Swamp Girl

Hi, Doug. My boat is almost bigger, badder, and faster than yours.

@Jar11591: YIKES! @TOXIC: YIKES AGAIN!!!

I will never forget the stench of a cow that died in the woods...and then exploded. @WRB-2.0: Tom, I miss your 19-pound bass avatar.

That might be, but I'm on Team Clayton.

That's a good choice.

Dang that Mark!

What fun! Thanks for being part of it.

@TnRiver46 and @BluegillsTightlines: Yes, Joe Dirt is the preeminent sage of all time: And Karma rewarded him with a family (and Brandy!): But taking a break is okay. It's sizzling in Alabama, but Gill's fishing has been shivery ice cold. It's quake and bake.

Yep, all five. I prefer a quiet pond and they were noisy, but I shrugged and enjoyed the evening nevertheless.

Ha! Ha again!

Welcome to the Paddling Clan. I catch bass when I exploit my canoe's inherent advantages: It's quiet, having no motor, and its stealth is increased by the fact I'm sitting. Thus, I cast short shadows. I don't spook bass, allowing me to fish shallow. I catch many bass in one foot of water and if I leave a soft plastic lure dangling, about half a dozen times this year, a bass has grabbed it, telling me that they're not scared of my quiet canoe.

I can't resent your remark because I resemble it. Whereas I'm soft and sweet 99.5% of the time, I can be cutting.

It's not far and it's where I caught about half my four and four-plus-pounders in May. I always fish it when I'm paddling via trolling, but haven't caught a big one yet this month.

Even we're forecast for one 92-degree day next week. We usually get one of those each summer. Fingers crossed this will be the only one. @gim is right about heat killing the most Americans. Heat kills an average of 238 Americans each year. Flooding is second with 113 deaths.

I don't know, Al. My Pond is only eight feet at its deepest. My pal's pond is only ten feet. Does such shallow water thermocline?

They did shadow me, but I waved at them. I think the four of them only caught four bass total and I'm guessing that's because the bass were tight to cover and I was fishing a weedy, rocky area. Even my canoe scraped a couple rocks.

Are you saying I should fish deeper? My deepest water is only eight to ten feet.

Yep, their craftsmanship is old world quality and there isn't a day that I'm not grateful.

I fished my pond for 2.5 hours this evening, except it's not feeling like my pond so much anymore as there was a family on a pontoon boat plus a shore angler again. I caught 28 bass, all about the size of the ones below, I.e. between 16.5 and 17-inches. I was using a Rage Bug and having some success with it, but boy, oh, boy, when I switched to my trusty underspin with a white and chartreuse Zako, the pace really picked up. My total for the year is 643.

I hate it too. My equipment takes a beating, but fluoro can't take a beating.

I caught fifteen northern lmb over four pounds this May. However, I haven't caught one this June. Sigh. Now, I'm looking forward to fall when the big girls stir again. Of course, I'll eventually catch some four-plus pounders here and there this summer, but the spring and fall are the stuff that dreams are made of.

Agree, however too many rich people buy the shoreline and post "No trespassing" signs, keeping us from our water.

Say, I thought of another high water situation where I caught bass: In 2023, we had a couple four-inch rainfalls in a five days. So, I launched at a bog, but the bog looked like a lake because all the weeds were underwater. So, I cast a Whopper Plopper in all directions, which I couldn't normally do because I'd snag. The freedom the extra water gave me let me catch many bass in places that would have required a slower, more methodical approach at normal water levels.

When the Bass Swami agrees with me, it's like catching a four-pound bass!

"Dang!" is right! If the men who built my house ever walked across my lawn, I'd pull them inside for coffee because I'll be forever grateful for their skill and dedication. FWIW, in the nine months they worked on it, I delivered coffee every morning. There was always pastries and beef jerky available and I tipped each one $500 at the end. In return, I have a home so beautiful that it looks like it was built by Bob.