tennsopher

Hooligan,I think what the op said was that he was killng the bait on the retrieve and not getting bit.I merely stated something I thought might solve his problem.As i am not there to see the water clarity, I cannot tell if your statement is right or if mine is.Are you stating that all bait in this lake are the same size and moving at the same swim rate?

I fish lipless a lot here in central Fla and one of my favorites is the Lucky Craft lvr d10 in american shad.With you are fishing a larger bait size,you need to pay more attention to colors.The more natural the better. Fish can see detail more on large baits than smaller ones.Thats the reason you don't see swimbaits(large models) in firetiger patterns.

What triggers the bite for me is the first two cold fronts that come through.What I mean by this,is the first two that have a noticeable change in air temperature (chilly).This is when the specks start to bite and the bass seem to really to turn on.Keep in mind you need about three days of stable weather following said fronts.Then the fishing can be fantastic.Good luck, it should happen soon.

Captain Shane if you will p.m. me I can give you some tips and locations you can fish on Johns.If you go to fishing reports page I posted a 71/2 that I caught with my good friend (BAD HABIT) that used to post on this site.I only posted that fish because I was trying to learn how to post pictures to this site.There are much bigger fish there.

What seems to amaze people when they first visit here,is the amount of lakes that are here.I have yet to find one that didn't contain bass.Most have large fish in them but to catch them you have to do your homework.Typical baitfish are golden shiners ,talapia,and shad.Of course you also have frogs,snakes and crayfish.Fish the flats close to where the water drops off and pay attention to what forage is there.Go to **** and take a look.There are 361 lakes here in Orange Co. alone that is where I live and do most of my fishing.

If you are here during middle of the week, try Johns Lake,or take a short drive to Alligator Lake in St.Cloud.Also I have heard Lake Marion sp? off Canoe Creek Rd is good.You can Google these for directions.Johns is known for big fish but usually has tournaments on the weekends.Toho can be a blast although I haven't fished there in years.Good luck and good fishing!

Great fi****here was an article in Bassmaster magazine sept./oct 2008 about a guy Jeffrey Smith whom had caught seven fish over 17 and four over 18 that year.The article was written by Dave Precht the editor in chief of the mag.He went with Jeffrey and on that trip ,Jeffrey caught a 14.4 lbs and Precht caught two over 11! Point being,there are still some hawgs down here!That is still a giant ,congrats!

I second J Francho on the uni knot. I use a snap when throwing the popr,but if you don't like snaps,try the Homer Rhode loop knot very simple to tie.

Depending on the depth of the water beside the wall,I would opt for a tail spinner i.e.little george type bait.I used them a lot when I was living in Tennessee and Kentucky.Just throw it out and let it fall on semi-slack line watch for the line to jump slightly and set the hook.

I fish senkos almost exclusively as my stickbait of choice.I also am a guy who rigs these on owner twistlocks.To save money,buy some mend-it glue off e-bay.It is cheaper than going to their site.Ten bucks for a bottle that will do hundreds of repairs.The glue will melt the plastic,but if you use the brush applicator to apply ,just hold both sections together for ten seconds and your bait is ready to fish again.A trick for all you senko lovers I learned from watching Jarrett Edwards Outdoors, is to take the senko by the ends and roll them between your fingers.What this does is release the salt from the ends causing them to wiggle more on the drop.Hope this helps you out.

I posted a 10lber in the fishing reports forum two weeks ago.For your info here's how that day went.My partner and I hit the water at daylight on a lake I know very well.For the first six hours we caught four fish that were all dinks.He said "If we don't do any better by noon, I'll be ready to pack it in."To make a long story short,I hooked a good one that got off, switched to plastic worm and hooked another good fish that got off.I then told him "I'M going back to the spinner bait,and if I get bit ,I'll set the hook twice."Tme I caught that fish?Ten minutes till twelve.As Mike Iaconelli says"Never give up."

The Biffle Bug made by Gene Larew is a great bait for deep water.Just go with the heavier head i.e.7/16 oz.Cast out, let it sink to bottom, and slowly wind it back in.Make sure it stays on bottom as you can feel this.I have caught some big ones in this manner.

I don't know who's smiling more you or Beau, good times man keep it up.

Nice catch RW,I too believe in total catch and release.The fish I have posted on here are all still swimming where they wre caught at.One gripe I have with tournament fishing is the way the fish are treated.They are jockeyed around for hours in a livewell and then released miles from where they were caught.Delayed mortality is then a problem.I am in favor of the format of the show on WFN (I forget the name)where each boat has a rules enforcer and results of fish caught are instantly relayed by gps.We are stewards of the environment and I have great respect for my quarry.I have even turned loose my pb which at 13+ was hard to do I didn't even get a pic of it .I wanted it to live.God bless you and good fishing!

About 25 yrs ago I was striper fishing at what was then Kingston Steam plant from the bank.We were using river herring for bait.They can easily be caught by throwing small kastmaster spoons.I was needing more herring or as the local call them greenback shad.I took my rod and placed huge boulders around it to secure,and I had a clothespin taped to my reel(spinning)so that if I got bit the clothespin would release the line to free spool.I walked up the bank aways and low and behold got a vicious hit on my striper outfit.Before I could get back to it,the line released and was going out so fast it wrapped around the reel handle.The pole flew aout fifteen feet into the Clinch river.I called for my brother in law and told him what had happened.We tried to drag for it to no avail.The next week ,same spot,two guys from Pennsylvannia were fishing down from us.Isaw one of them hook something,and you guessed it my rod.When I saw the tip come out of the water I yelled ,"i lost that rod a week ago.It's a bc1100 ugly stick with a 2250 mitchell reel."The guy looked at it said your right and I offered to pay him to get it back.He just handed it to me and said he understood having lost two outfits there himself.I still have the rod it was an early flipping stick.Just goes to show you there are good people left in this world.

Fry,the phone number I gave you came from a pack of gillraker worms that I bought a year or so ago.I have since thrown away the shipping box they came in.Here are some other phone numbers to try.205-943-1902,251-943-1902,904-731-9012 .If these all fail,look up Donnie Paul in Foley ,Alabama white pages he is the guy whom bought the company.I hope this helps you out.

Congrats guy, nice fish!

Please excuse me for posting this but I am trying to learn to post pictures.

I agree with what Nitrofreak said ,a double fluke rig but work it through the breaking bass with short twitches of your rod tip.This makes them dart both ways and appear to be fleeing.Also. I like to throw a lucky craft pointer 95sp in american shad color pull it up to the bait with sharp jerks then kill it.Hang on!

MCS,I caught her in 71/2 ft water on bluegill pattern strike king premier plus spinnerbait.It was 3/8oz with Indiana blades slow rolled.

Florida

My private Lake will give them up

Zetabait company was sold and is back in business.I ordered 5pkgs of gillrakers from them last year.A much better swim worm than Culprit although I use both.Address is:9559 Hickory Street South,Foley,Alabama 36535 phone334-943-1902

Where is the ramp located?Also,how big a boat can be launched in there?I pass this lake every time I go to the VA and have wondered about the fishing there. Sorry to hijack the thread but curious.