Swamp Girl

Ha, ICD! I struggle to keep them out of the weeds with my MH rods. I'd have no control with a ML rod. I used to use ML rods for smallmouth up to five pounds in Ontario and pike up to 20 pounds, but Canadian Shield lakes have far fewer weeds than the bogs and ponds I fish nowadays.

A ML? Yikes!! I'd never get my bass into the canoe with that wet noodle.

I tried skip casting this morning, but failed. I'm fine with a low, sidearm cast, but my lure didn't skip.

Paved paradise and put up a parking lot. This is why I won't build on my 4.5 acres of lakefront. Development in Maine is the number one predictor of water quality. As the homes go up, the water quality goes down.

Batman and Robin. Martin and Lewis. Lennon and McCartney. Han Solo and Chewbacca. Pat and Jake. I observe that Phish is streaking. And Woody is too, but that's nothing new for Woody.

Regarding the tipsiness of my canoe, on the tipsiness scale, being long, light, and thin, it's a 10, but I've paddled it so much the last three years that it's feeling more and more like a second skin. I was leaning on it yesterday morning and it was listing as I leaned. For a sec, I thought, "Am I dancing with the devil there?" But I know my boat, like a whitewater kayaker knows her boat and sometimes, leaning looks more precarious than it is.

I'll try it tomorrow morning, but I'll watch some videos first. I would love to be able to skip a lure under branches. I'll be fishing from my heavy canoe. I'd have to work to tip that barge.

I'm gonna work on developing a skip cast. Thanks, guys.

Being a Yankee gal, I'm guessing I might have lasted an hour. You're tempered by heat, Mike.

Good ones, Mike!

I don't skip cast, but then I don't fish under docks because there aren't many docks where I fish and I'd hate to fuss around someone's property. Is there another reason I should learn to skip cast? Maybe a downed tree?

You scored!

It was the size that was mediocre. As far as New England, bass are plentiful in Maine. However, I'm learning that they're not plentiful for everyone. I fish a friend's pond and his family's camp counts four generations. My friend says that no one on the pond catches or has every caught the numbers that I do. When I first started reporting what I caught, he doubted me, but since I've taken his son and grandson fishing and they counted the bass along with me, plus seeing the many, many photos, he believes me. My best morning this year at his pond was 75 bass and one big pickerel.

This feels like a 24K tip. Thanks, Choppy!

That's the spirit. I know it's heresy to say, but catching bass isn't every wonderful thing in this wide world. Indeed! And that's one of the many wonderful things besides bass. Been there. I quit early yesterday morning too.

I love those Field and Stream covers. I have quite a few framed and hanging on my walls. I spoke with a Field and Stream editor years ago and we both missed the articles Field and Stream used to publish, which were as much about how it felt to be on the water with friends and family. That editor hated that they now only publish "how to" articles. Here's Jerry in a canoe. It's not a red canoe, but it's a northern lake. I love that his guide is a woman:

The kid, his father, and I went to a quality pond today. We caught a few solid ones up to 18 inches and 36 total, but mostly we just enjoyed being out there together. Is there anything prettier than a red canoe on a northern lake? I mean it. A red canoe on a northern lake is the stuff of 1930s Field and Stream covers. The lake itself is quite a looker too. Oh, yeah, bass.

I know. I keep expecting it to stop working. I don't think it works as well as it did a couple years ago, but here and there, it's what they want. I try to mix up my underspins too, so they don't become indifferent to them. For example, I used a fluke this morning.

I admire you, @Fir3hawk. As always, listen to @WRB. Tom is wise. @Pat Brown has the solution: Take Jake! And the wife sometimes too. That way, fishing and family are fused. #takeJaketothelake

Fingers crossed for Josh/@IcatchDinks! It's 2:46 a.m. here and I'm too excited to sleep anymore. Going fishing this morning with the kid and his dad. Speaking of kids, Jake is growing and growing and growing like a Castaic Lake bass! I've got a couple worms and a fluke rigged, along with a Whopper Plopper and a couple underspins.

I'd love to fish with you guys, but it's sooooooooooo far.

And how do you pull a bass out of that salad?

What lures are you using and how do you get them out of there?

From memory: The way that you wander Is the way that you choose The day that you tarry Is the day that you lose Sunshine or thunder A man will always wonder Where the fair wind blows.

Here's Tim, stealthily approaching his quarry.