mgmoore7

If you can afford a pole, lures, line, etc., you can afford a license. I will even give you a link so you can start being legal immediately. http://myfwc.com/license.html

I am addicted!!! Help me please. :-/ I know it and try to stop but I just can't. That pole with a 5" green pumpkin is like a magnet to my hands. I try to try something else, but I can't help myself, they work and it is too hard to try something else. Seriously though, the senko style bait can be fished easily in my lake from a 10' jon boat and it catches fish. I have tried everything else and I went almost fishless for over a year after I moved there on my lake until I found the senko. Before senko, I tried all the old standbys that worked in the past on other lakes but they did not work on mine. I need to get more serious and give other lures more time. It is funny that when reflecting on a 2 or 3 hour trip that was not very successful, I find that I will fish the senko for 75% of that time and try 2 or 3 other lures for the other time. If I would give the other lures equal time I am sure the results with those lures might get better..... [move]BUT .... I AM A D D I C T E D[/move]

That's nothing! Here in RI, if you get caught fishing the Scituate Reservoir,our main water supply for the entire state,they not only take your gear, but THE VEHICLE YOU USED TO ASSIST IN BREAKING THE LAW. Yes,your car,truck,or whatever. Just like a drug dealer. I know "the law is the law" but who made these laws? Where is the common sense? If I go fishing without a license and get caught with a line and hook in the water, my car and gear will be taken? That is rediculous. Isn't it more appropriate to take the car of someone who is doing 40mph in a 25 zone in a neighborhood where kids play. Let't take their drivers license away for a year as well while we are at it. We are talking about fish not people's lives. Now if someone gets caught with 100 bass (or whatever fish) and the limit is 5, then by all means the full extent of the law should be enforced. This is why there are judges to sentence people so that there can be some variability in the sentence to fit the crime. Don't get me wrong. I am for the licenses but some of the penalties that are being described here seem outragous.

Since someone asked about hats. I have been thinking about getting fishing hat even for doing work around the house. I live in Florida and putting sunscreen on just to go out for an hour or two is annoying and usually it is my neck, nose & ears that take the beating. Fishing Hat Guide on Bass Pro http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.CFPage?mode=article&objectID=30047 http://www.donraystudio.com/DescFishingHats.htm http://www.millerhats.com/outdoor_index/fishinghatsindex.html http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=72859&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=72316&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=72458&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=21075&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults

I have never heard of a %. Can your budget afford it? What if you loose your job? Will you have to take a pay cut? Will you still be able to afford it or will you have to sell it. If you had to sell it would you break even or loose $. Are you spending the last $300 of your extra money on the boat. Do you have enough left over for gas, insurance, lures, etc? Lots of questions. My answers to all of them are why I don't have a boat right now. I use the 10ft jon boats at my neighborhood lake and have a battery and trolling motor. One day, I hope my answers will be different but right now with 4 kids and a stay-at-home wife it aint happening and that is just fine, different priorities right now.

This method works very well. Once you do it a few times, it does not take much time either.

I think it varies on a number of things. -what the management of the course is like -are there houses on the course -where are you fishing... in direct line of golf balls, way off to the side, etc -are you bothering anyone -when are you fishing. i mostly fished after 4pm when the course is getting slow. -are there "no fishing" signs Where i fished, all these things were favorable. I never had anyone get upset. I caught some huge crappie one time and ate those. 2 crappie fed 4 adults with left overs. after that i did not each from the ponds since I was concerned with all the fertilizers.

I have caught alot of fish out of golf course ponds in FL. I have never caught any hawgs but I have heard and have friends that have.

me

YOu should be able to find a used canoe for alot cheaper than that. Look in your local newspaper classifieds.

Hey, thats some pretty good cyperin' Mr Wizard! I think when my welfare check comes in I'll let you balance my checkbook. Lets break it down another way: I'm 58 years old, have been fishin' since I was about 5. Didn't start throwin' spinners until I was 12 or 13, though; still my Wally World calculator says thats just about 45 years. Now, 69.4 hours over 45 years is less than 2 hours a year throwin' spinners. And don't forget I lived on a lake for 15 of those years. Well, yeah - IF you were buying all 500 at Bass Pro today. In the sixties - when gas was 20 cents a gallon - spinners didn't cost $2.75. And you can get 'em at Academy for less than 2 bucks a pop as someone pointed out a few posts back (guess you didn't READ that one). I've probably spent about $500 over the years on spinners, which isn't much when you factor in the $40,000 bass boat I just bought - 8 fish so far which works out to about $5000 each. Partly because I was young and stupid. Partly because spinners are a lotta fun to throw, even though they don't produce for me. Anyways, you never answered the original question - have YOU ever caught anything on a spinner? Or are you saying you haven't thrown 'em 10,000 times yet? As for the rest of you naysayers - I suggest you READ the posts in this thread. There are folks other than me who haven't gotten spinners to produce, as well as others who have. To those people who offerred advice I sincerely thank you, I'll try some of your suggestions. To the people with pithcers of fish they've caught on spinners I say, nice fish! To the rest I say...Well, lets just let that'n go... Well, if you read my post I said "spinner baits have been my number one producing lure " I said an "average" of $2.75. I know they can be bought cheaper and I did read post. See... you never said that you have been fishing for that many years and trying spinners over all those years and I still find it hard to believe that you would even spend $500 but that really does not matter I guess. You do make a valid point that can be applied to many hobbies. If we calculate the cost based on things such as # of fish for the cost of the boat we would never buy the boat. I like the guys who a few weeks ago (possible world record from a rented aluminum boat) dispelled all the thoughts that it takes a 40k bass boat to catch fish. I will agree with Avid as well, that this is not a joke any longer. I have caught most of my spinner bait fish on a white double colorado blade. I caught a 5lb 6oz in January on one. It is the one in my signature.

I read this whole thread since I really thought that this must be a joke. Who would buy 500 of a type of lure that had not caught anything at all. Who would cast 10,000 times without catching a fish. That is grounds to quit fishing altogether. For over 15 years, spinner baits have been my number one producing lure and I basically stick to a few colors and have probably purchased less than 75 in those 15 years. Now, I don't fish everyday and in those 15 years, some years I have not fished much but others I have fished alot.... Also, lets break down the #'s: 10,000 casts (we will forget the other 10 or 20k that others have not caught any either...????) let's use average of 25 seconds per cast (probably low esitmate) 10000 x 20 = 250,000 seconds 200,000 / 60 = 4,166 minutes 4,166 / 60 = 69.4 hours Conclusion = 69.4 hours spent fishing on spinnerbaits alone and no fish. ????? I think I would have just given up on that bait after 10 hours and stopped buying them too. 500 purchased spinner baits let's use average of 2.75 per bait (probably low too) 500 x 2.75 = $1,375 Conclusion = why would anyone spend this much on lures that had not produced a single fish? "I personally find pumpkin wacky worms boring - throw 'em in the water, set the hook, pull the fish in the boat, repeat. Over and over all day long. " Isn't the point of fishing to catch fish however you can and as many as you can. This is how the pros win. They find a pattern and stick to it. If I am pulling fish in like that sentence implies, I would be bragging to all my friends how good of a day it was not how boring it was. I am still baffled.

Amen

#20 is wrong 20. 18-12.9 Bud Wright 4/12/87 St. Johns River, FL Florida's official record is 17.27lbs "Florida's official largemouth bass record is 17.27 pounds, but others often cite an uncertified fish of 20.125 pounds (a fisheries biologist did not physically see the fish to certify it). "

While I would love to say that #25 is accurate (I grew up on Tarpon Lake and still live within an hour...) That one is not certified. Here is the statement from the Division of Fisheries "Florida's official largemouth bass record is 17.27 pounds, but others often cite an uncertified fish of 20.125 pounds (a fisheries biologist did not physically see the fish to certify it). "

I fish out of a 10' jon boat very often. The lodge at our lake as a few as well as canoe's. Anyway, I load up my truck with trolling motor, seats (with portable clamps) RF10 fishfinder, etc. and a wagon to carry it down to the lake. I actually use the battery in the back to balance the weight from left to right by sliding it one one way or the other. It is a little small and definatley only designed to sitting. Standing is barely better than a canoe. That being said, I catch the fish, not the boat. The one real difficulty with this boat even for my small lake (40 acres) is that it is difficult to impossible to flip and pitch since I cannot stand up. That really limits my fishing abilities since so much of the lake is prime for pitching and flipping.

BigTex I was thinking the same thing and actually copied from that artical the exact sentences that you did. At least from this article, it sure implies that the trout are dumped in for consumption by Bass. Also, if trout were stocked for the purposes of producing a trout population, why does it have to be done over and over. I don't know much about trout but generally with other species, stocking over and over is not required. http://www.backwoodsbound.com/ybigbass.html "Besides, the monsters are literally hand-fed trout (which most anglers to these lakes pay to fish for) that are stocked weekly. Observers during trout plantings see a literal feeding frenzy as the hundreds of trout hit the lake water. The big bass take them immediately as the tank truck dumps them. Huge wakes converge on the feeding area. It's an awesome sight! It's no wonder the bass are big bellied monsters on a diet of mature trout! "

I have read alot of this post but not every entry so forgive me if I am repeating. When I got back into bass fishing more frequently last year and started reading/hearding about these lakes in CA that will probably produce the next record and then heard that they are regularly stocked with trout just to help produce the biggest bass.... Doesn't this take some of the sport out of it? It seems to me that there is much emphasis on "manufacturing" a world record bass than letting nature take its course. Maybe there should be an asterick for "caught from regularly trout stocked lake for bass consumption"

I fish quite often with my children (I have 3 and 1 on the way). At this point I take my two oldest with me (son (5yrs) & daughter (3yrs)) much of the time in a 10ft jon boat using a trolling motor. We usaually will fish for bluegill and bass. They have their own pole and just play most of the time making up stories and pretending to catch fish. I also keep a whole container of old plastic worms, lizards, etc in my tackle box and break that out when they get bored. They can be occupied for another 30 minutes with that and I love to hear the stories they make up. My daughter begs me to go fishing and my son is always asking when I am going to catch a monster. They both love the time with their daddy and I love it too. I definately don't get as much serious fishing done but that is not really the point. They love to see me catch them and I am teaching them a love for fishing that will really pay off in the future. I have taken my son out with me for up to 4 hours in the jon boat. That is alot of time for a 5 year old in such a small area. It just takes time to work up to that. The first few times I took my daughter out, she was ready to go back in after about 15 minutes but just last weekend we were out for about 2 hours. We caught bluegill and golden shiners but no bass. They loved it.

Yes, it will be obvious when you do it. I will make note that this is more difficult in small fish. In small fish if you are using a large hook, it is difficult to get it turned down in the small mouth and getting the plier through the gill is more difficult without doing any damage.

This works.

My father got me started I guess mostly with bluegill and shiners. I caught my 1st bass when fishing with my father and 2 uncles (all "bass fishermen") and I caught the only bass on that day. I guess that got me hooked. But beyond that I pretty much taught myself how to bass fish.

I don't have a ton of experience with 2 stroke boat motors but I have with many other 2 strokes as well as 4 strokes. The purpose for warming up is usually to get the oil flowing well throughout before going full bore. A few minutes is plenty of time for that. Now that being said, a few minutes may not be enought time to completely warm it up and some finicky motors will run better when they are warm. .

Here in FL, the shallow water fishing has fallen off a bunch during our "winter". Senko's have worked well in the past but not now. Caught one 12" today but it was in about 8 ft of water.

Avid. If you have verizon, I had the same problem until recently. I called data support, they reset some stuff and it started working.