Swamp Girl

You got it, A-Jay. However, there's always the lee of islands and if it's a solo canoe, the wind won't catch the bow and slap you sideways.

You know you're a serious bass fisherwoman when you couldn't persuade any of the boys to go out fishing because the wind was howling and the water was whitecapping, so you went alone and loved it.

What a story, ChrisFish. And I love this line: "Apparently it just came unbuttoned."

Jigs. I own a thicket of them and bags and bags of grubs, lizards, tubes, and frogs, but other than Senkos, I've caught fewer than five smallies with them, which is weird and wrong, since soft baits are many fishers' best baits. I went fishing with another outdoor writer in September and I had him talk me through a couple bass in about five minutes. After the first few bottom bumps, it wasn't that hard to differentiate a hit and a hard spot, but it also wasn't that fun. I like the visuals of a surface bait and the range of spinners. Still, I'll keep buying soft baits. Sigh.

Big fish. I've fished with a couple folks I've met through the 'net and that's cool too.

@ Bluebasser86 I love those days when the bass are unleashed, unfettered, and uninhibited. I stumble over rocks with my canoe on my shoulders to reach unlearned fish. All hail foolish fish! Wow, roadwarrior. However, for what it's worth, IF you had altered your line, you likely would never had hooked that fish because cutting the end of your line would have changed everything else. Your bait wouldn't have been at that precise depth in that precise place because every action changes every subsequent action to some degree and even if we're talking about some shifts of millimeters, that slight distance might have precluded a hit from a bass as worldly as that one. I'm trying to make you feel a bit better, but my attempt is probably as nicked as your line was.

Awesome link. Thanks so much!

They can be tippy, Fishes in Trees. I slipped getting into one last June and carried the shin cut through the summer. I've still got the scar and likely always will. They're tippiest in the morning, when the day is still gray and I'm as supple as a two-by-four.

What a fish, Will! I also admire your recall. I think acute observation and memory are two tackle essentials, as important as fresh line and a smooth drag. In short, a good watcher makes a good fisher. I've never caught a six pounder, but I wanna and till then, I'll make do with your story. Feel free to appropriate!

I've been looking at the pics of the smallies you guys catch. You don't catch smallies. You catch biggies. No, you catch the Kraken. Rather, you likely catch and release the Kraken. My best stories are about small smallmouths, but I'd love to hear a story or three about catching a seven or eight pounder. Does it fight twice as hard as a four-pounder? I suppose they're too big to jump. Is that right?

It's a beauty, Jeff! And you're one tough hombre to be fishing at those temps.

So, do you have a best day ever...or two? One was on the north shore of Lake Michigan. When I was a kid, I found an old Field and Stream from the sixties and I read about these smallie fishers finding this rock that held scores of bass. So, I went there and waded and waded and casted and casted, looking for that rock. I didn't catch a single bass for two days and then I found it...or its twin. It was the size of a VW Bug and nearly every cast triggered a strike. The waves were sloshing over my waders and when the smallies jumped, they sometimes were higher than my head. It was a beautiful place to fish, the smallmouth were ready to dance, and no hive holds honey as sweet as the one halfway up a mountain. The second was on a numbers lake in Canada that I've fished for years. Hundred fish per person per day is the norm, but on one two day stretch, the smallmouth wouldn't quit hitting. We normally fish from fourish in the morning until ten or so and then nap until the evening, when we'd fish another five or so hours. On this lake on these two days, they didn't quit, so we didn't quit. They especially liked a plain Mepps spinner and it was so consistent that if I cast and didn't catch a bass, I'd examine the spinner to see if something were wrong. They reverted to normal aggressiveness after the two days and I've always wondered what made them banzai berserkers for a bit.

@ Christian M A canoe is amazingly stealthy. This summer, I was fishing in about 4 feet of very clear water. There was a shallow stream that ran along a cliffside and right where the stream emptied into the lake, smallmouth bunched. I caught a few on the surface, but figured there were more there, so I paddled upstream, let the current catch my canoe and slid over that particular, small spot, leading with my rod and leech. I caught five more in a row that way and those fish could see my canoe, but they didn't care. @ Fishing Rhino I agree with efficiency, which is why I like three rods with three lures. If my canoe were bigger, I'd be tempted to take a few more.

This is an awesome site. The more I look, the more I like!

@ Fishing Rhino Wow! Those are three beautiful boats. Say, why do you carry so many rods? I fish with three and sometimes think that's extravagant. Do you have a different lure on each one? @ Marty You're my hero. 76 and still fishing from a canoe. I worry about the day when I'll no longer have the balance and strength to fish from a canoe. I sure hope still I'm fishing from my little boats at 76. @ Goose52 Holy smokes! That's a command center, a floating fortress, and a bobbing base. Very cool.

Thanks, cowgirl and warrior!

Whoever moved this thread, thank you. I didn't even know that there was this part of the website 'cause I never scrolled down! @ jnatale3 Those Old Town royalex boats rock. When I had three, I would hit a rock and pity the rock. @ flyfisher It's cool that you flyfish for bass. On an Ontario trip this fall, I had a flyfisher in the bow and it was cool to see that flicking fly. He was amazed that I was casting F13 Rapalas and I told him, "I do it for the distance and because these fish haven't seen a lure, so they'll whack a big bait." Three days into the trip, he was using my F13s.

Cool rig, A-Jay! I'm shocked that you stand. Fry, I live in Eau Claire. That's sure a big bass in your profile pic. Did you catch that in Wisconsin? DarrenM, your kayak sounds great. I've seen a couple guys who use them in Ontario and they had them all tricked out.

I bought a 15.5 foot Mirrocraft last spring and figured I'd fish some prime smallmouth waters, like Sturgeon Bay in Lake Michigan and the upper Mississippi. I used it once and liked its speed and stability. Stepping onto its deck is like stepping onto the deck anchored to my house. Stepping into my canoe can be tricky and especially if it's a frosty morning and I'm stiffened by sleeping on granite. Nevertheless, I'm selling the big boat because I didn't like fishing that far from the water. I like being close to the fish and the water and most of all, I like that my canoe goes places no big boat can go. I also like how quiet my canoe is and that I don't have to fiddle with gasoline, launch ramps, a motor, and a battery. I fished from Old Town royalex canoes for years for their sturdiness, but as a concession to my 50s, I now fish from kevlar Bell boats. I have a solo and a tandem. Any others who prefer canoes? Of course, I have regrets with my choice of boats. I look at pics of your Lake Erie bass and understand it's unlikely I'll ever catch bass as big as you big water fishers catch, but lawdy, I sure do catch a lot of bass on those lovely, pristine lakes from my little boats.

Thanks, Ida. It's nice to cyber-meet other women who like to fish. I think it's odd that more women don't like to fish. Men don't have an advantage since strength isn't essential while fishing. I suspect it's just opportunity and exposure.

A few times on the Mississippi while fishing white bass, I've attracted dozens of boats. They literally circled my boat, watching me boat the white bass. I fish with 4-pound test and that really helps, while they were trolling, which typically doesn't help. So, I started those evenings with my own little bay and ended them as the hub of a slowing turning wheel. It didn't make me mad, but I'd rather they stayed away.

Good bios. You seem like nice folks. Thanks for creating and maintaining this website.

You guys catch some huge fish. I'm jealous! I fish in western Ontario and catch a half dozen bass over 19 inches each year, but rarely one over 20 inches and I've never caught one over 21 inches. In this thread, there are long fish and fat fish and lots of long AND fat fish. Very impressive!

I understand you're fishing a river, but they do school in the fall in lakes. I was fishing a lake in western Ontario in late September and I thought I perceived a pattern in the schooling, which was bass bunching 30 to 200 yards off the western ends of islands in rock fields. Then I found a bunch in a shallow bay over mud. Then I found another bunch off those bambooish reeds, so, in the end, I know nothing other than they are wherever they are.

Hi. I'm new to the website. I've been reading some threads and this seems a warm and friendly place. I fish for smallmouth and 98% of my fishing is in Canada. I fish out of a canoe because I'm greedy 'cause I want to fish lakes where I'm the only one and my canoe takes me to those places. I release all my smallmouth, but do eat some pike and walleye. I prefer surface fishing, but also fish with leeches, spinners, Senkos, and crankbaits. I know some numbers lakes where the smallmouth average 15.5 inches and hundred bass days per person are average. I also fish trophy lakes where I typically catch only 30 bass per day, but I'll boat a few five-pounders each week on those lakes. I like both quanity and quality and typically visit several lakes in a week. I camp on islands and rise well before the Sun. I also fish deep into dusk and generally nap, swim, cook, and do camp chores during the day. I'm looking forward to learning how others catch bass and maybe even fishing with one or two of you! P.S. - I'm not that crickety. It's just a goofy name.