Swamp Girl

Remember those videos featuring drunk college women: "Girls Gone Crazy"? Well, today's video would be "Boys Gone Crazy!" With that length and those shoulders, she'd be pushing six pounds. Let's see what others say. Time to change your PB. Here's a similar bass I caught this spring. She has fairly big shoulders, but no gut. Your girl has a gut. She'd be a stretch to even reach five pounds: ' Here's another one of similar length, but with bigger shoulders. Still no belly though, but I estimated her at also pushing six pounds: Here's one more of similar length that I actually weighed. She was a little more than 6.5 pounds: Some bass of similar lengths to compare with yours. I'm sticking with six pounds for yours.

Whoa! Double whoa!!! Joe, she is really deep, so I'm thinking five pounds. Congrats, bass brother!

Ha! I hear ya. I used to go, go, GO too.

And I'm grateful to read a @PhishLI's fishing report again! If you couldn't solve the puzzle of last night, then no one could. You whisper bass.

I feel the same way. I fished one once, caught a bunch of fish, and quit.

You are a good storyteller, Triple F, and you've got good stories to tell too. Thanks for this one!

Ah, so that's where Heaven is. I always wondered and now it's good to finally know. They're no problem. I've heard them, but have only seen ONE wolf in my entire life.

@FloridaFishinFool: You told some good stories, so I'll reciprocate. One morning I was fishing a wilderness lake. It was this lake and this morning: I was camped on an island and awoke to wolf song that morning. You can see that I was facing the Sun in my canoe, so there was a lot of glare, but I could make out a beaver crossing the strait above. A BIG beaver. I'd see beavers everyday, but this beaver was the biggest of my life, so I paddled over to examine it. Surprisingly, it didn't slap its tail and dive, so I got quite close and realized it was a bear. I've seen a lot of bears in the wilderness, but that was the closest I've ever been to one. The bear didn't seem to mind my proximity. He just kept swimming, but he did give me a little side-eye. FWIW, one of my all-time favorite lakes was beyond this one. I had to drag my canoe up four sets of rapids and cross a swamp too, but the next lake held 40" pike, 19" smallmouth, and 25" walleyes. The lake beyond the next lake was even harder to reach. And the lake beyond that.... ^This^ is why you youngsters should use your youth to its fullest. The day is coming soon when you'll have to settle for local lakes.

It sounds exciting...and looks exciting in the videos, but I'm too old to travel that far anymore. I have paddled in the company of gators (and alligator gar and even sharks), but that was nearly half a century ago when I kayaked from northern MN to the Gulf. In Mississippi and Louisiana, I'd poke around the bayou and meet teeth. That trip began in mid-September, so I had to contend with cold too. I also did a summer Mississippi trip. If I were going to travel a long ways, I'd go north again. I've fished lakes where it was just me...and the wolves, bears, and moose. That's my bliss. Anyway, it's cool that you do a southern version of what Al and I love.

Yeah, I'm old school too.

Thanks to Mr. @Bazoo for starting so many threads. They keep Bass Resource fresh and showcase wisdom for the newly arrived.

Me too, Al! Me too times two! I'm thinking about big bass bogging tomorrow morning. If I go, I'll need to use my canoe's wheels as it's a ways to the bog, over a knoll and through the woods, but I'd like to apply the soft plastic skills I've been developing at my pond.

@Lottabass: I like fishing the places that ain't for sissies too. The last time I fished northwestern Ontario for brown bass, one logging road was so rough that I sheared a rear view mirror, dented my Xterra in half a dozen places, and gave her countless scratches. I see shiny off-road vehicles and think, "What a waste." Owning such a vehicle to drive to McDonald's is like buying a plane to taxi around the airport.

Big bag, Clayton. I love 90" bags! I had a cool evening. The Sun is red from Canadian fires and at one point, I saw two Great blue herons fly under that red Sun. I felt like I was in "Apocalypse Now." I also saw an eagle take a bass and it flew with that bass into a white pine, where screeching commenced. Would there still be young in the nest, Russ? A loon swam close enough to my canoe to touch with a pole and they sang all evening. I also saw an osprey. Oh, yeah, I caught a dozen bass too, giving me 926 for 2025. This evening's bass weren't long like Clayton's bass, but strong. The biggest was only 17". It was just too windy for me to see the Pondweed beds to fish them for the bigger bass, so I fished a drop-off mostly. At one point, a storm threatened and I tucked behind an island, ready to go ashore, but it mostly missed me.

If you ever have the chance to fish a howling south wind that's pushing water through a strait, LAUNCH!!!

And here I was thinking I was the rare one who fishes thickets! Oh, I wrong I was. I've got plenty of company in the jungle.

Thank you. Indeed. My right eye is nearly 20/20. Me too! Me too again. I'm launching this evening. I'm going to fish the edges of Pondweed patches again, which is where they were a week ago. If they've moved, I'll go a lookin'.

Way to go, @gim! That's tough fishing, for sure, and a beautiful bass from such a challenging location means you get to add one inch.

@king fisher: I can't imagine anyone surpassing your challenge. @Zcoker might be a close second.

I just returned from the eye doc and she said I'm "healing beautifully." Because of my progress, she changed her mind and said I may go fishing.

Tom, that sounds so exciting! ICD, your spot is like mine. The casting is tight and unforgiving.

My two best fishing spots are tricksy. Both are streams off of ponds, so they're narrow, and both have reeds, bushes, and other flora. Both are shallow too. Here's one: Big bass hunker in both spots. Here's the kid with big bass from both spots: I've caught dozens of four and five-pounders from these two streams, but I've lost dozens too. The kid has lost his fair share too. They don't break our line. They reach the reeds or woody bushes and wrench themselves free. Do you have a spot or two like these, spots favored by big bass, but spots where the set-up makes it hard to hook and hold big bass? If so, how do the bass free themselves?

@Buzzbaiter: Beautiful creek. Thanks for posting that pic.

When I fished pressured water, I fished four-pound and six-pound test with the least possible weight and the lightest possible hooks. Of course, many of us fish water way too weedy for such light line.

Considering how few bass are being posted, every bass is noteworthy. They are something to behold. I've caught bass so with half a dozen mayflies sticking out of their mouths. They were so intent on gorging that they hit my lure anyway. I used a tiny, clear Heddon Torpedo.