Swamp Girl

I am amazed at the things you can do, Bob.

A 62-acre lake in the Hamptons must be worth a bluhgillion dollars.

There are some areas I've never fished, Alex. As I've stated in the past, I think I have Bass Resource's worst memory for the names and colors of lures, but when it comes to where I've fished and what I've caught, I'm a computer and I can say with 100% certainty that there are parts of the pond I haven't probed. I didn't know about relative weight index. You're taught me yet another thing, Alex, my friend. Thanks! @Fried Lemons: I'm going to pitch a big strolling bait too and especially in the areas I haven't yet fished.

Thank you, @PhishLI. I'll do all of the above.

Well, with the driveway being finished today and the dock being built this weekend, I'm five minutes away from it and will be fishing it at least once a week through November. I'm excited to try bigger lures.

Good point. I hadn't considered it. I too pitch into grass, so I have some oily scent that I'm going to carry now too.

Here's a smallmouth from the pond. They're well-fed too:

Rebirth! It's beautiful, Bob. I would soooo gather and feed cicadas to the fish too. This is just a suggestion, but I once saw this movie about a guy who became green and huge when angered. Have sweet Glenda slap you. You never know: You too might become incredibly strong and then the counterweight will be easy-peasy.

@casts_by_fly Here's some video of me hooking one of these bass and being slightly surprised by their power: I had a bag like that at a different pond: Every bass was four pounds and change.

Yep. I'm on my third year of fishing it. Yep. I don't think I've ever caught a 14" bass there. However, I understand the culling idea and I think it's wise. Remember that you're talking to an angler who's having her dock made from pallets and who can't afford to finish the driveway. So, you catch big bass and you're funny too??? Some anglers were kissed by angels were they were born. Interesting idea. I think your analytical mind is why you're so successful, Pat...well that and the angel kisses Oh, I don't. I love them. This pond grows, pound for pound, the strongest bass I catch. Its 2.5-pounders fight like the four-pounders I catch at other ponds. Bass do vary fight-wise. My PB, caught about three weeks ago, felt like a soggy log. Other bass spin my canoe and drag me into the weeds. Yesterday's 5.25-pounder, caught on another pond, gave no indication whatsoever of her weight. I didn't realize she was big until she reached the net. I'll keep a couple and fry them. Fingers crossed I like them. When I keep fish, they're usually panfish or walleyes/sauger/yellow perch. I'm out of reactions, so I can't thank you guys individually, so thanks for all your responses. I am going to try different techniques. I'm wondering if Pat is right, that I've dialed into the 2-3-pound weight class. I have some BIG Keitechs that I've never used and some 12" worms that I have used to good effect at another pond. I'll try those along with my two, hard swimbaits.

^This^ is hugely helpful to me, as it keeps me hopeful and focused.

I have considered this. Yep, it isn't. The bass are thick. When I lay them on the bump board, they're speed bumps of muscle. Cast one of my swimbaits that would catch a musky, huh? I'll give that a try. Ha! I've also considered doing just this. I just wish I enjoyed eating bass more than I do. Thanks, guys, for weighing in. If you hear a YAHOO! from the northeast, that'll be catching my first four-pounder from my pond. I have learned what'll come after that four-pounder. Coach PhishLI will say, "Whadda 'bout that five-pounder now?"

Oh, yeah. My math ain't mathing this morning. This is my worry. This is from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife: They are. I should stop worrying and enjoy them. I can target bigger bass at other nearby ponds and bogs. However, @PhishLI thinks bigger ones are already there, but that just haven't found them.

I apply scent sometimes, but wonder if it's the right thing to do because my soft plastics are already so salty, i.e. flavorful.

I shared in another thread that I bought 4.5 acres of waterfront on a 170-acre pond. The pond is full of hard-fighting bass, nearly all 16" to 18". I rarely catch anything smaller. I've also never caught anything bigger. The pond is 10' deep down the middle with a lot of its water being 5-6' deep. The bass are all thick, I.e. well fed. It has both largemouth and smallmouth and both species are exceptionally strong, so it's a fun place to fish. I've fished it perhaps 20 times and have never caught a 19" bass nor have I hooked and lost a 19" bass or larger. It was stocked in 1992 and it takes a Maine bass about 20 years to reach 20", so perhaps that's the problem. Again, there's no deficit of forage, as all the bass are thick. I have caught bass in its deepest parts and shallowest parts. Any suggestions or ideas about why it's a 16" to 18" factory, but nearly none smaller and none bigger...so far. Here are some bass I've caught there, to give you an idea of their build. The first one is 18" and I've only caught a few that length. 95% of them are 15" to 17.75". I'm also open to fishing a new lure, technique, or place in the pond, although I think I've fished pert near the entire pond. The last time I was there, I was catching them in 12" of water, but I've also caught them off the bottom in 10' of water this year. I've used all the techniques I apply to catch four, five, six, and seven-pounders at other ponds, but nada. Two more points: It's rimmed with swamp on three sides, so the water quality is especially good and it has humps all over, where lily pads grow and all those spots hold bass, so there's plenty of cover.

I'm headed back there tomorrow, @BrianMDTX. I left my canoe there yesterday to fish it two more times this week. Fingers crossed.

So many of you listed wind. That's my number one. Number two would be living so close to the North Atlantic, which means we slooooooooowly warm up in the spring. It was 41 degrees when I launched this morning and it's mid-May. I worry I'll tip in April, May, October, and November and won't be able to reach the shore before cold takes me. I'm not a strong swimmer. Like @king fisher, I have bought more gear than I'll ever use. My age. It gets harder to tie knots, carry a canoe, fish two days in a row, etc.

Bass whisperer.

As @A-Jay and others have proven, Michigan has great fishing. I've had some of the best fishing days of my life in Michigan and I haven't even fished Lake St. Clair. With your kayak, I'd fish the smaller, overlooked bodies of water, just like I fish. Do you have wheels for it? One of my favorite places to fish was the Whitefish River in the U.P. It gets pounded, but it is full of big bass, pike, and walleye. @A-Jay, I followed your advice and now all my photos have the right orientation.

@GaryH: 😉(out of reactions)

Thanks, Bankbeater. I caught a number of 17-inchers, an 18.5-incher, and the 20.75-incher, who did not represent herself well. The two-pounders outfought her.

@gimruis: I love boat shows too. @GaryH: It is quiet. I was sitting in some reeds this morning with a wolfpack chasing shad on all sides of me and they were oblivious to my presence. I get such a kick when I'm paddling through weeds and I bump a bass with my canoe's bow because they don't hear me coming.

I run out of reactions too from time to time, Pat, and I feel badly when I can't encourage or celebrate a fellow angler.

Take a number, hunter. It's gonna be a long wait.

You're more than a decent angler, Murph. You can't measure yourself against guys with FFS at OH Ivie. Measure yourself against the guy casting ten yards down the bank. You outfish him and the guy beyond him and the guy beyond him....