Swamp Girl

I'll try that, Chris. I was surprised about the quantity and quality of the fish, Bob. The best fishing of my life has been wilderness lakes on Crown Land in northwestern Ontario and it was comparable to that. It's only a five miles from my house, so I'll fish it again, but there are so many other ponds (That's what they call lakes in Maine.) I also want to fish, as I drive past them and have never seen anyone else fishing them.

Your GIF made me laugh, Glenn. It was a pretty good afternoon, Chris, but I missed the evening bite, which is my favorite, as I was out of lures. I also missed a lot of fish. I'd set the hook, feel their weight, reel for two seconds, and then they'd be free. I think I need to switch from 6-lb. mono to braid with a fluorocarbon leader.

I fished a 383 acre pond from a canoe this afternoon. It was my first time fishing in about five years. Maybe that's why I forgot my tackle box! I did have two lures with me, the ones tied to my two outfits. One was a #3 Mepps spinner and the other was a Z-Man in pearl. In two hours and fifteen minutes, I caught 24 bass. Two reached 19 inches. Then I had to stop because I'd lost my two lures. Yes, I am dumb. I had a camera with me, but the battery was dead. Did I tell ya I'm dumb?

My biggest river smallie was 14". I don't have any photographic proof and I expect all of you doubt me, but it was a true 14". Maybe 13".

If you aren't already a professional writer, you should be. Sincerely, A professional writer

Dink's fish looks like a river fish and river fish work all day to contest current, making them wiry and tough and lean. The three fish I posted all came from the same lake, where they grow fat and lazy.

If the fish you measured was 18", here are a couple 19" fish, as you can see from the tape. However, when it comes to weight, I look to the foreheads and both these fish have that weight-adding bulge. I don't carry a scale, but I'm guessing that these two 19-inchers are both four-pound bass. Here's another 19" fish that probably weights four pounds, but has achieved that weight through a fullness in its body. My arm is not extended, so you can get a true sense of its length.

What a great day! I like the idea of sitting atop the water and fishing. I've done a couple long kayaking trips (more than 4,000 miles in total), but didn't fish. I fish out of a canoe, but that elevates you a little above the action. I also love river fishing, river smallmouth, and oodles of action!

I have caught thousands of smallmouth on F11 Rapalas. They do seem to prefer this color or that, but that color preference changes, so i go with various colors, like orange, yellow, or the plainer ones. I let it land, wait a couple seconds, and then repeat. I do that five or six times and then simply retrieve it. On a retrieve, I'll rarely catch a fish. 80% of my fish come in the first three twitches.

I would try fishing in Dwight Hottie's livewell. You will have to board his boat and I don't know how he'll feel about that. I suggest this disguise: https://www.amazon.com/Forum-Novelties-Pirate-Costume-Standard/dp/B00FP5T98Y/ref=sr_1_40?keywords=pirate+costume+men&qid=1565868915&s=gateway&sr=8-40

Your son has a great smile. His smile made me smile! When I was a kid, my brothers and I would fish a pool in a tiny creek. We caught all small fish, but loved them all.

That's what I read, Dink, but when you do pinch the tail, how much length does it add? Those are huge bass in your photo. Wowza!

In a great day, I'll catch five smallmouth bass 19" or bigger, most being at 19" or 19.5", so when I catch anything 20" or bigger, it's a big deal. Anyway, I was looking for an example of a bad fish shot and I came across this photo. There's something in the foreground, plus my "great idea" of taping a measuring tape to the bottom of my canoe makes for lousy shots, with all the crap that accumulates in the bottom of a canoe. I figured this fish was one of my 19"ers, but it's over 20" and I'm wondering if I'd pinched the tail like the DNR says we can when measuring, would it reach 21"?

Word.

"The DNR often stocks lakes to repair ecosystems after winter kill or over fishing, but Vanderbosch said the bulk of his job involves creating walleye fisheries where they don't naturally exist. Thanks to stocking, most Minnesotans live less than half an hour from a good walleye lake. In all, there are 1,400 walleye-rich lakes in the state, only 270 of which are naturally self-sustaining." This begs the question: "If a fish isn't native to a lake, but to an area, does introducing that fish to that lake make it invasive?" I think so.

If you've ever fished in Minnesota, you might have bumped against guys who hate smallmouth. They call them "scaly rats." Their hatred stems from their love of walleye, a mostly indigenous species in Minnesota, and the proliferation of smallmouth that compete with walleye.

Beautiful markings. They really are gorgeous fish.

Yeah, it's my favorite place on Earth. Nothing like having your own lake.

Dwight, that's where I fish. Not Rainy, but smaller, nearby lakes, better suited for canoes.

Because I fish the Canadian Shield, I lose lures everyday to pike. The smaller pike are the worst. I have landed quite a few 40" plus pike with 6 lb. test and no steel leader, but those small ones will cut your line like a knife. Still I don't use steel leaders because they cut into my bass catch.

I fish lakes that are rarely fished. The fish are not lure shy, so I get lots of opportunities to hook fish. I also get lots of opportunities to lose fish. Fishing the surface with poppers, I'll land six in a row and think I've mastered it. Then I'll lose six in a row. You just lose more fish when surface fishing.

I think 3.5 based upon his belly by the anal fin. That's where they pack on the weight.

Long live the King!

Yikes, that's hot! If our temp here is 80, I think we're hot. Luckily, we don't have more than a handful of days that reach 80.

My third issue is wanting to get them back into the water ASAP. So, I shoot a quickie and hope that it's a good shot. I think I'm going to buy a Go-Pro instead of using my two old cameras.