N Florida Mike

Usually to the side. It has a tendency to go upward even with a sideways twitch. I also occasionally catch one just reeling it in across vegetation. I fish them all year but I probably use them more from spring to early fall.

I play 5- string banjo in the Scruggs style. I love bluegrass, bluegrass gospel , and old-time music. And some of the old country. I love Jerry Reed as well. Favorite bluegrass band is the Stanley brothers and Ralph Stanley and the Clinch mtn. boys. but I love Flatt and Scruggs , and Bill Monroe, esp. his instrumentals. And Ricky Skaags , Alison Krause to name a few. Also a wide- range of others. I could talk for hours on this subject! I haven't met hardly anyone that listens to the old time mountain music ( where bluegrass came from ) , but I love it as well. A lot of these musicians are fairly obscure ( or dead ) but you tube has opened up a lot of it that you couldn't have heard before.

I use spinning primarily , but have used flukes with bait casters. Zoom super flukes will cast fine with your gear. I Texas rig them and use no weight. I use a 3/0 wide angle gamakatsu hook. I catch most of my fish just throwing it out and letting it sink.Let it sit for 20 seconds or more. If they don't want it that way , after letting it sit , twitch twice and pause and repeat. I use primarily watermelon colors but have others in my fluke box.

I grew up in the area and would be glad to help. Send me a pm and we'll get started. Mike

It's low 50s for a high today , and misty rain.Toughing it out !?

You'll shoot your eye out!!?

I got out again yesterday around 4. I decided to fish the North east to east side of the lake , which has usually been the least productive part of the lake. Conditions were cloudy , cool , and almost calm.I caught this fish within 10 minutes after starting on the trick worm , and caught a few more before dark.

You're on the right track. My little lake is similar to yours. The fish want a slow, natural looking drop. I try to go as weightless as possible. I think one of the biggest keys to success on a small water body is rotating baits. I have 8-10 favorite soft plastics I use. Most often , I get the notion to start with a particular bait , based on the current conditions , time of year , or just a gut feeling. I go with that game plan , and can adapt if needed. My current top 5 that I rotate , ( kind of like a football team substituting players in and out ) : Senko type baits Zoom flukes Zoom trick worms Ribbon tail type worms Creature type baits : Zoom baby brush hogs, super speed craws These are my first team . I have others that are like a second team. I also do fairly well with spinnerbaits around floating weeds mats , and with hollow body frogs , and swimming frogs. One bait that gets little popularity but works well for me in the summer is the Zoom Z- hog. Color :My lake is slightly stained ( Fairly clear ), so I do very well with watermelon seed on cloudy days ,and wat. red on sunnier days. Grape is another good color , and tequila sunrise. I use June bug or black grape in low light. I have tried jigs ( and will try again ) with no success . I cannot use crankbaits without getting a wad of weeds each time. I am experimenting with various topwater baits. The best has been the devils horse. But to emphasize rotating baits : Don't use the same bait every time. Find baits / colors that work well and add them to your tool chest. Then you can pull them out based on your past experience ( log )?? as conditions or gut instinct leads you. I also try not to overfish my home lake ( its very hard not to ). If fish get too much pressure they are harder to catch in general. Hope this helps !

I'm off from work all week. I always do some home projects and fishing (Sometimes hunting ) the week after Christmas. So I got a good start on the outdoor stuff and quit around 2.30. On the water by 3 or so. Bright , sunny skies , windy , and cool. First 2 hours = 1 fish on a watermelon red super fluke. Worked my way to the south end and decided to fish the windy side. It got completely cloudy by then and colder.Caught 7 along there in the wind on the wat. red trick worm. The bite slowed near dark , so I switched to june bug -same worm. Before I started for home I fished a spot around a point from the wind where they bite good often there right at dark. Picked off 2 more, including this 4 pounder.( 2nd fish picture ) Good way to start a vacation !

I fished tournaments for 2 years in the 80s and haven't since. I wouldn't mind fishing a few a year now as a co-angler . Strangely enough ,as a lifelong fisherman in my area, I have lost touch with friends and acquaintances that tournament fish. Just doesn't seem to be as big around here as it once was.

I've had my Landau jb since the mid-80s. I have gotten my money's worth out of it for sure. Had some minor leaks a few years ago but j and b weld fixed that. The wood has completely rotted off the transom but it's been in the elements all these years. It's sitting faithfully out in the lake ready for the next adventure. You will enjoy yours. I sold my bass boat and bought it to have less problems. Mission accomplished !!

Jax. area.

You ought to make Christmas cards out of that !

It'd be good to get some feedback from some of the southeast members.

Merry Christmas Lonnie and to all the forum members !

Would love to come , but will be stuck in Florida ?. Seriously though , I wish we could do a closer one to me someday.

The story above reminded me of a fishing pier story when I was 10 or so. This woman hooked something real big and was struggling to reel it in. As luck would have it , her husband had gone off the pier to the bait store . The woman continued to desperately fight her " fish". At about that time , it came up , flat , and about the size of a small car hood. And it was flapping. Immediately , she began to yell at the top of her lungs " A FLOUNDA !! IT'S A FLOUNDA ! Her husband was just making it back to the pier when he heard the commotion and began running out on the pier with his bag of supplies. The whole time he was running she continued yelling the same " A FLOUNDA !!. The husband gets to her , panting , looks over the side and says disgustedly " Its NOT a FLOUNDA , Its a STINGERAY." Everyone on the pier was either laughing or trying hard not to. My dad shook his head and muttered something about" those yankees."

Meat run ! Went inshore fishing with my son today in the st augustine area. Very nice day. Fish varieties caught included Redfish, black drum , sheepheads , whiting, grunts , porgies. spots, sharks , puffers , bluefish ,catfish , sailors choice, mangrove , lane snappers and sea bass. We kept 22 fish total for the table, including the two biggest fish ,my son's 24 inch red , and my black drum that was at least 10 pounds, that Was caught on my lightest combo. Caught nearly all the fish on fresh dead shrimp, except the sheepheads were caught on fiddler crabs. My son had something big pull one of his combos overboard, and he jumped in and was able to grab the rod underwater and get back with it safely.Without catching the fish though.