One. (And do you have one?)

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, Team9nine said:

 

 

2 hours ago, Team9nine said:

I like visiting each one to see how its personality changes from day to day, month to month, or year to year.

 

Me too! And they are like old friends.

[Susky River Rat]

I guess I could say I do this at blue marsh. I really don’t care if I catch fish there. It’s honestly more of a I just want to be in the water issue. I am not chasing anything.
 

when I fished for musky there were two places I pounded and pounded and pounded oh did I say I pounded? I did eventually get them at both.

[scaleface]

One of my favorite little lakes and the one I spent the most time on the past ten years , had an awful lot of bass die last year . I love the lake but I love catching bass more , so I'm shifting my attention elsewhere.

[bp_fowler]

Yes, I have one of the bodies of water.  It one of three reservoirs within a 15 minute drive for me that I fish on a rotating basis.  

I’ve caught my share of fish there the only problem is that they are the tiniest lil’ things you’ve ever seen.  
 

 

 

[N Florida Mike]

I have a small lake and smaller connected pond that I fished off and on for years. Biggest bass? 3 1/2 pounds. I maybe caught 20 bass ever in there. It’s one of the few murky lakes I fish. They won’t even bite live bait in there hardly.  Strangely enough It’s stocked and managed by the FWC... I’ve heard it has dd fish in it, but never seen one… I did have a fish break my line once.

[Swamp Girl]

I'll be fishing One Bass Bog again tomorrow morning. Sure, I could go fish a pond and catch 35-40 bass, but One Bass Bog has hooked me deep. If it plays out as it normally does, in four or so hours, I'll get four or so hits. The bass will have every advantage, for there are lily pads, wood, and rocks everywhere. I might also be lulled to half-sleep by the bog's beauty and the long stretches where nothing happens. But lawdy, lawdy, there are beasts in that black water. I just hope to catch one.

 

[Blue Raider Bob]

On 6/9/2023 at 3:04 PM, bp_fowler said:

Yes, I have one of the bodies of water.  It one of three reservoirs within a 15 minute drive for me that I fish on a rotating basis.  

I’ve caught my share of fish there the only problem is that they are the tiniest lil’ things you’ve ever seen.  
 

 

 

That's not tiny.....this is tiny!

[Choporoz]

Might be interesting to find out what percentage if the volume of water is hard in January.  Might be that a condensed winter living area makes it like the fish kill lake, or the pike pond....a small population of apex fish that just pull their chairs up to the buffet for a few months

[Blue Raider Bob]

On 7/5/2023 at 12:45 PM, ol'crickety said:

I'll be fishing One Bass Bog again tomorrow morning. Sure, I could go fish a pond and catch 35-40 bass, but One Bass Bog has hooked me deep. If it plays out as it normally does, in four or so hours, I'll get four or so hits. The bass will have every advantage, for there are lily pads, wood, and rocks everywhere. I might also be lulled to half-sleep by the bog's beauty and the long stretches where nothing happens. But lawdy, lawdy, there are beasts in that black water. I just hope to catch one.

 

Katie what is/are the principal forage fish in the bog ponds? I've never seen fatter bass. The bass down here are long and skinny. You must have an abundance of a really meaty, slow preyfish. AJ credits the Goby for his pot bellied Smallies but I'm sure that probably is not the case in the bogs. Have you ever set out baited fish traps? One of my pastimes is setting out homemade traps for crayfish and creek minnows, then transferring them to my pond. It's just another excuse to play in the water.

[Drawdown]

I feel this way about bank fishing Carter’s Lake and also Allatoona in N. Georgia. Very clear, deep lakes that get too much pleasure boater traffic. Army Corps of Engineers severely limits bank access to non-campers (and I get it; they don’t want anyone and everyone able to rummage through camper sites at will).

 

But when you do catch one of those spotted bass (and often on a trip, all I get is one), you feel you beat the odds, akin to killing a deer. And, once hooked, those spots surely do fight!

 

Years and years ago, I hooked a nice 3lb-er from a boat on Allatoona while night fishing. I’d love to beat that, one day.

 

I enjoy the style of fishing better at other lakes, but it’s most satisfying to catch by beating the odds in a pressured highland reservoir.

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Katie what is/are the principal forage fish in the bog ponds? I've never seen fatter bass. The bass down here are long and skinny. You must have an abundance of a really meaty, slow preyfish. AJ credits the Goby for his pot bellied Smallies but I'm sure that probably is not the case in the bogs. Have you ever set out baited fish traps? One of my pastimes is setting out homemade traps for crayfish and creek minnows, then transferring them to my pond. It's just another excuse to play in the water.

 

I think they're eating golden shiners and pumpkinseeds. In some ponds, they're eating alewives too. I've also never caught fatter bass. The bass in the local bogs are fatter than the bass in the local ponds. Here are two examples caught in the last week. Pond bass on top. Bog bass below. 

 

[Blue Raider Bob]

15 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

I think they're eating golden shiners and pumpkinseeds. In some ponds, they're eating alewives too. I've also never caught fatter bass. The bass in the local bogs are fatter than the bass in the local ponds. Here are two examples caught in the last week. Pond bass on top. Bog bass below. 

 

This is fascinating stuff to me! We do not have Pumpkinseeds down here but we do have several other species of Sunfish, such as  Bluegill, Greensunfish, Longear, Redear, Warmouth, and Rockbass. One thing I can say for sure from personal knowledge from hours of observation is that the Bluegill swim faster than anyone can imagine. I have seen dozens of LM attacks on groups of BG and the BG can move as fast as bullets. I'm sure the Northern Pumpkinseeds are just as fast, which leads me to believe the primary forage in your area is something much slower. Just my two cents.

Attached is a photo of my fish/crawfish traps. I place these in local streams to catch different species for my pond. I release Greensunfish and bullheads, but I keep most. It's a lot of fun just to see what's new. Its also another way to avoid farmwork and honeydoo's!

[Swamp Girl]

41 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

This is fascinating stuff to me! We do not have Pumpkinseeds down here but we do have several other species of Sunfish, such as  Bluegill, Greensunfish, Longear, Redear, Warmouth, and Rockbass. One thing I can say for sure from personal knowledge from hours of observation is that the Bluegill swim faster than anyone can imagine. I have seen dozens of LM attacks on groups of BG and the BG can move as fast as bullets. I'm sure the Northern Pumpkinseeds are just as fast, which leads me to believe the primary forage in your area is something much slower. Just my two cents.

Attached is a photo of my fish/crawfish traps. I place these in local streams to catch different species for my pond. I release Greensunfish and bullheads, but I keep most. It's a lot of fun just to see what's new. Its also another way to avoid farmwork and honeydoo's!

 

Bob, I think you live life to the FULLEST. You could be a life coach. Here would be the lessons in your ten-week course:

 

1. Love your wife.

 

2. Love your kids.

 

3. Raise some goats.

 

4. Catch some fish!

 

5. Beware the goose.

 

6. Those dang otters!

 

7. Remember and revel in your swampy youth.

 

8. Behold the horses!

 

9.Stock your pond to stock your days.

 

10. Love your life.

[Blue Raider Bob]

45 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Bob, I think you live life to the FULLEST. You could be a life coach. Here would be the lessons in your ten-week course:

 

1. Love your wife.

 

2. Love your kids.

 

3. Raise some goats.

 

4. Catch some fish!

 

5. Beware the goose.

 

6. Those dang otters!

 

7. Remember and revel in your swampy youth.

 

8. Behold the horses!

 

9.Stock your pond to stock your days.

 

10. Love your life.

So nice!

Don't forget the coons!

 

I had a big pile of something unappealing on my dock yesterday so I baited the trap. Caught this bandit in the trap this morning but........she had three little balls of fur with her and they tried to hide under the dock. One even got in the pond. Well, I'm certainly not going to haul off the mom and leave the babies helpless, so I opened the door and she ran away. I guess I'll have to wait until the babes are independent before taking them to live somewhere else.

One of the little ones made an appearance but quickly joined the others under the dock.

[Swamp Girl]

11. Be kind to coons.

 

 

I struggle with coons too. There's one that disassembles one of my bird feeders if I forget to put it in the garage. He also licks my suet cakes to nothing. I leave bird seed on the ground for all the critters, but oh, no, he's not happy with that. 

[PaulVE64]

I live in a city of around 400k. A river runs thru it out to the Great Lakes.

In the heart of the city I watched 3 bald eagles cruising and fishing the river. Right down town.

 

Edit  -  as I walked out of the river valley soon after seeing the eagles some lady asked me if I had seen any eagles and I replied that yes, I saw 2 adults and a  nearly full grown adolescent fly thru ... blah, blah, blah.

 

That night the local news reported on the story and I may have been described as the "unnamed  eyewitness".

 

 

[Bluebasser86]

I fish some lakes that are tough. I like to try to figure out the puzzle and I don't feel like I learn as much fishing the easy lakes. Anyone can catch them when they're jumping in the boat, it's when it's tough that it makes me really focus and think to try to solve the puzzle. 

[Swamp Girl]

3 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I fish some lakes that are tough. I like to try to figure out the puzzle and I don't feel like I learn as much fishing the easy lakes. Anyone can catch them when they're jumping in the boat, it's when it's tough that it makes me really focus and think to try to solve the puzzle. 

 

As I posted in the Latest Catch thread, I only caught one bass in my latest visit. I know that there are big bass in this bog. I've never seen anyone else fish it, so the fish aren't seeing many lures. I fished a frog. I topwater fished the open stretches. I fished big lures and little lures. I fished throughout the water column. I fished slow, fast, and with pauses.

 

I know the bass were seeing my lures. They just weren't hitting them. 

 

What I didn't do was paddle through the lily pads to the two feeder creeks. I wish I'd done that. 

 

What would you have tried that I didn't?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

4 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

As I posted in the Latest Catch thread, I only caught one bass in my latest visit. I know that there are big bass in this bog. I've never seen anyone else fish it, so the fish aren't seeing many lures. I fished a frog. I topwater fished the open stretches. I fished big lures and little lures. I fished throughout the water column. I fished slow, fast, and with pauses.

 

I know the bass were seeing my lures. They just weren't hitting them. 

 

What I didn't do was paddle through the lily pads to the two feeder creeks. I wish I'd done that. 

 

What would you have tried that I didn't?

Keep going to that particular place is what I would do.....studies show that upwards 50% of all sampled Bass have an empty stomach, I'd imagine big Bass are no different.   Some days they just won't eat, but that increases your chances if you go right back next chance you get.   

 

 

 

[roadwarrior]

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

What would you have tried that I didn't?

Houdini Shad, double fluke rig.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/bass-fishing/how-to/how-to-rig-a-double-fluke-rig.html

[Swamp Girl]

3 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Keep going to that particular place is what I would do.....studies show that upwards 50% of all sampled Bass have an empty stomach, I'd imagine big Bass are no different.   Some days they just won't eat, but that increases your chances if you go right back next chance you get.   

 

 

 

 

That makes sense, Alex. They all eventually have to eat. I'm thinking of trying 10" or thereabouts worms too. I've never fished a worm that big. Any suggestions as to brand or technique? When I fish this bog, I imagine hooking a big bass and I'm always trying to position my canoe to lessen their advantage, i.e. give myself a little open water if one hits. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

I've always used ole trusty....Zoom's Ole' Monster.     Junebug would be a great color too.   Milliken uses lots of the 6th Sense version and hammers the toads on them as well.     Don't overlook a Zoom Magnum Lizard at 8" either.   Big fish bait as well.   

 

I T-Rig them on as light of tungsten bullet weight as you can get away with 1/8th-3/16th if the wind is nice, might have to bump it up though.    I use 4/0-5/0 hooks, for you and your fish, I'd recommend just using the 5/0s since your fish aren't as pressured.   Then just slowly hop that sucker home, or slow drag it home.   

[Swamp Girl]

4 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Houdini Shad, double fluke rig.

 

I just googled this. Fascinating. It's like a mini-Alabama rig. Are you thinking it simulates a little school of bait fish. I did see some bait fish jumping where I took out my canoe. 

[roadwarrior]

I fish it as a finesse rig on spinning tackle and #6 Tatsu.

Nose hook the flukes with Gamakatsu Octopus Circle Hooks

and sweep your rod to set the hook.

[Swamp Girl]

7 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

.Zoom's Ole' Monster.     Junebug would be a great color too.   Milliken uses lots of the 6th Sense version and hammers the toads on them as well.     Don't overlook a Zoom Magnum Lizard at 8" either.

 

With a pegged weight? And fishing both open water and dropping it into lily pads?