I observed this this morning: I would rather see the Kid catch a big bass than catch one myself. The Kid and I launched at 4:05 this morning. It was a perfect morning, foggy and overcast, so I expected we'd catch north of sixty bass. We only caught 35. For whatever reason, the bass weren't active. Likely the July Doldrums. However, the Kid caught some beauties. This first one was caught in a little river with a Depps Sakamata, his first fluke fish:

It was a dramatic catch with wood and weeds everywhere.

"Can I catch another?" he asked.

"We'll see if you cast again," I answered.

He did and could!

Not as big, but a nice fish. I paddled to another little river. On the way, the Kid caught this smallie on a T-rigged worm:

At the second river, the Kid caught another nice bass, this time on a Strike King Rage Buzz Minnow, another new lure for him:

Time out for a pond pic:

I was catching bass too, but I was focused on paddling, coaching, and netting the Kid's bass. Here is one of my bass and I caught half a dozen or so her size:

The bass above was a mid-lake bass and the Kid caught this nice mid-lake bass:

The Kid saved his best for last. I hooked a strong mid-lake bass in some Pond Weed, but it unbuttoned after surging. A few minutes later, the Kid hooked this bass with a T-rigged worm:

She was big-headed, big-bodied, and big-hearted and we were so happy to spend a few secs with such a strong, beautiful girl. Fishing with the Kid is so much fun! He returns in mid-August. Between yesterday morning and today, I caught 43 bass, giving me 1,149 bass in 2026, only 300 behind my 2025 total, and on track to reach my 2026 goal of 1,800.

5 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

I observed this this morning: I would rather see the Kid catch a big bass than catch one myself. The Kid and I launched at 4:05 this morning. It was a perfect morning, foggy and overcast, so I expected we'd catch north of sixty bass. We only caught 35. For whatever reason, the bass weren't active. Likely the July Doldrums. However, the Kid caught some beauties. This first one was caught in a little river with a Depps Sakamata, his first fluke fish:

It was a dramatic catch with wood and weeds everywhere.

"Can I catch another?" he asked.

"We'll see if you cast again," I answered.

He did and could!

Not as big, but a nice fish. I paddled to another little river. On the way, the Kid caught this smallie on a T-rigged worm:

At the second river, the Kid caught another nice bass, this time on a Strike King Rage Buzz Minnow, another new lure for him:

Time out for a pond pic:

I was catching bass too, but I was focused on paddling, coaching, and netting the Kid's bass. Here is one of my bass and I caught half a dozen or so her size:

The bass above was a mid-lake bass and the Kid caught this nice mid-lake bass:

The Kid saved his best for last. I hooked a strong mid-lake bass in some Pond Weed, but it unbuttoned after surging. A few minutes later, the Kid hooked this bass with a T-rigged worm:

She was big-headed, big-bodied, and big-hearted and we were so happy to spend a few secs with such a strong, beautiful girl. Fishing with the Kid is so much fun! He returns in mid-August. Between yesterday morning and today, I caught 43 bass, giving me 1,149 bass in 2026, only 300 behind my 2025 total, and on track to reach my 2026 goal of 1,800.

Great fishing, great report, two great anglers!

Great catches, beautiful place.

Wow Billy the kid, awesome.

Wish we weren't so far away.

30 minutes ago, Alex from GA said:

Wish we weren't so far away.

Me too, Alex. I'd fish with you in a New York nanosecond.

@Swamp Girl Love it! This is so great. You’re doing a great thing & introducing future generations to fishing & allowing them to fall in love with the outdoors. This is making the world a better place. 😁