Swamp Girl

You are spot on, @gimruis, about the poop. I wish a goose had opened its wings and charged my little guy because after he sent them packing, he'd roll in their poop.

I've posted too many bass. My trip reports get fewer and fewer views, reactions, and replies. Going forward, I'll just post a bass or two in the Latest Catch Pics thread...and maybe one pond pic. I've posted many photos because: A. I like looking at bass and I figured you guys might be like me. B. I think Maine bass vary greatly in color and shape and I like seeing the differences. However, I'll throttle back. I'm surprised no one reacted to the pickerel. It makes me think that thick pickerel are pretty common for you guys, but I only catch them at this pond. This is the pond where I caught a pickerel that I think would have been a new Maine record about a week or so ago. That pickerel sagged like a pregnant bass, but she wasn't pregnant because pickerel spawn at ice-out. I know the pickerel photo above is a lousy photo, but even in a net, pickerel are bonkers. She wouldn't stop flipping. I nearly never net pickerel, but I netted this girl so you could see how thick they grow in this pond and they outfight five-pound bass, so I actually enjoy them.

You've got a goose Krakken. My deceased mini-Schnauzer loved to chase the geese who'd use the adjoining cemetery as a rest stop. 200 geese. One 18-pound dog...a thousand-plus pounds of geese...and they'd yield.

Thanks! It was a pal's pond. On my pond, on average, I'd catch forty-some in 2.5 hours, but I like fishing different ponds.

@T-Billy: Those kids are crazy! I can't decide if it's a good or bad crazy.

@txchaser: Yikes! How many bass shredded your hand???

Well angled! I'm out of reactions, but I enjoyed your post.

I spent my final evening on a pal's pond. Next week, it's back to lugging my canoe over fields and through woods, but not having to do this let me fish four times this week instead of two. This pond saved the best for last, as I caught nine bass in the three and a third pounds to more than three and a half pounds. The pencil reeds have grown higher and thicker and it's verrrry difficult to bring a bass out of them. To take a break from failure, I dragged a Rapala Crush City The Mayor on the bottom in deeper water and landed some thick fish. It's amazing what a little weed-free water will do for my success rate. Below, the first two bass are well-shaped, but smaller. Look at the fins of the first bass. That's a nest maker, the first one I've seen. Then there's a pretty shoreline pic. Then two well-shaped smallmouth. Then another pretty pic. And then the parade of slabs. Some of them are so round, thick, and beautiful, but a few are simply long. Then a reflection photo for @IcatchDinks. And finally, a pic of a pickerel. The pickerel grow as thick as nice pike in this pond and I wanted to share their girth with the BR gang. Note how calm the water is. After a week of fighting wind, a calm day meant more fishing and less paddling in my three hour session. I caught 37 total.

You betcha! 😉

@AlabamaSpothunter: Alex, there are acres of those pencil reeds at my pal's pond. They're so stiff and fibrous that when a bass attaches my lure to one, I have to paddle to the reed to free the lure. Oh, well. Sometimes I win and sometimes the bass win. I'm going to try a spinnerbait and buzzbait tonight. My pond doesn't have those pencil reeds. It has lily pads, meaning, according to Glenn, a softer bottom. However, my pond also has rocky bottom and that's where I catch smallmouth. If I find trash, which I rarely do, I always pack it out. As far as my pond property, I took a couple friends down to it and the wife said, "It's wild. It's you."

Yesterday evening was glowing, Alex. I think the photos I took yesterday are the ones I like best of all my BR photos. I'm going fishing again this evening. I have soooooo much more energy for fishing when I don't have to haul my canoe, but it's back to hauling next week so I can fish two of my favorite big bass bogs.

As an old woman, I also approve. Great storytelling, @TheLastBestFish!

I am thinking of putting a casting deck on my canoe and mounting a 250 hp Merc on it. I'm looking for a test pilot. Interested? I used to live in Wisconsin and I once fished a northern Wisconsin lake down a long trail that was full of five-pounders. I wish I could remember its name as I'd share it with you, but I'm guessing it's one of hundreds of such little lakes holding big bass.

You're too humble. Everyone knows that WRB abbreviates Whadda Ruth, Babe!

@NorthernBasser: What a day!!! Don't forget about this thread. It's a lively one. It would be great to have you join the gang that frequents it.

I'm Forrest Gumpy too. I never know where the bass have gone. I just keep casting/paddling/running until something good happens.

Bob, my fishing this last week has shown this to be so. I don't know if you remembered, but last year, I shared my failure to land bass that were surface feeding. I didn't catch a single one. This year, I've done better with a JackAll DriftFry strolling minnow (Thanks to @AlabamaSpothunter.) and a Shimano Flash Boost popper. I catch some of the bug-slurping bass, but nowhere near the majority that I see because, as you've observed at your pond, I have to land a lure with two feet of them in three seconds or less after they feed. They feed and they're gone, looking for another bug. Still, even though I mostly fail, it's a beautiful sight, to simply look at on the lake and see dozens of bass rising. Thanks for today's post, Bob. I really enjoyed it and love the fact of your fish following you. You're the goose and they're your goslings.

Heck, yeah. That John Daly/Tiger Wood yin yang one is my favorite, but there are lots of near favorites.

Thanks, ICD. I took several photos to get the one you like. I don't know if you know this, but Maine is thick with artists. They settle here for the quality of the light. I like how the bow of my canoe is in nearly all my landscape shots. I was bemoaning the relative demise of canoes in Maine with a pal recently. Sure, there are still canoes, but they're far outnumbered by kayaks and motorboats. Canoes are beautiful to me. I love their simplicity. They're simply a hull as tricked-out canoes are rare. Canoes remind me of the famous Shaker song: "Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free, 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'Twill be in the valley of love and delight."

Virtually None. They play a Childs game for a living. My career required participating in real Life & Death deals almost on the daily. No question these men & women work hard to perfect their rare God Given athletic ability, but they are still playing a game, regardless of the press coverage and the misguided pedestal they get placed on. Their efforts often offer us a welcome distraction from the reality of our life's, however, there's usually very little there to emulate in my mind. Being able to pass, punt & throw is not an indicator of good character. Isn't it funny how "Being a Good Man or Woman" just doesn't mean that much any more. Unless one isn't. A-Jay Andy, I used career in a bass fishing context. Can this be done? Well, here's the meaning of career: "an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life and with opportunities for progress." And here's the secondary meaning of occupation: "any activity on which time is spent by a person" I invited the guys to play, to be goofy, and self-deprecate. They did.

Impressive. So glad you went with your buddies, which makes great fishing even better. However, please don't tell your pal with the 300 HP Mercury about my quarter horsepower paddling arms. I don't want him to be jealous.

I like this..a lot: Protecting the resource! Congrats, Toxic. So. Many. Big. Bass!!!

I've kept my canoe at a pal's pond this week. The fishing was suddenly harder, as the reeds rose overnight and the lily pads are getting thicker. I caught 31 bass, but likely lost 40 or more. They dive, hook on a reed or lily pad stem, and shake free. I lead with the four best bass, followed by a golden light shot, then one of a smallmouth, which are never big but always beautiful, then the sunset, and finally, one of the smaller bass. I did apply @Pat Brown's advice and @T-Billy's advice to turn the fish with brute force and once they're on the surface, surfboard them to the canoe. When I remembered to do that, their tactics worked pretty well, but I didn't always remember because everything happens in a second. I'll fish my pal's pond one more time this week and next week, I'll fish two bogs, one where I caught my PB and the other where I caught three six-plus-pounders in 2023. I heard a turkey gobble and an owl hoot and saw a fox and two deer. The third bass down is a tank, huh?

Thanks, Alex. Taxes are only $350 per year and I bought the land for $75,000. That's a lot of money for a retired schoolmarm, but I could just afford it. The driveway contractor said I've increased the value of the land already by $40,000 because now potential buyers can see the pond. It also has many fine, old trees. It's my Heaven, so it's not going on the market. If you ever come to Maine, you'll need a place to camp and a canoe and pond to fish, after all.

I love your attitude, ICD. Reggie, Reggie, Reggie!