Swamp Girl

The magazine is Gray's Sporting Journal and I'm always thrilled when they publish me because it's such a beautiful magazine: photography, poetry, art, essays, travel stories, etc. I can't link to the article because it's not on the Internet, but the Table of Contents gives you a taste of the magazine's look and focus. I hope no one at BR will hold it against me that I love trout too: https://www.grayssportingjournal.com/in-this-issue/

@killobet Well done! I visited two ponds yesterday. One was 75% ice. The other was 5% ice. Next week, we'll have a stretch of five days, from 60-71 degrees. Guess who's going fishing? I'll wait until the third day to let the water warm a little. I'm going to lead with a chatterbait, a jerkbait, and a lipless crankbait.

So, you're a beagle man, huh? No wonder I like you!

@AlabamaSpothunter Threads wander, for sure. Threads are like a beagle, following every little scent.

In Finland, there's no such thing as a private lake or woods. There is private ownership of land, but if you own a woods or a lake, anyone may walk through your woods or fish your lake. This is from visitfinland.com: "In Finland, nature is both wild and free. The law allows anyone living in or visiting Finland the freedom to roam the countryside, forage, fish with a line and rod, and enjoy the recreational use of natural areas – respectfully, of course." I rented houses for about 20 years on Wisconsin farms and the owners were Finnish in their land-generosity. If a couple fishermen wanted to cross a field to fish a river, that was generally okay, that part of the farming good neighbor culture. Here in Maine, rich people from Boston and New York have the means to buy the land surrounding a lake and I've had no luck obtaining permission to fish that water. However, we don't have pay lakes because whereas the rich would like to own all the land and post their "No trespassing" signs, there are simply too many lakes to entirely own.

Nice yak!

I'm so happy for you!

Nothin' better than a river in the spring. Thanks for sharing!

@The Bassman, I wish I'd caught that first bass. I love big bellies! @Blue Raider Bob, thanks for the pond info. I'll likely never own a pond, but I still like learning about pond management.

Heck, yeah, we are! @TnRiver46, am I allowed to share that I'm published in a particular fishing magazine this month?

@WIGuide, thanks for the link. That's quite a lake. However, you've got Lakes Michigan and Superior, as well as the Mississippi. Other than the chance at a DD at Camelot, you've got everything you need.

@gimruis and @InfantryMP, your pay lakes sound great. I caught my first fish at a pay lake. I googled it yesterday, but found no record of the lake. I was hoping to see it still operating or some old photos. My first fish ever was a white bass on a Spin-I-Diddee at that pay lake. I know, I know, not a LMB or SMB, but it was a WB. For a few years, I thought the Spin-I-Diddee was the greatest lure in the world because it caught my first fish.

Does anyone here belong to a pay lakes organization where you have access to multiple pay lakes? Of were you a member in the past? If so, how is/was that experience?

@Team9nine, good numbers! @T-Billy, good tenacity and fine fish! @Bassin Bruce, you're on the board! @BigAngus752, I'd do both. For sure.

I get it too. I had some beloved ponds that I also fished by wading as a kid. Then other people arrived and left with stringers of nice fish. Then they left with stringers of smaller fish. Then they left with stringers of small fish. They did leave something: trash.

This kid can fish! Go, young blood, go!

Heck, yeah! Were you fishing a river, pond, or lake? Another fun video, Alex, with another fat fish!

I'm thinking of going fishing. I know a few, small, shallow ponds that have thawed. I don't even know if they hold bass. The water is still in the thirties, if they do. Still, it would be good to simply cast from the shore. My fishing report might be about me smelling like this guy:

Dang it! I can tell you the circumstances of EVERY big fish I lost in 2022. I could also show you where I lost them. Man, you're a good writer. When I fished muskies, one of the things that I loved about it was the other musky fishers. It's hard to catch a musky unless your name is @T-Billy, so you have to be ultra-observant to increase the odds, which musky fishers are. Then, to be of service to your musky fishing buds, you have to convey what you saw, which they do and they do it with elan, like you do, PhishLI.

@PhishLI, how big was the one you lost? And I can't believe you have a few pads already. You are so far in front of us.

Here's a 14-incher on the fast track to being a 4-pounder. I love catching short, fat fish:

Good move, Woody. All kinds of wrong can happen in wind like that.

Fish are beautiful, aren't they, bullheads and sheepshead excluded.

Atta boy, Eric! You too, GP. I officially saw some soft water today, about ten feet rimming the outside of an otherwise frozen lake. However, snow is tonight's forecast.

Agreed, @GaryH. A great bass needs a great pic and great story.