I caught 17 this morning at my pond, giving me 1,365 for the year. I'll need 135 more if I'm to reach my 1,500 goal, but unless I muster the energy to fish a bog on a busy boat day, I won't make it. This morning, I focused on fishing shaded shallows. I launched in the dark, so everything was shady, and I paddled to one shallow area after another. When the Sun rose, I stuck to the eastern shore and fished in the shade of the trees. I caught everything on a white spinnerbait with a Keitech and an underspin. The size was good and the thick bass fought so hard. I regret only one fish. My wrist buckled when I set the hook, as it sometimes does, but before I could try again, the bass bolted into lily pads, turning my attention to turning the bass and then there was more peril and more peril and the bass finally came unbuttoned. I'd like to have another chance at that fish, but I landed lots of other beauties. There were shorter, deep fish like this:

 

 

Bass built like bulldogs:

 

 

Bass with the perfect blend of muscle and sleekness:

 

 

Here's a bass with a background that shows where I was catching them:

 

 

Isn't this black one beautiful?

 

 

A shoreline beauty:

 

 

 

Another short, thick one:

 

 

Here's a pretty shot:

 

 

Now for some nighttime bass. The pics are terrible, but you can still see that the bass were fine. The third one down was long:

 

 

This was my first bass. For some reason, the flash worked. Just a perfectly shaped fish, huh?:

 

 

One more pretty pic and one more pretty bass, perhaps the biggest, to say good-bye:

 

As well as catching lots of great bass you seem to have a good time.  I envy you.

31 minutes ago, Alex from GA said:

As well as catching lots of great bass you seem to have a good time.  I envy you.

 

I do have a good time, Alex. Look at the two pretty pics above. That's what I see as I fish. There are eagles overhead and loon song in the air. I also enjoy the challenge of finding bass. Twice this morning, I thought "This spot looks fishy." and about two seconds later, both times I'd hooked a bass. I caught a couple trolling too and they hit so hard that they turned my canoe. Thinking about all of this, I don't have a good time: I have a great time...and I wish you were with me. 

 

Plus, the size of this morning's bass was exceptional. I only caught two small bass out of 17 and about a dozen were 17 inches or more. I'm launching again tomorrow morning and then the wind starts to blow and I won't fish again until this weekend. 

3 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

 

Like the shoulders on these two!

Me too, BP! 

Nice fish, and beautiful pictures Katie. I love the fall colors reflecting on the water.

Sounds like an awesome day! Those bass are stout and that scenery is beautiful. I did not get out this weekend so reading your report was extra sweet.

1 hour ago, pdxfisher said:

Those bass are stout and that scenery is beautiful.

 

I think that the bass I catch are stout too! Do I catch some skinny ones? Sure. However, most of them are bellying up to the aquatic equivalent of the Golden Corral. Like this one:

 

 

Sure, she's not a bog bass like the one below, but she's not on Ozempic:

 

 

Now, I have caught MANY skinny smallies at my pal's pond, but even many of those brown bass grew thicker this summer...for whatever reason. The brownies are always thick at my pond:

 

Beautiful, the setting and the bass, heart warming Kate.

Tom

2 minutes ago, WRB-2.0 said:

Beautiful, the setting and the bass, heart warming Kate.

Tom

 

Tom, I know you love the northwoods too, so I'm glad I have photos to share of your lifelong love. 

She lives in heaven! And has it all to herself!

@Swamp Girl  I hope you never get tired of accolades because you sure deserve 'em!  Great report and photos.  Loving the scenery!!!!

9 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

@Swamp Girl  I hope you never get tired of accolades because you sure deserve 'em!  Great report and photos.  Loving the scenery!!!!

 

Al, as time passes, I love my pond more and more. You know how one can tire of a place, no matter how lovely? That's not me, not with my pond.  Since I stumbled upon that underwater ridge that draws smallmouth, I'm excited to return to it and see if I can entice a couple to strike a little popper. If that doesn't work, I'll try a small floating Rapala. If that doesn't work, I'll....

 

"Al, as time passes, I love my pond more and more. You know how one can tire of a place, no matter how lovely? That's not me, not with my pond."

 

Katie, I know you do!  Your writing shows your passion and love.  You are my kinda angler!

Just now, Lottabass said:

 

"Al, as time passes, I love my pond more and more. You know how one can tire of a place, no matter how lovely? That's not me, not with my pond."

 

Katie, I know you do!  Your writing shows your passion and love.  You are my kinda angler!

 

Thank you, Al. Yesterday morning was my last of four straight mornings I fished and I won't fish again until Saturday, so knowing it was my last trip for a few days, I didn't fish harder. Rather, I watched harder. I paddled and watched the funny feet of loons pedaling like the most maniacal Peloton trainer as they tried to achieve takeoff. And I saw some bird, smaller than an osprey, but bigger than a kingfisher, land on a branch that it bent perilously. It was in shadow, so I could only wonder what it was. And then there was the deer that stepped out of the forest shadows to drink and when it did, the light gilded it. When I see such things, the rod goes down and I do my duty: I watch.

 

When I came to the end of a trip in the wilderness, I often spent my final morning the same way, more focused on witnessing than fishing, trying to remember as much as possible for when I'm too old to reach such places...and I'm already too old to reach the wilderness of northwestern Ontario anymore, so I'm glad I watched when I still could. 

8 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

 When I see such things, the rod goes down and I do my duty: I watch.

 

When I came to the end of a trip in the wilderness, I often spent my final morning the same way, more focused on witnessing than fishing, trying to remember as much as possible for when I'm too old to reach such places...and I'm already too old to reach the wilderness of northwestern Ontario anymore, so I'm glad I watched when I still could. 

 

Wow! You have learned the secret to life!

 

So many of us stumble through life looking straight ahead and not paying attention to what is happening around us. And there is an old saying about it something about stopping along the way to smell the flowers. I think John Lennon said "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans." Other plans we get lost in as they get in our way, and life throws at us unexpected problems and challenges trying to trip us up and even keep us down sometimes.

 

Like you I believe we are witnesses to this world. That we are really here to experience life, and often get so wrapped up in the stumbling through it that we lose ourselves in the process, and lose sight of what is important, often getting lost in our plans while life happens all around us, and trapped within our egos blindly ignore it until we miss it, and by then it is too late.

 

Some learn sooner than others, but it is always to our benefit to learn it before it IS too late! And some never learn.

 

For those who do it is truly a blessing. And you have found it, and your life is blessed because of it! You have found the secret to life BEFORE it is too late.

 

Getting back to thread topic... shaded shallows are my primary fishing targeted area.

 

Here in Florida the bright sun overhead can be brutal. And since I fish mostly clear water the bass tend to run and hide from the sun. So I have few choices of direction to go in- one is down deep where the big bass live or two fish in cover. And I have to confess I have turned away from trying to fish deep and hoping a big one is going to bite one day. So I have turned my focus to quantity rather than quality of size of bass. I want to catch more than less and willing to catch smaller fish, but a whole heck of a lot more of them.

 

And so this has had me fishing in the shaded shallows more than 90% of the time with primary exception of chasing schoolies over deeper water. Those can be a lot of fun.

 

A lot of Florida lakes have a unique pattern to them of open deeper water, move closer to shore and around about 8 to 10 feet deep the lily pads begin to grow up from the bottom and other vegetation like eel grass and other. But quite often there is this open space behind the vegetation between it and shore.

 

This area goes from the shore to about 3 or 4 feet deep. And for me that is the space I target for the magic of bass fishing. Sometimes in front of it on the deeper side is where the action is at, but its that clear space between shore and vegetation where most of the action is. And in the lily pads and eel grass as well.

 

I think baitfish and other prey live in heavier concentrations in this water less than 8 feet deep. And I think it is all that food that is attracting the larger fish to move in to feed, and that is when I show up trying to catch them right in that feeding zone.

 

So most of my bass are caught in the 2 to 6 foot deep range. Right in the shaded shallows.

 

I prefer this to deep fishing because with deep fishing you have to wait until you see your line move or feel a tug on it. In the shallow waters where the bottom of the lake is forcing the fish to move up closer to the surface, I find the bass are more willing to come to the surface for explosive strikes. And I prefer this a thousand times over waiting for a boring old deep tug on the line. Explosive hits are what makes it all worthwhile to me.

 

The next part of the fun can be trying to land that fish while osprey and eagles circle overhead looking down on my fish ready to dive on it, or a gator notices it splashing and swims quickly in trying to catch it before I do.

 

I tell ya it is better than a virtual reality video game! Heck, it IS a virtual reality game. The best! And it is even better when we learn to appreciate it all and find deep value to it that satisfies the soul! 

------------------------------------

 

Gonna add something here... Having a 10 pounder on the line is not all it is cracked up to be. One of my 10 pounder bass I choose to never count happened one day during the spawn. I walked up to the edge of a lake and looked down in the clear water and sure enough there was a huge bass easily 10 pounds sitting on a bed within 7 feet of shore.

 

All I had to do was dip my lure in and move it slowly through the bed and she picked it up to get it out of her bed. I caught her once and let her go and she went right back to her bed. Less than a minute or two later I did it again. I caught that bass twice in less than 5 or 10 minutes. I tried for a third time but now she was wise to me and would not bite.

 

What I learned that day was that I came to think and believe I was doing something wrong. Something I should not be doing. I should not be targeting a fish trying to spawn. And I have never done it since and will never do it again.

 

Catching her like that twice was not fun really. It came with guilt. And I let that guilt be my guide to learn my lesson and let Nature be. Who am I to disrupt her natural plan? I believed I was doing something wrong and so I have forever stopped targeting the big girls on the beds and I wish tournaments would also ban it. That may be fishing, but is not truly what bass fishing should be about.

 

She picked my rubber worm up not to feed, but to protect her offspring and nursery. Her actions were defensive. I took advantage of that. When I fish I want to trick bass into thinking my artificial lures are alive and something to eat. That to me is what bass fishing is all about. Me tricking them. Not taking advantage of them at vulnerable times with expected behavior easy to manipulate.

 

That bass may have been 10 pounds plus, but I will never count her as one I tricked because I didn't. She was there to teach me a valuable lesson. And she did. I will never again target any fish on a bed.

 

I actually reached out my rod and tapped her on the head and she did not budge. It just was not a fair situation that I took advantage of that day and I will never do it again. I will teach my own sons about it and hope they also learn to let bedding bass be. I know others won't agree, but that's OK to. To each their own.

3 hours ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

I know others won't agree, but that's OK to.

 

I do. I don't just want to catch fish today. I want to catch them next year and the next and the next. A spawning female drops soooooooooooo much weight to make eggs and some don't survive it. Why make it even harder on them?

 

3 hours ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

I will teach my own sons about it and hope they also learn to let bedding bass be.

 

Thank you.

 

Now, I'm 100% certain I've caught bass on beds, but I'm also 100% certain that I've never knowingly cast to a bass on a bed.

 

3 hours ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

So many of us stumble through life looking straight ahead and not paying attention to what is happening around us.

 

I do think that most people generally don't pay attention and I also think that some of those people might consider me a simpleton if I were to wax about geese landing. They, on the other hand, might be giddy about Disney World or Club Med and I shrug at such things.

 

 

Every 10+ LMB I ever landed was exactly everything “it’s cracked up to be” and more. 
Especially after sight fishing off her bed. 
 

As was said, To each their own 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike