Swamp Girl

Joe catching his first 2026 bass sure makes me smile.

Cool story.

That's a little surprising, but kind of cool. You found your own way to catch bass. "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." ~ Henry David Thoreau

You said it well and I agree with you.

Here are some other bass from the same bog. The second one was 6.75 pounds. I didn't weigh the others, but they're all similar in size. I use the lower jaw to tell me when a bass is heavy. Their weight distends their lower jaw:

I had a bass at one of my two bogs try to eat a 15-incher that I was about to land. I don't know how big the bass was even though it was right beside my canoe. All I saw was froth and fury. Here's a sample of the bass I catch in that bog, but I expect the one trying to eat my 15-incher was bigger than the bass below based upon the amount of water it was moving:

Yes, an underspin with a swimbaits/paddletail trailer. It's hard for me to put it down because it does everything. I can slow roll it on the bottom. I can work the mid-column. I can cast it into the heaviest cover. I can troll it. Heck, I've even caught bass buzzing it across the surface like a buzzbait. It's heavy and compact and perfect for casting into wood. And even though I'm fishing in weedy water, I hardly ever have to pick weeds off of it. See the weeds in the photo below and beneath the weeds you can see, there are a guhzillion more. If you don't believe me, cast a crankbait into an open area and see what you catch. It'll be green, but it won't be a green bass: Like you, King, I'm fishing out of a small boat, so I can only carry so many rods and perhaps unlike you, my eyes are old and I need readers to tie a knot, which I don't like to do when I could be fishing. So, I like to go with the lures on the four to six rods I take. Say, King, I really enjoyed reading your post. You're a good storyteller.

I envy your forecast, @casts_by_fly. I'm guessing we won't have something similar until April.

To be fair, working a full time job and caring for a family matters much more than catching bass. So, if you take a kid fishing, that might not be hardcore, but it's the best. I worry that the Kid I take fishing might be distracted by girls one day and we won't launch together anymore.

Since "notoriety" means "the state of being famous or well known for some bad quality or deed," I better quit bass fishing since I don't want to commit bad deeds. ;-)

You succeed. I've told you more than once how you go fishing with me every time I launch. What you've taught me plays in my head. I didn't envision this thread as a ranking. It's more about the person who posts than the person they name. Here's why: Kirtley's right. So, we chose other anglers based upon our criteria. Facing some minor health issues, I'm awed by anglers who power through major health issues. Frightened by cold water, I admire anglers who launch off of snow-covered banks. This doesn't mean that I can't see beyond my ken. For example, I don't fish with gators, but I can still admire those who do, perhaps because I've fished in bear country and bears bite too.

Says the man who fishes everywhere for everything every which way.

A boat 99.5% of the time. I caught dozens of bass casting from my boardwalk in all of 2025, but the majority of my pond has an uncastable shoreline. 75% is wetlands. The other 25% is private land that's steep and rocky. So, I can cast from my boardwalk and that's it. One time I caught six bass in seven casts from my boardwalk, but that was the exception. Usually it's one, two, or three. I do love fishing from a shoreline. It's comfy casting. I wish my pond permitted it. Here's a pic of some of the shoreline: See the plants? They're growing in soil, right? However, when you step on it, it's like walking on a waterbed. And here's some of the shoreline that's solid. Not much better, huh?

It sure is beautiful. If @A-Jay bought it, it would be beautiful forever. If I bought it, it would soon have squirrels nesting in it.

More beauties landed by the Chef and Team 99. Your bass look so healthy. And fishing in big wind make them even more impressive.

I'm glad you'll still have some income, but tips and tuna are a big loss. I'm sad for your crew. Fishing more for bass sounds like you're making lemonade out of lemons. When it comes to fear, perception trumps reality. When I worked with children of a reservation, one person warned me, "A white woman shouldn't go out there without an escort." Well, that guy was right. It was a little dangerous. I always feared that the kids would tip me when they came running out to hug me.

You go get those sixes!

Bob, I once tried to catch bass in a quarry pond and utterly failed. Again, the water was gin clear. However, when I hooked a nightcrawler in the head and lofted that out there, with it writhing for all the bass to see, they raced to it and swallowed it. The only challenge is casting a nightcrawler without a sinker. When I used a sinker, they ignored it.

I am thrilled to read accounts of anglers fighting big bass. Plus, I so frequently feel right on the edge of failing to land a big girl (and I do lose some, of course) that it's reassuring to read that I'm not the only one who struggles.

Wow, Eric! I saw a Purple finch today. Not a big deal for a lot of you, but it's the first one I've seen in several years.

Clayton, that bottom bass is a walrus! How did it fight?

Hardcore.

Thanks for the update, King. I hope the good news keeps coming and I hope you can get to your doctor tomorrow.

Private lake? COOL! How big is it?

Bob is a great guy. I'm hosting him this summer and I hope you find a way to connect with him too.