Swamp Girl

I'm happy for you, @pdxfisher. Happy for the kid too! Tell him to hang on! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nuw8GJbqx94

Anytime, buddy, but you'd have to go east, young man, and rise early. I could show you where the thick Maine bass hunker and you could show me how to catch them on a chatterbait. And we could take turns netting each others belugas.

@A-Jay, I would LOVE your gorgeous boat, your extensive tackle, and most of all, your BIG bass.

@A-Jay's strategy is to empty a Tacklewarehouse warehouse and with pristine organization, move all that gear into and onto his boat.

I've seen Jimmy Houston catch HUGE bass from banks. How big, you might wonder. @Zcoker big, I tell ya!

@Zcoker: If you don't dirty your truck now and again, it's just a make-believe truck. My Honda CRV has scratches on both sides from where I drove through trees to reach the water. So did my Nissan Altima and Pathfinder before it. I do ^this^ too, our shoulda/coulda moments of reflecting.

She is a monster. I caught two over 22" this year, both pushing seven pounds, but some of my shorter fish were lots bulgier, like the first bass below and others were just thick from top to bottom, like the second bass, but I have never caught anything like your levee bass and to make it even more impressive, you caught it from the shore!: @Zcoker: Why aren't there more anglers fishing those levees? Is it the distance from where they live?

I have NEVER caught anything like @Zcoker's bass. How long was that?

I used to be soooo speedy at retying and even in a bouncing boat, but arthritis has slowed me. Sigh. The Reaper's scythe takes us bit by bit. Scythe sigh. Me too!

Bob, I saw a nature show about otters once and the narrator said that otters can play a lot because it's so easy for them to catch their prey, unlike most predators, which miss a lot of prey. They're super successful at predation because of their speed, suppleness, and intellect. They also work together.

I fished the closest bog to my house twice this year. The first time I fished it, I saw five to six otters. Last year I averaged about 35 bass at the bog. This year, I could only catch fewer than ten.

I don't lose lures, but over the course of a year, I spend literal hours and hours pulling weeds off my lures. #TnRiver46issoproudofme...er...Ithink

Yep, ^that's^ my strategy. I study the lake depth map and the weather, think about where and when the wind will rise, and rig accordingly. Each trip, I tie one new lure onto a rod to give it a chance. Ha! I can't say I can relate. The bass I catch are pretty predictable and reliable. They'll hit a Zoom worm, paddletail, Mepps spinner, squarebill, wacky Senko, popper, or Whopper Plopper, depending upon the morning or hour.

Many trips, my tacklebox won't be opened. I used to lug a full-size tacklebox and downsized to a utility box. Now, for about half of my trips, I only open that utility box to replace a soft plastic paddletail or Senko. Otherwise, I'm working with the lures on my six or seven rods, which are rigged and ready when I launch. I do tweak those lures before each trip, retying and sometimes replacing. I only get so much time on the water and hate to fritter it retying or replacing lures. I watch YouTubers retying on the water and I think, "You could be catching a bass instead of retying."

That looks like a real comfy boat, Baron. I would love Spotlock. Congrats on your PB LMB. How did you break those two rods? I spend a lot of time in the winter reading my old trip reports. I started working on my tackle today, getting it organized for 2024. I've even planned which ponds I'll fish first in 2024. And, of course, I cheer for my bass buddies who are still fishing.

18 sturgeon???!!!??? That is beyond my ken and beyond my imagination. I caught one once, a four-footer, and I thought I was Al Lindner. That one sturgeon was so strong that my arm was limp after the fight. And you go out and catch 18.

I missed one of my best 2023 bass:

Thanks, @A-Jay. I like yours more than the one I was considering.

As many of you know, I fish from a solo Kevlar canoe. It's 15' 6" and only weighs 32 pounds. Still, it feels heavier every year, so I'm shopping for a lightweight trailer so I don't have to lift the canoe onto the car and take it off the car. I likely won't back it into the water, but simply pull the canoe off the trailer and drag it to the water. I like this one. I would have to buy it with a longer tongue given the length of my canoe and I'd upgrade the tires to the biggest size:

I want to contribute something, but I have zero experience with muddy water. I can frequently see the bottom if it's seven feet or less deep and when I fished Lake Superior, I could see even deeper. I can only add that everything Pat said makes sense and I hope that before I die, I feel the unfettered fury of a muddy water strike.

@Pat Brown: This past summer, a guy from another fishing website contacted me about fishing one of my bogs. With considerable hesitation, I met him at the edge of bog at 4:00 a.m. (Scary! Never again.) and guided him. I gave him all my best spots, hovered nearby if he had questions, and told him what I'd use. He fished a shoreline that normally gives up 35-45 bass with one or two big ones and lots of 15" to 17" bass. He caught ten and they were undersized. Meanwhile, fishing a far less productive shoreline within sight of him, I caught 25 bass with one four-pounder and I lost another four-pounder. So, I literally led him to a great stretch loaded with healthy bass and told him what would catch them and he still couldn't catch them.

Okay, they have a boat and can go ANYWHERE and they take your spot. Pathetic. Sorry it happened.

C'mon, gang, for Bob's sake, we really oughter talk about something else.

@PhishLI, that's a beauty. Add two pounds for catching it in cold. @keagbassr: Man, you are the bass whisperer.

I appreciate you checking in on Murph and his family too.