Swamp Girl

@Catt: That bass of yours has a perfect shape. FWIW: Zero double digits, all caught on nothing. Listen to me accordingly. I agree with this up to a point, but not everyone fishes less fished areas like you and I do. You have told us many times how you're alone in the Everglades and I have shared many times how I'm alone on the ponds and bogs I fish. Because we're fishing less pressured water, we catch more bass and because we catch more bass, the bass tell us sooner "what's best and what you need to do to catch them." We get way more feedback than an angler fishing a city pond who might catch one bass in an afternoon.

With some of the BR crew, when you catch a great fish (21.75"!!!) or a great bag (15 pounds!!!), I'm as excited as if I'd caught them. You are one of those guys. So. Happy. For. You. Proud. Too.

Well done, Koz.

I don't adjust my drag while fighting a fish. I adjust it to an area before I cast. If I'm near wood or weeds, I need more drag. If I'm fishing open water, less drag works. If I'm fishing an area like the one below and I hook a bass with a loose drag, I'll lose the fish a second into the fight for it'll run for wood or weeds and I won't be able to turn it. The bass below was about to plunge into fibrous reeds, but I turned it just in time. You can see she'd pulled my canoe right up to the edge of the reeds. My drag was already tight because of where I was fishing and something had to give, thus she pulled my canoe, but if my drag hadn't been tight, I never would have seen the tubby girl:

I'd bet big bucks that you're right. However, I don't have big bucks to bet because I now have to buy a new canoe and gear. Sigh.

Thanks for nothing, FFS advocates!!! I finally relented and mounted 37 FFS units on my canoe. It sunk and that's all on you FFS fans.

Yep!

Heck, yeah! Indeed.

I've only been fishing spinnerbaits a few weeks, but I've already had this happen several times. It's as if I'd cast the bait right into their open mouths. Good tip about burning heavy spinnerbaits in shallow water. I do think that most of the bass I catch are reaction biting...and I think this because I'm a fast angler, casting as many times as possible to cover water and find the most reactive bass.

I bought several with gold blades because golden shiners are the primary forage here and I've had good luck with gold everything in the past, but I bought some nickel ones too.

As @AlabamaSpothunter has observed many times, if lmb grew a bit bigger, they'd try to swallow Ranger bass boats. Thanks for the color suggestions. Our water is tannin-stained, so I'll have to muddle what works best here. The bass will tell me.

Okay, Mr. Hopper, you're giving more and more confidence. I'm so excited to try them! What's the color you like best?

I did not know this. You're a font of helpful info today, so thanks! I'm glad that you've tried so many spinnerbaits and settled on the Beast. This gives me confidence.

I just ordered seven of them. Fingers crossed you're right. My baits do take a beating. I catch a lot of fish, often in heavy cover. They're not long like Florida bass, but they're also not skinny like many Florida bass I see posted at BR. They're packed with muscle and they know how to use it.

Thanks, @Jig Man! That is such a clever solution.

They break after you've caught between five and twenty bass. At the rate you catch them on spinnerbaits, I expect your first spinnerbait will break in 2094.

I was on a pond last year and a guy in a kayak was failing to catch bass with his spincast outfit. I tried to make it as simple as possible for him, so I gave him a brass Mepps and told him to troll it around the middle of the pond, where smallmouth roam. "It's yours to keep. Pay it forward," I said. Ten minutes later, he called out, "I got one!" That made me smile.

Your post made me wistful. I fear I'm too old to thrive in wilderness anymore. I'm just glad I can still reach water in Maine where I'm alone.

FWIW, I fish MH spinning rods with 20 lb. braid. There are bass out there that could break 20 lb. braid, but I'm not likely to ever hook one that can.

Do you have a photo of the wrapped bend before it's covered with shrink tubing?

Yes, it is. As far as your losing bass, I go through losing streaks too. Your story about the bass that ran for the tree is my life. I am always having bass run for wood. What do I do? I apply all the counter-pressure I can muster and hope I don't yank the hook out. However, there is an all-time great angler who posts at Bass Resource (@WRB) and his name is Tom. Tom has caught 17, 18, and 19-pound bass and Tom coaches us to not crank down the drag. In some of the places I fish, this is impossible. Here's one of those places: Most of the plants you see are woody and they're woody under the water too. The bass dive into the woody roots and when they do, they shake free in a sec. So, my tactic is to adjust my drag on the fly. If I'm fishing an open water area, I loosen it. If I'm near wood, I tighten it. Interesting...and convincing. You are a thoughtful angler. So true. Just because we're all fishing for the same species doesn't mean we're fishing for identical fish. I started a thread a bit back about how some bass fight more than others. I fished two ponds in the last two days. The bass at the first pond fight like Pit bulls. The bass at the second pond fight like Pomeranians. Bass behavior does vary and what works for me might not work for Ned in Nebraska.

The metal snaps where I tie my knot. I think it's because of all the bending. The bass bend the spinnerbaits in the fights and I bend them back so they'll run upright.

You're the Bait Monkey! 😉

Tim, I've been tipping my spinnerbaits with a beavery bait, a Netbait B Bug and the bass sure love it. What beaver baits do you use? T-Rigged? I modify my original response: I do play with color every time I go fishing.

Heck, yeah, we should all color outside the lines!