IwillChooseFreeWill

Everyone above has it right... the fins sticking out the sides right behind the gills have a broad needle-like bone with a sharp point. Get your hand behind those and squeeze inward... I also found the catfish I catch locally tend to swallow the hook deep so bring plenty of extra hooks. I caught a small 16" channel cat a few months back that got me right on the outside of my thumb joint. Took almost a month before the joint felt normal again, even after the skin itself healed. Personally I hate catfish, anything that sucks up that much mud can't be worth keeping or eating.

wow those look great... My only suggestions is on the 2 rats, somehow get the front/nose always stick up and out as if they were swimming with their head up to breathe. Also looks like it may be time for a bluegill type of setup too for some of the more grassy deep south lakes. Just needs a different paint job on the perch type setup. I used one some years back that was 3", bass (and larger turtles that also eat fish) in these small ponds that have no shad just couldn't leave it alone. Maybe a shell cracker style since the yellow belly may attract a bit more attention:

I suspect the 2.5lb 16" I caught last weekend will be close to the "lunker" we will see from this single classic...

When I find myself getting burnt out, I tend to switch gears. Grab a few cheap panfish rods, a bucket of worms and go out to relax, not fish. Or maybe grab some chicken livers and go for catfish at dusk. For a more extreme alternative, take a trip and do some offshore saltwater fishing for some monster fish. Mix it up. Too many people are so bent on bass that they get burnt out on all fishing, when changing gears occasionally can help keep the passion alive.

For the local Shoal and Blackwater River which is a bit faster, shallow, usually stained and some side pools. If it is in the river itself which has almost no vegetation in the main current and sandy bottom, I prefer wacky or carolina, and for the eddys and side pools, I prefer TR as they have more vegetation. Also on the wide sweeping bends, topwater hard baits like Devils Horse and topwater or very shallow spinners work very well. NOTE: this is primarily for largemouth as smallies do not tend to come this far south or in these rivers (usually)

Thanks all.... looks like a great forum with plenty of good info and help.

First a fish finder would help things out tremendously, especially this time of year. Second, when it is cold like this, slow to no movement is always best. Third, you did good by sticking to the points, but it may have helped to move to where there is a spring or feeder creek shallows and trying some of the same presentations there. Another thing I have learned especially in the deep south here, and with the stained water: Go with a dark green Senko or Strike King 4-6" worm either wacky rigged (through the middle) or texas rigged, also 12-15" drop shot would help nicely this time of year too. Let it fall to the bottom or close to the bottom and just twitch the tip of the rod (moving it maybe 1/2" to 1" each twitch) so it just moves the worm slightly... when it is cold like this, bass want the easiest prey possible, and one that is not moving much is an easy target. Let it sit there for at least 10-15 minutes before trying another spot, it may take cold water bass that long or longer to decide to eat it, or in stained water that long just to find it. I had one winter trip where the bass weren't biting, so I just tossed the drop shot rig with 5" Strike King green watermelon flake worm and left it there, and then also had the panfish gear so was playing with the panfish that were somewhat biting. Took an hour and a half but within 10 minutes, in the same spot I caught 4 bass off the same rig.

I am looking to get a kayak soon... originally I was looking for either a kayak or a canoe... but with me being 6'5" and wanting to fish, too high of a center of gravity meaning too many spills in a canoe... so I found a few kayaks I am looking into locally under $300.

I have a hard time using that site and I am a computer tech myself... I found this site tends to work much better although the smaller ponds/lakes do not always have the best topo for underwater http://mapper.acme.com/

There is a few specific local ponds where I use small pieces of cut up hot dog, the cheaper the better... but that only works at a few specific ponds, the rest always bite on worms and chicken liver.

link is asking for a password... but as I tend to catch plenty of bream/bluegill in the 8-12" range, I am assuming that is rare farther up north..

enjoy... the rest of the south is keeping the bass in the depths as cold front after cold front keep moving through... the air temperature has barely touched 50ºF here in the panhandle since November, water at most of the ponds and lakes have stayed around 40-50º and they start moving and getting ready for spawn when the water hits around 60 in my area...

looks like everyone had fun there!! Only complaint I have is a few of those guys need to learn to 2-hand the big fish or break its jaw...

I found here in north FL when that happens, the fish are usually elsewhere. Sad part is when you are limited to the dock or shore and don't have the option to move around too much looking for fish, at least not more than a few hundred yards. Also the grass in these lakes can really hide a lure well and unless it really stinks to draw a fish it, you need to find a weedbed edge or open bedding area.

To me, I like to see different fish, different lures and different presentations... too many of these shows are either one long commercial with a pro catching 18"+ monsters or it is sitting there watching a fishing buddy chat... and not a good buddy, usually one of those annoying guys that you would never really go fishing with because he is so annoying... Thats why I loved that episode of Lunkerville, especially "Low Budget Hookin"... it wasn't edited to show only the biggest bass caught, it was a few guys having fun using different lures and actually showing something being caught other than bass.

I keep the tape measure handy, mostly since the panfish have limits at certain ponds that I fish... but I also got a 2 in one scale that also has a tape on it so if it is a good size, I will weigh it too...

I have been doing some deeper digging lately of the various online forums relating to bass fishing and this will be one of 2 I will be visiting on a regular basis. I hail from northwest Florida and tend to fish the local ponds and lakes... I tend to be seen catching 4-12" bream (bluegill, panfish) off of hot dogs and occasionally pick up a bass or channel catfish.