November 3, 2013, and my good buddy Mike Burriss and I head out again for cold water Largemouth on the Bay of Quinte. We were joined by Mike’s co-worker Steve Hughes who obviously loves bass fishing as much as we do since he was all game to go at this frigid time of year. We were to meet at 8 am at the boat launch and try to figure out some new areas to fish. To our surprise or probably more like shock we found the water 10 degrees colder than 2 weeks previous; then it was 57 degrees and on this trip 47 degrees… not the warmest of water temps for what is considered a “warm water species”.
With the cold in mind, we armed ourselves with the trusty Squarebill KVD Crankbaits as well as Megastrike Strike Back Spinnerbaits and flipping jigs.
It didn’t take long to hit a fish. Around 11 am with the temperatures still hovering below the zero mark I popped a nice 3 pounder on the Strike Back. The key to this bait in cold water is to first find the right weight for the area you are fishing (rough guide 2-5′ = 3/8 oz, 6-8′ = 1/2 oz, 10′–> 3/4 oz) pick a colour that you think matches bait in the area and then slow down when the water temps dip into the frigid zones. I was throwing a 3/8 oz double Silver Colorado’s in Lavender Shad colour. That same bait actually picked me up another nice 3-3/4 pounder in another area later in the day along with the typical nuisance hammer handle Pike. Not a lot of fish but still a great feeling catching Largemouth on blades in that cold of water.
That was just a little blah blah info about my day… now for the good stuff.
Mike Burriss has been fishing all his life and trust me when I tell you this, he’s damn good at any species he targets. He’s a die-hard and always tries different techniques etc. He’s definitely a fishing nut!
If you read my blog from 2 weeks previous on Quinte, we slammed the fish, especially on Squarebills. With that in mind, Mike started with a KVD 2.5 (I think it was Sexy Shad colour). I can’t recall exactly how long we were fishing before we started catching fish but it was still before 11 am when Mikey set into a behemoth of a Largie. About 3/4 of the way back to the boat and Mike yelled to Steve “it’s a giant… get the net”. Steve scooped the fish up and I swear I have never seen a happier angler than Mike at that instant. He jumped, laughed, screamed, high fived Steve then came back and high fived me… it was like he’s just won the FLW Championship!
Was the fish deserved of this craziness… you tell me. We quickly bagged and weighed the beast… 6.1 pounds! Mike’s been on a bit of a lull for a 5+ Largemouth and then he pulls this off. It ended up being the biggest Largemouth of his life!
Being a part of this monumental catch and getting to take the pictures was very satisfying for me… I love catching bigguns’ but being a part of this catch on this day… priceless… congrats bud!
