Fishing with our senator

[Swamp Girl]

I took our senator fishing for three hours this morning. He sits on Maine's Inland Fisheries and Wildlife committee, so he remarked that it helps him to be reminded of what he's protecting. He'd never caught a bass before this morning, so he was thrilled to catch them and a quick study. He caught them on the surface, on a T-Rigged craw, on a T-Rigged worm, and on an underspin, both trolling and casting. His casting improved throughout the morning and he said he loved hearing me explain why I moved the canoe here and there. He's a terribly busy guy, so I felt honored to have him spend three hours in my canoe. He's also a great guy, both brainy and down-to-earth. Here are a few of his fish. See his smiles!

[gim]

Nice job.  Sounds like you made some positive points on an individual that has a role in making and modifying state law that affects wildlife and fisheries.  Don't care what side of the aisle this guy falls on either.

 

I think more politicians would benefit from actually spending some time in the great outdoors and experiencing the laws they help produce.

[Swamp Girl]

3 hours ago, gimruis said:

I think more politicians would benefit from actually spending some time in the great outdoors and experiencing the laws they help produce.

 

Yep. He would agree with us too.

 

I told him I'll take him again if he ever has the time and that he's free to use my docked canoe if he wants to go with his wife or daughter without me. He learned so quickly that I think he could catch bigger bass in just a few more trips. Fingers crossed he can find the time. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

That's awesome Katie, way to expose him to Bass fishing.   

 

Doesn't seem like much needs to be done to protect LM Bass fishing in Maine, but if it does now you have a real ally to call on.   

 

There's a reason why Texas is currently the best Bass fishing location in the world, and that's because the politicians and significant tax dollars go to make it that way.   

 

[GreenPig]

Outstanding. 

[Swamp Girl]

@AlabamaSpothunter: The main reason I took his fishing was because he's a great guy, but once on the water, I realized that there was a Maine reason too and that's to:

 

A. Give him a break from his good work.

 

B. Let his see what's so good about his work, since the pond where I own land is less developed than most, which is why it's so pretty and full of flora and fauna. 

[WRB]

Kate your are our bass fishing ambassador👍👍

Tom

[Swamp Girl]

Thank you, Tom (@WRB) and @GreenPig! GP, what's your first name? If you don't wanna share, that's fine. 

[GreenPig]

28 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Thank you, Tom (@WRB) and @GreenPig! GP, what's your first name? If you don't wanna share, that's fine. 

Andy

[Alex from GA]

You are an am"bass"ador to our sport.

Sorry Tom, I answered before I read.

[Swamp Girl]

Hey, Andy! 

 

Thanks, Alex.

[Swamp Girl]

I'm going fishing again in a few minutes. When I take someone fishing, I spend a lot of time teaching and I get a hankering to catch bass instead of just netting other people's bass. So, I'm off in a few minutes!

[Glenn]

@ol'crickety You are amazing!  A true ambassador of the sport and outdoors.

 

You must have friends in high places.  How did you manage that gig?  Wouldn't it be awesome to have BR ambassadors across Canada and the U.S. to take local and regional officials fishing?

[roadwarrior]

 

 

                                                              

[pdxfisher]

What an awesome experience - for him

[Swamp Girl]

 

5 hours ago, Glenn said:

Wouldn't it be awesome to have BR ambassadors across Canada and the U.S. to take local and regional officials fishing?

 

That would be wonderful. I bet if some of us reached out to representatives, some would accept and especially if we did it under the banner of Bass Resource. 

 

I went fishing alone this evening for three hours. I caught 22, including eight smallmouth in a row. The brown bass were all about the same size. Here's one:

 

 

Here's a cool pic of the pond:

 

 

I landed a 19.75-incher:

 

 

The setting Sun was so pretty it made me ache:

 

 

This was my last bass. I didn't measure her, but she was a beauty. She had a thick jaw and came into the net with a headful of weeds:

 

 

I did have one bass hit my lure right beside the canoe. The hit sounded like someone dropped a bowling ball in the water. I had it hooked for a millisecond. Bass are so hard to land on a short line.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Katie, have you caught any SMs in the lake where you caught your monster PB LMB earlier this year?

 

I'm curious if your best big LMB lakes have SM populations as well.

 

Beautiful fish as always!

[Swamp Girl]

5 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Katie, have you caught any SMs in the lake where you caught your monster PB LMB earlier this year?

 

I'm curious if your best big LMB lakes have SM populations as well.

 

Beautiful fish as always!

 

No smallies in my PB LMB lake. The smallies I do catch are hitting large LMB lures, like 4" Mayors and Whopper Ploppers. I have yet to tie on a single lure to target SMB specifically in Maine. You might remember that I fished SMB only for decades, so I'm enjoying the change of pace, but, of course, I'm always happy when a SMB visits my canoe by managing to fit a fat lure into their smaller mouths. 

 

If I felt I had a chance at catching SMBs like @A-Jay catches, I'd target them, but I watch YouTube videos of anglers catching SMBs in Maine, like the great Hank Parker, and they're the size I catch. We don't have gobies, so we don't catch Lake Erie-sized, @Dwight Hottle-sized smallies. 

 

I've also come to love the challenge of fishing weeds. 

[Swamp Girl]

21 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Doesn't seem like much needs to be done to protect LM Bass fishing in Maine, but if it does now you have a real ally to call on.   

 

Alex, I wish Maine was all hunky-dory, but I was told by my pal whose pond I fished last night that the frogs are largely gone there and frogs are the canary in the mine. A BR member who lives south of me also reported that his local frogs are gone, the fish are fewer, and they're seeing algae blooms. So, I think nature always has to be protected from us. 

 

The frog song where I caught my PB LMB was so loud that it was close to hurting, but that pond has no homes. That's the key. 

[Pat Brown]

No frogs!?!?  That's horrible.  I'm so sorry Crick - frogs coming back every year is something I always deeply enjoy and look forward to for the excitement of seeing them and the peaceful drone they provide.  Hoping they make a come back soon.

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

No frogs!?!?  That's horrible.  I'm so sorry Crick - frogs coming back every year is something I always deeply enjoy and look forward to for the excitement of seeing them and the peaceful drone they provide.  Hoping they make a come back soon.

 

My pond still has plenty of frogs, but its homes, which are on only one of the four shorelines, are all setback between 100' and 250'. That puts a lot of distance between their herbicides, fertilizers, & septic systems and the pond. @TOXIC posted about Lake Anna in the D.C. area and what development has done to it: E Coli, toxic algae, kids on dialysis, etc. We can love something to death.

[Fishlegs]

@ol'crickety You are truly an inspirational angler at BR & beyond!

[Swamp Girl]

@Fishlegs: Thanks. I'm just an old, primitive angler, sneaking around ponds and bogs, hoping to get lucky on long casts.