I wasn’t having any luck at the river today no matter what I threw even though fish were feeding all around me. I decided to try to catch a panfish to keep from skunking, so I switched to my Ultralight Legalis/Tatula XT combo and put a 2” Rebel Live Flex Shore Shiner on a 1/64 oz Mule jighead, and hooked up with this fella under a sunken tree about 3 feet off the bank. It was probably the hardest fight I’ve had on my UL, peeling drag, jumping, and it took me a full minute to bring him in. I left my scale in the car (because I hadn’t caught anything worth weighing for several weeks), but I had my measuring tape, he came in at 16”.

His tail looks like it’s pretty freshly worn down, so I’m guessing he was either preparing a bed or guarding one.