Swamp Girl

No ^wiser words^ have ever been posted at BR. The clock is ticking for all of us.

Yeah, you probably would and I'd end up with a T-Rex's head. Wait, I'd like a T-Rex's head, so do it! I just wouldn't want a T-Rex's arms. I couldn't cast with those.

I also have stretches when the hooks don't stick. I think it's more them than me, so I'm guessing it was more them than you. I hook so many bass with surface lures that my reflexes are fine-tuned and reliable. There are simply times when they don't hit a lure to eat it, when they're reacting or annoyed or curious...and walking baits and frogs in slop are hard to hit anyway. My hook-up ratio with walking baits is less than 50%, but I use them because nothing casts farther, I can sometimes hook the bass with a follow-up lure, and they are explosive with walking baits.

Since the majority would choose to not have lived Tom's life, consider the flip side: An 11-pound bass would thrill any of us. It's beyond my ken. I'll never see one in person, much less catch one. However, an 11-pound bass is common compared to a 13-pound bass. And a 13-pound bass is common compared to a 15-pound bass. And a 15-pound bass is common compared to a 17-pound bass...and Tom caught three of those. And a 17-pound bass is common compared to a 19-pound bass...and Tom actually caught a 19-pound bass...and an 18-pounder too. So, I change my mind. Sure, I wouldn't like the craziness of those days with anglers lining up to break the world record, but if I could, I would.

I'm fishing four times in six days and today was my first of the four trips. I fished for 2.25 hours and caught 15. The water was cold and my feet and hands were cold. We had a hard frost last night and for the first time since spring, the water felt cold. Weirdly, nearly the only lure that would work was a popper. I caught 14 on it and one on a walking bait. Here's the walking bait bass and you can see the lure in the net: The other bass were well-fed, as so many fall bass seem to be. Not as thick as @Bluebasser86's beachballs, but then, I don't see anybody catching bass as thick as his Kansas blimps: And here comes my pretty pic! What's wrong with the world when you can't buy a bite on a spinnerbait or fluke?

I had two boats, a kayak and a canoe, park beside me on a 380-acre pond last week. We were the only three boats on the pond. I was happy to catch this bass and two others while they watched:

I love Brownings, Bob. Great story. You are half man, half honey badger.

Some people believe that if you get enough face lifts, you're young again. I don't suggest following their lead.

Bob, my swamp brother, I loved that bog/pond so much that when a few properties on the bog/pond went on the market, I considered buying one of them. If I had, I too would have paid a waterfront price, but without water.

Thanks for the insider info, Tom.

It's cool that most of us are fishing exactly where we want to be. I'm not, but I'm still happy where I am. I'm just not young enough and tough enough`to reach wilderness lakes anymore. You drive to the end of pavement and then you turn down a long-abandoned logging road. Again and again, you get out and wade through water, testing the bottom. Again and again, you have to cut and clear downed trees. Eventually, you MIGHT reach your put-in point, but many times, you are turned back. If you DO reach your put-in point, that's where the real work begins, as I didn't fish lakes with portage trails. It's bushwhacking with a canoe on your head and mosquitoes in your mouth and nose. It's a young person's game, so I make do with my little, local lakes and swamps and when their loons sing and the eagles take wing, for a second, I can pretend I'm back in the wilderness again.

We're alike in many ways. I targeted big bass in 2023 and caught half a dozen 6.5+-pounders, which are equivalent to southern DDs on the In-Fisherman Master Angler chart, but I've been more relaxed this year, happy to catch scores of four and five-pounders along with hundreds of three-plus-pounders. I think what switched me to happy fishing as opposed to focused fishing was landing my PB in April, a bass that I don't expect to ever surpass. She was a freak, with Hulk's shoulders and a softball for a belly. Also, since buying waterfront acreage, I've focused on learning my pond and managed to catch dozens of bass that were nearly four pounds. I think the coming years will only improve my catches. However, there are times, like this coming Saturday morning, when I still target big bass. Of course, targeting them doesn't mean I'll catch one.

Amen.

I'm going fishing four times in the next six days because we've got Indian Summer coming, so I'll be posting a few bass pics. Starting tomorrow afternoon at my pond. Then the river that was a pond and bog on Saturday morning. Then my pal's pond Sunday and Tuesday mornings. Fun comin'!

Tom, I believe you hooked the WR, so just connecting with you through BR is such an honor.

I might come fish it IF I'm the only one on the lake. Can you arrange this, Tom? 😁

Cool story, Mickey. Thanks for telling it!

If you could, would you want to go back in time 30-some years and fish the great California reservoirs when they were threatening to set a new world record? Why or why not? I wouldn't. I prefer to fish quiet lakes and with all the powerboats that fished (and fish) those lakes, my canoe would take a beating. Now, if I could fish with Tom (@WRB) for a day back in 1991 on his boat, heck, yeah!

@Pat Brown, you deserve your own TV show. You are so good at analyzing bass and teaching us. I can get bass to hit my frog. That's easy-peasy, but it's so difficult for me to hook them. I know what I'm supposed to do and I do it well with all other surface lures, but with a frog, I panic.

@PhishLI has shared some photos of Mainers doing exactly that.

Frigid means colder than cold, so it confused me. I have had fingers that weren't quite working my last two outings. I can keep my torso warm, but I can't fish with insulating gloves and they'd have to be waterproof too, since my hands are nearly always wet. For you and me, 68 degrees is balmy.

Miami in January: "Daily high temperatures are around 76°F, rarely falling below 68°F or exceeding 82°F." @Pat Brown: Where did you learn so much about bass?

@Bluebasser86: Maine bass are fat, but Kansas bass make Maine bass look like Kenyan long distance runners. That six-pounder is crazy fat!!!

I soooo know this feeling. Whitewater kayaking, canoeing, and rafting produce the same sensation. Dwight is always so wise, helpful, and encouraging, so watching him catch big bass makes my smile even wider.

Hey, you outfished me. Last night, I caught four and missed four. I'm guessing that sometimes they just don't hit a bait to eat it, but out of curiosity. A bump more than a gobble. Two of the bass that hit and missed my walking bait came completely out of the water.