Keithscatch

I remember seeing an advertisement once with a fish tagger system. It didn't seem expensive and I always wanted to buy it. But a search on Google came up blank for me for this one. I found this link though: http://www.fishtagger.com/buytags.php

While down there it would be cool to visit these businesses: Wave Industries, Inc. (Maker of Wave Worms) 1420 FM 1483 Yantis, TX 75497 Lake Fork Trophy Bait and Tackle Hwy 515 & Hwy 69 Emory, TX. 75440 (Lake Fork Tackle lure manufacturer) Lake Fork Taxidermy Hwy. 17 Alba, TX. 7541 Tremendous replica's. TP&W uses these guys for the ShareLunker program. They have a great showroom. They are right next to Lake Fork Marina. Check out this video footage of a black salty getting eatin by Bass: http://www.blacksalty.com/bass_video.htm

Ok who's your daddy? :D Here is the scoop for you guys. 1) Pay & Save 903-765-2900 Hwy 17 & 182 in the Diamond Shamrock gas station They sell Shiners that are larger then crappie minnows. I spoke with Lupe and he said their shiners are 3.5-4" long. Not giants but better then crappie minnows. 2) Country Store(This is the place I bought from before on Hwy 515) 903-383-7686 Hwy 515 on east side of lake just past the bridge They no longer sell large shiners. However, they sell Black Salty's. I spoke with Candy and she said they are about 3-4" long. She also told me they can order the XL ones. If so, you would need to pay up front for those as they are specialty orders. Those can get quit large like 1/4lb or 1/2lb. She said 6-7" long. There ya have it fellas. I hope this helps. The more I talk about this the more I want to go. I just don't know if I can pull it off financially. Also, I hope I am not coming across as a know it all on this. I just get excited about helping folks and if I know a thing or two about something then even better. I have fished Lake Fork well over 100 times. It used to be one of my favorite lakes to fish. So, I am happy to share any info I have about the lake with anyone. I really enjoy helping folks catch fish. Just thought I would mention that.

Ok, I will call a friend of mine who lives out there and see what he says. Will get back to you on that.

Not true. Their is a tackle shop that sells large shiners that are big for bass. It has been a while since I bought any but if my memory serves me the store was on hwy 515 once you crossed over the lake heading east. I believe they were on the north side of the road. Maybe one of the locals can confirm this. But those Shiners where easily 5 inches or bigger.

If you know for sure you are going then I would highly recommend booking yoiur rooms ASAP. Waiting will only ensure less availabilty and possibly no rooms. Some people book these rooms 1 year in advance. Lots of people travel to Fork to fish during the spawn. So again if you know you are going to be there then trust me, book your accomodations NOW. Here is a great site which contains all the info you will need to book your trip: http://www.ets-systems.com/

What a guy Kent. You agreeing to pay for the accomodations.

I don't believe in superstitions either. I believe in God. No lottery tickets for me either.

1150+ miles and 17 hours of driving.....Probably not a good idea. If I went I would fly there. I have friends who I could fish with from their boats. Did you all stay at Lake Fork Marina? I think that is the best place. The owners are real nice and friendly. If you fish on a weekend it will be crowded. But during the week it is not as bad. I have fished there many a time during the spawn (March) and have had allot of boats near me. It is a fantastic lake and I sure do miss fishing it. Personally I like late February better then March. More of a pre spawn mode and the spinnerbait and red rattle trap bite is in full swing then. I guess I am partial to February as I have had my best day ever fishing at Fork in February. In fact, I have caught most of my big fish in Fork in February. BTW, my Avatar picture is a sunrise from Lake Fork Here are some more shots of the lake and me: Oh look late February Caught this 6lber on a jig the same day I caught the 7lber above on a spinnerbait

Well, let me make a vote for Florida and the Stick Marsh. Folks can stay in Orlando which has everything. Or we can make it on a lake near Orlando such as Kissimmee or Toho? Plus, that lake gets crazy crowded in March. So if you are going to Fork you had better book reservations ASAP.

Classic Avid right there folks

I can't see that this title is considered arrogant. The only arrogant statement on this entire thread was uttered by someone who apparently feels the need to TELL us that he is a "guru" or an "aficionado" on bass. That one floored me. Question I have for you is all of this tweaking, analytical study, and re-organizing of data helping you catch more and bigger bass? If so, then this can be a great tool. If not, then what are you looking to gain by this?

I love fishing in winter. Lakes are less crowded. I catch bigger bass. What can I say more then that?

I gues I am the guilty party who surmised that they don't. But like I told Don that is not a general truth that applies to every situation. I said that trolling motors spook bass when they are in real shallow water and when they are spawning. Banging into stumps, raising and lowering the TM, stomping on the deck of the boat, letting the compartment lids slam down all make a heck of allot of noise that does spook fish. Quietly trolling with the motor on low while fishing has never hindered me in my bass fishing before. At least not to my knowledge So since this poll asks a vague question I answered no. If the question was more specific I might have answered yes given the circumstances.

He's the man.

I remember watching a show right after Jay Yelas won the classic. He is teamed up with Doug Hannon and they both give points of views I think they called it the Science and the art of fishing. Anyway, Jay spoke on not having to be good at every lure you own. He said it is better to find what you are good at and find the water where you can fish what you are good at. He said that is what he does. Doesn't sound like a whole lot of versatility to me. Does the phrase jack of all trades master of none come into anyone's minds here? With all due respect to Chris or anyone else, there is no way every lure can be "mastered" equally by the same guy. I think I am pretty good with just about every lure there is too. But I am not in the same league of guys who do nothing but fish their favorite stle of lures. Follow me on this? We get good by practice. If I am throwing 50 different lures every time I go fishing I am not spending the same time on say Senkos then another guy is who is ONLY throwing senkos. Also, what do you guys think of when you think of KVD? I think of power fishing all the way. Does Kevin even own a worm? lol. He is a speed guy extraodanare (sp?) he fishes to his strengths when he fishes. I honestly believe that on a big lake like most of those guys fish there are places where just about each presentation will catch fish and would be the best for that scenario. Great anglers find the places that are the best places for their skilled mastering of a certain style of bait can be utilized to it's fullest.

Here it is: http://floridafisheries.com/docum/lakes.html Although I don't see the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 on this list. It is definitely over 1,000 acres. Also, I am not sure what Conservation lake 1, 2 and 3 are. I assume they are areas in the Everglades as they are listed quite large.

I know many of our Florida lakes are full of Tilapia. Perhaps that is why we have so many large bass over here? Does anyone make a Tilapia swimbait? Might be worth looking into. Always release big bass. Sometimes I like to fish lakes that I know people are keeping bigger fish in hopes that every fish I catch I sore mouth and release so that someone else would have a lessor chance of catching that fish. Sort of my way of helping out those fish

Where I live in Palm Bay is probably the best value Florida has left to offer. It is unreal the cost of homes here compared to most other places in Florida. It is not unusual to find 2,000 sq ft homes here for $165-$175k. That is unheard of anywhere else in Florida that I know of. These are not old homes but brand new ones. Palm Bay was one of the fastest growing markets in America for a while. There are literally hundreds of homes sitting on the market down here empty. Things just sort of burst here. I am only 23 miles from the Stick Marsh and about 15 miles by road to the beach. About 45 minutes or so from Orlando.

FB, I know what you mean about buying stuff to make your own lures. I already bought the stuff as I have made a few baits already. I posted them in the tacklemaking section a while back. Most of the fun to me is making them. My best talent is art not fishing or selling which is what I do for a living. I would prefer to use my art talents but alas for now anyway, I am unable to. So every now and then I get an itch to make things. I start from scratch too and make stuff. Those lures you posted several posts up do not look worthy of $30 in my opinion. I honestly believe I can make a better looking hard bait then the ones you posted. So I will have to do that and post my product when I am done. Thanks for the help though. Swimbaits are not my thing. Have any of you ever used those large swimbaits that are just bodies that require you to use a large jig head in them? I have several of those that are easily 6 or 7 inches and look darn sweet if you ask me. What size jighead should I match those with?

Hey Brian, I will say some prayers for you that God keeps you in all safety. We look forward to your return. Be safe out there.

FB, you mean the treble hook is stuck on the top of the bait? I am not sure I am following you if not. Can you post a picture of this rigged this way. Also, what is a ROF 5? Never heard of it. Thanks.

I sure would like to get into some big Smallies like you describe Kent. Do you ever fish with live crawdads for them?

As many of you know I know fish on the Stick Marsh/Farm 13. Probably Florida's best chance at producing a 10+ or even a teen bass. I have been considering buying a Huddleston for instance just to see if fish will hit this large of a lure here. Well, I tookk Avid fishing with me a few weekends ago and low and behold he has one. So I got to see it up close and personal. I was really impressed with it and it is big However, the way the double hook hangs down would never and I mean never fly at the Stick Marsh or Farm 13,. Apparently out in California you guys don't have wood of any kind and probably fish deep rocky type lakes. Well, that lure is made for open coverless water. Fished anywhere near stumps or laydowns and that thing would last all of 2 casts haha. So, what other options would I have then? Matt's lures have hooks on top which I think are the only option here. Anything hanging underneath the lure would never work in this lake. I will probably get a male perch from Matt before our spawn in November and December so I will be saving up for that. What other swimbait options would work in a shallow lake of less then 6 feet that has allot of wood in it? I am thinking of a soft bodied swimbait option. I will be making my own hard bodied jointed option that is probably 9" long or so. Maybe 10". I would buy one but the prices are just so out rageous that I just can't see myself ever paying as much as some folks want for their lures. But if anyone knows of any reasonably priced hard floating swimbaits then let me know. When I say reasonable I would say in the $30 or below range and even more so in the $20 or less range. Otherwise I will just make my own.

I am curious to those who have fished multiple states and multiple lakes within multiple states for your opinion of the best bass fishing. Which state do you think has the overall best bass fishing? If your experience has only been bed fishing let's say here in Florida then your opinion might be skewed. If that is the case please mention that. Because fishing is not like that all the time. For me, I would have to say Texas has the best bass fishing lakes. I have lived in Florida for almost 2 years now. I have fished in well over a dozen lakes and rivers here. Some of which are considered the best this state has to offer. My experience has shown me that Texas has outperformed for me in size and in quantity. Granted I lived in Texas for 21 years. But it was not as hard to catch 20+ fish in a day there then it is here. Plus, out there if I did get into some fish and boated 20 or so several of them would be in the 5lb range or close to it. I have caught 20 fish here 1 time and none where even in the 2lb range. So IF you have fished in multiple states and in more then one body of water in various states what do you think is the most productive place to fish for bass? Please only respond if you have experience in more then 1 state. My situation is fishing only with artificials. I haven't shiner fished. Maybe I need to do that in order to catch these tougher to catch Florida bass