I launched at a pal's pond at 4:45. I had flipped the wind direction in my head. I expected to launch on the wind protected shore, but it was the wind beaten shore and the pond was white capping. So, I paddled across the pond and trolled along the way. I caught a 18.25" bass, which distressed me. It was soooooo skinny. Was something wrong with the pond? Had a parasite infected the pond? Had the forage base collapsed? See why I was worried?

 

 

I had no reason to worry. The pond was just fine. Because of the wind, I did a lot of trolling and caught about half my bass this way and the other half casting. I likely had a 20-pound bag with a 21-incher, two 19-inchers, and half a dozen 18-inchers. All were caught on a @Siebert Outdoors spinnerbait and a VMC heavy duty underspin. I also joined the 2025 Five-Pounder Club. Three of my bass were smallmouth and the rest were lmb. Here are the best of them, with some lipped and gripped and some on the bump board:

 

 

This was the biggest. I lip gripped her and put her on the bump board too:

 

 

I had been catching bass off shore, but near the end of my trip, I tried the shallows, casting into a zombie reed field. They were there, but not as big:

 

 

It sure was fun. The average size was exceptional. I caught 19, but eight of them were fine, thick fish, ranging from 18 inches to 21 inches. I'll be fishing my pal's pond a couple mornings this week, so I left my Kevlar canoe there.

Congrats on the 5 pounder, and a day full of fat Maine bass!

Awesome day. Congratulations. 

Woman, you're incredible. What are day.

If I wasn’t already married I’d ask for your hand just for the fishing privileges. 😂

 

Looks like another great day on the water. You really know how to catch em. 

Nicely Done.

Those bass are nothing if not stout.

Your Pal is a fortune and generous human.

Congrats

A-Jay

6 hours ago, wdp said:

If I wasn’t already married I’d ask for your hand just for the fishing privileges. 😂

 

Looks like another great day on the water. You really know how to catch em. 

 

I watch all Glenn's videos and read the Bass Resource articles and watch YouTube videos too. There are times when I directly apply what @Glenn and others have said, such as thoroughly working laydowns, casting to beaver dams, roaming for fall bass, etc., but yesterday, the wind both surprised and scared me. My long, slender canoe is tippy and I had to paddle across a mile of whitecapping water, so my primary concern was staying alive. There were places I wanted to fish, like a wind-beaten point and the wind beaten shore, but I didn't dare. And there were places I tried to fish, but I kept getting blown off them. So, I did a LOT of trolling to keep a paddle in my hand when the wind gusted. However, I still tried to apply what Bass Resource and the Bass Resource gang have taught me by keeping my distance from shorelines. I've fished my pal's pond a lot and on sunny days, I can see the bottom. I know where the bottom drops off and I know the shallow, muddy flats, so I paddled a ways off shore, just where it's deeper, hoping to find some staging females.

 

When I reached a wind-protected bay, I could finally cast and I caught the 19-incher on the bump board there. I caught another 19-incher trolling later, the second from the top. 

 

When it was time to paddle home, I reverted to trolling the drop-off and that's when I caught the 21-incher. When I reached the shoreline where I leave my boat, the wind had died and I could finally cast and I caught some more. 

 

I honestly felt uncertain out there, anxious much of the time for the water is still cool enough to kill me and I'm alone out there, but my improvised strategy of trolling the drop-off worked.

 

35 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Your Pal is a fortune and generous human.

 

He is good and I do my best to pay it forward, letting some locals hunt, trap, and fish my pond. And I let my pal's grandson fish my pond too.

 

9 hours ago, Siebert Outdoors said:

Awesome day. Congratulations. 

 

It was your spinnerbait that caught my two biggest bass, so THANKS! It runs true and doesn't bend out of shape needing correction because it's sturdy. And it looks YUM to the bass!

 

7 hours ago, GreenPig said:

Woman, you're incredible.

 

I was mostly scared. The photos don't really convey how choppy and gusty it was out there. I think the weather forecast got the wind speed wrong.

 

10 hours ago, Fishlegs said:

Congrats on the 5 pounder, and a day full of fat Maine bass!

 

Thanks! I don't weigh my fish anymore, however, I have weighed fish with similar builds and lengths and she likely was a little over six pounds, but I don't know. I'm certain she was over five. 

 

I didn't lose a single lmb. I did lose three smallmouth (and caught three smallmouth). If you're wondering how I can land big lmb and lose little smallmouth, it's because they're hippety-hoppety. They won't stay in the water, jumping and jumping and jumping. Here's one I did land, small, but beautiful:

 

 

3 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

I didn't lose a single lmb. I did lose three smallmouth (and caught three smallmouth). If you're wondering how I can land big lmb and lose little smallmouth, it's because they're hippety-hoppety. They won't stay in the water, jumping and jumping and jumping. Here's one I did land, small, but beautiful:

Smallmouth are a different class of fighter than largemouth IMO. I love largemouth because they get bigger, but when I land a big smallmouth I feel like I've made a higher level accomplishment. I lost a 4 lb+ smallie my last time out that was an impressive acrobat. It shot out of the water like a missile several times so we got a good look at her. It eventually jumped against a wooden pier that the wind/current had pushed the boat too close to, and broke my line. It's disappointing, but it happens to us all. Nobody lands every big smallmouth...except maybe @A-Jay and @roadwarrior. 😉

5 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

Nobody lands every big smallmouth...except maybe @A-Jay and @roadwarrior. 

 

I suspect even the brown bass greats lose some. In fact, Kent told me a story of losing a smallie that he suspected was the world record.

 

6 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

Smallmouth are a different class of fighter than largemouth IMO.

 

No doubt. They don't quit. 

 

Sorry you lost that four-pounder. Bass pull my boat into all kinds of trouble too. 

Kent told me that one while we were fishing near where it happened. A-Jay might have lost one in his lifetime too. Those guys have superhuman skills. There are others on the site too, but they were the first two that came to my mind.

 

Kent has been kind enough to let me fish with him many times in the past few years, and I've always been blown away at his knowledge, and skill. If it's on his line, I'm 99.9% sure he's going to land it. He's coached me up a lot. My landing percentage is better than it used to be, but I still lose more than I'd like. I've told Kent I hope to be a fisherman like him when I grow up.

8 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

Kent told me that one while we were fishing near where it happened. A-Jay might have lost one in his lifetime too. Those guys have superhuman skills. There are others on the site too, but they were the first two that came to my mind.

 

Kent has been kind enough to let me fish with him many times in the past few years, and I've always been blown away at his knowledge, and skill. If it's on his line, I'm 99.9% sure he's going to land it. He's coached me up a lot. My landing percentage is better than it used to be, but I still lose more than I'd like. I've told Kent I hope to be a fisherman like him when I grow up.

 

It still gnaws at me that Kent lost that WR. I don't fault Kent. I credit the mighty bass that wouldn't budge.

 

So cool that Kent's been so kind to you. He sent me a box of lures once. Gratis! And I've used them with all due gratitude.

 

One thing that came me an advantage in landing bass is not flipping the rod from one side of my body to the other. If it's on the right when I hook the bass, I keep it here. Same with the left. Of course, when a smallie jumps five times, landing it is a lotta luck.

I'm returning to my pal's pond tomorrow morning and will launch in a fog that's forecast to last all morning. Any suggestions as to where and how I should fish. The wind will be less, but still blowing (5-6 mph). I'm thinking of working a big walking bait over the dropoffs because they'll be more likely to hit in the fog.

 

I forgot to share how I saw an eagle yesterday that unnerved me. It was the first time in my life that a bird scared me. It was so big that I felt like potential prey. It wouldn't have attacked me, of course, but I was still afraid. And it was NOT afraid of me. I drifted so close to it.

Don’t be so sure @Swamp Girl! They let one go at the opening of a new AA ballpark near my house last month and instead of going back to the handler, it pounced on somebody in the outfield 😂 

36 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Don’t be so sure @Swamp Girl! They let one go at the opening of a new AA ballpark near my house last month and instead of going back to the handler, it pounced on somebody in the outfield 😂 

 

Yikes! Now I'm going to stay scared. I think it was the eagle's body language that unnerved me. You know how eagles will scoot when you near them. Not this one. It just kept staring at me. Plus, it was mostly black. Now I'm wondering if it was a Golden Eagle, which are bigger than Bald Eagles. 

3 hours ago, Fishlegs said:

Smallmouth are a different class of fighter than largemouth IMO. I love largemouth because they get bigger, but when I land a big smallmouth I feel like I've made a higher level accomplishment. I lost a 4 lb+ smallie my last time out that was an impressive acrobat. It shot out of the water like a missile several times so we got a good look at her. It eventually jumped against a wooden pier that the wind/current had pushed the boat too close to, and broke my line. It's disappointing, but it happens to us all. Nobody lands every big smallmouth...except maybe @A-Jay and @roadwarrior. 😉

While I appreciate the vote of confidence,

I am not really close to cracking the "catch Them All" code.

There are almost always a few that get dumped every season.

I just hate when I get a good look at them before they go.

Those seem to be the ones that haunt.

https://youtu.be/yfnYSE-HjIE?feature=shared&t=887

A-Jay

Great job Katie… As usual 😁

13 hours ago, wdp said:

I’d ask for your hand just for the fishing privileges. 😂

You'd be waiting in line! I've got first dibs!   😁

Wow!! Those are some beautiful looking bass. They are so thick and healthy.  Way to lay the smack down on those beasts! I could not fish this past weekend due to the wind being out of control. You have me chomping at the bit to get out there!!

 

Only thing missing from your report were some of the nature shots you often include. I always love seeing those!

16 minutes ago, pdxfisher said:

Only thing missing from your report were some of the nature shots you often include. I always love seeing those!

 

I'll post some of tomorrow morning's trip. 

 

30 minutes ago, pdxfisher said:

You have me chomping at the bit to get out there!!

 

Hey, I'm just trying...and failing...to keep up with you. You landed 40 bass on your last trip. I didn't even manage half that number.

16 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

Yikes! Now I'm going to stay scared. I think it was the eagle's body language that unnerved me. You know how eagles will scoot when you near them. Not this one. It just kept staring at me. Plus, it was mostly black. Now I'm wondering if it was a Golden Eagle, which are bigger than Bald Eagles. 

Actually bald eagles are bigger than goldens. Juvenile balds appear bigger and are black and brown, their juvenile feathers are bigger to help them learn how to fly 

Nice job my friend!