Crazy, fast fishing

[Swamp Girl]

A pallet boardwalk was built at my pond today by two Maine men who cut trees downed by beavers lengthwise and then screwed the pallets to the flat sides of the trees, which were laid  side-by-side in the mud. Next they're going to mill some oak and screw the oak to the tops of the pallets. I do have to hop over a rock wall that extends into the mud/water, but they positioned some flat rocks to make that easier. I'll take some pics of their work and share them with you.

 

Now able to cross the mud to reach the water, I went fishing at 6:00 p.m. and conditions were perfect. It was raining and I fished the windblown, swampy side of the pond. A couple years ago, when I first came to BR, I sought advice on fishing in tight, weedy quarters, but tonight, I realized I've come a long way, that I'm not only comfy fishing a swamp, but I prefer it. I caught 47 bass in two hours and 15 minutes. The fishing was as fast as I've ever experienced with lmb. 

 

I start with a couple photos of the swamp. Look at all those pockets! Who wouldn't want to fish there? Then photos of some of the bass I caught. I used a Rapala Crush City swimbait with an Owner underspin instead of my typical Keitech. I liked the Crush City a lot. It's more durable than a Keitech. I caught a couple stocky 18-inchers and a number of 17+-inchers. I've never caught two 18+-inchers in one session at my pond, so that was encouraging. Plus, I lost a third 18+-incher when she jumped right beside my canoe. 

 

The only challenge this evening was walking through the woods in the rainy dark. That was creepy. 

[A-Jay]

Holy Smokes ~ That's less than 3 minutes per bass.

Cast, hook, land, photo & release - isn't that some kind of record ?

Either way, Congrats on fishing that place into a froth. 

A-Jay

 

[IcatchDinks]

That's some insane fishing! Absolutely wild. 

[Swamp Girl]

Thanks, @A-Jay! I was quite busy. I had many back-to-back-to-back bass. When I caught bass on my first two casts, I figured it was going to be a ton of fun. I was especially pleased to see so many thick fish. My pond is healthy and I love the challenge of hitting the little pockets in the swamp and then steering the bass clear of wood and weeds. 

 

47 minutes ago, IcatchDinks said:

That's some insane fishing! Absolutely wild. 

  

Yeah, it was. 

[IcatchDinks]

Do you actually own the pond? I don't recall if you said you own it, or if you own property on it. Even if you can't catch anything bigger than 18, that seems like an awesome fishery. 

[Swamp Girl]

I own 4.5 acres with 431' of the shoreline, but I think of it as my pond since nearly no one else fishes it. It has no public access and you can't even see it from any roads. It's 169 acres not counting the adjacent swamp that I fished tonight. In Maine, you can't actually own a pond that's more than 10 acres, even if you own all the surrounding land. 

[TnRiver46]

Nice! 

[Glenn]

That's insane!  Sounds like fun, but like you said, going through a forest at night is unsafe.  I've done it on a horse and hated every second of it.  There's just too many predators that use the dark to attack their prey.  I would advise against doing that again.

[Swamp Girl]

@Glenn: I have a tactical flashlight called the Tiny Monster. It turns night into day. I also have military grade spray, which is about ten times as potent as bear spray. Next time, I'll take those two. The rain made it much darker much faster. I quit at 40 bass, but I trolled my Whopper Plopper (Thanks, @Dwight Hottle: I've caught so many bass following your advice to troll my Whopper Plopper.) while paddling back and catching another seven really slowed me.  

[GreenPig]

Phenomenal! 

Up for adoption a 49 year old house trained bearded white male. Open to anyone that can catch a bass every 3 minutes. He can carry a canoe and has no fear of the dark.😆

[Swamp Girl]

7 hours ago, GreenPig said:

Phenomenal! 

Up for adoption a 49 year old house trained bearded white male. Open to anyone that can catch a bass every 3 minutes. He can carry a canoe and has no fear of the dark.😆

 

I was paddling a two-person canoe, so there was a seat waiting for you! 

 

I must admit that I still don't fish the way I'm supposed to fish, that is with baitcasting gear. Yeah, I'm still fishing with my spinning rods. I know baitcasting outfits are more accurate, but after a lifetime of fishing spinning rods for smallmouth, I'm a pinpoint caster with them and perhaps just as importantly, I can lay a lure ever so lightly into a pocket with my spinning outfits through decades of practice. I use MH rods and 30 lb. braid.

 

I do have a couple baitcasting outfits ready to go and when the bogs develop their mats of weeds, I'll switch to them, one with a H rod that @T-Billy gave me paired with 50 lb. line.

 

I'll be fishing a different pond tomorrow morning, the one where I have to cross the field to reach it. It's where I caught my PB about a month ago and I keep trying to catch her again to get a weight. She had such an unusual shape that I think I'd recognize her again.

[MIbassyaker]

2 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

I must admit that I still don't fish the way I'm supposed to fish, that is with baitcasting gear. Yeah, I'm still fishing with my spinning rods. I know baitcasting outfits are more accurate, but after a lifetime of fishing spinning rods for smallmouth, I'm a pinpoint caster with them and perhaps just as importantly, I can lay a lure ever so lightly into a pocket with my spinning outfits through decades of practice. I use MH rods and 30 lb. braid.

 

This is a hill I will die on:  There is nothing about baitcasting gear that makes casting inherently more accurate than with spinning gear.  It is the angler who is more or less accurate with one than the other, not the rod and reel itself.  There exists no great feat of accuracy one person can do with a baitcaster that another cannot do with a spinning rod and reel, given experience and practice.  

[Mike L]

8 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

 

This is a hill I will die on:  There is nothing about baitcasting gear that makes casting inherently more accurate than with spinning gear.  It is the angler who is more or less accurate with one than the other, not the rod and reel itself.  There exists no great feat of accuracy one person can do with a baitcaster that another cannot do with a spinning rod and reel, given experience and practice.  

I won’t hijack her thread of a great accomplishment other than to say…

 

I’ll die on the other hill

 

 

 

Mike

[Swamp Girl]

13 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

This is a hill I will die on:  There is nothing about baitcasting gear that makes casting inherently more accurate than with spinning gear.

 

Given that I'm nearly 68 and still using my spinning rods, I'll likely literally die on the same hill. 

 

I once fished with a now-dead pal and always outfished him.

 

So, one day, without telling me, he watched me fish and then said, "You hit pocket after pocket. You don't miss. No wonder you catch more than me."

 

He was being kind. Sometimes I miss, but I can hit most of the pockets because of "experience and practice." Growing old has a lot of challenges, but we old anglers have had a lot of practice. 

 

1 minute ago, Mike L said:

I won’t hijack her thread of a great accomplishment other than to say…

 

I’ll die on the other hill

 

 

 

Mike

 

Ha! Well, sooner or later, we all have to die and it's nice we get to pick our final resting hill. 😉

[pdxfisher]

You need to tell us about the 2 casts that you didn't catch one on

 

What an awesome report. With the rate you catch them at you might want to check out Bass Pro Shops Speed shad swimbaits.  Those are incredibly durable swimbaits. I bet I can usually get 15-20 on a speed shad and at least double that one a single Speed shad. Those are what I use and they catch at least as good as Keitech, at least out here. 

[Zcoker]

It can get like that out in the everglades, especially when the water levels get low, cast after cast, fish after fish, keeps ya in shape! 

[Jmilburn76]

Well done! I think most, including myself, can only dream of catching that many bass in one day. 

[Functional]

The amount of fish you caught in the last week is more than I'll likely catch in a years time. Incredible. 

[Blue Raider Bob]

On 5/18/2024 at 9:27 PM, ol'crickety said:

I own 4.5 acres with 431' of the shoreline, but I think of it as my pond since nearly no one else fishes it. It has no public access and you can't even see it from any roads. It's 169 acres not counting the adjacent swamp that I fished tonight. In Maine, you can't actually own a pond that's more than 10 acres, even if you own all the surrounding land. 

Katie, 169 acres is a lake! I've got a "pond". If 169 acres qualifies as a "pond in Maine, then what I have would be considered a pot-hole!

Congrats on the heavy lifting and thanks for sharing. I feel like I was there getting rained on with you.

[Swamp Girl]

2 hours ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

I feel like I was there getting rained on with you.

 

I wish you'd been there. The woods would have been a lot less scary with my cyber-brother Bob there. I've actually slept in the woods for literal years of my life, but for some reason, that night was spooky. I think it was walking that path for the first time in the dark, plus the rain, plus I had no flashlight. I'm going again in a couple hours, but this time I'm taking my tactical flashlight and spray. 

[fin]

2 hours ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Katie, 169 acres is a lake! I've got a "pond".

I was thinking the same thing when I read her post, but then I looked online for "difference between pond and lake". Very educational. I still couldn't tell you the answer, but size is not the difference. It's complicated.

[Swamp Girl]

6 minutes ago, fin said:

I was thinking the same thing when I read her post, but then I looked online for "difference between pond and lake". Very educational. I still couldn't tell you the answer, but size is not the difference. It's complicated.

 

"Pond" is literally in its name, but since I learned basing on farm ponds, I too understand why 169 acres would strike most as a lake.