Swamp Girl

I'm with @Dye99. I actually prefer fishing in rain. I caught two 21"-plus bass in the rain this morning.

@AlabamaSpothunter, I'm proud of my landing ratio this year. Sure, I lose fish, but so far, when I hook big girls, I'm landing most of them. I focus and coach myself on mechanics, such as keeping them out of weeds and maintaining tension and not rushing to net them by the boat, which is where I lost some fat gals last year. I'd reach for the net, which requires me to stretch, and in that sec, I gave them enough slack to unbutton. I'm still amazed at that last big hog you landed. It looked like she launched herself into your net. How did you train Alabama bass to do that??? As far as more people, I think most people prefer bigger boats, which require ramps. Even fishing kayaks are heavy. And my light canoe is tippy, which would be off-putting for many. Plus, I don't think most people are willing to set their alarm clocks for three in the morning. I've been eyeing a couple more bogs off the highway. They sure look bassy.

@Darnold335, I think your post is great. Those videos can fool me.

P. S. - I forgot to share that a Dehavilland Beaver flew over the bog this morning just as a loon was singing. For that moment, I felt like I was back in my beloved northwestern Ontario, except I'd be catching smallmouth there instead of largemouth. @GreenPig, after I landed the first bass, my teeth chattered a few seconds, not for cold, but out of excitement. Heck, I was jittery all over.

I told Alex (AlabamaSpotHunter) last night that I was going to a quality/not quantity bog this morning. I launched at four in the morning in the rain. For the first hour, it was neither quality nor quantity. Then a bass hit my 130-size Loon-color Whopper Plopper. At first, I thought it was an ordinary 2.5 lb. bass, but then she came out of the water and emptied my adrenal gland. She took out line three times by the boat. I felt so lucky to land her. She was just over 21.5 inches. Then, a half hour later, I had another ordinary hit, followed by a size-revealing leap, followed by her burrowing by my boat too. Again, so lucky to land her. She was just over 21.25 inches. They sure are fat! After that, I caught four Maine butterballs, i.e. short, round bass. I also caught seven pickerels. I was going to fish another quality bog tomorrow, but my heart can't take it. Instead, I'm going to fish a quantity pond. I am amazed at the difference in the jaws of 21-inch fish versus 19-inch fish. I was thinking that soft plastics would be the trick this morning, but I caught everything on the big Whopper Plopper. I kept trying my big wacky and T-rigged Senkos and my paddletail, but nothing. Here are photos of my big gals followed by one of the Maine butterballs and finally, a photo of the bog.

@herder: Beautiful bass, trip, campsite, boat, smile, and brewery! @Jmurphy87: What Alex said times two. Believe them.

When I was a kid, we fished a feeder creek to a nearby reservoir. We reached it by bicycles and hiking through heavy brush. We never caught anything of any size, but always caught something interesting. If I could go catch those tiny fish again, I would with all due gratitude, but it's likely been developed into lawns and streets. Sigh.

I'd love to fish the Everglades one or two nights with Zcoker. That sounds like a blast!

^Hey, we're kin!^

Ha! Double ha!

I've never exactly night fished, but I typically launch in the dark for morning fishingand most evenings, I fish a half hour or so into the dark. It's a great time to fish. I agree with Captain Phil, that it's safer to go with someone, but I don't. Most people don't want to rise and shine so early. It gives me the heeby-jeebies to fish the tail ends of night, but it's worth it. Here's a nice bass two nights back. I saw my rod tip go back and stay back and I heard her jump. I could tell from her landing that she was sweet. I didn't really see her until she was in the net. Netting her was hard because I couldn't see in her the dark water. I don't take a flashlight with me because it's one more thing to carry, but in a pinch, I could use my cell phone.

Fishing a childhood stream sounds like a dream come true. Good job!

The streak continues. Say, if there's a hurricane, will you still go fishing?

I think it's sad that more women don't fish. However, I feel lucky to know a few like me. I think some women might fear that men wouldn't welcome them. They'd be wrong.

You're right. That ol' gal has been chomping at the feed bag, but not enough of her vittles made it to her tail! She's like a fat woman from an old cartoon with tiny ankles and feet.

^This^ is another reason I measure length more than I weigh. I'm slower to weigh a fish than measure one. I have to turn on the scale. Then zero it. Then clamp the bass. Then wait for the bass to stop wiggling enough for me to read the weight. Then unclamp the bass. Still, I'm glad I have my weight scale. As Alex predicted, I've weighed enough bass to ballpark them now. Then there are exceptions, like this 19"-bass that weighed five and a half pounds, whereas most 19" Maine bass weight four pounds. Both measuring her length and weighing her confirmed how special she was.

I measure more than I weigh because I get a good photo with the bump board cradling and calming the bass. For my bigger fish, I often weight and measure, but sometimes I'm happy with just the length and the photo. To your point, I get that. The pro kayak anglers just measure, so there are other bass fishers like you who feel that a length is sufficient and the best way to measure one fish versus another.

I second what @thediscochef said. You have a talent for carving. I can't believe that your crawdad was your first effort. Plus, it caught a bass, so it's not just a pretty exoskeleton.

Awesome. I would love fishing beside the ships.

@BrianMDTX, that second bass photo gives me the willies. It looks like there are sharks where you fish.

It is cool, Jeff. There's high country, desert, swamp, tumbling rivers, sleepy ponds, and on and on.

@padlin echoed what Tim said and they're both right: The key is to not let them reach the weeds. @Bankbeater's suggestion is great. Start back-pedaling when you hook the bass as well as reeling like a dervish.

@Woody B, that first bass actually looks enormous because that camera angle makes you look like you're 500 feet tall. @Dominat0r, nobody played the Green Monster like Yaz. Plus, he hit for power and percentage. That's like quality plus quantity in our world.

Thanks, Tim. I just Googled "Eva knobs" and I'll give them a try.