Swamp Girl

Amen. I'm totally old school. Some of my reels are more than 30 years old and some of my lures are 50 years old. P. S. - I'm also old too.

I hope I catch at least ONE fat bass too. @Catt sure catches his share, your share, and my share of big bass!

@PhishLI suggested a Snagless Sally after reading about how I had a bass break my spinnerbait in two. So, I bought five. If I manage to fish this evening, I'm going to give Ol' Sal a try. I think I can pitch it into just about anything. Here's Sally:

@IcatchDinks: Yeah, I catch a lot, but failure runs side-by-side with my success. What I wish my photos could convey is how many weeds are in the water I fish. There are places that appear to be open water in my photos, but if you were in my canoe and looked over the side, you'd see weeds in most places, often only a foot down and four feet thick.

Thanks, Gimruis. You are definitely not a he-man woman-hater like Spanky:

^This^ is why I like when other anglers report on ALL their trips, not just the ones when they land a big one or lots of bass. In the early spring and late fall, I have 0, 1, 2, and 3-bass trips and I report those numbers to convey a full sense of my angling life.

Fish from four to eight a.m. when there's little to no wind and stay close to shore. Apply the other tips too.

@IcatchDinks: I'm always happy to see you catch not-a-dink!

Been there, done that. @CastingClinic: Based upon a thread I started about landing percentage, where many BR members stated that they land 90% of their fish, I'm the worst angler to offer advice, as I land about 50% of the bass that hit, but you might have noticed in my photos that I use a longer net than nearly everyone and more than once, its long handle has let me reach bass that were too big for me to bring boatside right away. Some of those fish came unbuttoned just as my net captured them. When I landed my PB this spring, she was deep beside my canoe and I saw her white belly flash in the dark water, telling me where she was. So, I went for her with my long handle and landed her because of that big net. Anyway, CC, I'm sorry you lost three big ones. Here's a pic of my big net:

@fin nailed it. I only have this to add: I see my hits more than I feel them. The line will move left or right and I'll set the hook before I've even felt a hit.

@Bluebasser86:

I have caught hundreds of bass with Whopper Plopper, sometimes two at a time, and always with 7' 1" or 7' 2" MH rods. You do bass no favors by playing them too long on whippy rods.

So kind of you to write. Thanks!

I am committed to fun fishing, but I'm not hardwired for competitive fishing. I wouldn't enjoy the pressure. Competing would make it less fun, not more fun. In my entire life, I competed in one tournament (for muskies) with another woman where all the other teams were men. That was my one and done, even though we won it and the men were nothing but supportive. I want to be on a quiet lake, not a lake that actually gathers anglers to compete. The only time I ever felt the competitive fire was when I was being kind to a guy who was in my canoe and he was catching more fish than me the first day and started bragging. Then it was game-on and I outfished him for six, straight days. My takeaway from that week wasn't to compete more, but to avoid fishing with guys like that.

I'm guessing it's similar to Maine. As I wrote in another post, this is a property twenty minutes from my waterfront: $2,400,000 53 Marriners Brook Drive, Lincolnville, ME 04849 Look at the property above and you'll see a small, old camp. However, my five acres on the water cost me $75,000. Location, location, location. I did shop Lake Michigan waterfront and it was far above my pay grade. However, oceanfront here now begins at seven figures too, which it didn't just three years ago. If I could afford Michigan waterfront, I'd buy on the U.P. and purchase a whole lake.

Agreed.

Exactly. Anyone who has been to India, China, or Southeast Asia knows what unfettered population growth looks like.

Returning to JB's original post, I don't live that far from JB. You all know how many bass I catch. I dread the development disease spreading north. At one of the ponds I fish, the owners have a huge, electric-blue, floating, air-filled couch. They sit on it, drink, and talk louder and louder the drunker they become. They evidently prefer big, garish, loud, and ugly to the natural beauty of Maine.

@The Baron: Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed that your fishing picks up!

@Eric 26: Way to go, Buddy!

^This^ is your gratitude and I always applaud gratitude.

If you're right, then your gratitude is the way to go.

@gimruis: I just love how bass have such different shapes. Those are swell ones.

Ah, you've got tough standards, @TheRodJerker.

Sell them to the Kardashians. They love torn jeans.