Swamp Girl

For me, reed fields are the worst. They're so strong and tall and even if I'm right next to a reed, pulling on a struck lure won't extract it. I see bass aim for a reed and time after time, pop free.

I know, I know, you talkin' 'bout me. So, you caught a DD lmb and a four-pound smallie, huh? I caught a chain pickerel. I'm still ahead, right?

I suspect the bulk of this 60% are fry and baitfish that are eaten by bigger fish.

In my childhood, I fished farm ponds and freeway ponds, where the pond was created by excavating dirt for an overpass. At one such pond, which we named Killer, we caught both quantity and quality, but then others started fishing it and we'd see them leaving with stringers of 16" bass, then stringers of 14" bass, and then stringers of 12" bass. They killed Killer.

Love it! I too have lost bass to the weeds. I wish I could see underwater. Then I'd know how they use weeds to dislodge my lures. They aren't breaking the line, they're simply freeing themselves with weeds. Last year, I had some luck keeping their heads up and skating them to my canoe, but when the reeds grew higher and thicker, even that technique stopped working and I simply stopped fishing the reeds. Great story, @Pat Brown! I think big @T-Billy standing in his big boat might have had a chance at landing that bass with his strength, heavier rod, and standing atop a boat that couldn't be pulled into the river like my canoe. However, Tim might not even make it to that spot without a local guide like me, for that bay is filled with lower unit shaving boulders, as is the entire lake.

I caught a chain pickerel, my first fish of 2025, meaning that this year's count changed from 0 to -1.

Yeah, I'm staying put. I like my little life on the coast. Congrats on more bronze footballs! Congrats to @Dwight Hottle too for another beast. I'm going to return to my pond to cast for ten minutes. I'll probably get skunked again, but I will get to walk through my woods with my pooch and watch the water.

Share a time when, after years of remembering your failure, if you had it to do again, you'd still fail: Mine was a beshemoth that I hooked at a creek flowing out of a lake. There are fibrous reeds at the creek's headwaters where I've lost bass and thick lily pads too. The creek itself has woody bushes on both sides, as well as lots of water plants. With the stiff current and all that cover, it's a haunt for big bass. It's where my fishing buddy caught his PB: I've caught nice ones there too, but one morning, I hooked a bass there that didn't move, one of those bass that feel like a log except the water erupted like Krakatoa. She was hooked for perhaps two seconds and I didn't begin to budge her from her lair. If I had that moment to do again, I'd fail again. There's just no margin for success in that spot unless she had chosen to leave her den and run for open water, between the reeds and past the lily pads. Then I would have a chance. Otherwise, I'd lose and lose again.

Every boat has its pluses and minuses. The high sides of my canoe make it almost impossible for a bass to escape, but they try. A kayak doesn't give an angler that cushion.

You misabbreviated Maine. It's ME, not NC.

You've caught a nine, so you know what a ten+ looks like. Change your "My PB" accordingly. And congrats! You were going to release her anyway. You just hurried that along by a few seconds. Not at all. Stuff happens and especially on a little kayak with a big DD.

No sharing...understood...other than @T-Billy and @AlabamaSpothunter and @IcatchDinks and @Pat Brown, of course. I hope the rock is big enough for all of us.

Please share the exact latitude and longitude of your lucky rock in a PM. Don't share it with any others! They can find their own lucky rocks.

I have the parts for a five-foot, black powder-coated fence in my backyard. I have to dig 27 post holes, cement the posts, and assemble the fence. It'll have two gates. I'm hopefully finally finishing my Japanese garden, which means spreading some more pebbles and laying a small, slate patio. The garden's still a construction zone, but already beautiful. I made some solid site and plant decisions. I'm also planting a line of high bush blueberries. A single high bush blueberry produces far more blueberries than I care to eat, but I'm planting nine to share with friends and birds. I planted an asparagus bed yesterday, but it won't fully produce until the spring of 2026. I also have started my veggies inside and they're doing well. Oh, yeah, I'll be building a firepit too.

The barometric pressure will be falling and I think that's good for feeding. Buckle up!

@softwateronly: You're catching footballs like Jerry Rice!

@geo g: Thanks for your post. What you wrote makes soooo much sense. I hope I can remember to apply it.

You are back, Papa! Good job.

You're right, Alex. I am stoked to launch. This week will be cool, but next weekend, we're forecast to have a string of days in the low to mid-fifties. That might nudge a few bass to bite, but with most night in the low-thirties, I suspect that even then, the water will only be in the low forties.

They are international fish of mystery, a lot like this guy:

Pre-cold frontal is the time to go fishing. It's the stuff that dreams are made of. Pre-warm frontal is good too, but if you want reckless feeding, fish before the dark storm.

JB, I live two miles from the coast, which moderates our temps, meaning everyday is pretty much like yesterday and tomorrow. Are you inland?

I don't even bother with an anchor, but you fish more current than me. We both do pretty well without them, eh? If you listed all your gadgets, we'd be better positioned to advise you...IF you're looking for advice. Regarding electronics, by not looking at a screen, I'm free to see bass chasing bait...and I see a lot of that.

Smaller gives you some advantages. Utilize them. For example, I launch at places bigger boats can't launch.

@bp_fowler: You are crushing it with your new canoe! Story of my life. It's amazing how they use weeds to free themselves.