Swamp Girl

I like footbally fish! She's a beaut. Keep her from Tom Brady, however.

I fished this evening, starting at 4:10 and ending at 8:25 on a local Maine pond. I caught ten fish in the first hour trolling my Whopper Plopper. Then there was a lull for about 45 minutes and then the bite picked up and reached a grand finale in the last 15 minutes, when I cast my Whopper Plopper and had a hit on nearly every cast. I TWICE caught two-fish-at-once, the first a smallie/smallie pairing and the second a smallie/largemouth pairing. I caught 46 bass in all, 26 smallmouth and 20 largemouth. The smallmouth were nearly all 15 or 16 inches. I caught nine largemouth between 17 and 20 inches. So much fun! Here are a few of the largemouth and the two smallmouth I caught at the same time. My photography is no good, very bad, and terrible. I fully extend my arm to get the fish far enough away to be framed by my camera. This makes them look smaller, for it's the opposite of how many pose their fish, extending their arms to get the fish as close to the camera as possible, but they were ducky fish!

I'll try that original Rapala tonight, Mr. 84. Thanks for the suggestion!

I troll when I'm moving from one casting spot to another. I simply want to be fishing while moving. However, I do think I catch more while trolling/moving because my lure is in the water 100% of the time.

That second fish looks preggers!

Fat fish! The proof is in the thumb!

Credit Dwight then. FYI, I caught about five of the fish when I made my first paddle stroke. I'd cast the lure behind me, situate my gear, paddle, and BOOM! I think that happened because the lure was sitting there quietly with a bass beneath it studying it and then when I finally moved the canoe, the bass was locked and loaded.

Whoa, Mr. 86! I love your tagline, Brian: "Watching a slack line start running is one of life's simple pleasures."

I caught another 33 this morning. Woo-hoo! Say, I'd like to thank the men of this forum for being so welcoming and encouraging. I wish more women would fish. They'd find that fishermen are happy to help them.

I tried trolling a suspending jerk bait and a Whopper Plopper. Both worked really well! Caught 33 fish. All largemouth and smallmouth except for one chain pickerel and two perch.

So, I solicited advice on trolling behind my canoe and I've tried four of the suggestions so far and they all worked, but what worked best was Dwight Hottie's advice to troll my Whopper Plopper. The very first time I tried this (this morning), I chucked it behind my canoe paddled about five times, heard the splash, and reeled in two bass (This is my second twofer in the last week.). You can see the two bass in the net attached to the Whopper Plopper and then the bigger bass in my hand. Sorry for the quality of the photo. It's a terrible photo, but a nice fish. So, my advice is to listen to Dwight's advice. Beyond the two in the net, I caught another 31 bass this morning, mostly by trolling the Whopper Plopper.

I almost did that yesterday morning, but wondered if it would be cuckoo crazy, but you suggesting it, I'm gonna try it! I love the way the blow up on that lure. I used it for the first time a few evenings ago and caught 17 on just it.

I tried a Rat-L-Trap and that worked. I'm trying a surface Rapala next.

You are kind and welcoming, Roadwarrior, and a heckuva fisherman too. Thanks too to A-Jay for smiling upon my little fishing trip, and to Mighty Dwight and others for weighing in about weight and fighting spirit. I'm returning twice to the local lake this week where I've caught three 19-inchers and one 21.5-incher this summer in two trips and I'm excited about that. I agree with Misters Ruis and Panda about the fight in fish that fight current. I've only caught two striped bass in my life, but both were Maine tidal fish, the world's biggest tides, and they felt like bison on the line.

I might, Mr. Warrior. And you're right, I'm not in that club. I'm not arguing the size of the fight as much as I'm arguing the spunk of the fight. Young people are ornery. Young fish are ornery. I feel like I'm arguing with the gods here. Humbly, Puny Human ?

They're craftier, for sure, just like old Tom Brady is crafty, but they're also a little like Peyton Manning in 2016, with the zip missing from his passes, and momentum carrying him to Superbowl victory. Pound for pound, how could an old fish fight as hard as a young fish? Time doesn't work that way. Time makes us heavier, not more athletic.

I caught 24 bass this morning, the biggest being a 17-inch largemouth and a 17-inch smallmouth. Many Maine lakes have both kinds of bass and catching one and then the other has me rethinking smallmouth as superior fighters. I think they're comparable. I also think bigger fish are overrated. A 16-inch bass is equivalent to an 18-year old guy. Sure, one day he'll be longer and heavier, but at 18 years of age, he's at his athletic peak. I've caught 21-inch bass and 16-inch bass and I think the latter are better fighters than the fatter.

I couldn't take you to a northwestern Ontario wilderness lake then, at least not fishing the way I do, i.e. with 6 lb. test for smallmouth, because pike cut the line several times each day and not the 40" pike, but the young ones with their sharp puppy teeth. However, it's worth it to have your own lake.

Thanks, guys! I can't wait to try some of your suggestions!

Last night's fishing was cheap. I lost a jighead and Ned worm. The pond was only four miles from my house and I get 30 miles to the gallon. No lake or launching fees for my canoe. So, maybe three bucks and I caught 30 bass, which works out to ten cents a fish.

What sort of hook and weight would I use with a Rage Bug?

Dwight, can you suggest a brand and name of a suspending jerk bait?

I fish Maine ponds from a canoe and do quite well trolling a Mepps spinner for largemouth, but I'm wondering what other lures work well for trolling. When I paddle across a pond, I like to have a lure in the water.

Thanks for the camera tips. I'll think about a GoPro, but I do like to keep it simple. I went out again last night, to a pond only four miles from my house. It has a mountain in the distance and loons. It only has cabins on one shore and they're all set into the woods. I was the only one on the pond. I caught 29 largemouth and one smallmouth. The smallie was a surprise because it was my final fish. I caught two fish on a Ned rig, which was another surprise because I'd read that it's supposed to be such an effective presentation. I did watch half a dozen YouTube videos to learn how to use it, so I don't think the problem was me. I caught 11 bass on my #3 brass Mepps spinner and 17 on a Whopper Plopper. That was my first time using a Whopper Plopper and it was thrilling. I even caught two largemouth at once on the Whopper Plopper, only the second time in my life that that happened, with the other time being two smallmouth. Nearly every bass was 15" to 16," not big fish, but all thick and strong. I have major bass thumb this morning and a sweet grin too. When I was a kid fishing farm ponds with my brothers, I never had fishing success like I enjoy now. When I fished wilderness lakes in Canada, there were countless great days, but I expect that with fish that have never see a lure before yours, but I'm fishing ponds nowadays that do see lures. I wish I could take some of these fish and send them back to my childhood, where I sometimes caught nothing. I'm 67 and it seems some things do get better with age! I like high action lakes. I fished muskies for a few years and quit because you wear yourself out casting and not catching. Sure, I caught muskies, but if you catch two or three in a day, that's a great day. I'm pretty sure that I could have a hundred-fish day on the lake I fished last night and especially if I used bait in the middle of the day. A-Jay, you are the Lord of Smallmouth.

It looks bigger than your weighed measurement.