hawgenvy

I don't fish much in the small pond behind our condo, but I know there is at least one fat fish there, almost a pet by now, and I catch her anew once every few months. Each time she is bigger. Went out tonight after dinner and got her again. Now she's 6 pounds! First photo is me gesturing to my wife to go to the garage to get my scale. My neighbor Craig took the (slightly out of focus) photo holding up my little girl. That Runcl scale BTW is great, and waterproof.

Lucky hour today beating the bank around sunset with a Gambler black 13 inch ribbon tail worm. Caught 3 prespawn females: two were each exactly 4.32 lbs, and the other was 5.54. My avian friend nailed a nice fish, too.

I live and fish in Florida and see alligators all the time. They tend to be peaceful and seem to ignore me and my boat. Unless I have a fish on the line. Then it's a race to get the fish in the boat or on shore before they get it. I have had two gators at once converge rapidly on bass I was fighting. Now if the gator got to a bass (including the hook) before I did, and I was in a canoe or kayak, and if I was fishing #40 or #60 braid, I'd be worried and would have to think pretty fast to loosen the drag and snip the line, or else I'd be going for an unpredictable little ride. It's okay to fish in a kayak. Just mentally prepare ahead of time how to deal with that eventuality, and maybe don't fish near those reptiles if you see them around.

Looking to recommend a casting rod and reel for my friend, together under $300. It's for light lure fishing: senkos, flukes, wacky rig, shaky head so prob medium power/fast action, 6'6" to 7". He likes his Lew's tournament pro reel on his beefier set up but may go with a less costly reel if it's light. Prob will spool #10 fluoro line. Advice anyone?

I was thinking Sheila

My wife and I live in a small condo community with a tiny central pond that has a bass. Yes, one bass that I know of. I try to catch him every January. He seems around one pound bigger every year, finally this year he's around 4 pounds. (Can hardly wait to catch him in 6 years!) That's a Gambler 10" worm, blue to match my glasses and shirt.

Gambler 13" ribbon tail worm, black. Moves like a snake in the water, kind of smells like one, too.

Can't give you just one bait. This is the best I can do: Summer/Fall: Zoom Super Fluke in Bluegill Flash, 4/0 EWG Winter/Spring: Eco Pro Trokar Flip Jig Green Pumpkin Black 3/8 with SK Rage Craw trailer in Blue Craw. Toss up: Gambler 10" ribbon tail worm in June Bug with 3/16 bullet and 4/0 EWG

Thanks, man! Appreciate it.

I haven't posted on this site in ages, but can't resist boasting about last evening's phenomenal bank fishing adventure. I wasn't expecting much at all after the recent cold front and didn't even bring my scale, but I must have landed 50 pounds of bass in just 2 hours, all while being harassed by 2 hungry gators. Every time I hooked a bass the dragons would rush for it, and I had to manhandle and then flip 5 and 6 pounders on to the bank to avoid disaster. Fortunately, my Dobyns 734 and 17 lb Seaguar fluoro didn't let me down. All the bass were enticed with the Gambler 10 inch ribbon worm in some sort of dark purple. Pictured are a few of last night's glory pigs:

Last night this big bad boy torpedoed my weightless senko that I wiggled along just a foot from the grass bank... ...and I nearly stepped on this badass hanging out on the grass just a foot from the water:

Tabasco is perfect if you want heat with the acid touch that the vinegar provides, so its perfect in stews, beans, meats, bloody Marys, where Tabasco adds brightness without adding excessive complexity. Some other sauces like siracha and Cholula have garlic and onion and other flavors that are not welcome in all circumstances (but are great in others). Some, like Catt's pickled pepper choice, have even more vinegar to heat ratio than Tabasco.

Only someone with Louisiana roots would have a silver Tabasco sauce holder. It's my wife's; she's from New Orleans. There is always Tabasco on our kitchen counter, right there with the salt and pepper.

Haven't been fishing in a while. But tonight I walked to a nearby golf course, vacant and partially flooded after Tropical Storm Eta's wet, violent rampage through southern Florida. I've always caught plenty of aggressive bass after a cyclone passes for some unknown reason, and today was no different, in spite of the high and turbid water. After landing several bass, my little Booyah squrebill got bit by something big. I thought it was a large bass at first, but after it started pulling drag a second and third time I realized it must be a big snakehead.

Sambal oelek, moderately hot, pure, naturally sweet and flavorful. So delicious, I can almost eat it plain. From Indonesia.