Swamp Girl

I'm going to start my 2024 fishing with the Drift Fry. Alex is having so much success with it that I'm thinking of going out this afternoon. It will lie on snow atop the ice, but I'm thinking a twitch and pause retrieve might work. Even fishing it on ice might be better than fishing it in Alex's 50 mph winds. As always, I love your fat fish, Officer 86.

With these big bass, both striped and largemouths being caught, I think Alex is contagious and he's evidently communicable through BR.

@Baitmaker: WOW!

@Pat Brown: Good thinking! We'll have to buy a new paint job for Alex's boat. Let's buy Alex the cherry too:

At this rate, we'll be sinking his little boat pretty soon.

Then I'm joining you in Alex's bow. I'll bring popcorn if you bring Thin Mints. We'll probably do a couple standing ovations, so let's not spill the snacks when we do.

Holy Mackerel, Batman, that's a huge striper! Now, to make you southern boys jealous: This morning, I rose, went outside, and cleared the driveway. Jelly? After all, snowblowing is so much fun and now that I put chains on my snowblower, I can even snowblow the woods if I want 'cause that sucker goes everywhere now. P. S. - Alex, I bought three packages of the 4" Jackall Drift Fry. Hey, we're switching to basketball to describe Alex? I didn't get the memo, however Jordan in the 90s is apt. I wonder if Jordan talked to Mutombo like Alex talks to his bass, saying, "Stay down. Don't jump."

@Pat Brown, you really pay attention and I think your attending to details and remembering them is why you're so successful at angling...and a good storyteller too!

These are great stories. And photos. And video. @casts_by_fly, I love the physicality in your story. It reminded me of chasing Arctic char on those roaring northern rivers to regain line, which I've never done, as it's FAR above my pay grade, but I've read and dreamed. Great story and great fish, @A-Jay. Yours too, @Zcoker. I do have one story and I've alluded to it a couple times. I was fishing the Wisconsin River with my father for crappies and walleyes below a roaring dam. The crappies and walleyes schooled in a giant eddy on one side. I had a spinning rod and 4 lb. test when I hooked something big. There was an observation platform, so I had an audience that cheered me for the first hour. Then it grew dark. Then it was completely dark. Finally, I boated a 50" sturgeon and by then, my wrist and fingers were so tired I could barely start the outboard and we slowly motored downriver, happy and pooped in total darkness, back to the car.

I wonder if those rich people in their mansions ever look at their windows and see a guy in old V-hull landing lunker after lunker after lunker after lunker. Alex, I know you like baseball comparisons, so know your streak is reminding me of Reggie Jackson's five home runs in the 1977 world series. I remember the Sports Illustrated Cover titled "Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!" So, here's what I have to say about today: Alex! Alex! Alex! I like the Jackall. I've never seen a bait like it. I googled it and it looks like I'll have to order it from Japan. Is that right, Alex?

I love your story, Mike. I wish I had its equal to share. I don't. Few do.

Thanks for the explanation, Tim. The details can matter, huh? I love the "Skunk Works" reference. Kelly Johnson is one of my heroes. I work with Lockheed Martin about once a year and am always thrilled when I do. I admire your fix too. Well done, Musky Man.

As a former musky angler, Tim, what was your change? I do miss muskies, but my heart doesn't. They are a cardiologist's moneymaker when they're thrashing beside my canoe.

Whoa, @N Florida Mike.

This is the story of a 14-pounder caught at O.H. Ivie. I think they were so clever and patient. If you have a story of waiting out a bass and boating it in an unconventional way, I'd love to hear it: And that’s exactly what he did—on the bass of a lifetime. “I had never hooked a bass that was remotely that big. The fish was giant,” he says. “She kept trying to get into a big tree we saw on the livescope. I couldn’t stop her; She was just so powerful.” Smith was using an 8-pound fluorocarbon leader with a 20-pound braid mainline. The big bass got snagged in the submerged tree but stayed on the line. “We didn’t know what to do and just sat there, trying to wait her out,” explains Smith. On the livescope, they saw the bass rising toward the surface. Then Smith and Logsdon looked into the water and saw her white belly. They cleared all the rods off the front of the boat, drove closer to it, and Logsdon managed to net the fish and cut the line. “I was freaking out,” says Smith.

#bassapalooza Tim, in the 1.5 years I've been an active member here, only your 2022 muskypalooza compares to what Alex is doing. And both of you achieved your catches on local lakes with docks and homes. Not O.H. Ivie or Lake Baccarac, but old lakes that have been pounded for decades.

Ahh, I see. Thanks!

Maine also has those big snappers surface. I'll be fishing and one will rise right beside my canoe. The guy in that video is Crocodile Hunter fearless. I think I'll watch that video again!

I fish seven bodies of water, but in 2024, I'm thinking about exploring another two. One requires some work to reach, but I know it has five-pounders and likely bigger. The other is reached by paddling up a river and I love those river approaches. One of my seven steady ponds can only be fished for about three weeks, from mid-April to early May. Then weeds choke it. I worked those weeds in 2023, but without success.

When I think about what you have to overcome and endure where you fish, I'm wondering if you might want to take a break and go wade the Everglades, where there are merely gators, pythons, and a trillion skeeters. Why do you guys know so much about these drugs? Drug salesmen? Direct care providers?

The high temp today was 24, so I actually wore a winter coat on my walk, but if it's the thirties, I'm good with a vest.

The BR gang should rent some pontoon boats, follow Alex from a respectful distance, watch, and take notes. I'll bring my binoculars and I urge others to do the same.

Your FIL is also da man.

Hey, @Jmurphy87! Right now, Alex is casting. What story of glory will he have to tell this evening? Don't forget to tune in. Same BR channel. Same BR station! We've all become Robin to Alex's Batman, struggling to keep up.

@Dwight Hottle: Whoa! You da man!!!