Q + Q! AMENDED WITH MORE PHOTOS

[MIbassyaker]

I can barely fathom what would it would be like to have access to a place like this whenever I wanted, and have it more-or-less to myself.  You're living the dream!

[Swamp Girl]

Just now, MIbassyaker said:

I can barely fathom what would it would be like to have access to a place like this whenever I wanted, and have it more-or-less to myself.  You're living the dream!

 

I too can barely fathom it. It is so much easier to simply untie the canoe and start fishing than having to lift it off the car and carry it or cart it through the woods.

 

There are much more popular ponds in my area. One such pond, 20 minutes away, would list a similar property for more than a million. It has developed shorelines, which means lower water quality, and more noise, with powerboats and parties, but...that's what many people prefer. A pond with extensive wetlands doesn't appeal to most people...and thank. goodness. for. that. 

[Glenn]

Outstanding day @ol'crickety !  I'm seriously envious.  Days like that are hard to come by, and the ones that make great memories.  Congrats on figuring them out.

 

One underpin I recommend is the Gamakatsu underpin

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Gamakatsu_Spring_Lock_Spinner_Swimbait_Hook_1pk/descpage-GMSL.html?from=basres

 

[Swamp Girl]

@Glenn: That's one of the two I ordered. Your recommending it tells me I guessed well that it might be a good replacement. 

 

Let me tell ya, Glenn, I felt pretty weird at first casting a green pumpkin Crush City Mayor because bait fish aren't green. Shows how little I know about what bass like! 😉 

I was reflecting on my ability to control bass better in tight corners on my pond and I attribute this to my heavy, tandem canoe, which weighs 85 lbs. The bass can't pull me into weeds as easily as they do with my 32 lb. solo canoe. 

[pdxfisher]

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

That's what I use and do fish them in one foot of water. Perhaps this is why my underspins only last for about 50-100 bass. This:

 

 

OK, the underspins I have are just a regular swimbait jighead with an underspinner attached. I see that is a weedless shallow water lure. No need for weedless ones out here fishing for smallmouth. I would think you could repair those if they broke. I would use a split ring and tie a heavy (50lb test mono or wire) and attach a new blade. I have bought a lot of blades from netcraft. They have great selection and prices.

[Swamp Girl]

Just now, pdxfisher said:

I would think you could repair those if they broke.

 

Great idea. I have a lot of spinnerless ones, which do still catch bass, but I like the extra flash. I've even had bass hit the spinner and remove it. I'll feel the hit and reel in an underspinless lure. 

[Swamp Girl]

I forgot to share that the Pitcher plants I photographed in my prior trip aren't the least bit rare at my pond. Now that I'm attuned to them, I saw hundreds of them yesterday. Evidently they love wetlands. There's also a pair of loons and I saw either an eagle or osprey for the first time yesterday too. It was faraway, which is why I wasn't sure. It kept flashing white, but both raptors have white on them. 

[TnRiver46]

@ol'crickety, from a distance the best way (for me) to tell them apart is sound or the wings. Osprey will have pointier (more pointy?) wing tips and I’m sure you’ve heard the sound of each of them 

[Swamp Girl]

5 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

@ol'crickety, from a distance the best way (for me) to tell them apart is sound or the wings. Osprey will have pointier (more pointy?) wing tips and I’m sure you’ve heard the sound of each of them 

 

I kept thinking it had those pointier wings, but it also looked eagle-sized. I'm just glad a dinosaur likes the pond too. I enjoy them overhead. 

[gim]

27 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I'm just glad a dinosaur likes the pond too.

 

I saw this last season on shore while fishing a lake about 45 mins from my house.  Not extinct.

 

 

[Bankbeater]

On 6/5/2024 at 8:55 AM, ol'crickety said:

 

I caught 56 total, starting at 4:30 a.m. and quitting at 8:15 a.m.

I'm sorry.  I know you posted some nice pics, but I can't get past this sentence.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Can't imagine a more secluded dream of fishing hole than yours Katie, and I definitely can't imagine anybody more deserving or appreciative to fish it than you!  

 

I was thrilled when you told me you were looking at property.....even more thrilled when you bought it, but now to see you fully enjoying it, and seeing how awesome of a fishery it is really brings it full circle.    Dreams are possible, Katie and her paradise are proof of that.   

[Swamp Girl]

47 minutes ago, Bankbeater said:

I'm sorry.  I know you posted some nice pics, but I can't get past this sentence.

 

They were really hitting. We had an afternoon cold front with thunderstorms and I think the bass knew it was coming. 

 

11 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I was thrilled when you told me you were looking at property.....even more thrilled when you bought it, but now to see you fully enjoying it, and seeing how awesome of a fishery it is really brings it full circle. 

 

In the dictionary, kindness has this definition: n. of, like, or pertaining to Alex

[Swamp Girl]

19 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

and seeing how awesome of a fishery it is really brings it full circle. 

 

Alex, I think the pond is getting better. I first fished it in 2022. The bass were bigger in 2023 and they're even bigger now in 2024. It also helps that I'm learning the pond and where its bass hunker. They hold tight to cover. They slip into notches in the shoreline, which are their ambush points. When I hit those notches, they hit my lures. The pond's bass really reward pinpoint casting and even though I'm casting with spinning gear, I'm pretty good at it. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

7 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Alex, I think the pond is getting better. I first fished it in 2022. The bass were bigger in 2023 and they're even bigger now in 2024. It also helps that I'm learning the pond and where its bass hunker. They hold tight to cover. They slip into notches in the shoreline, which are their ambush points. When I hit those notches, they hit my lures. The pond's bass really reward pinpoint casting and even though I'm casting with spinning gear, I'm pretty good at it. 

This was why I was especially excited for you to buy that place......such a talented angler as yourself getting to know a single body of water as well as you have, and certainly will going forward would yield exceptional results.    

 

Now that you know the quality is there, it's going to get ridiculous in regard to your ability to specifically target the biggest fish in your lake.    You're building a puzzle that doesn't reset every time you go home, you can come back to your "saved" game the next day or week and build on your progress.    

 

I know you love your variety, but seeing you really flesh out one fantastic fishery is really exciting to me.    We're gonna know what really lives in that lake soon enough 😎

[PhishLI]

44 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I know you love your variety, but seeing you really flesh out one fantastic fishery is really exciting to me.    We're gonna know what really lives in that lake soon enough 😎

x2!

[Swamp Girl]

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

This was why I was especially excited for you to buy that place......such a talented angler as yourself getting to know a single body of water as well as you have, and certainly will going forward would yield exceptional results.   

 

I am already fishing it sharply differently than I did last year. I've learned that the bigger bass can be caught by hitting the ambush pockets in the marsh and also at dusk, when they're wolf-packing far from the shore, but those open water pockets are even smaller. I have to drop my lure within inches of where they just fed within three seconds of when that happened or they won't hit it. Plus, most of my casts are looooonnnngggg, so I feel like Steph Curry shooting from the logo. It's a challenge, which makes it fun. Sometimes I just sit when they're wolf-packing and wait for a bass to show itself. 

 

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

You're building a puzzle that doesn't reset every time you go home, you can come back to your "saved" game the next day or week and build on your progress.    

 

I sure hope so, Alex, but I fear that in the eight or nine days I won't be fishing, they'll have moved and want something else and I'll have to go find them again, but I'm pretty good at that.

 

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I know you love your variety, but seeing you really flesh out one fantastic fishery is really exciting to me. 

 

I am fishing fewer ponds. I have yet to fish a couple of my favorites from 2023. Surprisingly, it is exciting to really focus on fewer ponds. 

 

P. S. - I ordered seven packs of Crush City Mayors in green pumpkin today. They'll be here when I return from my road trip!

[Swamp Girl]

 

In This Shipment

Rapala Crush City Mayor Green Pumpkin 4" Qty: 6 $6.99   Rapala Crush City Mayor Green Pumpkin Magic 4" Qty: 1 $6.99       At the rate the bass chewed through them last time, I'm worried I didn't order enough.

[Functional]

Just went through the amended pics. Pretty incredible and you havent even had a full season on it yet!

 

Whats even more cool is the smallmouth. I have a feeling with a simple depth finder you could find some honey holes of SM offshore with how healthy that one seemed. I'll have to see if I still have the original depth finder from my tracker. If I do its yours to do with as you please.

[Swamp Girl]

I miss the pond. Thanks for the offer, but sonar requires a heavy battery. This pond does have fat smallies. Here's one:

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

I know you're having serious withdrawals right now Katie.......I'd hate to be Bass when you get back home 🤣

 

Hope your dad is doing great, and you're having a great trip!  

[Swamp Girl]

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I know you're having serious withdrawals right now Katie

 

I am!!!

 

It was good to see my dad and I just arrived at a sister's house. 

[Blue Raider Bob]

On 6/6/2024 at 4:59 PM, Bankbeater said:

I'm sorry.  I know you posted some nice pics, but I can't get past this sentence.

I'm stuck on that one too!