Swamp Girl

Nice bass, Woody! You sure are catching those smallies, Murph.

I'm sorry, buddy. They can break our hearts, can't they?

My car was heavily frosted this morning. I wheeled my new, 85-pound canoe down to my pond. That was hard with all the bumpy rocks and branches. I have wheels, but the canoe tipped three times and once the wheels fell off and had to be restrapped. When I arrived at the water, I could see it had dropped so my canoe wouldn't float. I had to muck through the mud and haul it over a low rock wall that strangely extends into the water. So, I was panting before my first cast. I went fishless for the first hour and a half. They weren't where they were a week ago, about 100' from the shore in 8' of water. Plus, a couple clear, cold nights had dropped the water temperature to 47.5 degrees. So, I fired up my FFS, i.e. my Female Finding Sonar, and went looking. I found them in about 12" of water, up against a rocky shoreline. All hit my Keitechs and between fishing yesterday and hauling my canoe through the woods, I fished tired and lost about 20 bass. Still, I caught 13 and some were fine, including a small, handsome smallie (1st pic) and a nice smallie (6th photo) that refused to pose for my photo, flopping non-stop, but you still get a sense of her size. They all fought so hard and were great fun. A couple even turned my new, heavy canoe.

Well, you're a heckuva angler. You catch BIG bass.

@Fried Lemons: You catch huge fish! Are you always fishing the same lake? If not, how many lakes do you fish and why are they so full of big fish? I would think that water that grows bass so big would be pounded. P. S. - Looking at fish pics doesn't bore me, whatever their size.

@Jmurphy87: I like the look of your Mustad. I'm going to buy some.

Nice pike, Murph! I bet she pulled hard in that current. That doesn't look like an Owner underspin? Is it?

Wow! Your gear took a beating. Big bass though!

I think it was a great trip. Dad, bass, buddy, river, and great weather. Well done!

Alex, you're right about their health. Tomorrow's pond is one fat fish after another. Not long, but all well fed. I did fish one pond where the bass were skinny. I won't return to it. There's a parasite that afflicts the bass in some ponds and I think it's in that pond. It's a shame, because I love the look of that pond. Not a single building. You're so right, Alex. The size of the largies here surprises me too. This is smallmouth, brook trout, and salmon country. I think most anglers who come to Maine fish the big, deep lakes where one catches trout, salmon, and smallies. I fish the bogs and ponds that they drive by on their way to the big, cold water. I'm expecting to catch a big bass or two on Monday. In 2023, that pond was so consistent for fat fish.

Fish pics are coming. After tomorrow's quantity pond, I'm going to a quality pond on Monday for the first time in 2024. It's one of my favorite places to fish and with the water plants just rising, I'll have a better chance of boating a big one, one of the ones I often lose to weeds.

I'm going to a quantity pond tomorrow. It's where I own property and I just fetched the canoe that I'll keep there. The thing I love about my pond is the bass are soooo strong there. They're not the biggest bass, but a three-pounder there fights like a four-pounder everywhere else. @alonerankin2: I think A-Jay and I live at about the same latitude. His Menderchuck looks undeveloped and the lakes I fish are pretty undeveloped too. I think that helps. I drove to a lake I've never seen to fetch my new canoe and the cabins and homes were suffocatingly close and two-tiered. There were cabins on the water and behind them, a whole other row of cabins. No. Thank. You. I hope you all noted that I weighed two bass this morning. Some of you want me to weigh more fish, so I did.

I launched at 29 degrees this morning. The field I crossed glittered with frost. I fished a big bass pond and caught two bass that went 4 pounds 4 ounces each. I hooked a bigger bass that ran and shook free. My drag is cranked up and neither of the four-pounders nor the big girl I caught last week could pull on that drag. So, whatever she was, she was strong. I caught four other bass too before the wind blew me off the pond. I could fish in 29 degree air with some comfort, but not 39 degrees with a bullying wind. One four-pounder was caught on a shad-colored Keitech and the other was caught on a Sixth Sense squarebill. The Keitech on an Owner underspin has become my favorite lure. You can drag it on the bottom. You can pitch it into reeds. You can catch bass in 10" of water and 10' of water. A slow, steady retrieve and a stop-and-go retrieve are my favorites. I also took a photo of the shore from where I was catching bass so that you can see how far out I was. I lead with two photos of the first four-pounder, then some smaller bass, then the shoreline shot, then the other four-pounder. P. S. - I saw my first 2024 lily pads. Spring is coming, even if it didn't feel like it this morning.

Huge fish, Norcal. The Lindners sure respected carp and anyone who's hooked one is forced to respect them too.

@TnRiver46 is not going to be happy to hear that he's now my mom.

MODERATOR! MODERATOR!

I'm also a Cheesehead, since I lived in Wisconsin for more than 30 years. I'm a cheesy, frosty Buckeye. Shame on you, IDK. Glenn doesn't like to see us using the awful language you used ^above.^ Moderator? Oh, moderator!

We're fishing very different water, my fellow Buckeye (I was raised in Ohio, so I know how it fishes.). You're fishing public ponds. I'm fishing lonesome swamps. On the difficulty scale, I'm 3.0. You're 9.1, surpassed in difficulty only by PhishLI.

One way or another, I bet I lose half the bass that hit. So, from my perspective, I think you're doing fine. Some days, I catch 95% of the bass that hit. Other days, I'm the bug on the windshield.

It's okay. I'm amazed the wind could move it because I had the canoe tucked against the garage, so the entire garage was blocking the wind with trees beyond that, making a double windbreak. I feel sometimes like I live on the prairie during the Dust Bowl, with the wind howling for weeks.

Clayton!!! So proud of you. So very proud. I'm actually teary-eyed after reading your account, which might seem strange since we've never met, but one cyber-buddy can feel pride in another cyber-buddy, right? #anglersproudofanglers @keagbassr: For you, it's work. For me, it's the wind. I kid you not: The wind last night blew my canoe across my yard...and my yard is surrounded by trees, which do break the wind...somewhat.

@keagbassr: I've wondered where your big girls were!!! So glad you're back on the board and dancing with the gals again.

If anyone could also catch fish where Phish fishes, it's you, Pat. You both fish, activity-wise, in theme parks or shopping mall-equivalents. What Phish has that you don't are the 2024 Sharks and Jets. If only his gangbangers were simply snapping their fingers, singing, and dancing on the shoreline. Yeah, I think you could catch bass anywhere, Pat. If @AlabamaSpothunter is Alexander the Great, then you are the mighty Achilles, but this might be your heel: We hit straight 27 degrees last night, mere days away from May, and I'll launch at 29 degrees tomorrow morning. So, I'll be dragging my canoe up and over the meadow on crunchy grass. I still prefer our weather over @thediscochef's 105-degree days. However, Monday, we're going to reach 66-degrees, which will be our high for the year so far...by far. Sweltering, huh? However, in the 15 day-forecast, the other 14 days are all highs in the fifties with some lows in the twenties and thirties.

I'm with PhishLI. Big pickerel are fun and appreciated! I also caught a few in 2023 that I thought were big bass.

So true, Alex. NorcalBassin has it made, fishing with his Pops and his kid. My dad loves to fish, but at 92, even walking with his walker is hard. He still wants to come fish my lake, but I just don't know how I'd get him in the boat without falling. The last time I took him to Canada, he fell into the lake and it was late October way north. I know you're not supposed to jump into water to help someone, but I did. No hesitation. I expect most of us would do just that for our Pops, brother, sister, spouse, or kid.