Keithscatch

I now fish the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 mostly which is I believe +- 7,000 acres. It is a man made lake. I have also fished allot of natural lakes here in Florida. Most are natural and vary in sizes from a few acres to the largest lake contained entirely in the US the Big O. Though I have never fished it. So I can't count that one.

Uhmm, I seriousely doubt Mark Davis pionered the procedure Lane mentioned. Here is that exact procedure for those who wish to see illustrations. THis has been a procedure done for a long time for Rockfish which are caught at very great depths. http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/sgpubs/onlinepubs/g05001.pdf#search=%22releasing%20fish%20caught%20from%20deep%20safely%22

Hmm, tetanus shot. I probably should get one. I can't remember ever having one. I am sure I had to get some while I was in school. But as an adult nope never had one.

Wait a minute. I was told that a bass will not eat another bass ;) ;) lol. Spinnerbait, swimbaits and worms would be my suggestion. If this fails, try big Shiners.

You mean like this one: Then to go on and say this: Seems to me that you are guilty of excerpting yourself. Well, I never said that my own experiences are the end all to bass fishing knowledge. Friends that know me know I would never suggest such a thing. My point was this: I trust other people's opinions allot especially if they are experts in their field such as yourself. So with that in mind I try to apply the information that I have learned. When I hear from other experts that tell me that fish bury themselves in hydrilla during cold fronts or suspend in open water or just do not bite very well, I have no reason to argue with them. So I go and apply my own experience to the equation and if after several years of fishing frontal passages and weather changes I see that this is in fact true then in my opinion the matter is settled. I have opinion from experts and my own experience telling me the same things. For those of us who are not able to fish 300+ days we are limited to say 50 days or so on the water. Believe me it takes a whole heck of allot to keep me off the water on a weekend. So I have spent my fair share of cold frontal type days fishing. Even broke ice off of my eye guides before. Now, I can also post picture after picture up of nice bass with me wearing a coat. Heck I used to live in Texas and it gets allot colder there then it does here in S.Central Florida. In fact, George, the majority of my biggest fish have come from cold weather days with sunny blue bird skies. However, like I said before their is no way anyone can say with a straight face that bass are just as aggressive and bite just as easily after a cold northerner has just blown through as they were in the summer or fall. That all you have to do is find where they went. Your point seems to suggest that bass are not affected by sudden weather changes and eat just as much as they do before, during, and after the storm or cold fronts. This is what I am saying is just silly to me. So we will just have to disagree on this one.

I don't know where this information keeps coming from but everytime I do a google search on the age of bass I continually run into statements like this one: "On the other hand, northern bassthe native bass in most statesrace each other to smash lures. Unfortunately, northern bass don't live as long as Florida bass and seldom reach more than 8 pounds." Or here is another one from the same article: "For years, researchers and southern fishing guides have known that Florida bass don't bite aggressively after they're about 3 years old. Researchers call this becoming "bait-shy," and it's the reason most Florida guides use live shiner minnows when they take their clients fishing for trophy largemouths. "We knew that after age 3 Florida bass became increasingly difficult to catch with artificial baits. But we didn't realize it would be such a serious problem in private ponds," says Smith." Both of these comments come from this site: http://www.progressivefarmer.com/farmer/outdoor/article/0,24672,1224142,00.html An FWC biologist told me they have seen a 16 year old Florida bass. That is the oldest they have seen. So if other states have seen older northern strain bass then perhaps that is true that northerns live longer. This FWC biologist told me that these subspecies do better in the areas of the country that they are native too. A Florida bass doesn't do as well in places it is not native too just like a northern strain doesn't do as well down here in Florida. Also, I know that George can't be advocating that Florida bass bite just as well after a cold front moves through as they do before one. If so, this flies in the face of everything I have ever heard from biologists, guides, fishermen, and my own experience which I suppose I trust more then anything else. Do fish bite during or after a cold front? Sure they do. Are they as aggressive and as easily fooled? Not on your life. I can't imagine using the 2000 Toho results that Shaw Grigsby won as any indicator of post frontal fishing success. January on Lake Toho is right in the midst of spawning time. So fish would not be eating a lure to eat they would be mouthing a lure to remove it from their bed. Which more then not is the cause of the high weights for that tournament. If someone has well documented proof that Northern bass live longer then Florida bass then please show a link or two that shows this. Here is an interesting article: http://digital.library.okstate.edu/oas/oas_htm_files/v59/p47_50nf.html Also, I agree with this statement by Roger: I base this on my own personal experience fishing here in Florida and in Texas. But thrn again I have never had a 100 fish day either So experiences change with time. For now though, I would stand by this assessment. Thanks.

I also have no problems with it. My reasons are more for moral ones then enhancement ones. Bass fishing is a prominent sport in america with allot of youngsters looking on. Anytime you have role models competing in a sport or event there should be rules against using illegal drugs period. For those who think fishing is not a sport. Man, you are barking up the wrong tree. Of all the things to say is not a sport. Fishing is absolutely a sport. They call bass sport fish do they not? It is sporting to catch a fish is it not? Why do we all have to think a sport is not a sport because it is not physically demanding? To me sport is something done competetively and with great skill. I think we have proven that some anglers who are professional are just a notch or two above us weekend anglers. So apparently there must be skill involved or some guys wouldn't always be in the money at events. KVD seems to always be in the top 10 out of a field of 200 or more. Why? Maybe because he is really good at it. While he may not need to be called an athelete. Much like I would never call a Nascar driver an athelete either. But I would call both a sport. We call Golf a sport don't we? Do they exert tremendous physical energy? No. I don't see Tiger Woods with a sweaty shirt and sweat dripping off of his brow. Why do we always think of sport like a football game or basketball where the athelete is completely spent and exhausted after a game. Tennis would come to mind also or hockey. What about these? are they sports? table tennis, curling, polo events, rifle shooting. The answer is yes to all of these. All of these are events in the Olympics. Yet none of the examples I just provided require much atheticism or physical exertion at all to play or master them. Fishing is a sport as long as you are competing with other anglers and money or prestige is on the line, ie tournaments.

There is no question that in California swimbaits rule the roost for huge bass. Once you leave California all bets are off. Will swimbaits catch big fish in other states? Absolutely. Will they catch as many as they do in California. NO. We all want to believe that they will but they just don't. Not in Texas or in Florida. I have tried them and have caught 2 in the 7lb class for my efforts. Now not small but not huge either. 1 was caught in Texas and 1 in Florida. It just seems that the California guys assume the entire country will produce just like their home waters and wonder why those of us who do not fish those waters do not have the same luck as they do? I will be throwing swimbaits more and more in the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 as if they are going to work in Florida then this is the best lake to give it a true test. I caught a 7.5 on a Storm 4" wild eye live shiner a few weeks ago. So I have a few baby bass lures of Matt's that Dan(Lightninrod) gave me. I will see if they produce anything. I do know that George has produced some huge bass on Senko's and other plastics.

Hey Joe, I used to live in Jacksonville and the fish in my avatar was caught in Dr's Lake in Jacksonville last December. So yeah, there are some nice places to fish there. If you are boatless may I suggest renting a fishing boat at Whitey's fish camp. They are on Swimming Pen Creek which is where I caught that 8lber on a red lipless crankbait. There are lots of boat docks and the fish will be tight to them. Fish them with a Senko type bait or a T-rigged trick worm. Junebug is the magic color on this lake as it is in most Florida lakes and rivers. For good spawn time fishing (Dec-February) you will have to hit Salt Springs on the St. John's river. Crystal clear water with lots of eel grass and bass. Lots of anglers and tournaments going on then too. Please release any of the larger bass that you catch in Swimming Pen Creek or Dr's lake. It gets fair to high fishing pressure and well, I am just big on catch and release. Plus, I got buddies who still live there who would be mad at me for sharing secrets about this body of water if the guy I shared it with is not releasing his fish. Good luck to you.

Chris, that is a good article. I like to fish crank baits allot in various forms and like to fish shallow water with lots of trees, laydown and stumps. One thing I might add to this article is a little technique I learned that will make for a less frustrating day. Since we are fishing heavy wood cover we WILL get our lure hung up. Not if we get it hung up but when we get our lure hung up. Here is a trick that will get your lure unhooked the majority of the time. When your bait is hung it is important not to set the hook into the tree. So as soon as you feel it stop and it isn't a fish then give it slack. If it won't float up like Chris said then while holding your rod (me since I reel with my right hand I hold the rod in my left hand) and with the other hand (In my case my right hand) grab the line about 1 foot above the reel. Pull that line toward you and make it nice and tight. Point the rod tip at the direction of the snag or slightly to the side you are pulling the line and while making the line tight by pulling at least a foot of line with your opposite hand let go of the line so that it makes a snapping noise. This will send a wave action down your line that will literally force your bait to go backwards often popping it off of the tree stump or hangup. You may have to do it several times to get it off. Also, make sure that when you let go of the line that you also move the rod tip a little so that it creates slack after the snap. This works in shallow snags and in deep snags. I have retrieved many a crankbait using this very technique without having to use a lure retriever. I took Avid fishing with me at the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 last Saturday. Some of you saw my video. Anyway, he and I got hung up allot as we were using a Rattletrap. I popped every single one off of the stumps for us. I even got Avid to do it and he popped one of his own off himself. If this technique fails and you are in shallow water then go over to your snag and lower your rod into the water and reel in all of the slack at the same time so that your rod tip will follow the line to the lure. Once you make contact with your lure simply bounce your rod tip up and down onto your lure and that will free your lure from the tree. This might be a revealtion to some or old hat knowledge to others. Since we have so many newbies to the site here and younguns I thought this might help someone. So no shallow crankbait tutorial should be complete without learning how to remove your crankbait from the eventual snag. Good luck.

You have a gift and I am glad you are sharing it. God bless.

That is good news. I am sure CAST will be a better organization because you are in it. I know that God has truly blessed you and has trusted you to be a part of so many kiddos. Keep up the good work.

Not knowing where you are located, it is hard to say that pure Florida strain bass will live longer and grow bigger then northerns. You might be in Michigan or Illinois etc. If so, those Florida's will probably die off and not live very long. However, in the south or central states It is a fact that Florida strain bass grow larger, live longer and are tougher to catch then their northern strain cousins. I have fished waters that contained nothing but northern strain in Texas and believe me it was incredible. Florida strain bass are effected more highly with weather conditions also such as dropping or rising barometric pressure. Do a search on Google about Northern Strain and Florida Strain it will point out some articles from experts that agree with this assesment. Welcome aboard.

Hey is that a deer laying down in the background of the last fish picture? If so, how cool is that.

Great rules george. I think I will implement them on my boat also especially the Cockpit area. That is usually where I end up changing out my lures etc. So I am lucky that I have never been hooked by my partner nor have I ever hooked anyone else either. But good info to be aware of.

BM, A few questions. 1) Do you fish from a boat? 2) Do the lakes you fish contain any submerged grass Hydrilla, Millfoil, Eel grass, pond weed etc? The reason I ask this is because when I lived in Texas and fished during the winter. Texas gets cold too. Not up north cold but it freezes in N.Texas. Anyway, at lake Fork and other lakes I would fish shallow grassy flats with a deep creek channel near by with great success. I would fish this area with a red rattle trap. Why? Because the grass actually holds warmth in and the water temp is slightly higher there then out in the deep. Not saying there aren't fish out in deep water as there is. But I have proven to myself at least that I can catch good quality fish shallow even in 30+ degree weather. Water temps in the low 40's on rattle traps. If your lake is sort of void of grass no worries as I have fished other non grassy lakes the same way with great results. What I look for in that case is the North side of the lake (Because in winter time cold air blows from the north going south and that cools the water in the south part of the lake faster then in the north part of the lake due to the terrain blocking some of that air) that is exposed to the sun. Go out on the sunniest blue bird day you can find in the winter time. Cloudy days have produced too but I prefer sunny days in the winter time. Fish with the same red rattle trap in the exposed sunny side of the north banks. Another lure to try is a spinnerbait. Both have produced well for me in December and January. December being the better of those 2 months. This is sort of goes against the grain of what most say to do. But it works. I have also caught fish out in deep water in winter time. For that I suggest using a 1 ounce slab bait. Fish it on the bottom extremely slow. Experiment with it. Rip it off the bottom a few feet and let it fall down and then try barely lifting it off the bottom and let it settle back down slowly also. Slabs can be deadly in winter. Also late Fall slabs can produce bits that nothing else will. Keep that in mind. Here in Florida it is a different game all together. That is what makes fishing so fun. It is a lifetime worth of learning. Good luck.

Ok no one else? When it get's cold. Couldn't resist. :D

Thanks for helping me make my point Kent. I hate BS like that. What is the point of posts like that? But to clarify the math using your numbers it should read (1,000 8lbers X 100=100,000 total bass. Divided by 35 acres is 2,857 per acre.) Still crazy none the less. Then we get to add in all of the other fish too. The biomass just doesn't support that many fish per acre. Crazy just crazy.

1,000 8+lb bass in only a 35 acre pond? I would doubt that is possible. Just seems likely that it would have too many fish per acre for anything to survive and flourish. You have to ask how many 7lbers? how many 6lbers? 5lbers? 4lbers? etc. Sounds like you could walk across the tops of the fish in that little pond with what would be over 15,000 bass alone in such a small lake. Then throw in Catfish, Bream, Trout etc. Get my point? Some of you biologists chime in on that. How many fish can be supported per acre? Where's Jim when you need him? Oh he left. Anyway, get in a small jon boat and fish at night in the middle. That is what I would do. lol.

Heck we have entire lakes over 5,000 acres here in Florida that fit that description quite well Yet somehow fish still live in it. But mucky bottom shallow lakes are not my idea of a good place to fish. But you gotta do what you gotta do. Besides the other good advice given you can also try this. Rig up a Charlies Worm (Brand name) or any other high floater worm. Something that floats not sinks. It usually says on the bag if they float. If they don't then assume they sink. Anyway rig a solid white or chartreuse worm weightless on a 3/0 hook. Cast it out into the thick stuff and slightly twitch the rod tip back toward you. This makes the worm dance in the water and this action is awesome. Sometimes I wonder why I don't use this method more often then I do? Anyway, just twitch the worm all the way back to the boat or bank. This is a very weedless presentation and should get you a bite or two in there. Good luck.

And you can bet I will be tossing them at the Stick Marsh also.

Good point Chris. Yours looks good. If you want some from me for more northern waters I will add them to it and resend it to you later. Thanks again.

I have never caught a bass over 5lbs on a top water lure of any kind myself.

Hale, I Look forward to it. I doubt I will do much fishing to far south though. That site link you provided seems to be specific to lake Okeechobee? I went there and that was really the only thing the site talked about. Not sure I will fish that lake or not? Maybe someday. That link George gave I have seen before also. It is in my favorites already. But it is very incomplete as for example in Brevard county it only shows 2 boat ramps. Pretty hilarious to think there are only 2 boat ramps in all of Brevard County. In Indian River County it only shows 2 as well. So a map like yours is much appreciated. Thanks.

Hale: I have that same program. I would love to see your map of all of the ramps. My ramps or lakes I have maps saved for are mostly northern Florida lakes as I am new to this central/south area. My email is keithscatch@cfl.rr.com