Swamp Girl

Going into 2026, I have a four-boat fleet: A 13' Old Town Predator fishing kayak, which I'm leaving at my pal's pond. It's stable, but too heavy for me to carry. When the water warms up, I hope to be able to stand on it to fish at times. I bought a multi-rod holder, a paddle holder, and a trolling rod holder, which I'll mount this spring. An Old Town 13' NEXT hybrid canoe, which I'll keep at my pond. It's the solo boat for my pond. An Old Town tandem canoe. I don't remember its name. It's the boat I use when I take friends fishing at my pond. A Bell 15' 6" Rockstar Kevlar solo canoe, which I'll use at bogs. It only weighs 31 pounds and the only way you can get a boat that long down to that weight is to make it slender, which makes it very tippy. It's also fast, being slender and light. My three Old Town boats are Royalex, which is so tough that when I hit a rock, I stop to make sure the rock is okay. So, I'm all set and can't see myself buying another boat, not until I build at my pond and upgrade the dock and switch to a motorboat, likely with an electric outboard.

Easy for you to say. You fish in the snow...all the time. Here's you stating your opinion of the rest of us: My point is that you don't feel weather, Russ. It literally could be the coldest, hottest, or wettest, but you wouldn't know.

Me too. Nobody fished harder than Cullen...seemingly. Of course, his account of how he fished could be fabricated, but if you're going to achieve what he achieved, that would give you the best chance. Perhaps fishing with FFS at OH Ivie 300 days a year or fishing at Lake Baccarac 300 days a year with guides would give you your best chance. Yeah, no doubt. There have been phonies, liars, and fakes. I just don't want to go to the dark side and doubt everyone. I've seen that in the musky world and the pull of the dark side is strong. One of the reasons I quit musky fishing was because of the cynicism that afflicts so many musky anglers. I once spent a week fishing with a guy who caught three 50-inchers* that week and was with another angler when she landed an absolute beast. All four fish were doubted. I heard the doubters and they doubted my affirming the catches. *If you don't fish for muskies, a 50-incher is beyond a DD bass. Tim has caught a LOT of 48-inchers, but to my understanding, not a 50-incher yet. They are rare. I do too, Pat. That's a great ratio and speaks to your skill. That's a great analogy. I know a kid who caught a seven-pounder at a bog I fish. He had photos and I don't doubt it was a seven-pounder. It was big. That summer, he was at the bog more than me and not only couldn't he catch another big fish, he struggled to catch any fish. So, you're right about "random, dumb luck." Luck can deliver a big fish, but to catch one big bass for every 50 bass like Pat Brown, you have to be a bass whisperer. Years ago, Phish, in one of our PM exchanges, you stated that not everyone has the innate aptitude to catch bass. I've never forgotten that and I do believe it's true. There were a few days last year when the Kid had brought a friend to his grandpa's pond. That put the Kid in the stern of a tandem canoe, his friend in the bow, and I was in my solo canoe. Now, the Kid had always outfished me...by a few bass...because he'd always been in the bow and I literally aimed him at bass. Now he had to have his own hunches about where the bass might be. Several times, the boys paddled over to me and asked me how many I'd caught. I typically was doubling what the two of them were catching together. Now, the Kid has an innate talent for fishing and he has the drive, but he doesn't have decades on the water. One day, he might be a better angler than I ever was, but he hasn't put in the time on the water...yet. So, it's aptitude plus experience...and even then, we can be humbled. @strat54: It's great to have new blood at Bass Resource. Welcome! And it's cool that your tapping the collective wisdom of the Bass Resource gang. Together, we've spent centuries hunting for bass. If you want to catch a DD, fish where DDs live. I live in Maine, so don't come here. If you simply want to catch big bass for the area, Maine is a great place to fish.

Since you're suggesting a dead man was a liar, you should absolutely go into details.

They make a great motor.

I'd follow in the footsteps of Pat Cullen in Georgia who caught more than 1,100 DDs. He used an airplane to locate bodies of water and then traded his accounting skills for access. Perhaps most importantly, he fished about 320 nights a year.

Heck, I would too. I haven't caught rock bass since I was a kid, but I enjoyed those stout, plucky cuties.

You'll be fine, Bob. You're coming at a great time to catch lots of bass and maybe a few big ones.

I honestly don't know what bass want...until I launch and try this and that over here and over there.

Heck, yeah. Because my pond is five minutes away and my canoe is sitting in the water, it's easy-peasy for me to fish for an hour. Time and again, even though the weather was pert near the same, I'd paddle straight to where I'd caught them 12 or 24 hours ago and they'd be gone. It's a game of hide and seek where the hiding bass are constantly moving. Joe, a little advice: Keep exploring new ponds. I've quit fishing half a dozen ponds in my area because I now prefer other ponds I'd found.

Quite an accomplishment. Proud of you, Partner. That's the cut-off for me. 19-inchers, both brown and green, are big bass. This is why the CIA uses them as spies. You can strap them to a table and tickle their tummies, but they never talk. Four eagles at once is quite a sight. A dark sky with that bright light and a rainbow too: Perfect.

I was determined to buy no new fishing lures, but the Rapala sale is just sooo good, so I bought some Mayors and crawdads.

I wear watershoes or my neoprene boots. I often step into the water to launch because he's too shallow to float my boat or it's safer because the shoreline is raggedy.

And I'm honored Bob is starting his fishing with me. You won't catch bass with me as big as the ones you'll catch with @Lottabass, but knowing your history of fishing the backwaters of the Mississippi, you'll love where we'll fish. You'll feel like a kid again, poking around bogs. And I hope you'll love walking through the dark woods as much as I do. It's exciting to approach the bass step by step, knowing they're out there and hungry. When you're here, Bob, we'll go over maps of smallmouth lakes in Ontario and I'll send you home with them.

@thediscochef: WHO'S THAT SKINNY GUY???????? Whoever he is, he caught a fine bass.

And Radar's too, from MASH.

I'm happy for you, Clayton. Today will reach 31 degrees, but in a couple days, it'll be cold again, so no open water for many weeks.

There's a thread about fishing-related art and I shared some of mine, but I have a home brimming with art and I thought some of you might like to see what I've collected and share some of your art too. I'll start with some advertising art, which I love. If the past pulls at you too, you might also love it. These are big posters, as they were printed for public spaces. Art like this is called epherma, meaning it wasn't made to last, but it did:

It's fitting that you want to see the art, Al, because it's Iowa art. The first is a WWII era Bond poster by the great Thomas Hart Benton, who is one of my five favorite artists. His signed prints can sell for tens of thousands of dollars, so whereas I can't afford one of those, I can afford this: This is more Regional art, a woodcut print that's signed: And this might be my favorite painting. It's tempera: I live in Maine, but you can see my Midwestern roots in the art I love. FWIW, I do own art by Maine artists too.

I'm excited for you, buddy. Go get, 'em! That's sooooo cold for southern Louisiana. Your homes aren't build for days and nights that cold. Good job weathering that weather.

@Columbia Craw: Your dad's art reminds me of some of my favorite pieces of art, which are American Regionalism, where the artists painted working class folks working or their old homes. I can share some photos of these pieces if you'd like.

Thank you for doing that, even though you were sent home.

Yeah, it's still cold, but pay attention to the Sun. Warmth is coming. One day, as in the passage Al shared, we northern folk will step outside and smell something again. Then we'll smile.