Swamp Girl

@IcatchDinks: You and I are figuring how to catch these green bass, huh? Of course, I have the advantage of less fished water, but we're both catching more and bigger bass and it's cool to have a fellow student among so many master anglers.

Cool! Works in the South and the North! I fished it with a quarter-ounce Harmony underspin, but I'm guessing most anglers fish it T-rigged. I even trolled it until we trolled into a school of bass and then I cast it five times and hooked five bass before losing the claws. I felt like I was tossing cotton candy at a pack of pre-schoolers.

Thank you, Pat. If only that were true, but it's fun to imagine it is. I have freely admitted I can't remember the names of lures, but what I never forget is where I've caught bass. I remember every bush and nook. I even remember where I caught them 50 years ago. Bass move a lot, but they move from one favored location to another, so if you remember where they were, you're two steps ahead on finding where they are. I don't dawdle at a spot. I think half a dozen to a dozen casts are sufficient to determine if they're there. Then it's on to the next spot in my Rolodex brain. I just ordered some more Bronco Bugs by Rapala. The bass LOVED that bait last night. To order it, I had to Google it because I couldn't remember the name...as always. Anyway, if you haven't tried this bait, I suggest it. I only had one with me and when a bass ripped the claws off it, I was done, but more are on the way.

I want to somehow put the dad in my canoe so he too can catch 30/40/50 bass. He's a great guy and if I could position him on fish, I think he'd be a whiz too. When I was young, I nearly always fished with one guy, so that guy was always in my canoe. Well, one time I put my dad in my canoe and my regular fishing partner was in a solo canoe...and he couldn't catch a single smallie. My dad and I were over a honey hole and I'd just landed a 21-incher, so I invited my fishing buddy to park beside us. He was thirty yards away and he said, "They have to be here too." "They aren't," I replied. "We have never caught a fish there." But he was mule-headed and got skunked, while we boated bass after bass. As realtors say, "Location, location, location."

I forgot to share that I caught two bass again on one lure, this time the River2Sea Bubble popper in bone. It was my third double of 2024 and the kid was thrilled. He didn't know such a thing was possible. When he returns on July 4th, he, his dad, and I are going big bass hunting. . The kid likes to catch a lot of bass, but LOVES big bass. I've shown him photos of some of my big bass and he asked, "Where did you catch those?" I told him, "I'll show ya, but we probably won't catch as many." "I don't care," he replied. "I want to try." "We'll have to work harder to launch." "I don't care. I want to go." So, he's a young @AlabamaSpothunter, @Pat Brown, @A-Jay, @Dwight Hottle, @T-Billy, etc., with a hunger for big bass. I hope I can put him on one. I would be honored to net it and photograph it and fist bump the kid. I asked the father last night if he wants to go too and he does, so I look forward to the three of us working together to find a big gal. The kid's come a long ways since 2023. Our top morning or evening total last year was about 30 and yesterday alone, he caught about four bass bigger than anything he caught in 2023, as well as our 82-bass, morning-and-evening total. Again, he caught the majority of those as I'm paddling to position him a lot of the time. I caught most of my fish when we paddled to a new spot and I trolled along the way. One advantage of a canoe is when one person paddles, your speed is perfect for trolling. The kid always wants to help paddle, but I tell him we'd move too fast then for trolling. I know most bass anglers don't troll, but it's effective. Maybe not as fun as casting, but just as effective. Finally, we fished the kid's pond in the morning and my pond in the evening. Except for one spot at the kid's pond, we couldn't find shallow bass. At my pond, a mere three miles away with similar structure on the same day, the bass were shallow everywhere. Bass are a mystery.

The kid and I went fishing for two hours this evening at my pond. We caught 27 and he caught the majority because I spent a lot of my time paddling to position the canoe. Here are two of his bass and the setting Sun. Thanks, Alex. I had such fun seeing him catch bass. I fished a crawdad imitation by Rapala's Crush City this evening and the bass crushed it. So fun to succeed with a new lure and even more fun seeing a kid score with a new lure. I also pitched Rapala's Crush City Mayor in red for the first time and the bass loved that too. I didn't want him to take the great fishing for granted, so at one point, I said, "Do you realize that most people don't catch bass at the rate we do?" I was glad to hear him say, "Oh, I know."

They're not just the fish of ten thousand casts. They're also the one fish of ten strikes.

Agreed.

I wouldn't want that. My two heads are plenty for me.

I'm disappointed that no one would put John Candy on their Mount Rushmore. Better known as a comedian, he was nevertheless one of the most innovative anglers of all time and the host of Fishin' Musician, as seen below: John fished with all the other great, innovative anglers, like The Tubes, who brought formal dress to bass fishing:

@TnRiver46: Troublemaker. However, given how gray that day was and how often you fish, you too might be entitled to wear fur. It's Tim's call, of course. I've launched on 29 degree days quite recently and walked across icy fields to do so. I've fished the Mississippi in Minnesota in January from a little boat. Still, I haven't earned the fur because I've witnessed the conditions you fish and what you catch.

If someone else ever donned a fur hat, I'd dismiss them as a pretender. You don't get to wear the fur hat unless you're out there, day and night, wrasslin' muskies and everything else.

I appreciate all of the above. It's good to have reminders.

Oh, I can see it's a big bass. Thick. I haven't caught one that big for many, many years. I also like the range of your photo compositions. You have a good eye for that.

@Rockhopper: Mr. Hopper, I especially like that first smallie.

You fished for 4.5 hours in the darkest night, so you did great. On my way home from fishing this morning, I had a bear mama and cub cross the road in front of me. That's the way to see a mama bear, inside a steel box!

Nice ones, Mr. Fowler! Did you get the heeby-jeebies?

We are so proud of you, The Bass Artist Formerly Known as I Catch Dinks. Frankly, it's weird to be thanked for advice because I'm usually the thanker, not the thankee, but thanks! Whew, I'm the thanker again.

I fished with "the kid" for the first time in 2024 and together, we landed a 20-pound bag or close to it among a 55 fish total. Again, an underspin with a Crush City green pumpkin Mayor was the main lure, but we caught a few on a Whopper Plopper and popper too. I was thrilled to net THREE 19" bass for the boy and I caught a couple too from the stern, along with several 3.5-pounders. Our goal this year is for the boy to catch his first five-pounder. However, looking at his second fish, we might have already achieved that goal. Big mouth on that gal. My bass look smaller, but they were fine fish too, in the 18.75" to 19.25" range. To be frank, I sometimes get confused on which fish in my photos were the longest ones, so I just posted three that I liked. They weren't in the reeds or lily pads or anywhere shallow. You can see we were a ways off-shore. Some pics:

I am 16' 5" tall, so remember that when you guess the weight of my fish.

If you can't remember, then it's a pretty safe bet to list this as your day's catch, given the variety of fish you catch: lmb, striper, drum, bluegill, and mahi mahi.

The real search and FAR more elusive is for Andy's immense knowledge. Put me on the real Lake Menderchuck and I'll catch bass, but I won't catch the immense bass that Andy catches.

I'd only do it if I were in bad shape. In Ontario, I lived on lake water.

In a pinch, I can drink lake water. It's clean enough here.