Swamp Girl

@Smirak: She looks to be of average weight and an average weight bass at her length would be 5.5 pounds.

I completely agree. I remember stretches up to a week where the pattern held and I caught bass everyday in the same places.

You were clobbered this winter, Andy. And reclobbered and reclobbered and reclobbered. Maine got off easy other than the winter refusing to leave. Today was cloudless, but even with all that sunshine, we topped off at 40 degrees and are getting another four inches of snow today followed by sleet followed by rain. Like you, Andy, I just want to go fishing. I'm thinking a good thought for you, buddy.

My results don't vary. If I'm fishing back-to-back days, I still have to find the fish and figure what they want the second day. They're shifty.

@Fishlegs: A. White bass are a blast. B. That skipjack is crazy big. C. Nice smallie.

Big bass are big slurpers. However, I've had a few that woke the dead with their wakes when they hit my lure.

Agree. As @Tennessee Boy stated so well, there are so many variables in play. Consider weather forecasting. There is software that considers countless similar weather scenarios when making a forecast. Even then, with so much data, the program can still err. Then add bass into the mix, each one an individual with their own idiosyncrasies, and also the specifics of the water you're fishing, and the best we can do is guess well. If there's one consistency for me, it's lousy picnic weather. If you look out the window and think, "What a lousy day for a picnic," then it's a great day to go fishing. Overcast? Good. Foggy? Better. Raining? The best! I also like a South wind, whatever the cloud conditions.

I've had good luck with an underspin, spinnerbaits, Mepps spinner, and Whopper Plopper. If the water I fish weren't so shallow and weedy, I think crankbait would also work well, but I've tried them and always catch weeds. If I catch one while trolling, I mentally mark the spot where the bass hit and return to it to cast. You and me, brother. I'm as happy to bump a bass with my canoe as catch one because when I get close enough to bump them, I know I'm paddling with nearly no sound. Again, we're the same. I once played some music I love on my cell phone while fishing and it was annoying. @Dwight Hottle just told the story of his second biggest birthday bass, which he heard splash on the far side of a floating island. If he'd been chatting or playing music, he might not have heard that splash. Ditto again. @WRB suggested a spoon that isn't a Johnson and I bought a bunch in the spring of '24, but never used them. I have just the place to try them this year, so thanks for the suggestion.

Hey, we fish the same way! I would have also investigated that splash.

We have floating islands in Maine too. You can walk on them, but it's like walking on a waterbed.

Cool idea! Heck, yeah! Stay in the game! Interesting. I've never had this happen...that I know. I'd feel the same way. It would feel like catching a pet.

Canoe. PFD. Bass. Life is good.

Half the "fish" I count are logs, but I still count 'em.

Since fish weights are being given, how much does the fish below weigh? It's the one beneath the lily pad. The green one.

For your reference regarding my guess, the glasses I'm wearing are 5.25" thick.

It weighs less or more, more or less.

@fishballer06: I don't think I've ever seen a healthier bass than yours. It's perfect.

Got it. I'm going to buy some crappie gear at Tackle Warehouse today. And I'm going to watch some crappie-catching videos. Watch out, bass, the Crappie Queen is coming! To catch bass like Pat and his gang, I'm going to walk around with a rod, reel, and giant swimbait and I won't cast until I see a woman on a bench. Then I'll fish there.

Happy birthday, Dwight! What a birthday!!!

Skipper, this would be you and me: Correction: This would be closer to you and me: At least you're always the Skipper of the SS Minnow!

I might buy a bottle too and give fluoro another try. I'll spray it on my mono too. I feel like a kid who discovers pizza at the age of 16. And all the other kids are saying, "You've never eaten pizza? Not once? You have missed the train, girl!"

NOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I hear ya. I'd love to be a snowbird, but that's above my pay grade. If Alex is okay with it, we could camp in his living room for a couple months each winter and squeeze aboard his little boat. @AlabamaSpothunter , can ya spare some floor space for a couple Northerners who are down on their luck?

I don't wanna hire a guide or go fishing with someone famous like KVD or Roland Martin. I just wanna go fishing with @Bluebasser86 and @Pat Brown...and whatever they do, THAT'S EXACTLY what I'll do. Meanwhile, in Maine, here's my 2025 count: 0 P. S. - Note the woman on the bench behind the guy with the bass in the fourth photo. This is why I picked Pat first for my hardest kind of fishing thread:

Thanks! One of these days I hope to actually catch a bass!!!

I'm a card-carrying member of @T-Billy's Straight Braid Brigade, so I don't think I'll be buying it. FWIW, I'm angling for my first stripe this year. I'm hoping to have pulled enough bass out of the weeds with braid to have earned it.