GobbleDog

Ok, I've heard of Suwannee Bass before. I didn't know it was related to smallmouth though. I ain't never caught none.

Southerners are the smertest people on the planat. And so are our feesh.

"Are bass smart?" Relative to what? They aren't smarter than people. Well, except me. I doubt they're smarter than most animals, except bugs. Compared with other fish, who knows. A bass does look a little smarter than say a 2" minow.

Fishing in Florida all my life, I've never caught a smallmouth. I'd like to go up north and catch one someday. I've always heard that they fight harder. I assume that pound for pound, smallmouth probably win. As for how often fish jump, largemouth bass that are smaller tend to jump a lot more than the bigger largermouth. So it doesn't surprise me that smallmouth bass overall jump more than largemouth. Peacock bass look like the best fight. Those things seem downright ferocious. I'd like to catch one.

Hydrilla. The vegetation that anglers love, but boaters and jetskiers hate. Which makes me love it even more.

Big weight is always more impressive than catching a bunch of dinks. 2 months ago, I was in a club tourney on Lake Harris and weighed in 16 lbs. (took 2nd place). When people at my work asked how I did in the tourney and I tell them that I weighed in 16 lbs, they all think I must have been out there catching bass left and right. But in actuallity, during the entire eight hour tourney I only caught 2 bass and my fishing partner only caught 3 bass. They all happened to be monsters, but the fishing was actually pretty slow.

When I'm recreational fishing I ALWAYS remove the hook, no matter how badly it's gut-hooked. This isn't salt water! The hook won't just rust out in a week. I'd guess more like a year or more. I once read a study on gut-hooked fish that conlcuded in the SHORT TERM, it's better to just cut the line, but in the LONG TERM it's always best to remove it. Some bass might be able to live with that hook in the throat for years, but most bass will eventually die for various problems. Now if I'm in a tournament, I'll just cut it if it's badly gut hooked. I need that fish to be alive for the short term.

My club accepts anyone with money. Well, except women. If you really want to find a club, I recomend going to the busiest bait shop in Chicago and asking around. I guarantee there's a club out there somewhere that accepts non-boaters like yourself. You just gotta talk to people.

:-/ <------- looking for Glenn's sense of humor.

Like every kid in the world, I remember my dad taking me crappy fishing when I was a little kid. But c'mon, that's not real fishing. I learned how to bass fish on my own. I started about the same time as one of my good friends and we've been hardcore fishing together for about 10+ years now. At first we started out mostly salt-water fishing in Tampa Bay for snook and whatnot and then I slowly turned into a bass fisherman (because I'm stuck in Orlando). I'm now teaching other a few other friends how to bass fish. Right off the bat, they're getting set up with nice rods, reels, Power Pro, Senkos, Trick Worms etc... all the stuff that took me 10+ years of time and money to learn.

Hire a guide for bass fishing? ummmm, no. I have no doubt that I'd probably learn a lot from a guide, but I just can't see myself paying somebody good money so I can catch a few largemouth. I've caught more than enough on my own. Now tarpon is a different story. I'd be more than willing willing to pay someone to help me catch a tarpon. On my own, I've seen a few tarpon swim by and come up for air (called rolling), but they never hit anything I threw at them. It would be money well spent if a guide could put me on some of those monsters. Someday I plan on doing just that.

I'd rather watch that Gold Mining Show on OLN. Gold, Gold, Gold, Gold, Gold, Gold, Fee, Fi Fi, Fo Fo Fo, Gold, Gold, Gold....

I was speaking to a state biologist who told me that Kissimmee Grass is erroneously applied to 4 completely different weed species. I'm probably guilty of that sometimes. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it might not be a true duck, but it's pretty dang close.

I could be wrong, but I thought sometimes the male AND the female protect the nest together. Not every nest is like that, but some. Is that right?

Thanks for the picture. I'm pretty good at identifying a lot of vegetation in Florida, but I wasn't exactly sure what type of grass yall were talking about. I don't fish that stuff very often. I mostly fish kissimmee grass and hydrilla.

My NEW all time producer: 5" Chomper (senko style), a knock off that works like you wouldn't believe. The only reason I prefer Chompers to Senkos is the nasty garlic smell on Chompers is so strong, I believe bass can taste/smell it before they bite it and hang onto it a little longer.

You guys are too nice. Willing to give up your legal right to fish any dock you wish too easily. Not me. GobbleDog stands for truth, justice and the American way! Un-enforcable "No Fishing" signs...??? :D That's just asking for it. They might as well put up a sign that says "Please Cast Here ----> "

I'm not sure if it's legal in Florida, but a friend of mine once kept a largemouth bass in his 30+ gallon aquarium. When he caught it, the bass was only about 6" long. By the time it died (from cleaning the tank complications), it was about 15". I think he had it under a year. He went down to the local pond every couple days and scooped up minnows to feed it. The main problem with the bass was the tank needed to be cleaned about once a month. But it was pretty cool. Verocious little sucker.

As Avid said, we get more than our share of thunderstorms in Florida. In tournaments most everyone just fishes right through them. It scares you to death when out of nowhere a deafening lightning strike hits the grounds less than a 1/4 mile away. And you feel like Ben Franklin flying a kite in a thunderstorm when you cast that line up in the air with a metal hook attached to the end, while lightning is blasting all around you.

Here in Florida bags weights can get pretty big, but it obviously depends on the lake. My biggest stringer was 19 lbs in a night tourney on West Lake Toho. Against 30+ boats, we only took 3rd place. The first place weight was over 22 lbs or so. That was a tough club - full of ringers. I've also been in a weekly tournament (with less than 10 boats) where nobody got many bites and some guy won with just one dink bass.

After fishing in local tourneys for so long, I'm decent at guestimating bass's weight. But when I go saltwater fishing with my friends and they ask me how much the saltwater fish we caught weighs, I'm always at a loss.

I've been serious fishing for 10+ years and I never pay attention to that stuff either. You go when you can go. As for a bright full moon, I've never done well fishing in that. I prefer less light and some cloud cover.

Largemouth bass do rip up their tails pretty bad during the spawn by making nests and they can turn red, but I ain't noticed their lips turning colors. At least, not when I was sober. That's funny about your Oscar thinking it's spawning time when you change the temperature. I used to have an Oscar. Great fish!!! He'd come to the top and gently take the food out of my fingers. I felt bad for him when he got too big for my tank so I (illegally) released him in a nearby lake. In Florida, I've heard that so many people have released Oscars into the wild and they have thrived so well, that they are now listed as an official Florida Freshwater Gamefish.

I've never asked for or ever wanted anyone's autograph, but I admit I'd like to have KVD's autograph on a lure or a tackle box or something like that.

Red lipped bass? "you sure got a perty mouth ..." :-?