GobbleDog

My folks lakehouse in North Florida went way down a few years ago. And it isn't some dinky little pond, it's a decent sized lake. It's now slowly coming back, but when it was at it's lowest, the fishing couldn't have been any easier. The fish all huddled around any structure they could find. Mostly man-made brim beds. All you had to do was work ANY worm near it and you'd get a hit. It was like fish in a barrel. Now that the water has slowly come back up, the fish are a lot harder to catch because there's a lot more cover and places for them to hide. In your case, my advice would be slowly work Senko at every part of the lake you can cast. If that doesn't get a bite.... :-?

What about during a tournament? Are you really going to just ignore a big bass sitting on a bed? Or avoid areas that have a lot of beds?

When I first started fishing 10+ years ago, I remember my Pa telling me "it's wrong to catch bedding bass". (that sounds like something a father would say) But I now realize my Pa was just shooting from the hip. I agree, at first glance it does seem rather cheesy, but according to scientists it hasn't hurt the Florida population one bit. And it's legal. At least with recreational fishing, if you catch a big mama sitting on a bed, you can just put her right back to protect the eggs. But in tournaments they get put in livewells and taken back to the boat ramp. If they want to put a stop that, then quit holding tournaments during the breeding months. Til then, of course everyone (including myself) is going to try to catch big fish off the beds. It's a tournament! What are people supposed to do? Just ignore a tournament winning monster fish that are easy pickings? To heck with that!

I always tell people "it's cool, I have plenty of tackle! You don't need to bring anything. Just show up and I'll take care of everything else!" But they always end up bringing their Snoopy pole anyway.

I knid of consider Junebug in the "Blue" category. That was the hot color for me two years ago and it will worl in any water color. About red, I like soft plastics with red flakes. I agree on both points. Junebug seems blue to me. And I my favorite Trick Worm color is Green Pumkin with red flakes.

I've done very with June Bug color with my curly tail worms in all types of waters, but when I bought June Bug colored Trick Worms, I didn't do well at all. Who knows? Maybe just coincidence, but once it gets in your head, you can't shake it.

I generally use natural colors in clear water and everything else in stained water. If it's really stained, I go EXTRA UGLY:

When I started this thread, I was mainly talking about trying to teach adults how to fish. With kids, it's a whole different can of worms (punz r funz). With my little nephew, I let him cast around, but whenever I hook a bass, I hand him the rod and let him reel it in. Then every fish I catch (legal or not), I toss it in the livewell. After he gets tired of fishing (in about 15 minutes) he spends the rest of the time checking on the fish and watching it swim around in the livewell. Then after about an hour, we toss them all back and go home. He seems happy. Yall are right with adults, you do feel like a guide. Putting them in the best casting spot, constantly re-tying their line, giving tips, doing whatever it takes to put them on fish. The last guy I took, wasn't nearly as bad as some other newbies I've seen. Ever take that guy who sets the hook way too hard? The lure gets ripped out of the fish's mouth and is now flying at the boat. "ummm, you might want to calm down a little when setting the hook."

I give a warning cast across the bow. But it rarely helps. I've had people holler back at me "Yo, it's my lake!" :-? > > > :

Nothing says Merry Christmas like a gift certificate - otherwise known as "I was too lazy to actually go shopping, so I'll let you do it for me."

You guys stink. I caught a 19 lb smallmouth bass last night!!! Bass Strike on PS2 : : : don't waste your money.

Exactly. There's already too many boats on the water. No need for any more. My personal nemisis: JETSKIERS!!! > > > > > "Weeee! Look at me!!! I have no business being on the water!!! I just enjoy being the most annoying person in the entire world!!! Weeeeee!!!"

bingo!!! I got my Pa a nice drill for Christmas a few years ago.... best gift i ever bought! Since then he's used it once - I've used it over a thousand times.

Yeah, it seems a bit deep. But shoot, I'm in Florida. The deepest lake I've ever seen was only about 40 feet. You must be up north somewhere.

Somebody threw an old toilet in the lake at my folks lakehouse. It's been down there for ... 30+ years. ;D

True. Some friends came down from Wisconsin earlier this year and did all the Disney attractions and stuff. Then the husband asked if I'd take him fishing, so I took him over to the coast. We caught a bunch of junk fish... catfish, snapper, jacks, whiting, ladyfish, trout.... etc... Personally, it was fun catching fish, but we didn't catch anything I'd want to write home about. But he had a blast! I gaurantee he'll remember that fishing trip a lot longer than he remembers a day at Disney. Catching a ton of fish, seeing dolphins swim around in the wild, pulling up crab traps and taking a peak, etc... I was proud of myself for taking him. I done good.

Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for one day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll wear an ugly hat.

Are you going to post some pictures of your wife? :-? j/k.

Only 80 feet? I get most of my fish in 1 mile deep. It's cold and dark, but the fish still bite.

I bought a barometer once, just to see any correlations between the bite and the pressure. Unfortunately, I think it was broken because the needle never moved. > $10 barometer from Bass Pro Shops. :

fishinTexas, meet Senko. Senko, this is fishinTexas.

I agree with keeping it simple. I try not to say, "do this and do this and don't do that" sort of thing. I just let them fish and then mention a thing or two along the way. One thing I do mention to them right off the bat is to give their line a tug after every cast, so they don't get loops in the spinning reel.

Yeah I do. And nobody ever taught me. I had to learn the hard way. I used to fish with a short poll and ugly worms and small mono line and over-sized hooks/weights, etc... I didn't know any better. It took me 10+ years to learn which tackle works best. A friend of mine was recently getting into bass fishing and asked for my help in buying stuff, so I got him a nice rod and reel and spooled it up with Power Pro and got some Trick worms and stuff that works for me. He has no idea how much time and money I saved him.

I like that circle hook idea. That would probably help with the hook sets. I'll try that. You're right that finesse fishing is more difficult to learn, but it's the best way I know to catch fish. Plus, I know they'd quickly get tired of casting a crankbait a million times. (heck, I get tired of casting crankbaits myself). On a side note, ever notice everyone wants to bring their own stuff? I usually tell them, "oh no, you don't have to do that, I have plenty of poles and tackle..." (trying to be nice, because I know they're little Snoopy pole ain't going to work very well)

Reel while setting the hook? Umm, no. Maybe when the fish is running at me or it's in heavy cover or something wierd. But normal worm fishing? No. I reel up the slack and then set the hook.