Swamp Girl

Tomorrow morning, I'm going to paddle up a narrow river, about ten yards wide, with pretty good current. The water is 7-Up clear and it's weedy. The last time I fished the end of the river, where it's a little wider, and caught two 19" bass in the dark. This time, I'll be fishing upriver where it narrows. I went up a little ways last time and it's full of bass, but I'm wondering if you think I'll encounter more 19" bass (or bigger) or will the fish shrink as the river shrinks? There's a dam at the end of the river and its spillway is pushing that current.

You catch bigger bass than I've EVER caught, but you're right about your inconsistency. I don't think that's your fault. I think it's your lack of reach. Sure, you can outcast anyone, BUT without a boat, you can't follow and find the bass when they mosey from your shore.

I fail to do ^this.^ I'll catch a nice bass on a lure and immediately switch to another lure. I'm just curious about what they'll also hit. ^This^ level of consistency is stunning. Thanks, Buddy! Ha! I wish. Say, keagbasser, post your five. Please. I think it'll be cool to see how different 20 lb. bags look.

@keagbassr's 20 lb. bag yesterday reminded me of my two goals for 2023: One was a 20 lb. bag and the other was a 100-bass day. I might have achieved the first goal two times, but I don't think I'll ever have a hundred-bass day again (I had many when I was younger.) simply because I no longer have the energy to fish all day. Here are five bass that might have exceeded 20 pounds, one of two times I think I surpassed 20 pounds. I say "might" because I didn't weigh any of them, but I weighed a few fish through June and July and developed a fair sense of what four, five, and six-pound bass look like. I'm guessing that the following five bass weigh, in order, 6 pounds, 5 pounds, 4.75 pounds, 3.5 pounds, and the fifth one, although not fat like the first four, is long enough to put me over the top. They were all caught on a foggy morning in late August: If you caught a 20 lb. bag, please share your five and if you don't think my five surpass 20 pounds, please feel free to opine.

Well, then, when anyone ever asks me to describe myself as a fisher, I'll answer, "I'm a lot like Butch Brown. In so many ways." "Wh-wh-what? WOW," they'll reply, imaging me and DDs. And I'll just smile and nod, keeping quiet that the only three things I have in common with the GOAT are gratitude, a love of bass, and a small boat.

Gorgeous photos, @TnRiver46!

I did a rare evening trip. Most evenings in coastal Maine are too windy for me to fish, but this evening was like a steamy Midwestern summer's evening. I fished a bog just five miles from my house. It doesn't have big bass, but they're still fun. I caught ten in two hours, all about the same size and all on a small, chrome Whopper Plopper.

Fascinating and surprising. How about you other big bass fishers? Have you also landed monsters on sunny days at noonish?

Me too, Bob, my Southern brother, me too. Mighty, @keagbassr! Sweet, @thediscochef!

You are an excellent teacher, Tim. I understood every word ^here.^ Thank you.

Mooneye are freshwater, tiny tarpon!

When I fished Monday, that river was full of hydrilla and milfoil. My landing rate was much higher because I was able to wrassle them out of it, as opposed to tough, fibrous reeds, thick lily pads, and whatever plant looks like high, thick, clumped lawn grass, which is the worst of the three.

Bob, do you ever recognize gamefish in your trap?

Do you fish vertically into lily pads too, Tim? Just drop something like a weighted Rage Tail into an opening in the pads?

I'm going to buy one, Dwight. I can't keep getting hooked. The problem is the new hooks are so sharp that they slide into me like I'm warm butter. My finger is still swore and swollen from the hook. Until the Boga arrives, I'm going to wear gloves.

There are consistent quantity bassers. There are consistent quality bassers. You are both. HUGE cats, @Bluebasser86! A warning? Johnny Law aka @gimruis is softening in his advancing age.

Be sure to buy some wheels for your kayak. I have good luck fishing water in Maine that is only accessible by small boats. I might fish a lake with a ramp this week, but if I do, that's a rare event for me. When I scouted that lake, I saw two bass right beside the ramp, so it seems it's full of bass. You are smart to bring a backup paddle. I've dropped my paddle many times and used my backup to fetch it. Only 2-3 poles? That'll make for a clean boat, but I typically take 6-8 poles and nearly always use them all. I'm always switching outfits, trying to crack the code. I'll catch a bass with one lure and immediately switch, wondering what else they'll hit. Take your camera too! The BR crew love to look at bass!

@AlabamaSpothunter: Alex, I feel like I'll be passing the baton to you and your fellow Southerners shortly, as will @gimruis , and all the MIchigan, NY, Massachusetts, and other northern bassers. To be frank, I'm actually looking forward to winter. I took a beating this summer, with so many nicks and cuts that became infected. On the other hand, I caught 49 bass that weighed four pounds or more, which is the best fishing summer of my life. However, I do not feel triumphant. The big bass humbled me so many times. I only had one break off and I still worry about that big gal, but I lost as many big fish as I caught to weeds. Matted grass under the surface was the worst, but fibrous reeds and late summer lily pads also unlocked my lures and freed many fish. Of course, I lost some to jumping too. However, in the coldest months, I look forward to seeing your big bass and the big bass caught by others in Eternally Soft Water Land.

With your long history of big bass, you're in good company. There are guys here who have caught 8 lb.+ smallmouth and largemouth in the high teens. I can't say this with certainty, but I strongly believe that some of the world's best bassers are members of Bass Resource and they are generous with their wisdom. Ask and they will answer. The Fishing Reports forum is a fun place, for you get to see what these talented fishers catch and share your catches too. I urge you to launch your kayak. I'm a paddler, as are many BR (Bass Resource) members and there's no way I'd catch what I catch without my canoe. I fish swamps and it's pert near impossible to cast from the shoreline of a swamp. Good. I'm glad he was banned for life.

I use Rage Tails too. It's cool to cyber-meet the maker!

I'm amazed that the GOAT fishes from such a small boat and I LOVE his attitude, which is gratitude:

We were casting to muskies who'd never seen lures, but to reach them, we had to suffer: three lakes, three portage and two without trails, and one swamp.

My dad caught 21 one week and that same week, I caught 19. We were fishing from a canoe in northwestern Ontario. The next summer, I caught 15 and he caught five and the two newcomers we'd brought caught zero. One evening, my dad retired to the tent and I was fishing solo in the canoe when a nice musky hit and took me for a ride. "Help, Dad!" I foolishly yelled. "What can I do?" he rightly responded.

Golly, I LOVE that smile. And then there's the drama of the big bass and the dark sky. Great photo. Blow it up and frame it.

You have a good eye for bass, Pat. She was more impressive than the longer one. However, I hate the quality of night photos!