Swamp Girl

@PhishLI, you catch big fish on Long Island, which surprises me. I would think your lakes would be pounded given their proximity to millions of people. Or are people focusing on beach combing, the city, and saltwater fishing rather than bass? @Bluebasser86, whoa! Gorgeous fish! @AlabamaSpothunter, your hot streak spoiled you. You're still catching quantity and quality.

Lucky duck!

The South Bend Spin-I-Diddee was my first lure. I still own several of the old, wooden ones.

@Mainebass1984, the guys here have told me of your big bass-catching prowess, so you're a legend in my mind.

@Mainebass1984, I checked the nearest pond yesterday. Nothin' but ice, so you're right about waiting. And waiting. And waiting. And sighing too!

Pity they're gone. I was wanting to order one. Does anyone know if there's a similar lure out there?

@scaleface, what's the name of your ^lure^?

@T-Billy, I like that furry hat. It gives you a Grizzly Adams look, but in your case, Musky Adams.

You're not alone. I think it's a lure that many bass in heavily fished lakes have seen, again and again and they've learned to ignore it. You're right about it fouling easily. It can also foul itself with its hooks. However, if you're casting to uneducated bass, it's a great lure, for it casts to half of infinity and beyond, it makes a ruckus to attract active bass, and those bass clobber it. In 2022, I cast it more and more into thick cover, but it also works in open water when moving from one spot to another. I'd chuck it behind my canoe, start paddling, and pretty soon, I'd hear a splash behind me. I learned to not stop and set the hook with my hands, where I lost a few fish in moving my hands from the paddle to the rod, but to paddle hard a few times and let the weight of the canoe set the hook.

Dwight Hottie suggested trolling it. When Dwight suggests, I listen.

Mr. 45, why do you like the Deps Buzzjet? I googled it and saw the thirty dollar price tag, but you must think it's worth it. Can you tell me why?

@AlabamaSpothunter is right. It's a big Whopper Plopper. All the colors work at my local ponds and bogs, but I like the Loon (black) the best because I usually launch in the dark and I read long ago that a black surface lure is easier for bass to see in low light conditions. I also troll my Whopper Plopper if I'm paddling a ways and I caught four doubles this past summer, i.e. two bass on one Whopper Plopper, my best pair being 17" and 19".

Well done, Woody!

@AlabamaSpothunter and Phish, if I do catch a six-pounder, you'll hear my holler!

17" isn't bad for me, right?* *i.e., 17" of snow

That's a good question. I did choose to focus on LM. A change of pace is fun, the Maine LM are bigger than the Maine smallies, and I've fallen in love with fishing weeds. I'm still happy to catch SM, but when if I catch a couple, I don't linger in that area.

I target LM, but I catch some SM in the process. I caught only SM for decades, which is why I fish for LM now.

Ginormous!

I sure hope one of her off-spring wallops one of your lures! Thanks for sharing the story. I love how you knew she was there and spent days enticing a strike. I have a similar story: The first time a member of my family swung a 20-lb. pike into the boat (I netted it!), my father and grandfather were so happy that they sunk the boat, lost the fish, and a lot of tackle. I was watching the second season of "39 hours" and when one of the Manitoba twins hooked a monster brown trout, the other twin coached him to stay calm.

Gosh, that's a heartbreaking story. Well, at least you landed her. Did you have a chance to weigh or measure her? I like your plan should you catch another record fish.

@Pat Brown, thanks for the suggestion. I'm watching one of his videos right now and subsribed.

@KSanford33, if I called you Mr. Poopy, I'm pretty sure that would hurt your feelings. Heck, it would hurt everyone's feelings! Seriously, I like your approach to life. Narrow your focus to proven commodities.

@WRB, it sounds like "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot."

I wish I'd been there to see that, @Bluebasser86. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. If get an open water day in late March or early April and it snows, I think I'm going fishin'...'cause of you!

@gimruis and @Zcoker, I've had muskies take my 32-pound solo canoe and me for a ride. Z, I totally get about a runaway imagination in an Everglades night. I try to keep my imagination in harness and working for me, but sometimes it busts free and takes me on a wild ride.