Swamp Girl

I wholeheartedly agree. Tough, tough conditions, but you still scored.

It doesn't help that Desert Lake is already muddled. It's a lake that thinks it's a desert.

Ha! I'm ordering some of those Zoom Trick Worms today too. Say, Mr. River, I missed three fish in a row at the end of my fishing session with my Magnum worm. With one, I set the hook at first feel and nada. So, I figured the worm was so long that it took two secs to reach the hook. So, I waited on the next two. I was using a Shimano Bait Runner, disengaged the drag, and both bass whizzed off line and then I cranked down until I felt their weight, set the hook, and nada again. Any suggestions?

That would be fun, but jeez, Bob, ten hours in the canoe yesterday has me feeling like I'm 92 today.

I like seeing the Bobby Thompson too, Bob. When I kayaked the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, I loved seeing the tugs pass. P. S. - Good job catching all those bass too! And dang it that you lost the big one! How big? For what it's worth, I lost a big one yesterday too. She porpoised and I've found that the bass over 21" over do that instead of jumping because they're too big to tail-dance anymore.

@The Baron and @papajoe222, I feel less alone because of what you two wrote. I too am wiped after fishing ten hours yesterday. And I'm still sore this morning and was wondering, "What's wrong with me?" I was thinking something was wrong because I've been fishing since steadily since April and figured I was in fighting/fishing trim, but like you guys, I've been fishing four or five hours each time, not ten. A man's got to know his limitations. A woman too. i see you guys standing on your bass boats and I sigh. I would love to stand and fish, but there's no way I could back a bass boat into the bogs I fish and they're above my pay grade anyway. So, when I arrive at a pond, I'll fire a cast or two from the shore for the sheer joy of standing while casting. You and me both. I can cast a baitcaster and I sometimes do. When I'm trolling, I always reach for a baitcaster. Froggin' too. However, I still prefer my spinning rigs and am a little embarrassed that I do, since I understand the advantages of baitcasters.

I'm with ya on ^this.^ Last fall, I caught good numbers of bass, but not the big bass that so many catch in fall. I'm hoping this fall will be different. Many years ago, I fished a bass lake in northwestern Ontario and did quite well trolling crankbaits. Drifting with bait also worked.

Heck, yeah!

I love bridges that raise. Thanks for the pics, Bob!

Yeah, I think that's what it is. I often throw big lures, like the biggest Senkos and size 130 Whopper Ploppers. What length worm do you use? FWIW, I like the photo of the pond. So many times, what I see is prettier than what the camera captures. This time the camera saw what I saw. I also like the shoulders of the second 19-incher. She's a Brunhilda!

I fished a quality pond today, but managed okay quantity with 29. I caught two 19-inchers. I am so glad I landed the first one because if it had escaped, I would be telling you I lost an eight-pounder. That's how strong that bass was. I have a MH rod and it parked under the canoe, drowning my rod tip. The first photo is that 19-incher, an utterly ordinary looking bass with extraordinary strength. Then a healthy pickerel and some other healthy bass. Then two pics of the second 19-incher and finally, a photo of the pond. I saw a deer swim across it and a bald eagle. I also included a photo of my primary lure, a 12", blue, ribbon-tail worm with a 5/0 hook. See the weeds beside that worm? What are they? Good day! Congrats Bluebasser!

Uh-oh, @Woody B. That spot has markings so strong that it looks like its mother was a python. I heard they were moving north, but I didn't think they'd mate with spots. Flee, Woody, flee.

Cool! @LrgmouthShad: I love those four pounders!

OMG, Dom, I didn't know either your rod or reel, so I googled both and saw that you're fishing with a grand of gear. A grand will buy you a used fishing kayak and I think you'd catch more with that than your gorgeous rod and reel. I see YouTubers kayak into the Everglades and have a 50-bass day with a monster or two. Why not you? If I lived there, that would be me.

As I shared, I think I've caught two 20-lb. bags in 2023, but I'm hoping for a third tomorrow. I usually quit fishing in the morning around 9:30, but tomorrow, I'm going to fish from five a.m. to the early afternoon, around three or four, because the weather conditions look to be perfect: low wind from the south and rain all day, plus the wind will be shifting from the north late tomorrow, so I'm hoping that the bass will react to that and feed all day. We'll see! It's been a long time since I spent ten hours in a canoe. I'm sure I'll be stiff and creaky at the end, but fingers crossed that I'll some sweet memories and big fish pics to share with you! I'll be fishing the alewife pond, which is a quality/not quantity pond, so there's no chance I'll catch a hundred bass too. More like thirty, but it sure has some big gals and I'm hoping to dance with some of them.

Clint Eastwood said, "A man's got to know his limitations." What are yours? Here are some of mine: Walking bait fishing. I have never caught even a single bass on one. And I must own a dozen of them! Still, I cast them and hope. Baitcaster casting. I watch those YouTubers cast into bitsy pockets and sigh. Wrasslin' bass out of weeds. Gosh, it's hard and I often fail. However, my new MH rods are helping. There are times when I feel like I have half a measure of control over three-pounders. Above that, all bets are off. Froggin'. I can do it, but I don't do it well. Remembering the names of lures, line, rods, and reels. Some of you guys remember everything. EVERYTHING! Not me. Not even close. And if you want, share what you do well too. Here's me: Stealth. I'm a sneaky, snake-y fisher. Paddle. I have paddled so many thousands of miles that a paddle is just another part of me. I can bend it like Beckham. Early riser. I'm willing to fish with less, as in a comfy boat, engine, and electronics, which puts me atop bass that aren't pursued by fishers with comfy boats, engines, and electronics.

Sounds right. I lived on the Wisconsin River and fished smallies every summer morning. Those long, lean LMBs in that little river looked like those "teenage boy" SMBs in the Wisconsin River.

Okay, you wrassle critters, scale roofs, lug kayaks, and catch 21" smallies? Man, you make Clint Eastwood look like a sissy! Eastwood can squint all he wants, but you da man. I feel guilty to admit this, but Maine has yet to sizzle. I've lived here for 11 years and it rarely reaches 90 degrees. I know, I know, we have true winters, but I actually enjoy them. They're the cozy season. We have blizzards too, but most Mainers have generators for when our power goes.

I'd focus on that big blue hump in the middle. I'd bounce crankbaits off all its sides and work the top too. Let us know how it goes. I envy you times 3000. I love fishing Ontario and you LIVE THERE!

That's what I saw too. I don't think my photos conveyed their difference. The bass in the little river reminded me of lanky teenage boys, all muscle. The bass in the bog reminded me of the teens' dads, quite a bit beefier. If I'd followed that stream farther, I would have reached a dam (A fallen tree blocked my way.) and beyond that dam is a lake with both smallmouth and largemouth. I'm surprised that a couple bitsy smallmouth haven't been carried over the dam's spillway and thrived in that little river, for it has good current, about 4 m.p.h. (Maybe more. It was clipping.), and that's normally a smallmouth's environment, not a largemouth's. I keep thinking about that five-pounder river LMB who jumped and threw my hook beside my canoe. I'm going to try and catch her tomorrow morning. I know exactly where she lives, which is the best ambush point in that little river. I think she'll still be there. I used my froggin' rod to punch like Tim suggested. I did get a bite, but today, I'm going to increase the weight. I only had a tiny one on my Rage Tail and from the low seat of a canoe, I was having trouble hitting the openings I wanted and when I missed them, the light weight didn't punch through the mat. I used a tiny one because there's so little open water, maybe two or three feet before thick weeds all the way to the bottom.

MURPH! It's great to see you in the Latest Catch Pics thread again. Nice bass too. And Dom and you using spinning gear is, well, ol'cricketyesque.

I wish I could, Alex. Fingers crossed for rain for you.

I too saw an osprey/eagle fight. Twice. Like the Red Baron and Snoopy, huh? Glad you liked the totally original song.

Mr. River, you are the Cuyahoga. Wanna know why? 'Cause you're on fire, man!