avid

I have to go with KVD...People who are sports fans but not fisherman know his name. He's the Muhammad Ali of bass fishing.

good for you!. You went fishing because you had the time to go. Didn't get all hung on temperature, or barometric pressure or moon phases etc. just went and caught a few.

Ha! that was so cool. Loved it.

Nothing unusual about a fish story featuring the "big one that got away" except that this was a REALLY big one and it was caught with a miniscule bait. SteveP and I were on his boat yesterday at stickmarsh/farm13. Just about the most pleasant day you can imagine. Nice mix of sun and clouds with temps in the low 70's and a nice breeze that gusted up now and then. The fishing was spotty. We did get into a bunch in the South end but they were mostly pretty short. I switched to a Rick Clunn RC 0.5 crankbait on my spinning outfit and the little bass loved it. Steve was fishing a spinnerbait and caught fewer fish than I did but they were larger with one going up to about 4.5 lbs. We didn't run into many people because even though the parking lot was pretty crowded with trucks and trailers, the bass action lately has been in the back lot of the farm. After the action on the little guys slowed we cranked up and went to the back lot. Here it was a different story. This is a smaller area and there were more boats. Most folks were pretty curtious. We even saw three guys in kayaks who were REAL glad Steve came down off plane to idle past them. Again the fishing was spotty, but they were averaging 2-3 pounds. I switched back to RC 0.5 because it was fun catching the little bass on my light spinning outfit. I did catch a couple small ones and was content but then I got a solid hit and knew immediately that this was a bigger fish. Just as Steve asked "you got one"? the bass jumped. OMG!!! this was not just a big fish but a really big fish. I know the estimate game is silly when it comes to bass jumping at 30 feet from the boat, but there was no way that this was a 5 or 6 pounder. Just how much bigger than that I'm not going to guess. (But you know what i want to say right?) Any way, he sounded and was taking line, then reversed course, still keeping down and was pulling on the line like it was tied to a truck bumper, then a little shake shake pull and .....................................gone! It was quite a ride, a real thrill in fact...I don't know if it was those little hooks in the tiny bait that just couldn't hold this big a fish, or if my drag was too tight, which maybe it was, or if it was just 'one of those things', but he got away and all i have is yet another 'the big one that got away' story. But it was memorable enough that I thought i would share it with y'all.. thanks to Steve P. for a memorable day on the water, and happy bassin' y'all.

Howdy y'all... I think trying to figure out why one particular bass acted a certain way in one particular circumstance is truly an excercise in futility. who knows? I'm actually kind of glad that Homer reported it. Not very flattering i suppose. P.S. I liked Homer Circle's articles. They were entertaining. Most people forget that most outdoor writers went to college for journalism...they were usually not outdoorsman who scored a writing gig, but rather writers who scored an outdoors gig...that being said, it's probably true that they grew up fishing and hunting.....hell, most rural folks did. As for motors scaring bass? I know that sounds like it should be true, but I have had a number of times where bass were caught immediately after motoring noisily into a spot. Sometimes I think it may actually stimulate them. Go figure.

LOL. Well thanks for the howdy It's good to be back.

I have had a few baits over the years that have outfished others, even of the same make and color. My favorite though was a yellow and black Heddon dying flutter. This is a prop bait similar to a devils horse. There was something about that lure that drove fish crazy. they would chase it and bust at it two three times till they grabbed it. I lost it years ago and have bought several others, but none have been nearly as good. I twisted the props, and reshaped them every which way, but nothing worked. That bait was in a class by itself. I miss it to this day.

Rusty hooks.......hey didn't he used to be a member here? LOL Nah, fish could care less about stuff like that. I wouldn't worry about it all unless the rust was really doing damage. have fun.

Hmmmmm....don't know why there is the big space between the text and the pix. I posted the pics the way i always used to, but i guess things are different now. I couldn't even figure out how to delete the post to try again. Oh well, i'm sure someone will come along to set me straight. apologies for the inconvenience. Education re: posting pics, and deleting unwanted posts greatly appreciated. avid.

The heat finally broke here in Florida. It's still plenty warm enough for bass fishing though. Finding the fish was challenging this trip, but Steve P. located a pod of mixed size bass busting shad and we ended the day with 31 LMB. It was not a typical 'schoolie bass' situation in that the fish were all different sizes. We caught a few shorts, about a dozen or so in the 2-3 lb range with a nice selection of 3 to 5 pounders. Rattletraps, a stick marsh favorite were the heroes of the day.

Looks like a great day...Man that bass in the middle photo is sure long and skinny. Maybe time to cull a few from that lake. Oh. n e v e r m i n d

LOL....Nice to be made welcome. Hope to hear more big fish tales from you all.

Hey, Avid here. Haven't been around in a while. My my things sure have changed. the site is really sophisticated. A couple of injuries requiring surgery over the past few years have really put a damper on my fishing. I was no longer able to load my outriggered canoe into and out of the truck so i sold it. Was pretty sad except for the fact that the young couple who bought it were really thrilled, so i was happy it was going to them. I still fish. My last trip was a few weeks ago out at stick marsh with Steve P. The spillway was running so the the fishing was fast and furious. Carolina rigs and crankbaits were the stars of the day. Didn't catch anything over 5 lbs, but the numbers were way up there. Nice day too. Overcast, so it was cooler than usual. I would like to hear from some you "ole timers". Give us a shout.

Brave to come out with a traditional round design and put a premium price tag on it.

They made a bunch of TD-Z's but man what a winner that reel is. I have 5 in different models and they are all light, smooth and dependable. Durability of the finish is the only problem.

My fishing buddy uses citaca's alot and really likes them. Those BPS reels look like good value untill it's time for repairs.

I was surprised to see that they stayed with cork. That black hypalon is all the rage these days. I much prefer the feel of cork, but I gotta admit that the hypalon looks cool. St. Croix's new line went that route. Kudo's to loomis for staying with the best.

crankbaits worked down the slope. Killa

If it's a fast moving bait = reaction It it's slow moving = feeding

I tip all my spinnerbaits regardless of color with a white split tail trailer. Classic case of I saw it on TV and so did it. Hank Parker tipped all his baits this way. It just sorta stuck with me.

It took me a while to get confidant with tubes. My first success came putting an undressed 3/16 oz jig into a white tube. I would cast to the same places I would a senko or a plastic worm. It should make long lazy spirals as it sinks. Killa. After that I've caught bass on them alot twitching em like a fluke. It's a fact that some of the cheapest baits you can own can be outstanding producers. Tubes is one example.

I had to laugh when I read the title to your post. I remember how excited I was when I caught my first fish on a jig. Be careful now, jig fishing can be addictive.

New PB is always a great day Well done.

The fish I lost was by far the biggest one Ain't that always the way...LOL. Great weekend of shore walking though

funny how some days they get real fussy.