Swamp Girl

@JHoss: Tournament fishing would make me shudder. Loud speakers and loud boats wouldn't float my canoe. However, I once loved competition, so I get that. Being old, I want to fish the quiet places, although when ospreys screech, geese honk, loons sing, and beavers whap the water, it's not exactly quiet. And I agree with what @Catt just wrote!

I don't think that nostalgia has been specifically mentioned. I love the piney forests of Maine, but when I return to flinty gorges in Ohio, with ridges topped with beach trees, that familiar rock and flora of my childhood plucks my heartstrings. So do bass, which I caught as a kid. Also, because bass are so abundant, they were within reach of a former 1969 kid with a Zebco 404 and a steel pole on a used bike. Now I catch 40 bass instead of the one I might have managed in 1969, but inside, I'm still that kid, so I thrill to such abundance.

@JHoss's thread about why we target bass yanked me down the rabbit hole of strongest fish and the Giant Trevally is up there. Read this: "I had one trip to the Marshall Islands where every single Giant Trevally I hooked broke me off in the rocks. I was only using 50lb braided line and that was not enough to land a single one, even ones that I could see were only in the 10lb range. The water was too shallow and the reef was too sharp. That was very humbling. Giant Trevally top out around 200lbs but fish that size are nearly impossible to land on sportfishing tackle because there is almost no way to keep them out of the reef. The hook will bend, the line or rod will snap, or something will give before a fish that size will. Anything over 100lbs is a real trophy." Giant Trevally pull like gorillas and are very adept at heading straight to the reef and breaking your heart and your line. These are one of the toughest fish to land on rod and reel. You need to use the best and heaviest tackle and you still will not land them all. If you bring 50lb braid and are fishing for them in the reef, you might as well just throw your stuff into the ocean because that is where it is all going to end up.

Maybe not, but I do catch bass quite close to my canoe and the water I fish is quite clear, plus a can of spray paint only costs ten bucks, so I'm going to do it.

@JHoss, I have also enjoyed this thread because it prompted some backstories, like @king fisher's and @Catt's. @king fisher's is the most persuasive for why an angler prefers bass, for he's caught other species professionally from the Arctic to the subtropical seas, many much larger and stronger than bass, but he still chooses bass on his free days. As impressive as @Pat Brown's bass are, there are single marlin and tuna whose strength far surpasses the combined strength of every one of Pat's posted bass. The highest leaping bass that ever swam could only dream of equaling the least leap of a mako shark. Bonefish and wahoo make bass seem pokey. And so on. So, to have an angler with @king fisher's experience say that he prefers bass, well, that makes me say:

That settles it. Thanks!

Wow, Pat. First-rate storytelling about a first-rate bass. Thanks so much for taking the time to put us there with you.

And you almost did: 5 top LMB in lbs; 17.4 & 18.6 Casitas, 17.4, 17.6 & 19.3 Castiac. I do this too. I have quantity days and quality days.

Then you're way ahead of me. I skunked twice last spring! Yeah, multiple skunks: To cut myself a little slack, one skunk was me standing on snow and casting, but the other was in my canoe, so no slack cuttin' there, just me slackin'. Love city bassin', Russ!

An 18-incher is heavier than the "1-2 pounders" that others are catching, so you're slowly cracking the code.

I already knew you're a fine stick, but now I also know that you're an honest man. We all have our skunky moments:

Reread some of @Bluebasser86's tourney reports. He is forever changing lures and locations and he doesn't hesitate to fish harder-to-reach areas. Plus, he never buckles. He keeps experimenting and muddling what might work. His approach wins tourneys.

I disagree. I like the question and didn't find it a whit of a bit offensive. And I like how @JHoss has fielded the wide range of responses with calm and grace. I wrote an essay a couple years ago for Gray's Sporting Journal called "Why Trout?" I won't write an essay for "Why Bass?" but I will outline why: They are the nearest, biggest fish. Sure, there are stripers and other saltwater fish near me, but like @padlin, I am a canoeist as much as an angler and only a fool would paddle the North Atlantic here, as the Gulf of Maine has tides that could take me to my cold, pathetic death. As others have noted, they're shifty fish...literally. I caught them under bushes this year, beneath shadowing trees, from open water wolf packs, in reeds, out of lily pads, in the deepest and shallowest water, in little and larger rivers, and on and on. They hang in so many different places that it feels like you're fishing for different species. Viva la difference! Speaking of difference, their shapes and colors change. See below. So, when you look into the net, you're seeing so many different colors and shapes. They love surface lures and so do I. They jump! I like to cast. If I fished for landlocked salmon or lake trout, I wouldn't be casting. My two best skills are paddling and casting. I'm a consistent bass catcher because these two skills catch bass. See how the colors and shapes change? The first is Ann Margaret chesty. The second is Cro-magnon. The third is a streamlined black beauty. The last is big-headed, which is why it's big-bodied. That big head can swallow pert near everything! You had me at taking your daughter fishing. 20 minutes is pretty good for a 4-year old, btw, and child development is my wheelhouse.

I bought a used one, so it's bright orange. The newest model has the track, not mine. However, I'm going to put some tracks on the crossbars. This canoe will stay put at my pond. I'll use my Kevlar Bell Rockstar canoe for car topping,

After doing some research, I think I'll paint the bottom green or white. Green would mimic weeds and white, the sky.

I considered buying another Kevlar canoe, but then I'd have to store two Kevlar boats in my garage over the winter. This boat is 3-layer polyethylene and I'll just keep it year-round in the wetlands where I launch it. I'll keep it on the platform and my two-person canoe will be where you can see the green kayak below. The kayak isn't mine and is no longer there. FWIW, the platform now continues all the way to open water, but I prefer docking in the inlet because there's no wind and waves.

What color do you think I should paint the bottom?

I think I can mount tracks on the thwarts and maybe the gunnels too. It would be great to have rod holders!

I love your idea, but know nothing about my options. Can you suggest some and maybe provide a link to a site that sells them?

I think its short length will make for easier maneuvering in the swampy areas of my pond.

Heck, yeah, it is!

Ha! I'm sure its bow will bump a few bass as I sneaky creep over the weeds and surprise them.

I also did maintenance on my two canoes. I set the Kevlar canoe on sawhorses in my garage and I pulled the Royalex canoe from the water and flipped it.

I've been keeping an 85 lb. Old Town two-person canoe at my pond and paddling it backwards from the bow seat. It's a goofy design as it mimics the vintage birch bark canoes with their raised bows and sterns. Being high up front and in the back means it catches more wind and paddling it from the bow seat and backwards means I'm not centered in the canoe, although the bow seat does move me a little closer to the middle. So, tomorrow I'm buying an Old Town NEXT canoe. It's 29 pounds lighter than the current canoe at my pond and a solo boat, which means it'll be more efficient and faster. Of course, it's shorter, which means it'll be more crowded. It has a kayak-style seat, which is padded and will be more comfortable. I'm buying it used for $550. I'll leave it at my pond and I expect to catch a few bass from it. I'll keep the tandem boat at my boat for when I have a guest and for friends to use. Here's the new canoe:

It sounds 99.9% perfect!