Swamp Girl

I don't think we're talking about hammers at all anymore. I think they're the forbidden descriptor. As far as I understand, "good stick" is still okay. Despite the hammer ban, I think I saw @WRB yesterday and I took a sneaky photo of him:

I'm thankful for you health too, Pat. Good luck tomorrow!

Yep, when Mr. River of the 46 Clan gets skunked, you don't wanna be home when he comes home.

Wait. Is his name Mr. River or Mr. 46?

Bob's Heaven on Earth was Bob-built. You should do it, Bob. Mr. 46 fishes with so many other anglers, which tells me that he's a good egg. And all those 20" and 21" smallies tells me he's a good stick too.

I wonder if a computer, if the software were written and enough data were entered, could one day predict when and what bass would eat. Weather forecasting is so much more accurate than when I was young because computers are doing the predicting and every day, more data is fed to them, making them ever more accurate. I don't know if knowing would be a good thing. I like the guessing and failing some days to make the days I don't fail ever sweeter. I envy your 250 days, Alex. I will be soooooooo happy the day you boat your beshemoth!

Bob, to be frank, if you're not passing through the Pearly Gates, then no one is. @TnRiver46: You have borrowed our loons for the winter. Take GOOD CARE of them and don't forget to return them come spring. Thank you.

I aspire to keep better track in 2024. I want to weigh ALL of my bigger bass and keep a running tally.

I second what @T-Billy wrote. Thank you, Officer Bluebasser!

Agreed. I fished in 2023 from about mid-April to mid-October, typically from an hour before sunrise to about 9:30 a.m. In the evening, I'd usually launch around five and fish until a little after the Sun set. Evening fishing is problematic for me because coastal evenings aren't like continental evenings, where the wind dies. Windy fishing means more paddling and less fishing. I usually fished two mornings each week and one evening. So, that's six months, 3 times a week, and 12 times a month. 6 x 12 = 72 times Like others, I wish I'd fished more. And yet you caught the biggest bass I saw posted at BR in 2023. I'd love to see what you could catch if you fished more!

I have never cast an A-rig. I own a couple and one waited on deck, a space in my garage when I stage lures about to go to bat, but I kept pulling it back into the bullpen, afraid of casting such a heavy lure.

He sounds like a great guy.

So many lessons that stick were hard to learn.

Wisdom.

Those Owner Flashy Swimmers are my #1 mid-column lure. It was Tim who taught me that I could chuck them into pretty much all slop and he's right. I leave the hook tip exposed and still rarely catch weeds, but I catch a lot of bass on them. Heck, I've even twitched them over lily pads like a frog and caught bass. And they're great in open water too.

I also don't throw Neds, simply because so many at BR have stated that Neds attract a lot of little fish. I did try a Ned once to experience it and I caught some fish, but that's likely a one and done. I haven't cast a shaky head yet, but I will one day. I did buy the shaky head jigs and I have trick worms too. I've thought about putting a floating worm on a shaky head so it'll stand up from the bottom.

That's a great ratio. Keep doing what you're doing!

My best morning in 2023 was 59. My best evening was 44. I just have to put those two together. In 2023, due to my anemia, I couldn't fish both morning and evening, but it's slowly improving, so fingers crossed for 2024.

You sure lol a lot.

I LOVE when that happens. It's only happened to me once in my life, a couple fat 19"+ lmbs on back-to-back casts. Total darkness. What a thrill. You caught more five-to-six-pounders than me. I only caught four in that range. So, a lot more.

I know, huh? And 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000001% of humanity has never been there. It makes places like the Everglades and the Grand Canyon feel like Central Park. I've spent more than a year of my life in the wilderness, many times alone, but Newfoundland is beyond my ken...and above my pay grade. It takes deep pockets to reach that deep into the wilderness.

It's a mesmerizing region. It's so bleak and beautiful that it takes my breath away:

@Creek Pirate: Gosh, that's a pretty fish. Yep, @gimruis, there are six stages of musky fishing: Saw one. One hit. Hooked one. Caught one. 40-incher. 50-incher!

I agree with everything you wrote, Tim, and I enjoyed my years of addiction. There is nothing like the jolt of a musky hitting your figure-8, which leaves about 24" of line between you and the greenest of muskies. What I loved most about muskies was their utter fearlessness. I once hooked and lost a musky in my canoe and I just sat there trembling and panting, with my surface lure dangling about a foot above the water. Well, the hooked and then unhooked musky wanted round two and it was near vertical in the water, preparing to launch itself at a my lure. So, I dropped my lure onto the water and it was on like Kong again. I know ^this^ well. Tim, it is NEVER just "fur hat." It's "THE fur hat."

Amen. When I was a kid, Florida was an oversized spit with sea shell shacks and gator wrestling. Now, it's Los Angeles the Sequel.