jaysen

i am planning a trip to the miami florida area within the first two weeks of november for around 5 days. im hoping to connect with some members here and fish. i used to live in miami so i know of some areas for largemouth and pb. i plan to start up in the west palm beach area and work my way down to the keys, targeting fresh and saltwater. if anyone would like to join me on my trip they are welcome. i will be with a friend who guides for sharks in the keys. i catch and release strictly, just looking to catch fish and learn as much as possible.

i would not use a kayak for rivers unless you mount a trolling motor. in the ocean with the tides moving, you can stay along the shore or mangroves to avoid areas of high current. you can look into a kayak anchor as well.

i noticed in ny the fall bite hasnt hit full swing yet as well. i am catching them in the shallows but not many and i have to work for them. in a few more weeks im sure it will be better. keep switching lures and you will see what they are interested in at any given day.

i also find that if the trailer you add to a spinnerbait isnt perfectly aligned, it will also not run true. i am very careful threading on a grubtail so that it stays even. the booyah brand is one i love using but they are very difficult to tune once they stop running true. it may be due to the thin wire they use.

yup, broken link.

there are times when the striper run is in and i prefer going for largemouth. fw and sw are two different beasts.

i have friends in your area that fish the drainage areas and have pulled out double digits, though very uncommon. you are right, fishing should not be about catching a record.

i only work to fund my passion for fishing. you only grow more addicted over time. the more you buy, the nicer the gear... the more you want.

this was a question that had been bothering me for a while as well. i have gill hooked trout watching some die and others just rebounding and swimming off. severity of the damage plays a major role.

location, fishing pressure, fishery size are all factors. i have one lake where i catch at least four between 4 and 5.5 lbs each day i am out. another lake where i get at least one 6+ lber each trip. some places have so much pressure that the bigger fish just wont hit anything if they arent already all fished out.

not sure if anyone recognizes my avatar but i am a big king of the hill fan. in one episode based on fishing Hank Hill speaks to his son explaining fishing, saying "we don't fish for the fish. Ninety percent of what I like about this sport -- and it is a sport -- is sitting in the boat doing nothing. And the icing on the cake is when God smiles on you and you hook one. And then when you're reeling it in, everything else falls away. You don't think about taxes or traffic or that pushy gal that's trying to get into the Citadel or who's going to take care of you when your mother and I are old and incapacitated. All there is is a man, a rod, a lake and a fish. And it all starts with a hand-dug American worm." i dont know if mike judge (creator of king of the hill) or the writers are fisherman but it sure sounds like they get it.

thanks glenn, i have been using this technique for several months now with good success.

i appreciate all the input i have received here. it is great to see some king of the hill fans as well. most hooks are removed easily, even the swallowed ones. i guess it was just bad luck that the hook punctured a major blood vessel. i will keep working on earlier hook sets. with the whole soda in the fish, its hard to know if you are joking or not, seems pretty unrealistic. regardless it wont treat a punctured blood vessel.

i use a shimano cumara spinning dropshot rod along with a shimano sustain fg and power pro moss green 15lb braid. sometimes as i set the hook when i feel it, they have already swallowed it. it is as if they just inhale them. i will try to be more attentive. thanks for the advice and any more insight is appreciated.

i have lots of old lead sitting around the house and was wondering if anybody makes they own weighted hooks. i tried using a soldering iron but it didnt melt the lead. i would like to try avoiding a blow torch for safety and convenience reasons. all help is appreciated.

i am new to soft plastics. i have been using the senko style stick baits texas rigged, zoom horny toads, and keitech swing impacts. most of the time the fish take them and i have no idea until the line moves or i feel resistance. the problem with this is that they often swallow the bait with the hook. i do my best to remove the hooks and i am usually very successful, however, this past weekend didnt go so well. i caught a 2.5lb bass on a senko and it was gut hooked. i de-barb all of the hooks i use so it came out easily. i released the fish and he swam off with force. a minute later i saw him struggling at the top. i spent a half hour trying to revive him with minimal luck. i decided to take it home to eat so it wouldnt be as much of a waste. upon the autopsy, i found the hook likely hit a major artery when set since there was immense internal bleeding. kind of scary to think about all those 4-6lb bass i have been releasing that may have swam off looking perfectly fine but did not make it. is there any way to stop them from swallowing the lures? any techniques to use? would a bigger or smaller hook help?

i heard amazing reviews on the keitech swing impact and bought a few packages. the tear very easily. from what i read, these baits get bites when everything else fails. when i used them, i found that they werent as effective as a senko or other soft stick bait. i hooked them texas but they are so light they wont cast far. if i put them on a 1/4 oz jighead they would snag weeds very easily. i only caught one nice bass and that was when it was on a jighead and just left it on the bottom for around a minute. i am new to soft plastics so i am hoping to get pointers to increase my odds. help on how to rig it and techniques in retrieval would be greatly appreciated.

thanks. appreciate the advice.

nothing?

theast i have been doing a lot of research. i hear that kaenon is becoming a strong force in the market but decided to get a pair of maui jims. their website isnt very clear on the lenses so i will ask the experts on this forum. i am used to using amber polarized lenses since i rarely fish blue water (does ny even have blue water?). which lens type would be best for fishing lakes, rivers, and saltwater bays of the northeast? what frames do people feel fit more comfortably? i tried on a few different pairs that were rather uncomfortable. i only want glass lenses and am told that maui jim doesnt use plastic or polymer lenses in any of their sunglasses, is this true? i would like a lens that can be used all day since i have sensitive eyes. i prefer not to have to buy 2 separate pairs for low and high light conditions (especially at their price). do any specific lenses fit this criteria? all help is appreciated.

i will be fishing all over sullivan county for the next 2 months. i grew up in the area and fish some private lakes as well as some lakes with public access. i usually fish alone but my kayak has the option of becoming tandem. if anyone is interested or if they have their own boat (gladly pitch in for gas nd expenses), i am always looking for ppl to learn from and chill with while on the water.

thanks for the info. if anyone would like to fish with me (especially if they have a boat since mine is up north), it isnt the same as what i am used to fishing walleye upstate ny. i would love to target the large catfish as well. i would of course cover fuel and expenses. if there are good fisheries in the surrounding areas i would love to explore them as well. i strictly catch and release plus i will be there maybe twice a year so i wont exploit a secret spot.

my brother just bought a house on the water and called me telling me he has seen a few bass and pickerel from the dock. i would love to fish it and target all the fish the lake has to offer but i am not familiar with the lake, i have never even been to Alabama before. i see info about the channel and flathead cats, largemouth, spotted, and smallmouth bass. i was wondering if anyone was familiar and could give me some tips fishing the reservoir.

i will take a look again. thanks for the advice.

i stick with power pro. havent had as many issues as with other brands.