Swamp Girl

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!

As an ex-Ohioan, I heartily agree. You catch way bigger and way more bass than I ever caught in Ohio, Tim. And you catch muskies too!

You've got the feel for bass, Pat. No doubt. Smart. My brother! I think of myself as a crane: Still. Waiting. Watching. I was paddling over some pads yesterday and my head was swiveling, as it always is, looking for an opening, an opportunity. I'll even plot my lure's course between pads before I even cast it and I'll do that while I'm still paddling. I don't use electronics and I'm not casting willy-nilly. Oh, sure, sometimes I blast a cast into the middle of nothing, but even that is with forethought, for there might be a wolf pack yonder.

Like @gimruis, if I get to pick a rainy summer day to fish or a dry day, I'm always going with the rain. Like you, @txchaser, if it's a cold rain, I'll pass. #toooldtoocold

I'll never use sonar simply because it would be one more thing I'd have to carry. I'd have to carry the battery too. I do wonder what the screen would show me because I fish water choked with weeds. The photos at post at BR don't really convey what I see a foot or two below much of where I fish. I found this statement from a Google search: "Forward facing sonar will not display fish buried up in heavy cover such as weeds or thick brushpiles." So, even if I had the strength and energy to carry sonar and the battery to the water (I don't and never will.), if the above quoted statement is true, it wouldn't show me much. Anyway, my fishing budget for the past two years has bought me stouter rods and reels where the gears aren't losing their 40-year old teeth and I know that's money well spent. The stronger, longer rods are helping. I often admit that I can't remember the names of lures, but when it comes to where I've caught and lost big bass, I remember everything, so my mind is kind of mapping where big bass live on its own. Sometimes, when I cast to a new spot, my hair prickles because that new spot reminds me of another place where I caught a big fish. And many times, the water erupts.

Whadda rod!

Ah, we're the same. Most of the time, I'll catch a bass and immediately switch rods. I can't help myself. Chang my mind. We're not the same. ^You're beyond my ken.^

I am amazed that most of you guys can recall your lures like ^this." I feel on top of the world if I can recall, "I caught 'em on a black popper." Just the way I like 'em. BR's poet.

Here's a song: Almost Heaven Coastal Maine Appalachian Mountains Penobscot River Life is old there But younger than the sea Older than the lobstermen Salt air so fresh and free. Coastal roads Take me home To the place I belong Mid-coast Maine Appalachian Mountains Coastal roads Take me home. Now I just need a tune! Any ideas? Seriously, @Blue Raider Bob, in our emails, I know that you love backwaters as much as me. I was so happy this morning. When I launched, there was a giant toad watching me. I petted him. Turkeys in a tree gobbled "Good morning!" and I saw four Great blue herons, as well as a bald eagle. I felt like a kid again, exploring that stream. I began the morning by squeezing under the road bridge and went a little ways into the swamp across the road, but it was too dark for me to read the water and I kept casting into flora.

^This^ is so good to know as I didn't know that they'll be in the tiny river until early October. I'll be sure to fish it again. I want a second chance at that five-pounder and her sisters!

Yep. I've been looking at those "spaghetti" projections and only two have them hitting Maine head-on. A lot of them have it skirting us. If it does that, with all the other days of rain forecast, I'll be able to catch bass from my porch.

I know. I've been watching its path. It's a beast and I live two miles from the coast.

What a day! You make me feel like a slacker.

You're right, @gimruis. It was kind of river-y at the start, but quickly narrowed to a creek. However, on the map, it's called a river. It had a lot of current this morning and with nine straight days of rain in the forecast, it'll soon have a lot more current. Can you see how the bass fattened as I moved from current to calm or is that merely my imagination? Regarding jumping from one side to other, there's water under that tall grass and I heard bass feeding in it and tried @T-Billy's technique of vertical fishing in there and got my first bite doing that, but I think I waited too long to set the hook. The trees are where the riverbanks are, so I can sorta see why they call it a river.

That sounds so exciting. I wish I'd been there, but in my absence, I'm glad you were!

No, I didn't fish for LMBs and smallies or LMBs and spots. I fished for athletic LMBS, who live in a small river with good current and are kept wiry by it, and then fat bass, who live in a bog and are made hefty by their leisurely lives. I paddled up the primary feeder river for one of my favorite bogs and caught 24 bass, mostly on a shad-colored paddletail. The river started at ten yards wide and then narrowed to ten feet wide. I did hook and lose a five-pounder when it was only ten feet wide. That's a lot of bass for not much water. The bass came out of the water beside the canoe and threw the hook, so I got a good look at her. I'll lead with a pic of the river at its widest, then pics of slender, river bass, then a pic of the river narrowing, then transitional bass where the river met the bog, who are starting to thicken, one final river pic, and finally some fat bog bass, which I caught on a little, chrome Whopper Plopper, a lure I've been using less, so it was fun to pitch it again. I apologize for all the blurred bass. This morning's bass did not want to pose for pics! I caught 41 in all and loved paddling up that little river, which reminded me of my childhood. When the river narrowed to five feet, I stopped catching bass. Turning my 15' 6" canoe to go boggin' was not easy in a five foot-wide river. Yes, I realize that some of the river bass have bellies, but I hope you can see the overall difference between bass in current, which have the physiques of river smallies, and bog bass.

Well, the "river" soon narrowed to 10', but there were still plenty of bass. I hooked and lost a five-pounder where the river was only ten feet wide, so my question is answered: Big bass can be caught in little water. She jumped right beside the canoe, so I got a good look at her. I'll be doing a Trip Report called "A Tale of Two Basses," so when I post it, you guys can see pics of the little river and its bass. I caught 41 in all.

Cool story of a cool place to fish!

I hope I do, @bowhunter63. I've remembered to bring my bump board this time. I forgot it last time and could only get lip and grip pics, which are lousy when it's dark. I can't really see how big they were.

Well, drop my jaw!

I'll let you guys know how it goes. I'm excited!

Looks like smallie Heaven. No wonder you love it. I'd love it too. Maine is rocky in that we have boulders lying about everywhere. They're likely glacial erratics. And if you try to dig, you'll find a million more. It's why farmers abandoned Maine a hundred and two hundred years ago for the Ohio River Valley and Iowa.

Not me, Tom. As a whitewater paddler, I read seams. I haven't paddled the Susky, but I have paddled other rivers in PA and they were water flowing over rock. Of course, some guy in Utah could say, "The Susky? You think the Susky is rocky? You should come to Utah!" And then a guy on the moon would say,....