Swamp Girl

Ha! You bet your sweet bippee, I do.

Mike!!!

Both, but I lean toward smaller.

I love the humor in your posts. Your wife is as funny as you! Consider stand-up, okay? For once, I'm rooting for the Bait Monkey. That monster you lost ate a 12.5" bass. It would also eat a giant glide bait. You and me, brother. However, when I was a kid, I couldn't afford the expensive Zebco 33. I fished with a Zebco 404.

You're asking the right gal. I've caught hundreds of them in the reeds the last few weeks (I know it might sound like I'm stretching here, but look at my trip reports and you'll see I really have caught that many.). You can't fish too shallow. Like I said, I often cast within two or three inches of the shoreline and immediately hook up. However, sometimes I start retrieving about a second before the lure hits the water when I know the water is super skinny because the bottom is slimy from rotted weeds and I don't want to slime coat my lure because they won't hit it then. A swim jig is going to have a more exposed hook. I think it would work, but I also think you'll be picking weeds off it and you might not have the fearlessness I have with my Owner underspin with the hook point tight to the body of the Crush City. I like the four-inch-class soft plastics. The Keitechs are 4.3 inches. The Crush City plastics look a little shorter. As far as new growth, right now in Maine, there is new growth in the zombie weeds, so, yes, they're in the new growth too. I don't think I'm fishing the reeds as much as I'm fishing the bottom. @Glenn explained that the reeds are growing out of a bottom that's little firmer than the muds that lily pads prefer. The bass are prestaging on that firmer bottom. Don't apologize for asking. You ask great questions.

I tried it once and caught about a dozen with it. I should try it again.

This video is one of Glenn's best. I learned several things from it and had a couple other things confirmed and explained.

Thick, slimy, decayed reeds that stand about an inch above the water, as the rest of the reed has fallen away. I don't know their precise name. They are round and hollow. Maybe pencil reeds? I cast an Owner underspin with a Rapala Crush City or Keitech with the hook point tight to the body of the soft plastic. I start retrieving as soon as they hit the water because I'm casting into the slime of decay. You will feel a tick-tick-tick as the lure bumps into the reeds and then you will feel a bigger tick or tug as a bass takes it. However, I often don't even feel the bass take it. I'll just see the line moving sideways and I'll set the hook. Yes, some of the bass will be on the edge of the old reeds, but most of them are in it. Many of them are an inch from the shoreline too. Yeah, they will, but I'd rather not cast six hook points into that decaying jungle. However, if I see an open slot, for fun, I have dropped surface lures into those and caught bass that way too, but 97% of them come on the Owner underspin. FWIW, I've found the Rapala Crush City to be sturdier than the Keitechs. I've caught as many as 20 bass on a single Crush City. I also caught 24 on a T-rigged blue lizard the other day casting into the salad, but I prefer the fast retrieve of the Owner underspin because I cover more water with it. It's nearly weedproof too. One final thing: In the middle of the zombie reed fields, there are some woody shrubs and being lazy, I'll sometimes cast to the far side of a woody shrub and if I hook a bass, that's when life gets interesting. Remember base in the childhood games we played, that safe place where no one can get you? Well, lmbs consider those woody shrubs to be base. Pat, this made me laugh. It so Dr. Seussian. Pat can catch them on a box. Pat can catch them in the rocks. Pat can catch them in the rain. Pat can catch them from a train. And for those of you who don't follow Pat and his exploits, he does catch them everywhere and every way.

@Glenn just posted an especially informative video about structure versus cover and in it, he said that bass can cluster near sudden depth changes. Now, you might not be able to relate to my question because there are few places in the U.S. as rocky as Maine, but we have boulders everywhere: in our soil, on our coast, and in our ponds. I'll be paddling along in 6' of water, look down, and realize that I'm suddenly over 12" of water because of a boulder, the size of a van or five vans. In northwestern Ontario, I caught smallmouth off similar boulders, but in Maine, I don't catch smallies or lmbs off of them even though I try. Any ideas as to whether they should hold bass and if so, what I should try?

Reading about @GRiver's fiberglass tree stakes and your logging chain anchor makes me smile. It's soooooooo old school, making do with what's cheapest instead of what's shiny and new.

I use Cabela's brand 30-lb. braid that I bought many years ago. It works, although I did have it break last night on a cast, but that was my fault since I hadn't retied in too long, I could see it was fraying at the knot, and I'd caught a LOT of bass on that knot.

6 lb. Stren used to be my only line. You can cast even light lures into the next county with it. However, fishing bogs ended my marriage to Stren 6 lb. test. Bogs are a harsh mistress and will brook no light line.

@softwateronly: I caught back-to-back 19-inchers once in my life (2023) and will die with a smile on my face just thinking about those two beauties, but with your feat of multiple 20-plus-inchers in 30 minutes, you should die doing this: @OHBuckets: It was generous of @A-Jay to share one of his bass. Am I the only one who has reread ^this^ sentence several times simply to savor it?

Glenn just posted a video stating that rotted reeds indicate a firmer bottom best for spawning. I've found this to be true and have literally caught hundreds of bass in 2024 in rotted reeds. I think the guys will tell you that the larger females are likely to be staging near the rotted weeds in deeper water. The rotted reeds sit in one to two feet of water, so you'll need a lively retrieve.

^This^ alone gives you a score of 3.1, a mere 0.1 above my empty hull canoe. FWIW, I like your boat. A Yamaha 4-stroke is a heckuva engine and your rig would be stable and comfy.

The way you catch bass, keag, you don't need tech.

26 bass this evening at a pal's pond. Some samples below. In order, a long one, a fat one, the thickest one, and the prettiest one. @king fisher, your account of the lost monster was thrilling. Congrats on the 8-pounder, the 5-pounders, 4-pounder, and the others.

No doubt, that 2-incher is hard to cast. I suggest you go only slightly larger with hooks. Too big and they'll impede its action.

I think it's cool that you fish two ways. I ALWAYS cast from the bank before I launch because that's how I learned to fish. And when I catch a bass from the bank, I am happy because it's easier than landing a bass in a moving canoe.

Thanks, Woody. I didn't know they jumped and the surfboarding technique is something I hope I can remember to use.

ICD, your catch rate and catch quality are improving. I'm proud of you and happy for you! When I was young, I fished a farm pond where the bass loved the 2" Rapala. Good memories.

Ah, we're kin! I'm also a member of the Clan of Sneaky Snakes. I'm going to run out of "Thank you" reactions shortly, so pre-thanks to all who will answer. I find the range of how we catch bass fascinating.

@Woody B: Woody, you wrote a bit back about how bass are IN wood, not near laydowns. Two questions: How often do you snag? When you hook a bass, how do you get it out of the tree?

I've simply imagined the scale for fun and to invite all to consider why they fish the way they do.