Swamp Girl

I know! That's coastal living. I've had mornings where the wind blew from the north, east, south, and west. However, my pond is only 170 acres. There are only so many places they can hide.

And it's greatly appreciated! I've told you in the past that when I fish, you're in the boat with me...in a way...for I think about all the things you've taught me as I'm fishing.

Thanks, guys, for the heads-up. I just ordered 30 tungsten weights from Academy.

Our weather report looks better and better. Today's high will only be 39 and it was in the low twenties last night, but going forward, it steadily warms, peaking at 69 degrees a week from today. 69!!! I'm going to cast a little from shore this weekend and hopefully launch both Monday and Tuesday, when it'll be 62 and 69. I still haven't caught a bass in 2026, but that'll soon end, I hope.

Glenn mentioned scattered boulders. I have a lot of those in my pond and my pal's pond and I always fish them, but rarely catch bass from them. However, in northwestern Ontario, those isolated boulders were fish havens. Thanks, Glenn, for the shout-out to those of us who fish from canoes with no electronics!

@NorcalBassin: Here's how little I know about spots; I would have identified your spot as a smallie. Love your largie. I always thrill to 20-inchers.

@C.Tucks: BIG. Bass.

Your lead photo looks like Heaven. I once was a writing teacher and I would have given your trip report an "A" for using "straining" like you did above. I told my students, "Verbs are the best words. Adverbs are the worst." I've been in just this situation. The new lure catches a fish and then nada. Dang, dude, you sure can write! I love "grabby." Been there. Felt that. Yep, pride before the fall. "Sulking!" Love. It. You earned that good feeling. For me, a bag's weight is the clearest measure of the day.

My plan is to throw the tackle box at them and see what works once I launch, likely on Monday a week from tomorrow. By tackle box, I mean most of the lures suggested in this thread. However, I am going to do some test casts from the shore this Friday or this weekend and I'll likely only take one or two rods to keep it simple. I did drive to my pond today and there's only a little wall of snow and ice blocking my driveway. I expect that to melt this week. Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions. Armed with so much knowledge, I'm expecting to catch bass!

Thanks! I have spent considerable time on water, from whitewater in canyons to the biggest rivers and lakes in small boats. On the other hand, turning 70 this summer, I've lost most of my brashness as I now feel my age in ways I didn't at 60. Good advice on the jerkbaits and thanks for being so specific. I'll have one tied on for sure. I bought one of those Vision 110s like a fancy angler!

There is one small place at my pond where I can cast and yes, I think I'll do that this Friday and then launch a week from tomorrow, after we will have had four straight days in the forties to fifties. I've been thinking about doing that too! There are so many choices, huh? I did not know that. I won't overlook them if I see some. ^Love this!^

Yee-haw, Koz!

That's your new PB, right? You need to change that for your "MY PB." What's amazing is that it's bigger than any bass you caught in Florida, right? It's a @Lottabass-sized bass!

@Joedodge: No boat. No FFS. No warmth. NO PROBLEM for Joe. What a beautiful, fat fish, Joe. Big head and a big belly! I'm so proud of you, so happy for you.

Reach out to Bass Resource member @Aaron_H, who catches big Florida bass from the shore.

Remember that I live on the coast. I'm guessing the inland lakes are still hard. I'm pretty good at figuring them out with the help of the Bass Resource Brain Trust (TM). I plan to fish both ends, where it'll be wind-beaten and wind-protected, work along the steepest, deepest shoreline casting to both laydowns and the drop-off, work a shallow rock flat, work an underwater ridge, and then work some shallows with current. I'll cast a Ned rig and wacky-rigged Senko and maybe a spinnerbait into the laydowns too and use a jerkbait at the drop-off. I can do all this while hugging the shoreline. I might even troll an A-Rig. I know they're hard to cast, so trolling might work for me. I know where the grass grows, so if it's still there, I'll try it too.

if I launch, I'm going to try to apply lots of these ideas.

Thanks and you're right about this house being the last house.

I second ^this.^ I miss catching mixed bags.

I was hoping someone would suggest tactics. I know my pond in the summer probably better than any other living angler, but I don't know it when it's cold. Thanks and thanks too to @Fishingmickey. I know where it's shallow and rock-bottomed and I know where all the laydowns are too. Ha! So true. Yeah, I think I could catch some bass. In addition to my drysuit, I also bought waterproof gloves and a new drybag for a ditch kit. @gim: I fear you're right about winter kill. I bet some bass each winter don't survive. I think I'm going to rig a M-action spinning outfits with 6-lb. test and toss some Ned rigs as well as Senkos. Maybe I'll throw my big bluegill too.

It's all fascinating, Bob. Thank you.

We are nowhere near as cold as the northern plains. Now, inland northern Maine is, but I live on the coast. We're growing zone 6a. Much of North Dakota is growing zone 3b. That's a 25-degree temperature difference. So, when we're at 0 degrees, the northern plains might be at 25 below. Their 0 degrees is likely to be 25 degrees for us. However, I do think it's possible that my pond could freeze being only 10' deep and I'm guessing there was a partial fish kill about 10 years ago because my pond's bass top out at 19 inches. I'm guessing that a hole that held the biggest bass froze.

You do seem like the voice of reason. And I know you KNOW how it feels to watch so many of the Bass Resource gang catch bass and we just dream of past glory. I'm feeling like Uncle Rico: I'm trying to stay in shape in case Coach Weather ever does put me into the game:

I have a much better chance of having the strength to swim to shore if I'm already close to it.