N Florida Mike

Dont over think it. Just go. You definitely won’t catch any if you stay home. If you live somewhere like where I do ( high 90s this week ) The morning after a nice rain is usually a good time to fish in the summer.

I was just thinking about that size yesterday. I used most of mine up too. Now I just have a couple bags left but they are colors that don’t work very good. That size is money in the summer for large Florida bass!!!

I used to fish Diawas more, but for no particular reason I’ve moved on to Shimanos.I don’t think I have any Diawas left now in my arsenal , just a few in my reel graveyard box.Have been satisfied with both though.

Went out tonight after 6. HOT !! With a slight breeze every now and then. Big fish huntin’ today. Found a old 10 inch cut off Mann’s jelly worm from the late 70s . Fished the first deep hole down the lake . Suddenly a nice fish blew up on the jelly worm. But I had thrown an 80s paddle tail worm out to the other side of the hole. So I went to reel it in to get it out of the way and there was this fish on it. Turned out to be big fish of the day , just shy of 4 pounds. The fish that blew up on the jelly had let go by the time I got the other fish in. Stayed with 10 inch+ worms all evening and caught most of the rest of the fish on the zoom ol’ Monster in watermelon seed. Could not get another big one to bite but I did get a 3 or so. Ended up with 16 Total.

Y’all ever hear of Jack’s juice? It’s a garlic scent. Gonna try some this evening.Ill report back after the trip. I used it today for a good while and had 1 blow up, and the fish let go.. Caught 15 without it.

Yeah, but they’d get caught nowadays with all the technology. We have limited gator hunts but they’re more for rich folks that want the experience, not for making money anymore. The novices have to pay a licensed hunter to go with them so the hunters make a little. The father in law of a old friend runs a seafood market and sells gator tail he hunts legally but he’s the only one I know of doing it anymore around here. Not at all like Louisiana. Itll be like this until enough of the suburban folks dogs get ate. Then they might open it up some for more numbers for less $ .

I love that area. The owner of a fishing store in Gatlinburg told me to use rooster tails and it was some of the best fishing in the area. I didn’t get one bite in 3-4 hours. But the location was so pretty it didn’t bother me too much.

That’s an interesting insight. I know this may sound strange, but I swear it’s true. When I fish with live bream , EVERY fish I catch on one is super filled out and healthy. What’s also strange is that many of the fish I catch on artificials ARE skinny. There’s got to be something to it. Almost makes you think the super healthy ones are healthy BECAUSE they eat bream, and the ones that aren’t don’t eat bream , or don’t eat them primarily. Sorry, I know this has gotten off topic.

I’m sure some of it depends on the forage base. I have no shad in my home lake and have not caught any shiners for several years now, so various types of bream are the main forage base. Interestingly , the bass seem to like copperhead ( copper nose to some of y’all) bluegills the best out of several varieties . They seem to like redbreast bream the least .There are lots of minnows, which are good for the little bass to grow on. I have caught a few crawfish in the trap but I don’t think there’s a large population. So bream are “ what’s for dinner “ around here, and the occasional frog.

I fished the new river once , that runs along the northwest edge of the smokies. Looked a lot like this, but wider. Didn’t catch anything though . I was like a fish out of water there!

I usually prefer fishing alone. That way I’m undistracted . I like the total peace and silence ( when Im not talking to myself). It’s much more relaxing. On the other hand, I want to spend quality time with friends and family. So I make myself take others out. I usually enjoy it because it meets a need in someone else’s life.

Here’s another one “ bass don’t like bluegills” Not true where I live !!!

That live bait fishing is unethical! That more can be done with casting reels than spinning, lol. That eating bass is the unpardonable sin of the fishing world. That dingers catch more fish than senkos. ( good vrs excellent imo. ) That jigs are The end all- do all of bass fishing. That fishing in eel grass does not produce fish. That leaders are ever necessary. That ugly sticks are bad rods. That Florida strain largemouths are harder to catch. That mono is not the best all around line.

Here here.!!

Absolutely ! My Stradic is 10 years old or so, and I have caught hundreds of bass ( probably over a thousand) on it. It remains to be seen how the Nasci will do. I like everything so far except that it seems that the bar that connects the reel to the rod is a little shorter than the Stradic, so my big hand sometimes gets in the way when turning the handle. It also creaks when I reel in at the same place which doesn’t bother me too much, but I’ve never had one do that before.

Yeah, right when I got home ! I was a lot more upset when we had a bad fish kill though in 2011. I wanted to lay hands on the guy that sprayed to kill the weeds and ended up killing a lot of the fish too !

Not sure of the model anymore. There’s nothing on it to indicate it either. It’s slightly bigger than what most bass fishermen would use on average. The gears are worn . I can still use it and catch smaller fish but if I hook a bigger fish the handle won’t turn and the fish get off. I’m going to fix it someday but got more important “ fish to fry “ at the moment. That reel is by far my favorite one Ever.

It seems by this thread and all the responses that over- analyzing is a trend ?. You see it on the weather channel, and especially with sports. Why would it be different with fishing?That guys getting paid to be in depth and he has the time for it- it’s his job. On the other hand... I am more like you... There are over- detailed people and less- detailed people in every walk of life. You tend to be more analytical with things that matter to you. I only get that way if I get in a fishing slump. As long as I’m catching fish I don’t worry about it .I used to keep a log but found it tedious . I fish to enjoy the experience and relax and to avoid anything resembling work- So I try not to get too detailed anymore about much of anything for that matter. But if you’re a detail person then knock yourself out....

That’s great ! I took my grandson when he was 3 and 5 minutes after we got set up to fish a pond, he had to pee. I kept trying to get a fish for him and a little while later I look over and there was a dark circle below the belt.So off to the bathroom we went. I was just hoping he’d forget to tell his mom and granma and it would dry before we got home. He did , It did and we even caught some fish . Mission accomplished!

Sorry, I had posted a recommendation but reread your post and decided my post didn’t apply to your situation. Good luck!

I catch a lot of my cats with old dead shrimp that I have leftover from saltwater fishing. 2nd choice is cut pieces of bream. I used to run trot lines when I was younger, and used the shrimp almost exclusively. I never caught as many with chicken liver but I never used it as much either. Same with mullet. Another thing they love is cut golden shiners!

Went for a long walk with my 17 year old grandson Tyler today. He’s seriously considering going in the military. He has lived with me since he was 11 or 12. I have no complaints. Does his chores, cooks for the family often , mows and does anything else he’s asked without a problem. Now , if I could just get him out on the lake with me more often.!! He was around 7 or 8 when this picture was taken .

We were launching at a big creek in the area that was rapidly changing from backwoods to suburbia. I don’t remember any of the locals ever having any trouble there. It was just routine , efficient launching... until one day... a suv full of transplants showed up. Music ( if you could call it that ) blaring. Loud crowd- y’all know the type. So they spin around , take off the straps, etc, and the driver is trying to show how fast he can launch. He did back it down good... but hit the brakes before he was in the water. The whole boat ( good sized ski or racing type boat ) came crashing down on the ramp. It was an inboard motor so I don’t think he had much damage if any to the prop. But it gouged a big piece of the exterior hull out. it took all of us and them to get it back on the trailer and off they went , cursing their “ luck “. My son also took my spare old pickup( without permission ) when he was 17. Went to a boat ramp down the road and for some reason backed the truck down the ramp( without a boat ) and was sitting there. When he went to leave the bald tires couldn’t get any traction and he kept slipping further in with each try. He finally went for an all or nothing try , and it just slid right on out into the water. It was a 4 speed manual tran. And he wasn’t as good with it as an auto. I kid you not, he had to swim out a window to escape. To make matters more embarrassing,an aquaintance from church was just happening to take his lunch break there. Thankfully , He had a chain and was able to pull it out after Joe dove in to hook it up , but it never ran right again after that. Finally sold it for 400.00 to a farm owner . Glad my son didn’t drown but ... ? words don’t do justice to how I felt when I got home and saw a wrecker dropping off my dripping truck!

This song sums up my trip Thursday, without the bottle and girl.

This one would be appropriate for you koz.