Swamp Girl

It's great to have Murph back on the board! I always love to see Russ on the water with his buddies. Way to stick with it, ICD-buddy.

I once lived on a smallie river for a couple years and fished it nearly every warm morning. I learned how hard it is to hook a four-pound river bass. Congrats, Kirtley!

40 bass, buddy! I love 40-bass trips. I think your bag is solid too. River smallies never grow as thick as slackwater, slacking smallies, but they sure grow feisty...and fun. I'm a week or so away from 40-bass trips, but I'm glad you're already there! Lastly, I love your tenacity.

@bp_fowler: Good job, Unc! It's great to see men like ICD, @gim, and you taking the boys fishing.

@LrgmouthShad: I like the bass second from the bottom. It has that crappie shape of @Bluebasser86's bass.

You guys are good cooks!

ICD, the next time you take your son fishing, situate him on your lap like in the photo above, but have someone take your photo from the front. 30 or 50 years from now, your fishing son will treasure that if he becomes even half the man you are.

Our stats diverge on 3-pounders. They're more common in Maine, perhaps one out of every ten bass or so.

My idea of a big northern lmb is a four-pounder and I average about one four-pounder for every 40 bass, which is a 2.5% big bass percentage. Of course, I enjoy a trip here and there with multiple bass over four pounds, but most trips, I have to catch forty bass to land one four-pounder.

Best post of 2025.

Three good ones out of 16 caught is a high percentage of good fish. I don't average 18.75% big bass. You're a talented stick.

Same in Maine. I can catch bass, but only here and there. Two nice ones!

As Glenn has reminded us many times gauging weight from photos is tricky. I tend to go the other way with some photos, where a weight is shared and I think, "Really? That much?" So, it was nice to say, "Really? that little?" @Team9nine: Really? That many big bass?

@N Florida Mike: Your son's bass looks bigger than just four pounds. On the chart I use (link below), a 20-inch bass typically weighs 4.68 pounds. YMMV, as @Bluebasser86's 20-inchers can weigh five and six pounds and skinny bass can weigh less than four pounds, but your son's bass isn't skinny. @treble hook: That's a good-looking fish. It's dark and healthy and as such, really belongs in Maine. Please consider overnighting it to me and I'll stock it in my pond. I suggest Fed Ex. That's a good point and clear water is how I learned to fish four and six-pound test for decades. The weeds of Maine ended my preference for light line.

@bp_fowler: I find it helpful when you share photos of where you're fishing and delineate why you choose the baits you fished. As I shared once, I've fished AEP ponds (as well as Burr Oak). Knowing the terrain, if you buy some wheels for your canoe, I suggest a cart with big wheels, like bicycle wheels. Clear water is tough. In a similar situation, I tossed a nightcrawler hooked once through the head on 4 lb. test and those clear water bass raced to eat it. I'm going to apply this. So far, I can't find many bass. Thanks for the suggestion, Jar and Pat.

The bar graph in the article does not represent the water I fish. I rarely catch a 12-inch bass. Same with 13 and 14-inch bass. The bass I catch largely begin at 15 inches. Plus, the 18-inchers I catch are not 5% of my total catch. They're at least twice that and on a good morning, four times that.

I hope you're right, that the big fish will come. I'm spending about half my fishing time plumbing the deep water. Thanks for the encouraging words!

I fished a big bass bog this morning, but couldn't crack the code, neither for a big bass nor quantity. I caught six bass, but if you met me at the landing and asked, "So, where are they this morning," I'd honestly shrug and reply, "I don' know." I caught my first bass on a wacky worm (Thanks, Alex.). I didn't photograph it. I caught my second bass on a T-rigged, green pumpkin worm (Thanks, Pat.). Here's that bass, a smaller one, and you can see the worm. Both of the worm bass (wacky and T-rigged) were caught in the middle: Then I stopped to take this crazy beautiful pic: Then I caught my biggest bass of the morning on a Whopper Plopper, my first 2025 bass on the surface: I'd been casting my best spring/early summer lure, which is an underspin with a Zako, but hadn't caught a fish nor provoked a bite. That changed with this thick bass caught near the shore: Then I caught this smaller one in the middle with my underspin: I had yet to catch a bass trolling. I usually catch one or two as I paddle from spot to spot, but I finally caught one on the paddle back to the landing. It was only 17.5 inches long, but well-built: I think I'm getting real close to catching lots more bass. The water just needs to be a few notches warmer, but for now, I'm enjoying the hunt, even though they puzzle me. FWIW, I caught six bass on six hits. I didn't miss one, which is rare for me.

I like your trip reports!

I too believe in selective harvest, but I just don't enjoy eating bass. Maybe I should try bass again.

Way to go, Tom. And way to go, Jeff, for taking a legend fishing.

My first: My first three trips have produced 7, 1, and 6 bass for a total of 14. In 2024, I caught 2,044 bass. So, I'm only 2,030 bass behind last year. Plus, I haven't caught any big ones and at this point last year, I'd caught my PB. I am, however, fishing tomorrow morning at a big bass bog, so fingers crossed I can cross one big girl's eyes or finally catch more than half a dozen fish.

"Mushy" is the perfect word. I imagine a beginning angler would miss the mushy hits. I think they swallow the lure and swim at the exact speed of my retrieve.

But there's soooooooooo much shopping before we go!!!

I paddled a pal around my pond this morning, but before she arrived, I caught six bass. When I launched, there was a heavy frost on my gear, but yesterday was balmy (60 degrees and sunny!), so the water is warming. Soon, the bass will be bonkers. In the meantime, I enjoy the ones I can catch. This one was only 17 inches, but stout: This one is eating well: This was the biggest: All six hit soooo softly. A hit felt like I was suddenly retrieving my lure through soup. All were caught on my underspin with a white and chartreuse Zako. I did have a couple hits on a wacky worm. My walking bait didn't appeal to any bass...yet. However, we're going to surpass sixty degrees on Monday and Tuesday and seventy degrees on Wednesday, so the bass will become more and more active.