hawgenvy

I agree that with practice one can get better at ripping traps through hydrilla. But that doesn't mean you wont get stuck at times. On YouTube vids when a guy pulls in a wad of grass, there's always a fat fish in the middle. And on YouTube, crankbaits don't get stuck in trees.

That's a cocky bass, a lucky one, one that has plenty of food on which to fatten up, and can freely attack and swallow whatever moves. It is not challenged over and over by the anglers' sharp hooks. Most places I fish the bass are wary. They have a bad case of PTSD from being stung and fought with and brought into the suffocating air to face a man. They are careful about what they eat, and are rarely fooled by plastic, and probably wouldn't be tricked by a glimmer of light. But maybe I'll try it.

I agree, but I'm not too sure about the waterways in VN either. I feel safer eating ocean fish, but they too can have pollutants, like mercury. And other toxins, such as ciguatera. Would be nice to have relatively pollution- and germ- free water someday. Not going to happen anytime soon.

Question: How long are the longest commercially available fishing poles? Answer: 70 FEET (21 meters) (they are telescopic) (http://www.allfishingbuy.com/Fishing-Pole/Pole-A1-JDS-152-HI-21016.htm

In VN they usually grill a snakehead over a hot fire using (for a handle) a stick placed through the mouth, which is a rather a handy way to do it. It can be served after opening the dorsum longitudinally and extracting the bones. Season with salt, lime juice or rice vinegar, and a sprinkle of fresh herbs. Serve with rice.

I think it's worth 0.5 oz to have an aluminum frame, which to my hand feels more "alive" and sturdy. Love my three Pro G's. A couple of things not yet mentioned: the Lite G can be used in salt, the Pro G has a faster model (8.3:1), and the Pro G spool holds a bit more line.

Turtle fishing?

Cemetery. Nice, quiet folk, hardly ever complain. You might even come across an old stone that says "gone fishin'."

Thanks, man!

Anyone have experience with nylon-coated wire leaders in general?

Great blue herons are good luck. One sometimes follows me around hoping for a meal. On rare occasions I'll indulge him by tossing him a little bass. He is very grateful. He'll fly off to the other side of the lake and eat it.

When you're fishing inshore for snook, redfish, tarpon, etc., and the bite is on, the jacks are a nuisance. If you're out for permit and bonefish, stingrays are junk. If you're offshore to catch mackerel, tuna, sails, the bluefish and barracuda are thumbs down. When you're bassing, pickerel and mudfish are junk. But when you're not catching crap, it suddenly becomes a hell of a lot of fun fighting that junk to the boat. Especially when it's a big muscular fish like the JC. So: When you're heading for the skunk, don't get in a funk, go catch some junk!

As a general principle, invasive species are deleterious to native fauna and flora and may result result in extinction of native species. It is impossible to predict the short and long term consequences of non-native introductions, and given the sad human proclivity to (intentionally or not) mess up natural habitats, conservation rather than intervention should be the rule. However, once an invasive species has gotten a foothold it is not a given that it will do harm or require eradication. We should actively discourage any transplanting of species. But in the meantime we might as well enjoy our many foreign guests, such as snakeheads, peacocks, cichlids, lionfish, and on and on. In most cases it's too darn late, anyway. In the meantime, we should do what we can can to get Burma pythons and Nile crocodiles and melaleucas the hell out of the Everglades.

Thanks for the tip, sir!

Any reports on Lake Okeechobee (south end)? Going up to fish out of Belle Glade on Saturday. Rumor has it the bass are chasing baitfish in the cuts.

Yes

Come to my June tadpole fry. You'll never forget it.

Man, that's a freakin' halibut.

These expensive reels are marketed in Japan but are available in the US only on line, I believe. I think Amazon has them. They can cast much farther because the spool can spin much faster, and the computer can then optimally brake the spool when appropriate to eliminate backlashes in most all circumstances. Kind of like ABS for reels. Anybody tried these? Wonder if they're really that good. Maybe some day mid-priced reels will have a computer chip.

I do know. Didn't eat the one I caught in Florida, but I have had them before, like the one that is in this photo I took in Can Tho, Vietnam.

Thanks, man!

Weakfish, of course!

I've been bass fishing for years, and this is the first snakehead I've caught, a two footer more or less, with a very dramatic tail spot. This was done bank fishing today at a local canal (the El Rio canal in Boca Raton) that was packed with dense matted hyacinths, by punching through with a plastic craw and a 1.5 oz weight, hoping (without success) to catch a bass or two. For about a 1/4 mile length of the canal, the water surface was not visible, just the top of the green stuff. The photo illustrates how dense the hyacinth mats can get in Florida.

I'm Portagee Gone Wild. Quite ridiculous.

When the cover is thick enough that you need an ounce or two weight to get through, a topwater bait won't do a thing and the bigger bass may not venture out to the edge. If there is any possibility that big bass are hiding in the cooler dark water under that cover, it's definitely worth a try to get in there, and punching through is the only way. And if you get bit and she's hooked but gets stuck in real heavy stuff like pennywort or hyacinth mats or whatever, don't muscle her too hard or you'll tear her face apart and lose her -- get your boat and your arms down in there and lip her directly out of the mess.