Swamp Girl

That screenshot has me drooling! Ha! You're right.

I remember a morning last May or June when I landed about 30 and lost about 40. The pond's conditions had shifted on me and I just didn't adapt. I had been successfully catching bass in a zombie reed field. Lots of 3.5 to 4-pounders. Then the new reeds started to rise. Those reeds were like bumpers on a bumper pool table. To land a bass, I'd have to survive the bass bouncing off half a dozen of these reed bumpers. More than half the time, I'd lose the fish. I think the bass ricocheted off the new reeds on purpose until they jolted the lure loose. Finally, I abandoned the reed field and started hooking some nice ones abutting it. However, IF I had a boat where I could stand, I think I would have landed more. Standing gives you more power and leverage.

Thanks for the story, @TOXIC. One time my Dad and I found an abandoned fishing lodge in northwestern Ontario. Pinned to the walls were photos of fish caught in that lake. The lodge's guestbook was left behind, in a stack of old fishing magazines. That felt wrong to us for reading the entries, it was clear to us how much that lake and lodge meant to so many. So, we sat and I read all the entries to my dad and then we cleaned that coffee table, put the fishing magazines on a shelf, and centered that guestbook on the table, hoping someone else would find it, read it, and remember those people and their moments. The two best hours of my fishing life were in a howling wind. In one hour, I caught five muskies and lost a sixth. In another hour, I hooked lake trout on every cast. I can no longer fish wind because I'm alone in a lightweight canoe, but boy, oh, boy, if I owned a 2005 Z21 powered by a 2005 Yamaha HPDI 2 stroke, I'd be launching in gales!

Here's the exact spot where I launched to catch my PB: To reach this launch site, I drove down a dirt road, lugged my canoe over a hill, across a meadow, and then followed a narrow dirt path through the woods. Here's Keith Poche on his boat. Note the boat: Keith couldn't drag his motor alone to my PB pond. Here's my PB, caught on an underspin: My point is that I have to fish more simply than Keith Poche and the other pros. Could I go and buy another 1,000 specialized tools? Sure, but to sadly frank, I already own another 1,000 specialized tools, but the Leatherman Super Tool Swiss Army Knife Underspin 3000 works well where I fish and using it, I don't have to lug even more gear over the meadow and through the woods at four in the morning. I caught 2,044 bass in 2024, but if I had fished everyday and fished mornings and evenings, I would have caught 10,000 that the pros caught for their data base by myself...and half of them would have been with a Leatherman Super Tool Swiss Army Knife Underspin 3000. In short, I'm doing okay with what I'm chucking. Final thought: I'm not closed to new lures. My 2025 tacklebox has three new kinds of lures in it, but to remain in my tacklebox, they'll have to earn their spots. I hope one or two of the three do just that because it's empowering to add another arrow or two to my quiver. Could all three, a deep diving crankbait, a rolling, strolling bait, and a bladed jig, earn their keep? Only the bass will tell.

Hi, GBass37. Welcome to Bass Resource. Your first post is a hot potato. I don't even use an anchor or motor, so FFS is beyond my ken. I understand your well-stated position, but also understand @KP Duty's screen weariness. I prefer to look around when I'm fishing. Witnessing the morning is as much fun as catching bass.

Just knowing you're catching fish makes me happy, Alex.

Beautiful boat, water, bass, and photos.

I'd love to be in a slump. The snow that fell today was so heavy that I was using my snowblower as a plow because it kept clogging.

@N Florida Mike: Losing bass? Been there. Done that. Again and again. Even Pat Brown, Alex, and Clayton lose bass. That bass in your photo is a football.

I look forward to seeing KVD dragging his 20 foot trailer the next time I'm portaging through the woods. Or maybe I'll see him dragging his "specialized tools" down this trickle (Yeah, that's a stream.): My point is that KVD can't fish where I fish, not if he's going to fish like he's accustomed to fishing. If he were willing to fish out of a lightweight canoe, then sure, he could fish where I fish, but he sure won't be bringing his specialized tools. I fish with fewer tools to fish where fewer fish. Did you see the thread below. In it, I share how I bought so many specialized tools suggested by others that sit on shelves now because I found what works for my bass. I still try new lures, but I buy less and less of what others suggest because I've spent enough time on the water I fish to have discovered what triggers strikes. There's nothing unique about my journey. We all scroll through lures until we find the ones that work where we fish. In the end, KVD does what he does and I do what I do. I love fishing the simple, peaceful way I fish. I hope he loves fishing with his 20' foot boat and specialized tools. There's not much overlap beyond we're both catching bass.

Again, I'm fishing a different environment than them. They couldn't fish where I fish, not in their bass boats. They couldn't even launch where I fish. I score with a lure that's 99% weedless, that has flash, that casts far, that has good mouthfeel, and that lands lightly. A bladed jig would probably work well too in the bogs. I bought some Mike Seibert chatterbaits, so I'll soon see.

Proud of you, Pat. You had a jonboat competing against hovercraft glitterboats with their own fleets of FFS drones and bass-herding mini-subs. Even then, if there was going to be another tournament next week, I'd bet on you.

Sure, come fish Maine! I'll be your guide. Come in May or June and you might have some 100-bass days.* Plus, there are reasons to come here beyond bass: Still, it's dang pretty where I fish and as Alex shared, I'm nearly always alone. Plus, bass: It's so pretty it makes me ache. *To catch a hundred bass, you'll have to fish in the morning and evening. Or you'll have to be a better angler than me. My top morning totals in 2024 were 70 and 75 bass and after those mornings, I was too tired to fish again those days. But if I were younger....

Heck, yeah, they're a lot of work.

I've laid a few paver patios and sidewalks and I've seen the driveways, sidewalks, and patios laid by pros. I've only seen a few professional jobs that equaled my amateur efforts because pros want to make as much money as possible, which means they don't spend as much time on the base beneath the pavers. Dig deep enough and compact your sand long enough and your pavers won't sink.

I'm shocked too. Here's where I caught sooo many bass with it: It's one to two feet deep and I'm fishing long before those MLF anglers are up and at it. Even if they wanted to fish a bog as shallow as this, their boats wouldn't let them. Being so shallow and so close to the bass with weeds and wood everywhere, an underspin lands more softly than a spinnerbait, so it doesn't spook them. A T-rigged anything works well too, but doesn't cast as far and the Maine bog bass like the flash. In short, it's the perfect bait for a Maine bog if you're in a canoe. #bassboatsareanogowhereIgo

@Bluebasser86:

It's a beautiful boat. It looks stable. I also like its compact size. Bigger is not always better. I also love your driveway. That's a lot of pavers!

@TnRiver46: This thread is really something. So. Many. Big. Bass! I think your Alabama bass might be the prettiest of them all.

@DaubsNU1: Way to go, buddy! We're getting 4.5 inches of snow tomorrow, so I'll be using a snowblower instead of a paddle and pole. Just imagine the woman below singing these lyrics: Someday there's a bass for me Someday there's a bass for me Peace and quiet and warm water Bass wait for me Someday

Pat, how did you do?

I'd fish the Great Lakes. Michigan's Traverse City, Superior's Chequamegon Bay, Lake Michigan's north shore, so much of Huron, Erie, etc. Mille Lacs in Minnesota is another big fish factory. You're surrounded by great smallmouth fishing. If you're willing to travel farther for lmb, I'd fish O.H. Ivie.

Smallmouth or largemouth?

So you catch a five-pounder and the other kayaker catches a ten-pounder. California's glory days aren't over.