Swamp Girl

@bulldog1935: Whoa!

Our first week of 50-degree days, if the weather forecast holds, will begin on April 8th. Fingers crossed. I have three vacations planned too. I wish I didn't. I hate to miss out on prime fishing too. Good to know.

@bulldog1935: Thanks for mentioning DAM Quick reels. I hadn't thought about my old DAM Quick reel for decades. It makes me want to buy one from Ebay!

I'm excited for you! Mid-April in 2023 was slow for me. I do boat a few 4 to 5.5 pounders, but didn't start catching 30-plus in a session until May. I knew I was starting to fish too early this year by beginning in March. Even now, our water is only 40 degrees. However, the parade of big bass was/is driving me crazy!

I so agree with this. I accept that I know less than a lot of you guys, but the one thing I do well is stealth. Yesterday, as I was paddling, even though I had winter's rust on me, I was still silent and proud of myself. When I caught smallies in Canada, my long casts, enabled by 6 lb. test and big lures for smallmouth, like my F13 Rapalas, furthered my stealth. As I wrote in another thread, I caught 90% of my smallies in my first three twitches, a long ways from the canoe. Heck, Pat, you were 100' away from those big bass and they knew you were there! I've shared the story of bumping bass with the bow of my canoe a few times each year. When they don't hear you coming until you bump them, you know you're quiet. And boy, oh, boy, do they book out of there when bumped. Pat, you're not just good at thinking about bass. You're also good at writing about them. You should write for Bass Resource. I use both. If it's a special trip for whatever reason, I'll do a stand-alone trip report. Considering I'm fishing three times a week when it's warm, if I did a stand-alone report for every trip, I'd clutter the trip report forum with my reports.

Pat, you are a contemplative, insightful angler. And you catch the bass to substantiate your thinking...or is it your thinking that lets you catch your big bass? It's a chicken/egg situation. Which comes first? As Winnie the Pooh would say, "Oh, bother, I'm muddled." Either way, I'd love to sit in a boat while you, Alex, Tom, Andy, PhishLI, and others fish. I'd love to hear you bassheads talk about getting into the heads of bass.

I second the Mepps suggestion, but my all-time number one lure is an F13 Rapala twitched on the surface with 6 lb. mono. That light line lets you cast it a long ways and I caught 90% of my smallies on the first three twitches. I have caught thousands of smallies that way.

I've only seen two Springs at Bass Resource. By "seen," I mean the Latest Catch thread, and I am so impressed by what's been caught this year. So many five, six, seven, eight, and above-pounders, more than I remember in the Spring of 2023. Does anyone else have the same sense or is my memory failing me...again?

Pat is right. For some reason, I hurt a tiny smallie in Ontario. There was no blood, but when I released it, it didn't swim off. It just flopped at the surface. I was fishing a river mouth where a bald eagle also fished. Well, when I moved a little ways from that wounded bass, the eagle swooped and snagged it. Nothing goes to waste in nature, not even us, and I'm actually comforted by the fact that I'll be soil one day, helping other things grow. In Maine, you're allowed to be buried on your land, so that's my plan!

Way to fish, boys!

I love Vermont. So beautiful. I'm a paddler and cyclist too.

Hip, hip, hooray for Mike!

I envy you. I frequently lose half my fish. Of course, I also have days where I boat 95% of my fish. Like Alex said, we all have off-days.

I prefer a boat for its range, but I've caught many fine fish from shorelines too. Before I launch at four in the morning in the summer, I always cast a few times from the shore and usually catch at least one. I caught a 48" musky once a few feet from my tent and have caught many other muskies from shorelines.

Me too, Bob, me too. We're all thinking good thoughts for Glenda, you, and your kids.

Thanks for the input, Alex. I kept returning to shorelines because that's where I've caught many bass, but they weren't there. Not a single one.

I finally caught a few bass: Three to be exact. And I caught a pretty pickle (pickerel) too. Our snow melted three days ago and we're getting more tomorrow, so I caught 'em sandwiched between snow. I tried a spinner bait, wacky, lipless, jointed Rapala, and a Mepps, but they wanted a gray and white Keitech on an Owner underspin, retrieved slowly and going tick-tick-tick over the 2023 weeds, all between 50'-100' off shore. I didn't get a single bite on the shoreline or in the shallow stream mouths and bays. The hits were soft. Not even hits. The rod just loaded. I also hooked and lost another three and I had something bite the tail off my Keitech, likely a pickerel. However, they fought as hard as warm water bass and two were over 17".

Otters. Muskrats. Are moose next?

Hey, I love a sack o' sliders! So true.

I once read that the act of spawning taxes some of them so much that they don't survive. Now imagine fighting an angler atop procreation. So, if I ever do see a bed, I'll pass.

I've never seen a single bed in my 1.5 years of largemouth fishing in Maine. I don't know why I can't see them. Maybe my eyes are too old. Maybe there are too many weeds.

I was watching an old fishing video featuring "Gadabout Gaddis," the flying fisherman, and he was fishing in Georgia for bass. What I found especially interesting was his opinion of bait casting reels, which he called old-fashioned, but, he opined, they still could be used to good effect. I don't know if that was simply Gadabout's opinion or a common opinion back in the 60s, I.e. that spinning reels were superior. I do know that the bait casting reels we used in the 60s, which were old even then, were nearly impossible for us to use.

@bulldog1935: Such a generous, information-laden response!

Alex posts his fat bass. Then Pat and Jake hitch go Biblical and say, "A bass for a bass." I can't believe the parade of beshemoths this spring. I'm guessing @gimruis and @A-Jay are frisky as Secretariat in the stall at Belmont. I know I am. At least I'm going fishing tomorrow, but I think it's still too cold to catch a bunch, but we'll soon see.

No thank you. That's 5,000 square feet to clean. I'll take the lot and the canoe and pass on everything else.