On 6/2/2026 at 10:51 AM, Swamp Girl said:

In a couple hours, Bob caught about 20 and I caught four, but we tied in having a great time.

Katie, you're not telling the whole story. I caught twenty and you caught four because you were fighting a 17mph wind and keeping me in the prime spot. You didn't hardy get to fish. You only caught four because you only cast four times! Your kindness is legendary and no one here at BR would be a bit surprised.

@Swamp Girl they are a blast. Topwaters in general have taken me a while to get the hang of. They only really started to click for me last year.

I decided today come hell or high water I was going to fish my two least productive baits: the frog and the Buzzbait. But once I got bit on the Buzzbait it never left my hand.

On 6/4/2026 at 6:24 AM, Swamp Girl said:

We are! Bob's my buddy. He does have a wounded wing. He had shoulder surgery this spring and the bass keep wearing him out. I love how he loves walking through the woods to the pond...like me! For Bob and me, it's not just catching bass. For example, it's watching the birds and talking about them. I asked what a white-breasted black bird with a white-tipped tail was and Bob explained that it was a Kingbird, which flutter hovers in the air as it hunts bugs...and it does! We were both happy to see a grouse rise out of the bog, something I've never seen before that moment.

And the carnivorous Pitcher Plants are blooming and we both enjoy them too, but most of all, Bob loves the bog. I'm Swamp Girl and he's Swamp Boy.

I had such a great time! Katie, you're combination of, kindness, generosity, and just plain tenacity is unparalleled. I had to find a new gear just to keep up with you. We walked for miles (yes, I mean miles), through old city streets, harbor towns, and beautifully wooded trails. Your pond is magical, and your beautiful Maine woods are enchanting. We easily topped 150 bass in five short trips (trips were cut short due to my shoulder not up to Maine standards). I came home with bandaids on both of my thumbs and a very extended tummy due to seafood overload! What a great time with my buddy from the northland!

had a fun Sunday. Went down to the dock and caught a shellcracker and a bass before even jumping into the kayak. Then caught some more LM and two catfish before 10 am. After that , we met up with some friends and paddled the canoe up a creek way up lake, caught a SMB

23 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

we met up with some friends

I love how you've so many buddies, Russ.

You’re one of them !

Last week they needed something juicy dropped right on their heads. Fortunately, the old Zoom Lizard was at hand.

One of fifteen cookie-cutter 15"-16"ers. The bigs have been hiding.

1 hour ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

What a great time with my buddy from the northland!

Back at ya! We sure had fun and I loved how you loved Maine, my pond, and my rapscallion pup.

17 hours ago, JonB2 said:

a rockbass

Thank goodness you didn't post a photo of this embarrassment. It would have completely mooted your other catches and reputation.

Dink day ultralight fishing the bank with a buddy

Only relatively decent bass of the day, fun fight on a 0 power rod.

Got 10 mixed panfish as well including some chunky red ears

3 hours ago, gim said:

Thank goodness you didn't post a photo of this embarrassment. It would have completely mooted your other catches and reputation.

I wasn’t aware I had a reputation to moot, I’m more in the background I’d say. I know you don’t like rockies, but they’re another panfish to me and I like them all

39 minutes ago, JonB2 said:

but they’re another panfish to me and I like them all

See, that's the thing. It's nothing but an identity crisis. They're called a Rock BASS but does anyone here really consider them a bass? You think they're more of a panfish.

I'll tell you what they are. An embarrassment with no closed season and very liberal bag limits. Best to just not even associate with one.

Doubled up on Lake Minichuck ~

Good Times

A-Jay

@A-Jay Beautiful catch and more beautiful rod holder you got on that T track. I can't believe ho may rods it is holding? Do you know the brand? Now I am in the market for all those accessories .

16 minutes ago, ATA said:

@A-Jay Beautiful catch and more beautiful rod holder you got on that T track. I can't believe ho may rods it is holding? Do you know the brand? Now I am in the market for all those accessories .

Thanks.

There's no T-track on that vintage Old Town Predator squareback canoe.

The rod holder is an A-Jay special edition custom unit.

Meaning, I made it in 2007 when I purchased the boat.

Holds 5 casting & 4 spinning rods.

A-Jay

2 hours ago, gim said:

See, that's the thing. It's nothing but an identity crisis. They're called a Rock BASS but does anyone here really consider them a bass? You think they're more of a panfish.

I'll tell you what they are. An embarrassment with no closed season and very liberal bag limits. Best to just not even associate with one.

lol, hey..sometimes you can’t escape them. I like you bro, different style dude

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Doubled up on Lake Minichuck ~

Good Times

A-Jay

That's a great sight to see A-Jay. Congrats to you both.

I finally was able to take a day off and go bass fishing. I wasn't going to be able to squeeze two days in, so I opted to try fishing some at night. I have next to zero experience fishing at night, but I guess there is only one way to get experience.

I left home at 11:30 PM. Drove three hours to the lake, and had my kayak and fishing gear ready to go at 3:00 AM. Fog rolled in so thick I couldn't see more than a couple feet, but managed to get out on the lake and not get lost. I landed one bass in the dark, on a buzzbait that was around 1 pound.

The fog left when the sun started to come up. I landed a 1.5 pound bass first cast on a popper, and that was the only topwater strike of the morning. I managed to land a few bass on a variety of techniques before the strong afternoon winds Picked up. I hooked a 6 pound plus bass on a spinnerbait, but was in a bad position to get it out of the cover and lost both the bass and the bait.

I was fishing my favorite big bass lake, during my favorite time of year with perfect conditions. I landed around 10 bass, and my best five would weigh approximately 5.5 pounds. I have not landed a bass over 3 pounds in 2026. Last year I went to this lake in the first week of June and landed a 38 pound bag of five including two nine pound bass on consecutive casts.

I haven't had much opportunity to bass fish, but I am seriously beginning to doubt my bass fishing skills. The Bait Monkey is convinced I need to upgrade everything. Kayak, rods, reels, electronics, and ofcourse lures. It does not make sense to me to buy more gear when I have less time to fish, but coming home fishless, does make the Monkey's arguments at least worth listening to.

Rainy season starts soon, and the fishing traditionally gets way tougher when the lake floods. I guess it can't get much worse, so I will have to keep trying.

I caught 32 in three hours at my pond. I was excited to return to the river where I caught my PB at my pond, which required me to paddle the length of the pond. I'd landed five and lost two in the little river, but this evening, not a nibble. However, on the way, I stopped to fish a rock flat and caught this fine fish:

After I held her for the photo above, I wondered if she reached 19 inches. So close:

After I failed in the river, I saw bass leaping for dragonflies. So, I pitched a popper and caught this twin to the bass above:

That's two four-pounderish bass in the first hour. If the 19 and 20-inchers in my pond grow an inch this year, next year I might be catching 20 and 21-inchers next year.

CORRECTION: I just Googled growth rates of lmb in Maine and AI said this: "In Maine, it can take a 19-inch largemouth bass 2 to 3 years to grow just another inch." AI also said this: "At 19 inches, a largemouth bass is considered a trophy-sized fish in Maine." So, I caught a couple trophies and so I'm happy with them instead of dreaming of trophies plus.

I caught some other thick fish and my main lure was a purple Roboworm with a chartreuse tipped-tail, which I rigged with a fine wired offset worm hook and a 3/16ths ounce tungsten sinker. It's the first time I've ever used that worm and even though a YouTube video told me to drop shot it or wacky worm it, it worked with T-rigging. I caught these other thick fish too, all 17 and 18-inch class bass:

I'll be fishing my pal's pond this Wednesday and Friday morning. I haven't fished it for a couple weeks and am excited to return to it.

20 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Last year I went to this lake in the first week of June and landed a 38 pound bag of five including two nine pound bass on consecutive casts.

That's the stuff that dreams are made of.

4 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Doubled up on Lake Minichuck ~

Those are beauties!

@A-Jay Makes my day seeing your girl out on the water with you.

5 minutes ago, GreenPig said:

@A-Jay Makes my day seeing your girl out on the water with you.

Thank you my friend.

Makes mine too.

A-Jay

On 6/4/2026 at 8:11 PM, Swamp Girl said:

(Bob caught most of them.)

Katie, there you go again! You are so, so generous with yours words and actions. If I did catch more than you (which I doubt), it was only because you kept positioning the canoe where I had first toss at ALL the hot spots! You expended great effort for me and I will never forget. The loon swimming in the clear water under our canoe was a highlight! The little river was another highlight. We got to watch a big girl leaving her lair under a bush to grab the craw as it moved by. That was a heartstopper! Only thing is the Maine fishing rules.....you see in Maine for a fish to be counted, you actually have to hook and land the fish! In Tennessee, we get to hook and just see the fish before it gets counted! 😄My score would have been much higher if i could get Katie to budge on the rules because I lost so many with weak, weak, hooksets. But no, Katie was as tenacious about the counting rules as she was about making sure I had the time of my life!

This girl musta went on the ozempic after the spawn. 20.5", but only 3.5#.

2 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

If I did catch more than you (which I doubt), it was only because you kept positioning the canoe where I had first toss at ALL the hot spots!

Well, that's because I have to be in the stern to take us to the hot spots. The stern paddler steers.

4 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

The loon swimming in the clear water under our canoe was a highlight!

That was cool. I remember exactly where it happened and I can see the loon still, as sleek as a seal.

4 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

We got to watch a big girl leaving her lair under a bush to grab the craw as it moved by.

I remember exactly where that happened too. Weird how I couldn't buy a hit in the river last night.

5 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

I had the time of my life!

I'm so glad, Bob, and I hope to fish with you again next summer! If your wing is fixed, we'll fish a bog too. I'd need your strength to put the two-person canoe on the car. I can barely manage my solo Kevlar canoe anymore.