Swamp Girl

Me too, Chef. I"m fishing this afternoon and might fish again on Friday, weather permitting, but then I'm done for the year. For those of you who remember that I quit last fall and then started again and if you're thinking I'll do the same this year, I won't. I fished much more in 2023 than 2022 and I've caught many more, so I'm full and happy, plus the water temp keeps creeping down and the peril keeps creeping up. The advantage of my canoe is its light weight. The disadvantage of that light weight is that it's tippy. So, I'll put the canoe on sawhorses at the end of the week and fish again in 2024. And I'll switch from player on the aquatic field of glory to cheerleader for those of you fishing on. The pond I fished yesterday morning was a pond I lost access to in June when the pond association posted "No Trespassing" signs at the launch. However, there's a farm on the pond, so I rang them and introduced myself. Long story short, I visited the farm three times in the last two days, baked cookies for them, gave them a couple books, and now I'm allowed to drive past their two big signs declaring "Absolutely no pond access!" I bake cookies for four landowners now. A buddy cynically said that I bribe, but I said, "You've got it all wrong. They're kind to me. I'm kind to them. Kindness greases the world's gears." @PondProwler9000: Big bass! Nice to have you post. Keep posting, big and small, for we like to see them all. I'm thinking a good thought for you, @bp_fowler. @The Baron: Your Ontario bass are built like cinder blocks. @The Bassman: BEAUTIES! @softwateronly: Whoa!

It's always good to see Murph posting and flashing some new facial fur!

And that's why they're seven to eight pounds: Brains and brawn.

I took a break from pursuing big bass to visit a beloved pond that doesn't grow bass over 18". I caught 21 and could only catch them by hitting the bushy notches in the shoreline with surface lures. It was a fun, foggy morning and you can see the notches in the second and third photos. You can also see how beautiful this pond is, which is why it was good to paddle it again. The second bass was the the longest, but I wanted to buy her a Filet O' Fish sammich!

Ha! They were actually a little tricky this morning, holding tight to a shrubby shoreline. I had to hit the pockets to catch them.

I catch a lot of bass, but like Zccoker, I catch them because of when and where I'm fishing, i.e. the right time and right place. I rose this morning at 4:30 a.m., drove across pasture, and launched in the dark. No ramp. There's never a ramp. The temp was 42 degrees. Sometimes I portage through the woods and other times, I'm wheeling my canoe across a meadow. When and where I put myself is why I catch a lot of bass. In the summer, I'm up at 3:15 a.m. Just this morning, I lost my way and used a flashlight on foot to find the path. That happened several times this summer. Not all fishers are willing to bumble about in the dark. This happened even though I drove the way yesterday afternoon and studied the way on Google Earth, but a fog at night changes the look of everything. If @Bluebasser86 is between a 3 and 6, then I'm at best a 4 because he's a better fisher than me.* However, when it comes to paddling, I'm a 7 and good paddling leads me to good fishing. *I changed my 3 rating to a 4 when I checked and saw that 3 is bad. I'm not bad as I land some nice bass in tough, bog conditions. I'm not higher because I lose some nice bass in tough, bog conditions.

I've three or four primary lures that I use spring, summer, and fall. I have literally hundreds of lures that I don't use. I tried them and didn't catch bass. My main lures are plopper/popper, Rage Swimmer paddletail, and Zoom Trick worms, so that's topwater, mid-depth, and bottom. Sometimes I have good luck with crankbaits too. I catch bass on topwaters when the water is cold in early spring and again in the fall. I was catching bass on topwater in Maine last March and November. I think of topwaters as an aggressive bass bait and I'm catching aggressive bass in cold water too.

Good morning, Mr. Shad. You guys are so funny. I was fishing and landed 21. I'll post pics in the Latest Catch Pics thread. There aren't many farms in coastal Maine, but I crossed a pasture to reach this morning's pond, so my morning was listening to owls and cows. I baked dark chocolate chip cookies with roasted, salted pecans for the farmer and am returning this afternoon to buy some of their pumpkins. I sound like I live in 1954, don't I?

I note that Pat and I both suggest light line without weight. I fished a quarry pond once and two cruising bass were driving me crazy. The pond was deep, but Perrier clear like most quarry ponds are, so I watched the bass ignore everything I threw at them, again and again. However, once I threw a weightless nightcrawler at them, they raced each to reach it and I caught them both. Until I started fishing bog bass, I always fished four-pound and six-pound test for smallies, walleyes, white bass, crappies, lake trout, specks, etc. I second this idea.

Light line. Small hook. No weight. Single hook an earthworm in its head. This setup is hard to cast, but wary bass will hit it.

Scrambling on slippery rocks? Whoa! You. are. tough. And that bass is gorgeous. I can see why you worked so hard to catch them.

Bob is right. Those are fatties. Well done, @gimruis! I tried to decide which of your fat bass is my favorite, but I couldn't because I'd see a fat one and pick that one and then see another fat one and pick that one and then....

I don't think most fishers could get the bites that you're getting and I say that as an ex-Ohioan. You're the difference, Tim.

I know that sound: "Eeeeeeeeeee!" There's a lake in northwestern Ontario that I love and was once crossed by a train trestle made of wood. They took the part of the trestle above water down, but hundreds of posts remained just underwater. I'd paddle ever so carefully between posts, but every single time, I'd run aground on a post I missed.

Thanks for clarifying. London's worst fogs are called Pea Soupers and it does look foggy in your photos, thus my confusion.

Oh, I think I misunderstood. I thought you were talking about fog. Are you talking about algae?

I love pea soup. No better weather to fish. Beautiful bass!

Bob, I once profiled a paddler for a couple magazines. He paddled from Washington state to Alaska, portaged over the Chilkoot pass, paddled down the Yukon, and then down the Bering Sea. He admitted that he was a little raw after nearly dying many times, but still said that he couldn't cross on a river on a bridge and wonder where it would take him and what he'd see. Your story reminds me of his, i.e. the pull of water.

This morning, as I was paddling back to my car, an osprey did a low pass over me. Ten minutes later, a Great blue heron did the same and higher than the heron was a V of geese. I thought of Louis Armstrong's song, "What a Wonderful World." And what a wonderful fishing summer I've had, the best of my life. I caught a 6.75-pounder this morning (Yep, I weighed her and she's the last photo. She was hard to frame due to her size and flopping. Frisky!) and a fat bass I didn't weigh, but I'm sure she was over four pounds and maybe five (She was nearly 19" and brawny.). They're the last two pics. Before those big gals are pics of the pond followed by three bass that were typical of my morning catch totaling 22. I also caught two pickerel as big as pike and as hard fighting as bass. I wish the photo of the big bass was better. She was long and strong and I tried three times to get a photo, but she just wouldn't be still and when I tried putting her on the bump board, she went bonkers. After the three bass is an abandoned camp. 99% of the pond's waterfront has been acquired by a nature conservancy, so the cabins are empty and rotting. The pond can feel post-apocalyptic. It's an incredible pond. I've caught at least one big bass every time I've gone there and most times, I've caught two to four. I've never seen anyone else. What a wonderful world. P. S. - I told @PhishLI that I think of old maps where there were warnings on the edges, "There be dragons here," when I think of this pond. Its wildness, its abandoned camps, and its big bass all combine to thrill and spook me. Look at the second photo. Doesn't it look like there be dragons there?

It's the things that will hopefully keep me alive if I tip: fire starting stuff, a change of clothing, a reflective blanket, and hand warmers. It floats and is waterproof, so I can tow it behind me as I swim to shore or use it for additional buoyancy. However, the air was so cool this morning (47 degrees) that the water felt warm.

That's a lotta yellow in those trees, but looking at your t-shirt, it's still warm there. I like your boat. It looks stable and comfy.

Fall is best summarized for me by Wednesday evening: 1st hour: 3 bass 2nd hour: 3 bass 3rd hour: 18 bass, a rate where I stopped photographing to save time and catch more. I found them on a flat and caught two or three consecutive fish several times. It's a flat I rarely fish, but I tried it because of BR articles and videos that mentioned flats as fall habitat. If this is the case, I'll miss fall's fishing. I'm thinking I'll fish for another three weeks. Maybe four. I'm going fishing now and for the first time since last spring, I'm taking my ditch kit.

Wow! What a story. Thank you. Good rebound too from losing her.

Yep, you're funny!

@The Baron, that underspin paddletail is always rigged and ready in my boat. You've been posting some big bass, buddy. Well done! I've never met @GreenPig, but man, oh, man, I grieve with him. LIkewise, I've never seen a DD and likely never will. If it doesn't hurt too much to tell the story, GP, I'd like to hear it.