Swamp Girl

It's great to see another woman catching fish! Your lake looks so different than Maine lakes.

I had my best morning of the year. It was mild and overcast and I was on on the water by 5:15 a.m. and fished until 10:15 a.m., fishing a 49-acre pond. I don't usually fish that long, but I'm thinking the gray day made the bite better. I caught 57 bass and one of my best bass of the summer. The first two photos and the last one were the typical size. Then there's one of the nicer ones. Then my big gal, who erupted on a Whopper Plopper as soon as it hit the water. There's a pic of me holding her, another on the board, and a third showing her measurement. I did fail at frogging. I got lots of great hits, but caught none. I think because the hits are so close and explosive that I'm pulling it from their mouths, whereas the Whopper Plopper hits tend to be distant and not as hard and I don't yank the lure, but wait until I feel the fish. I was using a baitcasting reel and braid with a 17-pound mono leader. I also used pliers to spread the hooks a bit and also trimmed the ends. I'll try again tomorrow.

Your fish look so healthy! Real beauties.

That lake is soooo beautiful!

You made me laugh, SpotHunter! I wasn't quite night fishin'. Just very early mornin' fishin'! There was a little light. Thanks for the encouragement. It's greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Mr. Warrior and Mr. Spothunter! One small correction:

I caught my first bass on a frog last night and this morning. I also lost a lot. I was stunned by the number of bass in the pads. I'd coast quietly into the pads and stop dropping the frog into the openings. Then I'm clumsily bump something and I'd see five or six bass swirl and scoot all around my canoe, mere feet from me. Here's the best bass I caught on a frog. I love when they get that hump. I ordered some braid for my casting reel and am waiting for it to arrive.

I went fishing last night and this morning. Caught 19 bass last night and 8 bass this morning, plus a bullhead on a Whopper Plopper. Thanks to all the guys who coached me on fishing frogs. I fished some serious salad. I also caught some nice fish. I like the third one best. Right before it hit my frog, I'm pretty sure it said, Puny frog. Bass smash!" I also caught a bullhead on a Whopper Plopper! P.S. - I catch short fish too, but even they're fat. Here's one:

Mr. SpotHunter, thanks for all the details and the great pics.

Sweet, Mr. Fisher!

Whoa! That's good fishing! Maine lakes are called ponds unless they're a mile or more long. Yeah, Mr. 46, I love the abundance of water in Maine. Wisconsin was that way too. So is Minnesota.

I scouted the two ponds and secured permission from the landowner to cross her land to reach the second one. The first is an old mill pond, shallow and weedy, but with a nine-foot deep canal running through it. The other is surrounded by woods with no cabins. I'll fish one Saturday evening and the other Sunday morning. I'm soooo excited!

I've fished six ponds this summer and have another four in the queue. I love fishing new water. Sure, the ponds I've already fished tug at me since I know they're full of fine fish, but lawdy, the unfished ponds plumb yank at me! I don't just want to fish them. I want to see them. Explore them. I spend so much time reading the DNR's PDF files about the lakes and studying them with Google Earth. In a few minutes, I'm going to go scout two, new ones. I like knowing the approaches and especially because I love morning fishing and will be launching for the first time in low light.

I don't fish at night because I'm too scaredey-cat. I'm not afraid on the water, but because I fish little, isolated lakes, I'd be scared coming off the water.

Thank you for doing that. I too hate to waste or to witness it. Congrats on the coming rain too. We're also in drought in Maine, but got more than an inch last night.

Holy-moly, Mr. 46!

Gosh, that lake is beautiful! Thanks so much for the story of your trip and the many fine photos.

I'm thinking of fishing for striped bass in our harbor in my canoe, but I'm a little scared. I've caught 40"-plus musky and pike in my canoe, but a striped bass, fighting the tides all day, is like a 35" river smallmouth.

Yeah, huh. I love the quiet, both for its own sake and for sneaking up on Mr. Bass. As I paddled through weeds this morning, I saw bass swirling as they made their getaway, mere inches from the bow because they didn't hear me coming. I even love the paddling and it's, of course, the traditional northwoods fishing craft. I like carrying on the tradition.

BTW, I ordered everything you guys suggested and when they arrive, I'll let you know how they work. I'm also rigging a baitcasting outfit with braid for the new lures.

Caught 37 this morning, 25 bass and 12 big perch, fishing from a canoe in a shallow pond with beavers.

I fished for three hours this morning and landed 37. At least a dozen were yellow perch with bulging foreheads, i.e. eaters. I released them all, but now I know where to go for a yummy perch dinner. Here's a pic of the pond and one of the fish I caught. It's the ONLY fish I caught on a Whopper Plopper, as I was trying to branch out and be effective with other lures. I also hooked a bass that felt like a bowfin, peeling line, but it came unbuttoned. Double dang it! This was the first time I've fished this pond, making six ponds I've fished this summer. My next pond will hold smallmouth and brown trout. It's so fun to keep fishing different water. Isn't the pond pretty? I heard an owl and saw eagles, a hawk, a heron, ducks, swallows, gulls, and beaver.

Wow! What a fish!!!

I'd find it deeply gratifying to fish a lake that's hard to fish and that had spooked me for decades. Clear and deep sounds like a tough nut to crack, but you cracked it!

So, if a city is de facto swallowed because businesses and houses abut, then Boston is northern NYC. Hey, Sox Nation, how 'bout them Yankees?