Swamp Girl

Keep fishing, Woody! I'm done for 2022, so I need you southern guys to keep bringing fish aboard. Nice spot! Crazy heavy for 14 inches. It's cool that you weighed it.

You do have great rivers. I walked across VA on the Appalachian Trail and fell in love with it. More than once, I thought Floyd would be a great place to live.

^And here's another funny line!^

I launched my canoe in total darkness and was on the water for five minutes when my headlamp stopped working. It was windy too, so I was bobbing in the dark. I ended my fishing season like Willie Mays in center field, bumbling and stumbling. I did hear a hoot owl and we chatted for a bit, as I do a pretty good hoot owl imitation, good enough to fool those birds. And the stars were brilliant. I'd forgotten how bright they can be, since I always have light with me that dims them. When there was finally enough light to see, I was struck by how deep into the fall we are. Only the larches had a few leaves and the reeds looked as dry and cracklin' as November corn. So, I went home, made some chai tea, and looked at pics of fish caught this wonderful year!

Thrilling report, Alex! Plump with information too.It was both a macro and micro look at fishing. The macro is learning a pattern and then realizing it's chalk on the sidewalk with thunder and pelting rain on their way. The micro was the details about fishing the Flashback Mini. That's the good stuff that the barkeep secrets under the counter for when the customers leave, but you brought it out and put it on the counter for all to see and enjoy. I'm going to eat and then I'm off. I hope to experiment a little more today. I think my plunging numbers have been because the fish have changed and I haven't. Yesterday morning, I did catch a couple on Phish's suggestion of a soft plastic paddle-tailed bait, so I'm going to use that more this morning and I'm going to try a walking-the-dog bait and cast a lipless crankabait too, as well as a jerkbait. We'll see. But I'm glad you're catching them, Alex!

The Great Brown Whale!

You two have such fun, throttleplate.

Yeah, I feel the same way about Maine.

I went fishing again this morning, but I'm thinking the days of 30/40/50 fish mornings are done until next year. I did catch ten, but only seven were largemouth. The other three were pickerel and I took a photo of an especially pretty one. I also caught an 18-inch bass (the second photo) and one pushing 17 inches, so they were fun. Heck, it's always fun, even when I don't catch a bunch or they're short. I just like being on the water. There was a huge flock of geese on the water this morning and another that looked like they wanted to land on the lake, but passed. I even like taking pics of the little bass with fat tummies because they're on their way to being big bass!

I was talking to one of the Field and Stream editors once and he shared that his writers still wanted to write the old style F&S articles instead of "35 Surefire Ways to Catch Smallmouth Bass!" The old style articles weren't just about how to catch fish, but how it felt to catch fish and to be on the water with your friends or alone. Thanks, Glenn, for this thread! Ahh, shucks, Dwight! Alex, you're the best. And thanks to the rest of you too! You guys are so encouraging and kind.

Those are fine looking fish, Alex. They look like the fish I caught this morning. Not long, but well fed and healthy. I'm marinating a second article. So glad you enjoyed the first!

^I like the way you think.^

Most years, I simply counted as I caught them. One year, I took three of those clicking counters, one each for pike, smallmouth, and walleye. That was way too complicated. Then I settled on a single counter with each fish, whatever the species, counting as a click. BTW, you're a hoot and a half! There are so many lakes loaded with smallmouth, but you do have to be willing to sleep on rocky shores and bathe in the lakes. That eliminates a chunk of fishermen right there. You're right, Alex. That bass does look like a mating salmon. Imagine what it will look like in five years and if keeps growing in its current directions: It will be Jurassic Bass! You're also right about my struggles with water in the boat. After 30 minutes or so, my canoe has water in it, as the paddle sheds water as I switch sides. And water, as you've seen, has freckled my camera's lens more than once. You're right again (Trifecta!) about the risk of a skunk. I have worked darned hard to reach some lakes in Canada, thinking I'll be casting to fish that have never, EVER seen a lure and I ended up casting to no fish at all.

^My kinda guy^

It appears I will be my only customer. Of course, my Dual Scale 5000 also comes with a free jet pack, but it's too late for any of you to get aboard this boat.

BRRRR! It was 34 degrees when I launched my canoe this morning. The water was shallow, so I had to step into it. It was so foggy too. I did see four Great Blue Herons and one Bald Eagle. I also saw a beaver. It had no fear of me. Fog is nature's curtain and when the curtain is drawn, animals are less afraid of us, I think. I only caught nine fish and two were pickerel, which I didn't photograph because they are bonkers. BONKERS! I just try to survive them. And most of the time, I just get a blur when I do try to photograph one. I'll lead with some short, but stout bass and then a photo of the fog. Then some longer bass. The smallmouth was so rotund and so was the last bass. The last bass was only 15 inches, but built like a 19-incher. See how its body slopes downhill to its tail? Drop some snow on that bass and your pet mouse could ski him. Hey, the lead article on the Bass Resource home page is mine. Cool, huh? Alex, I also have an old camera. It's an Olympus Stylus Tough. One of these years, I'll upgrade.

There's this. If you added a trough board to something similar, you could sell it for about $30: https://www.homedepot.com/pep/Ozeri-Precision-Pro-White-Stainless-Steel-Digital-Kitchen-Scale-with-Oversized-Weighing-Platform-ZK011/203725596?g_store=&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-HDH-GGL-D59H-029_029_HOUSEWARES-NA-Multi-NA-SMART-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-kitchen_tools_smart_pla_test&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-HDH-GGL-D59H-029_029_HOUSEWARES-NA-Multi-NA-SMART-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-kitchen_tools_smart_pla_test-71700000087623968-58700007447146479-92700068477512577&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqoibBhDUARIsAH2OpWhYOnNr4XMIRF395vOxbvjx7zEbEBK7iab9TlblGsl6xyR-J2n5QO8aAo3jEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Yoo-hoo, Alex! Your photos are so sharp. What's your camera?

I played one video game in my life and that was so addictive that I'd be up until four in the morning, my head buzzing with fatigue, but I couldn't stop. So, when I finally stopped playing that game, I never started another. However, I admire your gaming station. Captain Kirk would too. I'm glad you're counter-balancing your life with fishing, which is both calming and exciting. So exciting.

You misunderstand. My Tetris has most of its buttons still. Plus, as recently as 1989, it sorta worked.

New question: How many of you would buy a trough board that also electronically weighed your fish? I sure would.

Hey, where is the heli-pad?

Welcome, J. The guys here are so kind and helpful. Pose some questions and they'll increase the quantity and quality of the fish you'll catch. Say, would you be willing to swap your gaming setup for my old, handheld, broken Tetris? Of course, you'd have to sweeten the pot with a couple grand, simply to be fair.

I love my hog trough measuring board, but it only measures length. How about a combo measuring board/weight scale? You set the fish on the board and it gives you the weight as you note its length. Better for the fish since it shortens the whole process!

You guys could start a tv show called, "I Tricked Out my Canoe!"