Swamp Girl

Many times in my canoe, I was successful because of something you suggested.

Another good video by Glenn. I appreciate the reminders to cover lots of water and to look for birds.

She is in my coven. Oh, the spells we cast! Seriously, it's fall here. Lots of trees are red and it's dipping into the high forties at night.

Yet another example of how hardcore Alex is.

Maybe I'll revert to that tactic. I had a few bass flop free and take a tour of my canoe, which is why I started lipping and gripping. @king fisher: Thanks, King, for your informative post. I watch a YouTuber named Old Lady Angler and she fishes from a pedal kayak. Whenever she hooks a bass by weeds and then backpedals to open water, I envy her. Maybe a pedal kayak would be best for me, but right now, I spent every dollar I had on my land and the road. Remember the photos of my boardwalk made from pallets and beaver-dropped trees? That's because I had no money for anything better. They are largely forgotten. People are sheep and flock to the newest toy. For a while, that was sea kayaks. Then sit-on-top kayaks. Now it's stand-up paddleboards. Meanwhile, the old canoe gathers dust, despite it's strengths.

@thediscochef: I'll take the Monopoly money. The curse-breaking business has been slow recently, so I'm not going to be picky.

Nice ones, @PhishLI!

I was thinking the same thing, Tom! Yep!

@thediscochef: I can break the curse. Absolutely free. Trust me.* *Simply send me a cashier's check for $5,000, of course, for standard and nominal handling and processing, curse-breaking fees.

Thank you. If you don't mind, I'll tell you about the fight of my first big girl: She clobbered a Heddon silver Knocker One Spook and immediately ran at the canoe, but at an angle, so I was reeling as fast as I could to maintain tension. When she was ten yards off starboard, she veered sharply and ran straight at me, going under the canoe to the port side where she jumped. She switched sides so fast that I was trying to keep her from breaking the rod and I heard, but didn't see her jump. I also felt the jump because she was so close to the canoe that she splashed it and me. I muscled her back to starboard where she ran from my stern to my bow and back again before I got the net under her. In the net, her belly bulged, which again, as pretty as her photo is, doesn't really display her attributes.

My dad was worried about my leaving a canoe on my property, but there are so many unlocked, unattended boats in Maine. We're neck and neck with Vermont for lowest crime stats in the nation. Yeah, I think about that, but it's only about 250' to the driveway and when the path is leveled, I think I could carry a battery for a few more years.

@A-Jay: Andy, I actually bought a clamp and GoPro imitation last winter, but the imitation was so cheap that I elected to stay with my old waterproof Olympus. I do agree that my long-arming has limitations, starting with the length of my arms. I caught a big girl yesterday morning and to fit her into the frame, I stretched my arm as long as possible and learned back as much as possible and in the end, there's no sense of her size other than her jutting jaw. So, fingers crossed I can afford a GoPro pretty soon. See below. She looks like every other bass and she wasn't:

I'd dock the v-hull at my pond and still use the canoe at other ponds.

I have tried a kayak. I found it cramped, plus they're too heavy for me to carry. I do like all the pluses you listed and agree with them all. Every type of boat has pluses and minuses.

I fish a canoe. Pros: I can fish where bass boats can only dream of going, whether it's the wilderness or deep into local bogs. I can launch without a ramp. It's quiet. If I'm plunging into the wilderness, it can carry a couple weeks worth of food and all my camping and fishing gear. It can carry a fishing partner too. Cons: I can't fish windy days with my canoe's light weight and high sides. It's a wet boat, as my paddle drips water into the canoe. It's a chaotic mess. It doesn't have all the places for fishing gear like a fishing kayak or the deck area of a bass boat, so my rods get tangled. Being 68, I only have so much energy and all the energy to propel my boat comes from me. So, at the end of a fishing session, I'm twice tired, from fishing and paddling. It's slow. There are times I just wish I could scoot to the next honey hole. It can tip. Trolling is tricky, as I have to secure the fishing rod with my legs because my hands are paddling. Still, I catch a lot of bass trolling because I don't like to not be fishing while moving to the next casting spot. In a few years, I'd like to buy a little v-hull with an electric motor, not a trolling motor, but an electric outboard with a little more ummpf!

I fish a LOT of topwater, so I opine from decades of experience and thousands of topwater bass: Fish early. Fish fog. Fish rain. Fish late. Fish even later.

Fingers crossed I don't disappoint.

@MassBass: Those are HUGE!!! @Catt: No words.

I'd fish with live bait. I'm thinking that the bass will be restless as the water cools. The latest article on the front page said that some will be shallow and some deep, but I fished the last two mornings and my sense was that the bass were moving...all over the lake. They were in one spot the first morning and gone the second morning. They were deep in one area the first morning and in a different deep area the second morning. With a wriggling worm in the water, sooner or later, they'll see it as they move from location to location. I see your PB is 1-2 pounds. I think you'll soon have a new PB with a nightcrawler. Will you have a net and can you get your chair close enough to the edge to net your bass?

Thanks, Glenn. I need all the help I can get as I've been averaging about ten bass per outing. At least I've caught quite a few chunks.

I won't be fishing for a couple days. I've got your problem; Wind! When I do launch next, I'm going to the alewife pond. It's full of beasts. And I'll be using a spinnerbait and Heddon Spook. I need to catch a five-pounder like you!

@TnRiver46: Hey, man, you were fishing from a canoe. That's all that matters. #canoesruleallotherboatsdrool @BrianMDTX: I knight thee, Sir Perseverance! @OHBuckets: O-H....

Smallies have smaller mouths, for sure, but missing a walking bait is totally understandable given their zig-zagginess. I used to use walking baits for muskies and they often missed them, but I always had a follow-up bait ready and caught a few that way. I have a much higher hook-up rate with LMBs and I think their big mouths are a part of my success.

I've caught so many fine bass at my pond this year, but this morning's girl was special. The photo doesn't really display her attributes, i.e. her thickness and big head. Here are some of the other big ones, with the first and last being silly fat. They bode well for the coming years, huh? I measured the fourth one down and it was 18 inches:

I'm thinking about a jig next. I did catch one bass on a jig a couple weeks ago, but that's my jig LMB total: 1 I also caught a fat smallie this morning, but it shook free from my lip grip just as I was about to photograph it.