Swamp Girl

That was the Kraken. You got lucky. Say, you look like Jeremy Renner, aka Hawkeye.

I know, I know, @PhishLI, I'm spoiled. What's weird was I hooked a bass on Wednesday and it was on like Kong. I hooked this morning's bass and I swore I heard them say, "Meh."

You've eaten muskrat? What do they taste like? Don't ya dare say chicken! That guy reminds me of the hiker who amputated his arm to free himself from the fallen boulder. Both tough, tough hombres.

I fished a quality pond this morning, but caught neither quality nor quantity. I did see two Trumpeter swans overhead. I also saw a Great blue heron and two beavers. My lipless crankbait, tiny child, and Whopper Plopper caught nothing. I caught six on a popper, which was weird for a sunny morning, and four on a wacky worm. All were small. It sure was pretty for a brown deep fall day.

Bob, that is SO MUCH WORK! You have such a good attitude, though. Fingers crossed you get all the rats.

@Dirtyeggroll: Incredible!

Now, ^THAT'S^ a story!

Maybe it's a paddling thing. I post at a paddling website where strange stories abound.

@Friggs: You're doing great, Bill.

No stories? You guys need to get out(side) more. Sleep a few years in the woods and sooner or later, something stirs.

I did catch 19-inchers (four pounders) on back to back casts this fall, one of my biggest thrills of the year. So, we are synced! If we ever go dancing together, we'll do it like this:

I have never met the disco chef and I likely never will, but I'm still as happy for him as if he were my son. Those are good looking bass! Great shapes.

I couldn't find them! I know, I know: Dumb of me. Did anyone notice the tail on that smallie? It's disproportionately big. Yesterday's trip was one of my favorites of the year. I was so happy to see the fish being bigger in that pond.

You're right. I almost stroked. How much does that daycare make????

Okay, what does your brother pay? FWIW, I love the Twin Cities too. I've spent many days walking down Grand Ave. and then back up Summit. And your network of paths connecting your lakes are great, as are your elevated downtown walkways. Plus, I know a guy who lives in MN who caught so many big smallies and LMBs this summer. A gorgeous tiger musky too. Let's see...what's his name? #missingcafelatte

@Zcoker: Me too! I can power to safety too, for my canoe is the Corvette of Canoes, a real zoomer. Your boat is beautiful, the Cadillac of Kayaks.

I did a search for the lists I first cited, but couldn't find it. Sorry. I do know that 18 Mainers were slaughtered yesterday and others are mangled in ICUs, fighting for their lives, but I'll still launch my canoe alone in the dark, just like I'll still gladly visit Chicago again and enjoy its gorgeous architecture, the lake, and its great food. Fear is a cage. I'll die free even if it means I won't live long enough to wither in a nursing home.

Here are the worst 15 (highest crime rates) based upon 2023 data: 15. Gadsden, Alabama 14. Albany, Georgia 13. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 12. Kalamazoo, Michigan 11. Cleveland, Ohio 10. Alexandria, Louisiana 9. Little Rock, Arkansas 8. Pine Bluff, Arkansas 7. Birmingham, Alabama 6. Detroit, Michigan 5. Memphis, Tennessee 4. Saginaw, Michigan 3. Monroe, Louisiana 2. Mobile, Alabama 1. Bessemer, Alabama Source: travelinglifestyle.net

I literally laughed out loud, Mr. TNRiver. I've seen paddlefish jump. They breach like humpbacks. Doing well, ironbjorn, but there's no getting away from the madness. True tidbit: The Greeks called creativity the divine madness.

Have you ever had the inexplicable happen on the water or while fishing? I've several stories, but I'll only share two: I was on the upper Mississippi in late October or early November, paddling to New Orleans. A cold, fierce headwind forced me to take refuge on Devil's Island. I would normally never camp on an island named after Satan, but circumstances forced me land there, in the howling dark. The island had enormous trees and their roots twined like snakes. I had to make like a snake and slither through them, finding the merest opening to pitch my tent. All night long, those trees groaned. At the merest light, I broke camp and scooted and passed two men on the island standing over a campfire. They wore primitive ill-fitting clothing, which looked hand-made and slowly waved to me to return to the island. No way. I paddled faster. Decades later, I read a book written my a fellow paddler, who was forced to land at Devil's Island by a storm, slithered through roots to pitch his tent, and passed two men standing over a campfire who looked off. Like me, he did not stop. Another strange happened to me twice, once on the Ohio River and again on a wilderness lake north of Chapleau, Ontario. Both times I saw a rainbow's end, paddled closer and closer until it loomed over me, and then entered the rainbow, which glistened around me. This is inexplicable because science says you can't reach a rainbow, that it recedes before you. So, I dunno.

@Zcoker, we don't ever have skies that look like Florida's storms. However, I was in Buffalo for Snowmageddon (five feet of snow in three days) and I saw that snowstorm's front a couple miles out over Lake Erie and I thought, "The Grim Reaper's coming." And I was right, for people died. If you want to feel the Grim Reaper's breath, paddle a 32-pound Bell Rockstar (my canoe), which is 15' 6" long and slender. It's built for speed, not stability. And paddle it in late October on an up north lake where no one will hear you scream (for help). It's high-spirited and I foresee the day when I'll buy a heavy, stable aluminum boat with a motor to ward the Grim Reaper a little longer.

I always smile when Murph posts. Those are chunky fish, casts_by_fly!

Winter...fishing? C'mon! Next you'll be telling me that unicorns are real.

I too have learned so much from the BR braintrust. Just this morning, @PhishLI suggested a season-specific tactic that put my biggest bass today in the canoe.