Swamp Girl

I've fished both wilderness lakes in northwestern Ontario and local lakes in heavy fog without a compass or GPS, but with two caveats: I was/am the only one on the water, so no motor boat would have clobbered me. I'm fishing smallish water. The biggest in Ontario might have been 1,000 acres, but I've spent months on that lake, so I know it well.

Gorgeous lawn, @A-Jay. I've also used the Scott's Lawn Care program. However, after having my soil tested and discovering that it's severely deficient in organic matter, I add the composted manure too. I also mulch my grass and leaves to add even more organic matter. It's all working. When I bought my home 2.5 years ago, the "lawn" was either dirt or crabgrass. So, I sowed grass seed and it's grown amazingly well in the amended soil. I have a big lawn, so it's a work in progress, but most of the front is done. I'm also simultaneously building flowerbeds, raised beds, and a Japanese garden, which was tough in 2023 when I was anemic and didn't know it. Your blue spruce is perfect.

I fertilize my lawn spring and fall with two yards each time of composted manure. What do you use, A-Jay?

Great day, GP!

Yeah, it's whitewater up north and wakewater down south.

You're right. I'd forgotten that. I've paddled the Namekagon to the St. Croix down to the Mississippi. The St. Croix gets rush hour busy near the Twin Cities.

With the kind of fishing you enjoy in the winter, there should be lots of other anglers out there. 20-25 one-to-three-pound bass would sure get me out of bed!

You can see a similar, but much larger mud line where the Missouri meets the Mississippi and it lasts for several miles, where the muddy water of the Missouri flows along the clear Mississippi for a couple miles before they meld. Here it is with the Missouri on the left:

That was an exciting story to read, @TnRiver46! Well told.

I totally understand. I tell my spouse that I don't decide when I fish: The weather forecast decides. And I love fishing after a long, warm front rainfall and right before a cold front storm. I also love fishing in the rain and in dark, which is why so many of my fish photos are soggy and shadowy.

@Creek Pirate: Man, you squeezed a day's worth of fishing out of two hours. You must have made Santa's extra-good list! I too struggle with photography on rainy days. I love that eagle shot.

@TnRiver46: I think I love Bo.

Lovely trip report. Thank you and Merry Christmas.

That's another great year for you, Tim. I love how broad your success is: muskies, saugeye, lmbs, and smallies. However, your musky numbers alone constitute ANOTHER heckuva year. Go, Tim! The deepest pond I fish reaches 21' at one point. Otherwise, they're all 10' or less at their deepest. So, I want to try my blade baits and your retrieval in that one place with deep water. Thanks for the coaching, Alex, and congrats again on your two five-plus-pounders.

Alex, thank you for having your GoPro aimed at your hands and rod. That is so informative for me. Most anglers who create YouTube videos keep the camera focused on the water, but keeping it on your hands shows me how you're working your lures and catching your big bass. Sorry you lost your biggest one, but I'm sure happy you caught a pair of five-pounders. They're beautiful.

Heck, yeah! Me too. Brook trout are small and even the inland Atlantic salmon don't grow that big.

Me too, gimruis. I remember one of the BR anglers stating that we just need three lures: a surface lure, a mid-column lure, and a bottom lure. I'm good at the first and still working on the second. My zagging is trying to be quieter than other anglers. I think that matters more than what's on the end of my line. As I shared in the past, my canoe's bow bumped a few bass in 2023. I think I get as big a kick out of sneaking that close to a bass as catching them. Say, @WRB, I now own seven Nemire Red Rippers, all gold and all bought on Ebay. I am so excited to try them in the spring. I'm going to chuck them into aquatic jungles and hang on! When a great angler like Tom asserts ^this,^ I doubt articles with titles like "25 Surefire Ways to Catch more Bass." There are too many variables to ever say "surefire."

Frankly, Pat, that sounds beyond a rush to me. That sounds scary! Perhaps if I weren't so old. As the Gulf of Maine warms faster than 99% of the world's seawater, more and more striped bass swim in our coastal waters. I've caught striped bass in a motorboat. I've felt their power. I can't imagine catching them in my 32-pound canoe.

Yep, the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife manages for trout and salmon, not bass. The Dept. views the bass as a scourge, even though they grow much bigger and are more numerous than trout and salmon. However, you can't grow trout and salmon in a bog, so the Dept. should be happy that there are fish that flourish in five feet of warm water. Ha! 50 is a rare morning for me. I'd like to fish with @king fisher, wouldn't you? His comment about finding huge largemouth from a kayak to be even more exciting than billfish stunned me. I'd be thrilled to catch ONE of his eight-pounders and you'd be in the pool for a DD. Of course, we'd have to fish from kayaks! I sometimes fish from a kayak, as you've likely seen in photos. Do you ever watch NDYakAngler's videos on YouTube? If you do, pay attention to how the fish turn and pull his boat. He'll often paddle in mid-fight as the bass, pike, and musky pull his kayak into trouble.

Those are thick fish, Alex. Real beauties. Fingers crossed for your DD.

Gosh, Tim, that's a LOT of fine, fine muskies. I'm so proud of you.

That is rough, Woody. I also have a thought. Your skunking stands out, Woody, because you're one of the most consistent anglers at Bass Resource. @Team9nine and @Bluebasser86 are up there too.

Those big ones are crafty.

Alex, I know we describe bass like yours as fat, but fat is far from the truth. Your bass is a mass of muscle, which is why it's so successful at predation.

Wow, Dwight! I had to google both Lake Toho and Hudd 68. Big lure for big bass. Slow rolling means a slow retrieve, right? Does it mean anything else and does anyone happen to know its origin? Maybe rolling the lure along the bottom due to the slow retrieve?