Swamp Girl

What is that brass thingy on the tire?

Where's a cop when you need one?

Some contrary data: I caught four doubles (two bass on one cast) on Whopper Ploppers in 2022. I caught zero doubles in 2023. Anyway, it's fun to use other lures too.

@GRiver, for sure, jump fishing is a blast. I've done it on the Atlantic with stripers too. The only I HATE about jump fishing is the occasional idiot who powers at full speed into the middle of the feeding and drives the bass away.

Alex, I used it less in 2023 than I did in 2022, remembering how many of you reported that the bass adjust to it in a hurry. Some mornings I didn't use it at all. I used poppers a lot because I fished those as a kid and so there's that tug of nostalgia. When I did use the Whopper Plopper, I kept switching up the size, make, and color. I used the underspin a lot too because the more you use it, the more you catch and the more you catch, the more confidence you have. And I used T-rigged worms more and more. Again, they're nostalgic. P. S. - You had something like a 55-bass day just a couple weeks back. I fished a swimbait last year as big as a bluegill. I think I only caught one on it, but I'm going to use it again this year because I expect that when I do catch something, there's a good chance she'll be big.

I've seen both ospreys and eagles dive on bass. Last summer, I parked under a dead tree to watch an eagle eat a bass. However, because they are omnipresent in Maine, they don't kill the topwater bite. I think they suppress it and especially when the Sun is high, but bass have to eat. They just hunker in the weeds, snatch one of my poppers, and dive back into the weeds before a raptor eats them. Beavers are abundant here too and and one of my best bogs has so many of them. My main issue with beavers is all the tail slapping. I fish quietly and beavers are the noisiest critters in nature. A single beaver might sound the alarm half a dozen times and there might be four or five beavers in a morning. It's like fishing in the percussion area of an orchestra. I used to chase gulls when fishing for white bass. The bass would drive the shad to the surface and the gulls would dive on the shad, making the white bass. Thanks for raising this topic, Woody.

Great line. I wish I'd thought of it.

A fellow paddler! We are kin.

I'm hoping this is Day One of Streak Two, Alex. Even if it isn't, a six-plus-pounder would send me to bed with a big, goofy grin.

Great day, @TnRiver46!

@casts_by_fly: I'm glad you have such a sweet set-up. Sure, I'm a little green with jealousy. Just a little. Here's me clapping normally for you:

Heck, yeah, it is! It sounds great. I wish I could: A. Afford it. B. Haul it through the woods.

Truth.

Heck, yeah! What we're asking is "What will work in my little corner?" and the answer is, "Here's what works in my little corner."

Thanks, @roadwarrior. That makes sense. Well, I'll work on strolling this spring and then when the weeds thicken, I'll work on vertical fishing with beavers, Rage Tails, etc. So, I'll be learning one thing at a time. I think strolling will be easier to learn, as I've caught bass on flukes and jerkbaits and strolling seems similar. The thing that scares me about vertical fishing is that I might actually hook some of those monsters and then have to land them! I'm expecting six pounds of bass and six pounds of weeds to come aboard.

I go back and forth on this. I am competent with an underspin, whopper/plopper, and wacky Senko. But then I see @AlabamaSpothunter's success with strolling and @T-Billy tells me that I'll lose fewer big bass to weeds with more vertical fishing and so I buy those lures and watch the videos and want to add them to my bag of bass-catching tricks.

I admire your humility here, Pat, acknowledging that you're learning in your little corner of bass fishing, as we all are, whether we admit it or not. I've shared more than once how @AlabamaSpothunter and @PhishLI coached me to fish less water to actually learn the remaining water. In other words, the urged me to learn in my little corner of bass fishing. Of course, there are fishing greats like @WRBwho fished arguably the greatest little corner of bass fishing of all time and others like @Dwight Hottle, who fished one little corner after another with extraordinary success, but singular little corner fishing can produce extraordinary results too, as demonstrated by you and Alex too a few weeks back. Sean, you and Aiden are a great team, combining the best of old school and new school.

I'm just the opposite. I'll be landing blows and totally shift tactics. As I've shared more than once, I'll catch a bass on one lure and immediately switch to another and then another and another. I'm too curious about what they'll hit. My screen name should be Ol' Fidgety. #patternschmattern There's no better quality than gratitude. None. Some carry the conceit that if they simply do A, B, and C, they will be the master of their lives, but Father Time and Mother Chance are forever ready to whack us upside the head with X, Y, and Z. In the end, gratitude is our best retort. Me too, brother. We too.

Atta, Pat! Pat, you know I love looking at bass, in all their shapes, sizes, and colors, but I also like your photos for your clear, abundant joy. Those fish aren't wasted on you, pal.

Again, I've caught zero this month, but I keep trying and I swear I hear little thuds as I drag my Whopper Plopper across the ice, which I think is the bass trying to reach it.

I would feel like Ralphie on Christmas morning. P. S. - I really like that boat. That would be perfect for me. Please try to bring it home, Glenn, as your carry-on. I will really, really appreciate it.

Good post, @Bluebasser86.

I use a lot of braid too.

I politely disagree. A bass boat is heavy and stable, elevates you, and you stand, meaning you set the hook with your legs too. A paddled boat and especially a paddled boat like my 32-lb. canoe is spun by big bass. Sometimes I'm fighting a bass that's behind me. It's pulled into weeds too. It's like fist fighting from an office chair that spins and is on wheels.

I like the way you think, small boat-brother.