N Florida Mike

I have fished 1/0 wide gap hooks with a 4 inch senko and actually have no problem with them. I hook most of the fish, and the hook doesnt interfere with the action of the senko. I dont gut hook many fish because I use floating mono or braid and see the twitch, reel down and set the hook asap. I use 2/0 the most though for 4 and 5 inch senkos and would rather use at least a 2/0 with the bigger senkos. I also use 3/0 , which is fine for the bigger senkos ( 5 inch and up ). I dont ever use bigger than 3/0 because I like the senko to sink slower than it would with a heavier hook. I dont use any weight with mine either. That's what works best for me.

I dont do well with white. I do well with the various watermelon colors, except with watermelon majic, which I rarely ever get a bite on.

We'll see @Catt , we'll see. Got y'all at the swamp again this year !

Cool name and I.D pic. Oh, and nice chunky bass too.!

I got off from work early today and was on the water by 5 or so. Fished until dark. Decided to fish the south end ( furthest from the house )Bite was slower today. Windy at first, so I fished the calmer water by the island. Caught 2-3 on the 4 inch yum dinger but it was slow. Got out past the island in the wind trying to fish weed edges .Switched to a 5 inch green and red sparkle watermelon senko, that they have been all over lately- nothing. So I decided to fish the other side of the Island out of the wind around brush and eel grass and switched to a ruby sparkle baby brush hog, on my little finesse rod .Caught 7-8 including the pictured fish. Then, with remaining daylight I went back to the far south end and caught a few more on the senko on eel grass edges. Ended up with 14.

I fish early and late, shady areas, and deep holes ( I live on a shallow Florida lake and the fish really relate to the holes in hot weather.) Fishing under docks are a great pattern from late morning until 4 or so if you can take the heat !!

•Flukes- Mostly zoom, and GY •Senko type- Gy , yum dingers •Ribbon tailed worms- Culprit, lucky strike, bass assassin •Trick worms -Zoom •Zoom super speed worms •Producto tournament worms •Manns jelly worms • Creature baits- Zoom baby brush hogs, super speed craws,Z-hogs . Berkley havoc pit bosses. There are a few others ☺

I havent missed it in years but it somehow eluded me this year. I started when I was 8 and played baseball , then softball for around 28 years or so total. Theres something really special about baseball.It is in its purest form in little league.

Got this nice brown bullhead on a 4 inch senko !

Got out for an hour and a half yesterday evening with the G-daughter, mainly to make sure my trolling motor was fixed right. I decided to fish traditionally less productive areas as a challenge and they were all over the senkos again.We ended up with 12, including 3 that were 2 1/2 to 3 pounds. Trolling motor worked good, had a successful rescue of Mackayla after she got stuck up in the big oak on our island , caught some fish, and enjoyed a pretty sunset on the way home. Life is good !!

I have never used a leader. Nobody I grew up with did either. I use mostly mono, and have a few reels with braid , and just tie directly to the hook. I like line that floats so I can see the twitch when the fish takes it, so I dont like flouro. I catch plenty with either line, and the baits work fine. I just dont see any reason for a leader.

Thanks @everythingthatswims for the great write-up. Someday you ought to consider doing some outdoor writing. Your summaries are excellent, better than many of the " Seasoned " outdoor writers Ive read. Thanks for including us in your fishing adventures. Best wishes for your continued success !

This is an interesting subject. I am the lake director of my lake's H.o.a. We used to have a resident that sprayed the lake for free. He did it between 1985 and 2011 and only had 1 fish kill, which was the last time he sprayed. But it was a bad one. I think he killed most, if not all of the bass over 3 pounds. When he treated, nearly every weed in the lake would die. For some reason, he only had a fish kill the last time. I have been on the lake after weed treatments, during the affects from it, and as the weeds begin growing again, all the way to nearly taking the lake over. A few things Ive noticed: When the weeds get really bad, the baitfish thrive because they can hide. The water is at its clearest at this time because the excess weeds clean the water. The fishing is good also, esp. on weed edges. Once the lake is treated, the lake has less clarity and the baitfish have less cover to hide in. The fishing success drops because the fish are focusing more on live , easy to catch prey , and all of a sudden it's hard to find bass because now the weed edges are gone.Also, the water clarity drops, which means you have to usually change baits/colors. But at least in my lake, the fish have never dissapeared. And we have stocked with grass carp, and used sonar for eel grass control. This year, even with a monthly treatment, the fishing ( esp. for bigger fish ) has been very good. I have seen ( heard actually ) a reduction of bullfrogs this year , and the frog fishing has been nearly non existent. But overall The lake has continued to be very productive since I first came on the scene in 1974. As for fish disappearing, I bet they are holding somewhere in your lakes, just in a different area with some kind of good bottom structure, or in deep holes .

Each year Im diligently watching for little hints of fall , since it is my fav. time of year. August is our most humid month, and 2nd rainiest. Sometime in late august-early sept, there is a subtle change in the air. I think it is the slight temp. drop. If anyone works outside every day like me, you notice it. Around the 3-4th week of sept, the nights will start being noticeably cooler. I Love the first chill in the air ! Bass start biting much better, Sec football is back, and the grass doesnt grow as fast. Cant wait !

dog+gator=bad news.

All of it sounds good. When my truck was newer I put bug shields on and a tool box. My truck's so old Ive stopped putting money into fixing anything but the bare necessities.If I could just figure out how to get my seatbelts unstuck that would be enough ?

Yes ! I remember that too.

Im pretty sure I saw the first one with Charlton Heston in the theatre when it came out. With todays special effects, it should be great.