Swamp Girl

First off, thanks for recalling Alex. I miss him. He was so welcoming and encouraging when I arrived at Bass Resource. I took my cue from him and try to encourage others. For me, it might be a walking bait. I'd caught muskies with them, but hadn't had much luck with bass. Then, two years ago back in August, I was struggling to land good numbers of bass and I watched a YouTube video about fishing for bass in August. A walking bait was used. So, the next morning, I started with a walking bait and I discovered that if I loaded some slack into my line by bringing the rod tip a little ways forward on my pauses, the bait would really lunge forward when that slack line was suddenly pulled taut. That's been my retrieve ever since and it's one of my favorite baits.

In the dark. In the cold. After the year you had. Beyond hardcore.

I change my mind. I want to live next door to Clayton. #whereverhegoesI'llgo

This reminds of Thailand and seeing five people on a moped AND five people wasn't rare.

I T-rig fish with both 8-12 lb. mono and 30 lb. braid. I don't notice any difference.

I'm good where I am. I have both brown and green bass and most trips, I don't have to share the ponds and bogs.

That is interesting and I bet you're right about why they clobbered it.

@SJS: Like you, I was told to wait a sec before setting the hook. Then, when I returned to largemouth bass fishing in my sixties, I learned that you do what the three anglers explained above. I think the currently prescribed method is best because bass inhale baits. They don't gum their way up a bait. And just as quickly as they inhale, they can exhale a bait. I've seen them do exactly this in clear water. So, take up the slack and sweep set. BTW, it's a good question and I'm glad you asked it.

Sounds like a fun morning, Brian. It's always fun to score more than ever before with a new lure. That three-pounder has a fine shape.

Thanks, @herder. I love the blues. @Jar11591: There's nothing better than a shoreline drift.

It's an interesting question. I think @Jar11591 is right, that it's forage-related, and that the forage there is sized for small bass, but that begs another question: Why is small forage there?

Without electronics, I can't pinpoint structure, but through trial and error, I can find fish-holding areas that I assume are due to structure. You did a good job explaining a complex tactic, Dwight. I enjoyed reading your post.

I'm stuck in stealth mode. Seriously, I enjoyed drift fishing for decades when I fished from a motorboat. I should do it again. Thanks for the reminder!

What a great trip report, Clayton. I love how you broke down your thinking for us. And what a great bass too! I love your Kansas hawgs!

Yours is a good and fair question. On one hand, it doesn't really matter. On the other hand, when I report that I caught an 18-pound bag at my pond, I really don't want to be exaggerating. When I weigh a couple bass at each half inch length, I can use those weights going forward with greater confidence that I'm a reliable reporter. However, I don't want to waste fishing time by weighing hundreds of 17 and 18-inch bass this summer and I don't want to keep that many bass out of the water longer.

I'm not going to measure every quarter inch. That'll take too long. Every half inch at both ponds will take long enough. Yeah, the bogs fatten the bass, for sure! I love how crazy dark that girl was. She sure spun my canoe. She came from a bog that produces few fish. I think my top total was eight bass in a morning. Most mornings were one to three bass, but there's always a good chance that one of them will look like this:

I have long struggled with recording my bass catches. I don't enjoy weighing bass because of the time it takes, but there are Bass Resource anglers whom I respect and who understandably assay bass by their weight since photos are misleading. So, when I catch a 16" bass at my pond, I'll put it on the bump board and measure it. Then I'll do the same with another 16" bass, but not a third. I'll average those two weights and use that weight going forward. I'll do the same with a 16.25" bass, a 16.5" bass, and so on. Then I'll do the same with the bass at my pal's pond, as they tend to be thinner. Then I won't worry about weighing bass, although the bass I catch at bogs can look a little like the bass that @Bluebasser86 catches and so my length-to-weight measurements for my pond and my pal's pond won't apply for bog bass. For example, this 19-incher who weighed over 5.6 pounds: Now, I understand that bass weights vary by season, but the bass in my pond are always plump, like these from late last summer of different lengths, so my spring averages should be pretty accurate through the year. With my weight averages, I'll be able to report bag weights at my pond and my pal's pond going forward. They'll still be estimates, but pretty accurate estimates rooted in actual, site-specific weighing.

I have caught them in howling winds.

Seeing that they're the same bass might be doable if I hadn't assumed that @casts_by_fly had posed the question in good faith. The fish is also photographed forward and then aft, further muddling assessment, for that shifts the light. Anyway, I conceded long ago in this thread that my initial premise was wrong, so at this point, we're simply beating a dead bass.

Sure, that's pretty well-established. Glenn has made the same point more than once, but to be clear, it's both @casts_by_fly and my eyes playing a trick on me.

@Fried Lemons: Your bass is obviously impressive, but so is paddle boarding in March. Hardcore.

I don't follow. Please explain.

I do agree and am always open to changing the way I fish. For example, if I were fishing with @Lottabass and he suggested I switch lures to one of his, I'd change in a New York nanosecond. The top one. The bottom one has the more impressive belly, but the top one is longer and note its jutting jaw.

Do you post your bass pics and videos at any other sites? For me, it's just Bass Resource.

I love this trip report! Love the title too, natch. And that's nearly a five-pound RIVER smallmouth. Wow!