Swamp Girl

That pic astounds me. I had no idea shad schools could be so big. I too am excited for MuskiePalooza 2023. Go, Tim, go! More beasts by keagbasser! He sure can fish.

It's 170 acres. In Maine, a body of water has to be pretty big to be called a lake, like a thousand acres or so. @pdxfisher, I always enjoy when anglers show us what their fishing holes look like. It was a good day. I didn't catch anything under a pound. No giants, but no pygmies too.

I was guessing the very same thing, Alex, that the pond simply hasn't had bass for 20 or more years. If it starts producing four-pounders and then five-pounders, you'll have to come fish it too. 😄 As far as that other pond, I never did fish it. It's about an hour and a half away and there are so many closer ponds I love to fish. One thing I love about that pond is the beaver dams between the road and the pond. They'd discourage many would-be fishers. Maybe some day.

I know, huh? Gimruis caught some that made me laugh, cause their girth was ridiculous! Well fished, Gimruis. You catch smallies WAY, WAY bigger than what I catch.

Alex, I truly do hope you win the lottery because pouring your winnings into a pond would be money well spent! I too would be happy in a small house on a big pond. Today's bass from this pond were averaging an inch more than last year. They were all thick and healthy, so fingers crossed that I'll finally catch a 19-incher/four-pounder next year.

I fished a pond that I've always considered to be a quantity pond as I've never caught a 19-incher there, but have caught lots of 16" to 17" bass. You reach the pond by driving past potato and pumpkin fields, thus the title, "Farm Fishing." Once you're on the pond, it feels wild and I took one shot looking back at the pond so you can see other than the farm, it's all woods. I caught 27 bass today, beginning at 10:00 a.m. and ending at 1:15 p.m. I was thrilled to catch bigger bass than I've ever caught at this pond, many from 17" to 18". I expect next year I'll finally catch a 19-incher. Many of them fought like they were 19-inchers. I begin with two pics of the farm's fields and my launching site. The first bass you see was caught on my first cast. I caught 4 bass on a wacky worm, one on a Whopper Plopper, and 22 on a black and silver paddletail on an Owner weighted underspin. I caught a nice smallmouth too! I didn't catch a single dink. I don't know why my bass photos aren't loading with the right orientation.

@TnRiver46 lives a heckuva fine life, living on the water and fishing several times each week. @Fried Lemons, you had a GREAT day. Two fives and a near five is WHOA! Catching them from shore makes them even more impressive. Speaking of great days, am I the only one who wants to hear about lousy days too? Whatever he catches or doesn't catch, @thediscochef shares. I had three or four one-fish days in the spring and I shared too. The days we don't catch bass make the days we do catch bass even better, just like the little ones make the big ones better. As someone said, a fishing report is a full report, i.e. the good and the bad.

I always love reading about the latest PDX adventure!

Well, when the boy cried wolf, the townspeople came running. When I said I was done fishing, I didn't inconvenience any townsfolk. As far as being on my own, I pretty much am when it comes to actual fishing, but @AlabamaSpothunter, @T-Billy, @PhishLI, @thediscochef, and others have coached. I can't imagine any of them saying, "Crick, you are too bass addicted to advise further. If you only loved bassin' a little less, I might coach you a little more, but...."

What if I put a fishing rod and reel and some bass in that pine box?

I love ^this^ little river and pond. I'm actually (I brace for the teasing here.) going to fish again this week. It's suddenly warm again in Maine, up to the high sixties and low seventies by day and the high fifties by night. Come Sunday or Monday, it'll be back to the high forties by day and the low thirties by night, so I'm going out one or two more times.

Don't be too hard on yourself. I'm guessing you have a generous heart. May I be the president of your fan club?

The septic systems of lakeside homes leak, degrading water quality. If they want a suburban lawn, the fertilizers and herbicides are washed into the water. Of course I don't know who littered. I only knew who retrieved the trash.

Link, please.

Sadly, Alex, I can foresee my fine, local fishing fading. More and more houses are being built in Maine and a member of the BR community who lives in southern Maine reported that he's catching fewer fish and seeing less non-finned wildlife too, blaming the people who crowd their homes on shorelines. Humans do ruin pretty much everything. On my last outing, I retrieved two bobbing beer bottles from the bog and fetched two beer cans in the woods. I'm grateful that @PhishLI scolded the glutton/thief who was casting a net.

It's Heaven. Be happy. I fish a bog up north that's similar. In 2023, the most I ever caught at this bog was three bass. Four times, I only caught one. To put this into local context, I usually catch about 30 or more bass per outing. However, I'm already making plans to fish this bog again because I like the challenge and love the average size of the fish. Again, be happy...and protect the pond!

Man, that's a lot of work to impress a few friends and relations. Bad for the bass too.

I've had some beasts clobber surface lures retrieved parallel to reeds. PhishLI suggested this tactic for the fall and he was right.

Florida is the same way. The trees are too short for me. I want cathedral trees, not shed trees.

I'm no professional guide, but I did guide three fishers this summer. I put two of them in the bow of a tandem canoe and I spent 70% of my time positioning them for bass and coaching them. If they were on a sweet spot, I kept the paddle in my hand so as to be ready to back the boat away from weeds when they hooked a bass. One of the three fishers was a kayak angler, so I gave him all my best spots, suggested tactics, and stayed near him in case he needed me. Again, I wasn't paid, but a paying guide should at least equal the support I offered. FWIW, the kayaker lost a four-to-five-pounder, the kid caught the biggest bass of his life, and the kid's father caught his biggest bass of the summer. If they'd been skunked, I would have been embarrassed. The kid caught the most and I attribute that to a kid being less set in his fishing ways. Chef, I think your guide used you to pay for his gas and boat's mortgage payment. I think only you and your buddy should be casting to those FFS fish.

Nice fishin' with you too, @Kites R4 Skyfishing! So true. The more shrouded I am, whether by rain, fog, or shadow, the more confident I am.

I won't fish with anyone who won't wear a life jacket.

An alternative title for this terrific video could be, "Whoa, Mr. Gung-ho!" In my twenties and thirties, I had three V-hulls in addition to my canoes and I foresee the day when I'll own a V-hull again, likely 12'-14' with a four-horse to ten-horse engine. This video raises lots of great points for me to consider.

I think the beginning of night could be great since the water's been warming all day, as opposed to the end of night, where it's been cooling all night. Me too! I'm done fishing, so I'm fishing through you now.