tnhiker44

I saw a guide in Florida do this. He used a cast net to catch shad, then when it came to fishing time he would squeeze a dozen or so shad in a small dip net, have is fishermen hook up 'healthy' shad, and then he tossed in the injured ones. His fishermen would then toss in their lines and the bass went crazy. Fast forward to this May when I stayed at a cabin at Highland Marina. Both mornings, very early, a few guides would show up and throw cast nets for shad at the cabin guest boat dock. I talked with them both Saturday and Sunday morning. They said they were striper fishing... but now I am not so sure. I always thought that was sorta cheating also.

I agree with SirSnookalot. Fishing is not a typical physical activity for most of us. If, at work, you are a desk jockey, try standing up for a whole day. If you work on the go try sitting down all day. Things will start to hurt no matter your age or stamina. I tell my non fishing friends that fishing is a lot like work... and they do not get it. Not only do you have the trolling motor operators fatigue (fighting wind and waves), but casting and reeling takes its toll after several hours. I am pretty sure this is not an uncommon problem with almost all of us.

Sounds to me like this lake is in need of some serious fish management. I think, based on your 'story', that every double digit bass that you can catch needs to be culled from that fishery. Bass only get big by being smart... and it sounds as if you got a lake full of dumb fish.... please, for the sake of the sport... weed out those dumb fish. :

Gotta ask the question... Have you ever fished Blackshear? I have yet to make it to Jackson so I cannot be sure with any real confidence... but I am willing to bet a six pack that Blackshear is tougher to fish than Jackson. I have talked with people is several local clubs and they all still fish Jackson (albeit in spring) but every club that I know has removed Blackshear from there 'lakes to fish' list.

I think I would hit the lake for the very early morning bite (an hour or two tops) then I would head over to that little bar near a marina (I forget the name) and sit back, consume a few too many drinks, and watch the show that presents itself to you during a summertime weekend. While I was working on a project at ETSU I enjoyed this show plenty of times. Drunk pleasure boaters, some obvious newcomers to the boating world, and scantly clad college girls.... not a bad afternoon if I do say so myself. This bar that I speak of is like a tiki hut right on the water... where many folks come to eat and drink after some time out on the water. What memories I have of that place.

I would think that five 3 pound bass would put you in a good spot in almost any club tourney... pretty much anywhere in the country. Five 5 pound bass would win you the vast majority of these tourneys. Thus my answer is three pounds. I have fished with clubs in both Florida and Tennessee and except for the very bad day almost always the winning weight is somewhere between 15 and 25 pounds for the club.

Interesting take on this. I have a small Public Fishing Area right down the road from my house which has a catch and release only policy for bass. There are four of these fishing areas relatively close to where I live and all of them are about 100 acres, but 'mine' is the only one with this catch and release policy (I only catch and release anyways). This lake is about five years old and has been open for three. The bass fishing is tough... I usually only catch one or two each trip after fishing very hard (I have been skunked). But I have yet to catch a fish smaller than four pounds and have caught several over ten. Given your opinion about the lake in which you fished, would you say that my local fisheries people are setting 'my' lake up as a trophy lake? I saw the DNR guys shocking and netting the day before Memorial Day. I figured that once those results were tallied I would either see the catch and release sign disappear (for the standard 5 fish limit) or not. (To be honest, I do not mind tough fishing conditions when you know that on the very next cast you may nail a double digit fish.)

I think this is what worries me about this profession. Who would do this job for $30, $40K? If it is a public service call of duty then why are there any 'bad eggs'? I think it has more to do with being an authority figure. Just a feeling of mine...

You missed one, territorial strike. And perhaps the selfish strike. I often get the feeling, especially with a Fluke bite, that the fish are striking it (not necessarily eating it) simply because they do not want any other fish to get it. I probably am giving the fish too much credit for 'thought'... but I would swear there are times they are just hitting a bait for 'selfish' reasons, almost out of spite. I guess that is a reaction strike... but with a tad bit of reason.

I look at it this way... I am pretty confident that I am gonna get my boat from the drive way to the water. I have total control over that event. Once on the lake there are just too many things that I do not have control over to be confident. Weather (wind, fronts), fishing pressure, stubborn fish, ect.. Granted, I will do my best to adapt to the conditions... but some times it is just not in the cards. When I am catching nice fish I do not get confident either. Just the opposite. I figure if I am on fish everyone else is too. I have only won a handful of club tourneys and have never placed in the money in any large "money" tourney I have fished in. I have never won a club tourney by running away with it... I have won only by a pound or two. But I have fished hard in each and every tourney I have ever fished in... which is where the word confidence comes in. I am confident I am going to fish hard. Period.

Just a heads up... the 22nd day of this month has an Astro Table rating of 98, out of 100. Not sure if one will even need a hook on this day. Take notice... call in sick... do whatever you need to to get out on the water on this day. Records will surely fall. The previous Sunday ain't looking too bad either... a rating of 93. Good luck.

Regarding tides, it is pretty clear that the water movement is the cause, and the fish becoming more active is the effect. I have seen this first hand and I am pretty sure we can all agree on that one. I am pretty sure that the moon (and sun) create some gravitational effects on the inland water, but not the noticeable amount we see at the sea shore. But like RoLo stated, I do not put much stock in the day to day sun/moon 'tables'. We consider ourselves at the top of the food chain yet I am unaware of ANY influences the sun or moon have on my eating or activity behavior. As a species we are smart enough to have a remote control four wheeler on Mars... some guy in a control room is probably popping wheelies with it right now. Yet we notice no changes to our behavior during "moon underfoot" or "sun underfoot". We are allegedly smart... fish are not. I do not put a lot of stock in information such as solar/lunar tables. I think we make too much out of the life of a fish. They simply survive. Eat, create new fish and survive. Not unlike us, really... except for that remote controlled four wheeler on Mars (and internet porn).

By becoming a member of both the national and regional B.A.S.S. chapters Triton is gonna give me some free clothes and $500. Well worth it as far as I am concerned. But other than that... I am not so sure about any other benefits. Oh, and I got neither a sticker nor a free lure. But I got these really cool looking membership cards... that it took them three months to get to me (I needed them for the deal with Triton).

OK, this is were I am gonna fall into the minority here. I agree with the limited fishing during the spawn. Long story short... 15 years ago or so my partner and I stumbled onto a bass bed field on Lake Kissimmee. He proceeded to ****** the male off the bed, temporarily put it in the livewell and waited for the female to show up to protect the nest. Once he caught the female he threw the male back into the water... but the damage was done. As soon as there was nothing there to protect the bed the Bluegill swarmed in and feasted on the eggs/fry. For the life of me I cannot see how this is in support of catch and release fishing that we all participate in. Since then I will no longer site fish. It is not that important to me to win at any cost, for a lack of a better phrase. Granted, we probably did very little damage overall to the bass population... but if you times that by 50 or a 100 boats then ya, we contributed to the decline of the population. That ain't for me... but I am sure I am alone in this stance.

Welcome!! Imperial Polk County (Lakeland, Bartow) is right on the edge of phosphate pit country. A lot of these pits are 'private' pay lakes that are full of big bass. I am not sure how to legally get on these lakes, as a younger man I used to sneak in to a few. Some are fishable from the bank, but the older ones have a decent amount of shoreline vegetation. making shore fishing difficult. With clear, blueish water they are unlike most fresh water in Florida. They are deep, also... another oddity in central Florida. I wish I could be of more help... but I at least wanted you to know that there are good fishing areas where you intend to go. Good luck!!

Although I agree with most of the responses on here, I have one question for you. Can you name me a single activity that those that were at the top of their game back in the 80's still are today? Chess maybe... but certainly not anything physical. Golf? Not hardly. Car racing? Naw... I find it sad how the older guys (i.e. Bill Elliot, Mark Martin, ect.) still try to compete beyond their years. Football, basketball, baseball? Nope, nope and nope. I do not think this lack in performance has anything to do with skill or equipment. It is more a result of human 'nature', for a lack of a better word. We, as a species, have a rather small window to perform well at any physical/mental task at peak performance. But with that said... I would hardly call the winners so far this year in the B.A.S.S. events 'young'. Most were either in their 30's and 40's. My $0.02

I know this thread is old but I thought I would throw my two cents in here anyways. I stumbled onto some great rods at a decent price the other day. I got a brand new 6' 9" Carrot stick for $110 and, upon looking closer, a 7' Carrot stick 'gold' for $149. They are quite possibly the best rods I have ever used. Bass Pro has the plain Carrot Stick listed @ $149 and the 'gold' listed @ $250. I went back to grab a couple more and they were on to my find... they have upped their prices to just below Bass Pro's price. So... now I have two... both with Revo's on 'em. I doubt I will ever go back to G. Loomis, Castaway or Allstar again... I like 'em that much.

Hey Use, I used to live in that area a while back, but I have never actually fished the Big South Fork. I have done a lot of hiking in that area and seem to remember that the only time there was any 'sizable' water in that river was early spring. Last summer did you have to lift and/or carry your canoes often? Perhaps we are not talking about the same place... I am talking about the national park right on the Tn. and Ky. border. Beautiful place, nice mountains, woods everywhere, but tiny low flow river... except for the spring. Crystal clear water too. If we are talking about the same place... I have heard rumors from the locals that there is actually Muskie in the deeper pools on that river. And also on the Obed and Emory. Sorry, no fishing help here.

Truer words have never been spoken. I find it crazy (actually sad) that as a social being we totally suck at it. In small groups things are OK. Put us in a large group and mayhem is but a moment away.

I am trying to find a club here in central Georgia. I have talked to one guy (through this site, by the way) and am gonna give their club a go next month hopefully. I am fishing a tourney on West Point next weekend, but it is through work and not a club. I have searched and searched the internets for a West Point report with no luck. I have been able to locate a lot of small fish on the lake... but am not so good in the bigger fish department. Win lose or draw I will post a report after next weekends tournament... perhaps I can start a trend of not being so tight-lipped about this lake!! (Of course you can always go to Highland Marina's fish report... but they are in the business of creating business for themselves, so I highly doubt they are accurate. According to them the fish will practically jump into your boat!!)

So, let me get this straight. During football season you root for a team named after a fungus (red tide) that has an elephant for a mascot?? Well at least you fish. Just joking my man!! Should be an interesting year in the SEC.. I wish your red fungus team all the luck... they will need it!!!!!!!!

Interesting. I hook mine opposite of you. I hook mine through the belly, out the back and very slightly bury the hook point into the back. I also never weight them. Never let them get deeper than a foot or two... mostly I use an erratic, jumping out of the water, fast as all get out retrieve. Never let it sit for more than a second or two. As pure of a reaction bite as I can describe. I catch a bunch of fish this way, and it is not like they want it... they just do not want their buddies to get it! Even using this method I have a poor hook set percentage due to the slack line bite... I could not even imagine how many I would miss using a slower, more deliberate method. White, or a lighter color seems to work best for me regardless of water clarity or temperature.

I got into photography during the digital age, so it is film that is Greek to me. I like digital due to the manipulation of the data you captured. Do not get me wrong... I absolutely am against creating data, i.e. adding something that was not captured. But being able to right a wrong in the 'digital darkroom' is awesome! I shoot almost exclusively in RAW format, which opens a huge arena in which adjustments can/could be made. Obviously one wants to look at a shot and conclude that no adjustments are necessary... but I ain't that good. Besides, film and developing seems rather expensive when I can look (and trash) before printing anything in digital!

I would guess that I tend to fish with a 'lighter' drag than most. With a baitcaster I tend to thumb the spool for added drag. On the rare occasion that I hook into a hog, well I adjust the drag on the fly... that spool can get really really hot under you thumb!!

I too am into photography. I used to be into golfing, but my clubs have been in punishment for about two years now for not letting my handicap get below 10. I split my rec. time between fishing, photography, jumping out of airplanes, scuba diving and every couple of years golf. I used to do a lot of caving as a younger man, but now I live in an area that has little to no caves.