Swamp Girl

Word would spread quickly and then wherever you went, you'd have a line of Gollums skulking after you, all claiming that the big girl was their precious, their birthday present: I'm only half kidding.

I'd post it on BR, but since I weigh so few fish, I'd merely have a big bass pic to share and not a confirmed state record.

Cassie, are you looking to ascertain what differences in soft plastics trigger more strikes?

I hate that. When I'm fishing cold water, my hands are already cold and then the fish make them even colder.

Thanks for shining a light, Russ. So, you think there's no overarching way to manage all bodies of water for the biggest bass?

AI disagrees: "Larger, older female largemouth bass ("DD" or double-digit, 10+ lbs) produce significantly more eggs than smaller, younger ones. Larger females have higher fecundity, creating thousands more eggs per spawn. They also invest more energy per egg, resulting in larger larvae with better survival rates." I'll concede this, but there's a reason females don't guard nests: Making all those eggs comes close to killing them...and some don't recover and do die.

Welllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll, whereas what you wrote is funny, reproduction for bass is more like this... ...and less like this...

I'm chucking an @Siebert Outdoors spinnerbait with a Mayor trailer and 30 lb. test braid.

I will add one thing: You are likely missing hits. You are missing chances to catch more bass because bass can hit so lightly. There are no shortcuts to detecting hits. You have to experience the great range of how bass can hit a lure. Sometimes it feels like I'm retrieving through slightly thicker water. Other times, I feel nothing, but see my line do something strange, like go slack or move to the side. Other times, I couldn't even describe what I feel. My retrieve just feels ever so slightly different. So, as they say, since hook sets are free, so set away! I used to take people fishing in northwestern Ontario and whereas we'd begin and end the days with lures, in mid-day, we used leeches. It amazed me how often even experiences anglers would miss a hit on their leech.

Last year I learned how to use a buzzbait. This year I hope to catch bass with a chatterbaits and surface lures with little props. I did use a Ned bait on one trip three years ago and I caught 15 bass with it, but I didn't enjoy that style of fishing. However, I might revisit it in 2026. Thanks for the video, Glenn. I like how you get to the point. No graphics and music to start and no false promises of "Fishing for SUPER HUGE bass!" and then the YouTube angler proceeds to catch one 2.5-pound bass.

I fish from canoes with no electronics on ponds less than 400 acres, so in our Venn diagram, you and I would be two circles that barely touch, however I suggest fishing a little like me: I rig six rods before I launch. I retire them all for each fishing trip so that the knots are fresh and unlike most bass anglers and I'll cast all six lures. If I had a big boat like yours, I'd have a dozen or more rods rigged and ready to cast. Sometimes I'll just cast a lure once. Other times I'll stick with it. I've caught a lot of bass in my life, so I have good hunches based upon decades of bass catching. You earn those hunches by fishing, so stick with it. The fish will eventually come. I troll a lot. I troll two rods whenever I'm moving from one casting spot to another. Trolling is my FFS. It has taught me a lot about where off-shore bass hang, plus I'm fishing 99% of the time I'm on the water because I'm trolling...and when I'm trolling, I'm fishing 100% of the time with two lures, so I up my odds. It's exciting when a rod snaps back with a bass. Sometimes, because off-shore bass school, both rods will snap back at the same time and that's a circus. Be as quiet as possible. With your motor and FFS, you're already churning the water and pulsing sound, so don't clomp around your boat and drop gear on the deck atop those noises. And if you're fishing cover, learn to alight your lure on the water. Plus, there is no cover too thick for bass. Bass can wedge themselves into spots that are more weeds and wood than water. They prefer those spots! For such spots, use soft plastics and skin hook the point of your hook. Plus, vary your retrieves. When I'm varying my retrieves to determine what bass want that day, I say aloud what I'm doing to help me remember when a bass hits. Once a bass hits, I mostly stick with that retrieve. Lastly, once you catch bass at a particular place on a particular day, look to repeat that pattern. For example, if you pull a bass from a laydown on a windblown shore, keep casting at laydowns on the windblown shore. However, a pattern can die quickly, as bass are shifty critters, so don't keep repeating the pattern if it stops working. Your lures are fine. What matters is the wiggle you put in those worms and minnows.

Good idea. I love Door County. There's also great salmon, whitefish, and musky fishing. I love Big Bay de Noc too...and its little brother.

Yeah, he's hardcore.

You might have noticed, Joe, that I changed my signature to "Fish happy." a few months back. That's because that's my overarching 2026 goal. I am blessed with fisheries that produce good numbers of good-sized bass and when I'm fighting my 1,000th bass of the year, it's possible to be less than thrilled. Well, I want to play every bass with all due gratitude in 2026, even if it's a 15-incher. I have been witnessing the slow demise of my parents who are both in their 90s. That's my future and it's not my distant future; It's my ongoing future. Soon I'll be too weak and wobbly to climb into a canoe at four in the morning, so this year, I want to climb into my canoe as excited as when I was 14. And I want to guide Bob and the Kid to fish that thrill them. I'm talking to another Bass Resourcer about a visit and if he also comes, I want him to have a yahoo time too. And I do plan to use lures that have been gathering dust to see if I can catch fish with them too because it's fun to experiment. So, Joe, I'll be following your lead and I suspect we won't be alone. As far as PBs, @Pat Brown over the last three years estimated two of my bass as eight-pounders and he would know as well as anyone because he catches such big bass. Maine bass don't get a whole lot bigger than eight pounds, so I'm good with those two. To be frank, the fours, fives, sixes, and seven-pounders make me almost happy as an eight-pounder. The four-pounders and up are all such strong fish and deliver similarly thrilling and challenging fights. Throw in some weeds and I feel lucky to land any of them!

I have two tubs full of Crush City soft plastics, but I wouldn't be surprised if I use them all and then some this year. The bass chew through them.

Thanks for the reminder, Bob. Will do, Bob, will do. And thanks for sharing your heartbreak, Bob. Our hearts are broken too...for you. For Glenda. For your kids and all who loved her and you.

They love their papa. Lake Lucy...I love it!

Those clouds will close and darken when you lose it (-$); check those knots! Unless I catch a seven-pounder with it, if I lose it, I'd likely never buy another, but I rarely lose lures.

I like the way you fish...and respect the fish...and care for the fish. In my more than half century of fishing, I've only seen one bass I caught too hurt to resume swimming. It splashed for a couple minutes on the surface and then an eagle took it. Even when I fished the same lake for a week or more, 12 hours a day, fishing the same spots, I never found a dead bass on the surface, even though I caught hundreds each week. Sure, I might have killed some, but I never saw any proof. Of course, I've killed fish when I kept them to eat, but like you Crow Horse, I'm quick to return them to the water. I'm also really good at unhooking them.

Does your city ordinance address anything regarding how snow plow workers are to conduct their business? I found a state law that says you're not allowed to deposit snow on a right of way and if you do, you can be fined $500. However, that option feels nuclear. I'm going to try a sign first and then a bottle of whiskey or some beer while explaining how the snow turns to ice and then even when it's warm enough for me to fish, I can't access my driveway. Clayton, there's no way I could shovel my way through the pile. The street to my property is more than a city block long and all the snow from that street gets moved to the front of my driveway.

Sounds like a great time.

Oh, I have. I was joshing. However, when I cast the 110 the first time, I am expecting the clouds to part and angels to sing:

@Team9nine: Gosh, that's impressive in such cold water.

Guilty!

I've caught hundreds of smallmouth in these two rivers on my own, both in the Upper Peninsula: the Whitefish River and the Menominee River. Both flow into Lake Michigan and where they meet the lake is prime fishing too. Plus, it's beautiful country!