Yesterday was beautiful and I wanted to go fish. Houston area bass lakes generally stink, but I reluctantly decided to go back to Conroe and give it another try. That lake has skunked me so many times I can't count them. But I have caught the occasional beast there.

On the water at 10am. Eager to fish deep (love that ipilot TM!). Nothing on the graph at my favorite spots. Tried anyway .....blank. Ok, pitch some docks. Nothing. Tried some points....nada. 3pm. Another skunk in the making. Figured I'd try the dam as a last resort before I gave up and went home with my tail between my legs. Worked the whole west end with a sq bill. Not a sniff. Ok, I'll fish this one area with trig plastic and leave..... I am about three casts from departure, crawling a worm back to the boat, notice a little pressure on the retrieve. Hummmmm. Line looks like it may be moving a little sideways, so, why not set the hook and watch my empty bait fly overhead? Ok, here goes....holy [censored]! Is that a big catfish?

When she surfaced shaking her head, i was stunned. She Went under the boat, all around, with me following around on the boat deck praying out loud she wouldn't get off. Finally she played out and when I lipped her, her mouth was so big I actually had the quick thought,"I hope she doesn't clamp down and go crazy and take my thumb off."

I stood there holding this fish, alone without a witness. Shaking. My iPhone broke last week and I have my wife's old flip phone, but that'll have to do. I get it out and finally find the camera button, press it and the phone says"low battery".. Press it about 10 more times. Nothing. Damn! Ok, I'll just weigh her and try to remember the scene for memories sake. Beautiful dark green healthy old fish, with a mouth so big I could put my fist in without touching the insides. Big belly, but not a pot belly yet. .....I get my Berkeley battery powered scale out. Gotta hurry, fish needs to get back. Press the button. Nothing. No zeros, no nothing. Are you kidding me? I'd been meaning to buy a new scale for a while, since that one had started acting up a long time ago. Well, I put her back in, said goodbye, and threw my scale in the water.

My PB is a 9.5 from falcon lake. This one was bigger, and a lot prettier too. But as my son at LSU later told me, "dad, that fish is just a rumor. Your PB is still 9.5". little peckerwood. I think I'll stop paying his tuition.....

Just thought I'd share this story. And please don't post "where are the pics?"...

Golfers have a horrible round and then hit a great shot on 18 and it brings them back the next time. Same with us fisherman. One good bite is all it takes. Congrats on the beast.

Where are the pics? Didn't happen without pics. Haha just messing with ya. Sounds like a good trip to me, beats working.

I know the feeling. I have been to Conroe and been skunked so many times I quit counting. I've even paid guides to take me out and only caught a few dinks. I would be ecstatic if I caught more than 3 fish in one trip, or anything over 4lbs.
If you caught one near 10, pics or not that is worth the trip.

Congrats, I hope whenever I go again I can have that same luck.

Don't worry she's going to heat up in the next few weeks just like she always does.

i don't like Conroe either but I keep going back every year! See you soon jonsey!

What a great write up, felt like I was there....makes you want to never give up and just keep fishing knowing the next cast could be the one! Congrats on the double digit sounds like.

Don't even go there anymore

There is no fish in lake conroe...... She can be a cruel mistress at times. Great catch

Conroe is a tough lake to fish but there are some good ones if you figure out where and what they are doing. Most tournaments can take 20+ to win. It's rarely a numbers lake. If you get 5 keepers with any consistently you are doing good.

Yesterday it took 22# to win the Sunday tournament. We had two for 5#. That was because we didn't figure it out. They obviously were biting. We were too shallow. Deep guys did good with the 47 deg water temp.

never been on Conroe but that was a great read.

Thank you for the encouragement and congrats on the fish. I am glad Conroe doesn't treat me any different than others it seems. I keep going back because I hope to run into that fish eventually. And when I do... all my batteries will be dead also.

Conroe treats most everyone the same........like dogs!

PS: I bought a new battery powered scale today, plus a mechanical scale just in case. Now if I can just relocate that fish.........

Great read. 4+Million people in the Houston area. Only 3 major lakes to fish here. Tell me this lake has no pressure. What works one day, the next won't. There is a reason why my favorite baits change almost weekly...