Swamp Girl

I rarely fish frogs because I lose so many.

Me too! I think if I squished the tail, she would have reached the 20" line, but as my bass are getting bigger, I don't think I have to resort to tail squishing.

You and me, buddy. I have guesses about what they want and where they'll be, but I'm always just guessing and am often wrong. Amen.

Thanks, Angus. I was thinking about that $80,000 Ranger in another thread this morning. I paid $75,000 for my 4.5 acres with nearly 500' of waterfront. It's only five minutes from my home too. Sure, my canoes don't zoom and they don't have FFS and SpotLock, but I'm guessing I outfish a few anglers with Rangers and moving slowly has its charms.

I caught 56 at my pond this morning in four hours and twenty minutes. Conditions were perfect. I launched in a fog. Then came rain. Plus, barometric pressure has been falling. I caught nearly all my bass on a T-rigged worm. I fished various kinds and colors of worms. They all worked. My best five were 90 inches plus. I caught this 18-incher about five fish into my morning: I often catch just one 18-incher in a fishing trip, but this morning produced multiple eighteens. Like this one: However, I found the real treat in my favorite spot, a little river that's fed by a bog. I haven't been able to fish this spot for my last half dozen trips, as I let the hero and then Bob fish it, so I was excited and the spot didn't disappoint. I caught my PB at my pond on my second cast, a 19.75-incher: The photo above doesn't really convey her shoulders, but this one does: She had a big mouth too: Then I caught a couple more eighteens in the river: Bass weren't the only predators in the river. Here are some carnivorous pitcher plants and I saw three eagles while I was there too: I even had a baby beaver swim up to my canoe to study me. That was a first! Here's the river: I caught another thick one on the way out: A couple more eighteens: I caught many 17-inchers too. Such a fun morning! This was my last bass: I've stopped my running total for 2026. I'm over 500, but I lost count while fishing with the hero and Bob. Bob and I caught well over one hundred, but Bob caught the majority. I should clarify that the 19.75-incher isn't my overall PB, but she's the biggest bass I've ever caught at my pond. Last fall, I caught my first three 19-inchers at my pond and I caught a few more at 19-inchers this year. Now I'm nearly up to 20 inches!

80 grand is more than the cost of my waterfront land.

Indeed!

I told Bob yesterday that I wouldn't want to fish against you, Clayton. I would, however, like to net some of your beasts!

I'm a roamer, a rolling stone, a strolling crone.

"My thumb is raw," Bob just said. And I'm sad because my buddy leaves tomorrow morning, but we ended our visit dancing with bass, catching 40 (Bob caught most of them.) in about 2.5 hours. At one point, we saw four circling ospreys and we saw a loon swim underwater beside our canoe. Bob hooked an 18-incher in tight quarters and played her masterfully and a V of geese flew low overhead. I didn't even try to photograph the sunset. I couldn't capture that much beauty.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are! Bob's my buddy. He does have a wounded wing. He had shoulder surgery this spring and the bass keep wearing him out. I love how he loves walking through the woods to the pond...like me! For Bob and me, it's not just catching bass. For example, it's watching the birds and talking about them. I asked what a white-breasted black bird with a white-tipped tail was and Bob explained that it was a Kingbird, which flutter hovers in the air as it hunts bugs...and it does! We were both happy to see a grouse rise out of the bog, something I've never seen before that moment. And the carnivorous Pitcher Plants are blooming and we both enjoy them too, but most of all, Bob loves the bog. I'm Swamp Girl and he's Swamp Boy.

I would have loved your trip!

Bob and I fished for two hours this evening and we caught 29. Bob caught the biggest at 18 inches. He also caught a 17.75-incher, as did I. We fish well together, supporting each other, but with a light seasoning of teasing. Bob loves the beauty of my pond as much as I do and he knows more birds than me (and trees!) and I enjoy learning more names of nature. Bob really enjoys t-rigging, but he also caught bass on a Whopper Plopper and spinnerbait. Here are some of our bass, starting with the first one caught:

Bob and I caught 32 this morning. This was the biggest, caught by Bob: However, we caught many bass 16.5" and up: We had a great time, fishing and laughing and talking. Bob really enjoys fishing the shallow bog: It's very easy to spook bass in inches of water and we both loved watching the lines in the water that bass make when they scoot.

Nobody does fun better than Russ. Nice bass too!

In a couple hours, Bob caught about 20 and I caught four, but we tied in having a great time.

Strangely, @Blue Raider Bob and I have only fished once and that was with the Hero, but we might fish for two hours today and again tomorrow morning. There's just so much to do and share and Bob goes, goes, goes. He wants to see, walk, and eat Maine. Yesterday he walked alone along a stretch of thundering coast and plumbed tidal pools. He has a great eye and he notes and appreciates everything from the smallest flower to the biggest mansions. For those who know Maine, we're also visiting Camden today, the "Jewel of the Coast," where we'll watch the windjammers from the 1800s come and go, while sitting beside the waterfall that tumbles into the harbor. But we won't sit for long because Bob wants to see what's around the next corner. Tomorrow we'll done at a fish shack that's won a James Beard award and it too is situated by a falls, albeit a tidal reverse falls, which is a feature found only where you have great tides. And we're going to visit the world famous Wooden Boat School, since Bob is a builder and I think he'll love the craftsmanship and picture perfect campus. I'll soon post pics of this morning's fish.

Al:

And don't forget to get lucky!

Well, I finally went fishing with the vet and @Blue Raider Bob. Bob arrived last night from Tennessee and after I fed him taters, toast, an egg, and sausage links, the vet arrived and I drove them to my pond. It was 36 degrees when we launched and the canoes were frosty. Bob paddled by himself in my solo canoe and I put Al, the veteran, in the bow of my canoe. We all caught bass and enjoyed the beauty and quiet of my pond. Bob caught one that went about three pounds and we saw a few fat ones in the tandem canoe too: Here's Bob in my solo canoe: And here's Al from the back! It was an honor to fish with such fine men!

Well, we fished this morning and the hero had a great time. Bob from Tennessee is here too and he also had a peachy morning, although it was 36 degrees and the canoes were icy when we launched!

I've been fishing mostly T-rigged craws and underspins with craws or paddletails. When it gets warmer (It's 37 degrees right now.), I'll add poppers, buzzbaits, wacky worms, and T-rigged worms.

Stealth works. That's a tanker!