 What's up guys good morning We got a little bit of snow last night not much a little bit. It was not on the radar But I could hear it hitting the roof and kind of sliding off the roof last night I just shut the heater off at night because I'm warm enough in my sleeping bag So it wasn't really melting or sticking to the roof, but it turned out to be about an inch It's kind of turning to like rain heavy wet air right now. So I'll put the rain jacket on About to have some breakfast Gonna drive a slaw a small breakfast into me this morning a couple pieces of toast Some hot coffee and get after it for for some big pike They should be biting a little bit better today, even though yesterday was a great day in my opinion This is the second day of the trip Technically the third day because the first day I came out and set up but yesterday was the first day fishing Six in there 21 degrees right now. It's still spitting a little bit out there Camera stuff auger battery bait traps Think that's everything electronics jig rod Yeah, we should be good to go for band marker. There's a big old China He's probably six seven inches Here's a tip for you guys if you're ever using big bait or actually for any bait When you go to hook it don't do it over or near the hole just in case he slips out or jumps out of your hand And goes down then you're giving the fish a free meal and with the cost of shiners nowadays It's pretty expensive, and I don't know if you could see that But there's a big scale on the point from where I came out It's really important to remove those scales off the tips regardless of what size hook or bait you're using Because those scales are so hard that could prevent you from driving that hook home and setting that hook on a big fish I've seen guys lose giants and still have that scale on on the tip So there's a tip that might might land you a big fish a Lot of guys that that go for these big pike. They like to set right on the bottom. I prefer to Put that shiner up a little bit give it in put it up in the kill zone where it's way more visible You know shiners They know where the kill zone is They don't spend any time there They're either way up top in the surface of a pond or they're way down bottom in the grass and the weeds They're not hanging out in that middle or up off the bottom in the kill zone So part of the reason why I put them in the kill zone one is so they're super visible if any pike swims by and he's 30 feet away He's gonna see that where if it's on the bottom or real close to the bottom That shiner could be hiding behind some grass or it could be hiding behind some structure But whereas I'm putting them up higher. He can't do that. And then the other thing is Whereas those shiners have that natural instinct not to be in that kill zone Not to be hanging around up off the bottom like that They work a lot harder for you to try to get to the bottom and to get out of that kill zone So rather than that Shiner just sitting there being lazy all day. He's gonna actually work for you We're good. All right, there's four traps in I Think I'm gonna jig a little bit today, so I can't put a fifth line in the fifth line is gonna be my jig rod Let's go All right coffee and a couple jig rods and we're ready to go This is really light line. Oh, there he goes All right first one on the palm rod I Don't know if you're supposed to try to reel them in or just hand line them But hand line and seem to be the best option in that case This thing is gonna be a weapon on smelt. This is like ultra light Make it a little eight inch crappy look like a monster pike Whoo, she bent right over. I think this is three-pound test Got him There he is guys got him on the palm rod That is the ultra light Popped right out. Oh, that's not a bad one. Third time's a charm. Oh, it's not very charming man, there is Oh, nice one What is this? He's fighting pretty good. Oh Rock bass, baby There it is. Oh Got him good. Wow Rock bass Guys, I know you guys that are viewing this from other states you You hate these things or you get a billion of them, but here in Maine This is the only place that you could find them. They're not even supposed to be here People don't even know they're here and that is a Staven nice rock bass. I'm gonna eat him up. They're pretty good eating Let's get rid of him see if there's more down there I just located this rock with the life scope I was set up over there and I put the life scope down and looked ahead and 40 foot away I found a really nice boulder that had some panfish on it So I brought a a trap over with a big shiner in case there's a pike near it You know pike relate to structure like everything else and then I dropped this jig down and just as soon as I dropped her Down got that baby. Let's see if we can get another one. They school off their school and fish Sweet. Yeah another fish down there Not sure if it's a rock bass or a oh here he comes There's two or three down there. So maybe we'll get one to go There's one on it. Got him Got him. He feels rock bassy He feels pretty good Stay pegged you dog Stay pegged I'll even kneel down for him. Oh, yeah There it is That's the state record rock bass right there, baby Woo one of these years the state's gonna recognize me catching these things. Look at that slab. He is chunky Sweet big old red eye on them They don't quite have the red eyes that they have in the summer I ought to get the other camera show you what what I'm looking at. All right, there's that big rock That's actually my shiner and my weight and the rest of these are probably rock bass If they're not crappy Let's get down there and see if we can start a feeding frenzy. There's two. Oh, I missed him. Shoot He's all over. There's about 10 of them there. These might be crappy They could be rock bass About to find out there he is Got him. Got him another rock bass Another good. Oh, no. I thought it was a rock bass Shoot What are you doing in here crappy You won't see a guy more excited over a rock bass than me probably The biologists been out here trying to catch these things too and they haven't had any luck They've been behind me a couple times Pretty plump That's what they look like guys if If you live in Maine and you've never seen one before The closest I ever caught them before here was Lake Champlain And you know a lot of staters will tell you they're menace, but I I like them. They're good eating them. They're pretty aggressive. They're fun to catch. They give you a heck of a fight on a jig rod But they kind of look like Somewhere in between a crappy and a largemouth, I guess I probably got to get a little closer to that Rock Rock is About 11 foot away from this Close right here I think I'll swap these two All right, I think he's on Got him Got him. He feels heavy Feels like another rb Come on, baby Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah Rock bass Whoo, I love it That is awesome crushing these rock bass Nice big old slab of meat right there guys Wow That's uh, that hole's eight inches. So he's He's over 10 Slamming the rock bass Never would have found these fish without the life scope and I I didn't see them on the life scope I saw the the thing that gave them away was that one rock. There's a piece of ledge right there In probably 23 to 25 foot of water So I wanted to come over here and set up near it for pike and see what kind of panfish were on it and Man Got into the rock bass. This is definitely the newest invasive species for the state of Maine As far as I know, I was the only guy that ever caught them ice fishing that video you saw with the New state record where the where the game warden came out and checked them out and said, yeah, that's state record But we don't really recognize them yet as a state. So As soon as I start recognizing them Hopefully I get the state record for a day or two Because I just beat my state record for the last time right there by them That's like an 11 inch rock bass Guys, it's midday and I have not had a single flag Sometimes that happens when you're fishing big bait going after big fish It's definitely had something to do with the storm Some storms you could just pound the fish some storms aren't aren't as productive I moved the traps a couple times. I know a couple of them are in perfect money spots. So I know it's just a matter of them not feeding right now. Maybe they fed last night. Maybe they're gonna feed this afternoon. So Got the hopes that they're gonna feed this afternoon in the meantime I'm having a blast going around and popping some Crafty and yellow perch and rock bass. That's unbelievable. I've hit the states top three most wanted invasive species in two days I got two out of three today and just looking for another northern pike today What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna grab some lunch throw a couple hot dogs in the old gullet And then I think I might go after some jumbo yellows. I haven't decided yet If I want to hammer some more on those rock bass Or go after some jumbo yellows. Maybe I'll do the rock bass first and some still set up over there on that rock and Oh Yes, sir. We got a flag up just went up. I just looked out there I knew driving a hot dog into my gullet would help All right, what do I need? I got cameras I got my catch bag. I got an extra shiner All I need is a little courage and go catch me a giant. Let's go fellas any hot dogs in there All right, this is actually the first flag of the day Let's hope she's spooling Well, she is off to the side a little Let's get you guys set up and hopefully I get a giant She's still not moving I know off to the side, but not much Might be three Look at those teeth. Oh, there's the shiner Save him There's the hook. We'll save him I like those bakers a lot those baker easy outs Those are two absolute must-haves for a pike fishing. All right, let's see what he weighs. What do you guys think? Was I big eyeing him when I said four pounds? Is this thing gonna work? Yeah, sorry We're up with this thing Because he's over two friggin pounds Let's try the other scale is about 40 years old 4.71 pounds So I was there. I was right on the money A little over a little over four pounds It's almost five pounds All right, let's get him back So he can grow up to be a giant. There he is folks I got the three today on the state's most wanted hit list It's gonna be crappy. I think is the rock It's gotta be Maybe a decent crappy for here Oh, man, that's a big crappy for here. That's the biggest crappy I've ever caught here That is a slabber That is a big one for here folks That is a monster for here. That's a big slabber That one's gonna go home Now, you know what? You know what on second thought I could bring a lot of small ones home. Let's let him go to grow bigger and Give those big seeds That is a slabber Nice That was awesome. I Everything about it said crappy when I When I saw him on the screen, but He fought so hard. I thought it was a rock bass because that's Way bigger than any crappy I've caught out of here crappy nice It's a pretty fish right there. There's a decent one. That's a good one right there. That's a good eater side Right there. He's a 12-inch or so We'll take that one home with us Got him Little yellow Not a bad yellow Get him Little better Oh fat one nice Right in the hole Little guy Yeah, they're fun to catch too Yeah That feels better That might be jumbo That might be a jumbo Yeah, that's a good fish. That's a good one. Oh, yeah, that's a mega jumbo Look at that one guys All right, that is a big girl That's probably 13 inch or maybe more Look at the size of that one Dang you Oh, that might be better That might be a little better big fat one Is about 10 incher Oh, good crap. That's a nice 12 incher. Oh another nice slab Those are slab crappy Take them They're pretty in this place 12 and a half or another slabber another 12 incher All right, I picked up a couple traps. I still got two out I just checked them. They were down I'm thinking about pike fishing a little late tonight with two of those lines and just see If maybe they're feeding at night because they certainly weren't feeding today Temperature right now is pretty mild. I think it's 18 the last I checked It got a little bit colder today. It started out It uh got down to like 14 Then it warmed up It snowed and rained and then got real sunny. It was weird Got the last of the traps up I didn't have much fraction today from the live bait and the traps that May have been the least amount of flags I've ever had in my life and one day of fishing full day a little bit before Sun up till after sundown It got one flag all day made do with it though caught a nice pike. It was a four and a half pounder You know, it was awesome just to catch one to be honest with you way better than catching none It's a good way to look at it. I think today I fished a little bit shallower than yesterday Yesterday, I've probably averaged about 30 foot deep spread out over the traps and today I bet you I was closer to 20 foot deep I know I was in really good spots. Maybe I'm a little early. Maybe they're not in yet Maybe they're not moving back into the coves and into the slews or into the drains Quite yet like they will later in the year. So tomorrow I think I got a couple buddies coming out or a buddy of mine and he's bringing A couple guys out from reboot outdoors dan's gonna be coming out. So Fish together tomorrow should be a great day today. The jig rod really made the day I caught cheese. I must have caught over 50 crappy today So many between 10 and 12 inches I got a couple big ones over over 12 inches close to 14 probably and then catching those rock bass is just I'm it's I know you guys are gonna laugh that live out of state and you just shake those things off all night and day But we don't have them here in Maine. Like these are the only ones that Anyone knows about in Maine. They've been here for a few years now In this body of water as far as I know. I'm the only guy who's caught him ice fishing I caught him a couple years ago ice fishing And the warden was there and he was really surprised to see him and how big they were I went back and tried to catch him and shoot a really cool video And I never found him again after that And I released quite a few that day I killed some or released some we ate them and they were tremendous So these three that I caught today are definitely going in the fry pan Probably not tonight, but they'll be they'll be going in the fry pan for sure And then it was fun catching perch and catching crappy So the jig rod really paid off today and it was fun hopping around I caught all three of Maine's most invasive species I got the northern pike, which is the most hated. It's been here over 45 years now I caught the black crappie Which has been here over 25 years now And I caught the rock bass, which is pretty well unknown and we don't know how long it's been here I think the first one I ever caught Was about 10 years ago in Maine and it was the same body order Tonight I am going to hammer on some deer steak And probably some mashed potatoes because what's better than steak and potatoes Should be a nice quick easy meal with some poblano pepper thrown in there and looking forward to that And maybe doing a little bit of reading tonight and hitting the hay because I'm a little bit worn out. I drove a lot of holes the last couple days Weather-wise today was a really weird day We had a lot of rain and a little bit of sleep mixed in this morning And then it just came off super super sunny and then it got a little windy and cold this afternoon Current temp is 22 degrees. So it's still making a little bit ice. Not a lot. I'm looking forward to tomorrow Really excited to fish with Dan again. It's been it's been at least a year since I fished with Dan Maybe two years. So I'm excited to do that. He's a lot of fun I think you guys are really gonna enjoy him and enjoy him on camera Make sure you tune in for tomorrow's episode. Thanks a lot for watching today's and Yesterday's is right here if you missed that one guys. I really appreciate it Feel free to comment like or even hit the on like if you don't like it See you on the next one guys. Thanks again. You know, I don't think I saw a person all day today Yep, that's the truth That's kind of cool. No one else out fishing Nobody around Let it go. Let it go back. Let it go back. Let it go back. Let it go back. That's that's 18 I'm really shaking right now. It's not even um, it's not even that big. I mean, it's big big, but That's how you play a fish boys Hey, back. Whoa Don't lose a finger. So who's a finger? Uh 15 75 on the bump board 1.55 pounds. Um, so we're gonna weigh Nice one Later big gator Yeah later big gator