that was behind a point in a cove. There were lily pads and I threw my lizard over there once again... It sunk to the bottom and I saw a lily pad by my line move a bit... I decided I should reel in slack... I felt a little tug and I set the hook hard! The water boiled and my reel squeaked... I reeled in hard so the fish wouldn't get tangled in the lily pads... I got the first glimpse of my fish and I knew it would be a big one... I pulled it closer and closer and man, it was a BEAUTIFUL fish. The biggest bass I have ever caught. It swallowed my hook, and I was able to put my whole hand in its mouth and I got it out easily without harming the fish... I didn't have a scale, but I measured it and it was about 21". I had to look at it for a few extra seconds to just soak it in before letting it go... I will forever remember that battle with the fish and how excited I was when I pulled it out of the water, with it splashing water all over my jeans and shirt. I moved on after that to where my dad was and I was watching a bass sit in one area for a long time... I figured it was its nest. I was just throwing my lizard near it and twitching it in and watching the bass play with it and examine it... but no bites. I went to a spot right next to it and had something bite half of the tail off of my lure... probably a snapper... it happened earlier in the day as well. I came back to the original spot before leaving and took a cast and left my rod to get my stuff ready to go.. I come back and pick up my rod, and the bass runs away with my half-tail lizard. I set the hook and came up with a 12" bass. I quickly released it and started heading back to the parking lot. On my way I saw a woman fishing with a line, hook, nightcrawlers, and a water bottle. She was using her hand and water bottle as a reel and she cast the line like she was throwing a lasso... She caught a fish on just about every cast. Anyways, at the end of the day me and my dad tied 3-3.