Swamp Girl

Funny post, Bob. Funny 'cause it's TRUE!

Gone with the wind

Big cat.

I wish I could help you, Ryan, but I lose so many fish. This is all I've got: There are certain lures that increase your odds. Wake baits move so slowly across the water that bass get a good bead on them. On the other hand, lures with single hooks that aren't exposed mean more lost fish for me.

@king fisher: You are a heckuva angler and storyteller. @Team9nine: Cool umbrella rig. Literally and figuratively.

@Woody B: I wish I could report that I lost a single bass, but I lose so many. This morning, I tried fishing with the Crush City Mayor on an underspin swim jig, but I had to retrieve so quickly to keep it above the weeds that bass weren't interested. So, I reverted to a nearly buried hook on a Harmony underspin and lost more bass than I boated. So did the kid. Part of the problem is that I, like @AlabamaSpothunter, don't want to wound a bass, so I set the hook early, knowing that they will swallow a Mayor on an underspin if I give them a few seconds. Anyway, Woody, you land way more than you lose, unlike me.

"Crickety o'clock" and "crickety special" made me laugh and that sandwich made me drool! Let us know how Nuclear Lake fishes.

Good fishing, Alex!

Thanks for the update, Bob. I laughed when I read that you want a Maine bog in Tennessee! If that's the way you're playing it, then I'm going to build my own Nashville here! I'm warming up by building my own Dollywood. Seriously, the pond looks great and I enjoyed your pics and anecdotes.

You're thinking of the big girl I caught at another pond this spring.

There is so much value to you, Bob. So. Much. Well, the kid and I fished one last time for a couple weeks. I open with a morning sky pic, then some of the bass, I caught, and finally, the kid's biggest bass of the morning. The kid caught his biggest bass in our honey hole, which I always give to him, i.e. I let him cast while I position the boat. We caught 45 total and I caught bass with seven different lures: Rage Tail, popper, wakebait, Mayor, Bronco Bug, and Keitech. The bass were mostly offshore and the kid was actually tired. Yeah, I exhausted a 12-year old. Come to think of it, I'm tuckered too.

@IcatchDinks: Ha!

@The Baron: Those fish are well fed! @NorcalBassin: Of course, your post made me smile. I wish more women fished, so I'm sure happy when they do and even happier when they land first, most, and biggest.

I feel like we're factory workers passing each other. Your shift is over and mine is just starting. "Hey, Al." "Hey, Kate."

Alex, what are you doing up so early? Going fishing too? I do own a laser thermometer, but stopped carrying it when the water warmed. I'll hopefully find it and start using it again. Thanks for the tip. Smart to log your daily temps too.

They're forever on the move. We're fishing again this morning I told the kid that we're going to start off-shore today to see if they're still holding there. However, I won't be surprised if they're back in the reeds and lily pads. They do move. And move. And move.

I'm chasing my Moby Dick too. She sits under a bush at the start of an outlet. The outflow river has good flow and is a tunnel of overhanging bushes, so if i were to be sucked into it, my rods would tangle terribly. I've hooked her three times and all three times, she roars out of the tunnel and plunges into reeds. I haven't come close to catching her, but I'll try again this morning.

I believe ya, Alex. Believe, Bob, believe!

This is a cool thread and I look forward to the updates. I could learn so much fishing with your cast of co-anglers.

I didn't think about this, Alex, but I wonder if our water ever reaches 80 degrees. Plus, like @Pat Brown, I horse them on spinning gear. I have never played a bass for two to three minutes.

Wowza! Such a fun line. You can fish...and...write! You are seasoned too. Great call. I'm just happy for you. Purely happy. How happy? Like when I net a big bass for "the kid" happy. Like when a big bass stops her run for the wood inches short. Like when I hook a big gal with lotsa water to play her. As far as coming short of my fishing trips, nah. I'd be plumb pleased with a dozen bass over 17" and 35 overall. My grin would reach from Maine to the Pacific Northwest.

I don't know if you guys know this, but @Blue Raider Bob has his own action figure.

I'm the opposite of you, Woody. I do plan to use my baitcasting outfits more as the weed growth progresses, but you all know I prefer spinning gear. I am accurate casting it and I believe I cast farther with it.

I think the above is most likely to happen if you have a conveyor belt of gobies or rainbow trout installed. Under the most ideal circumstances, 21-pound bass are still as rare as red diamonds.

Heckuva bass angler and a HECKUVA crappie angler. The ones you've caught just this year would make many crappie anglers' careers. We're all thinking the same thought.