N Florida Mike

Yeah that's all I need with all the forest fires around here ?

I feel your pain bro. I lost a 5 pounder earlier this year and was in a bad mood the rest of day...The bigger they are the worse it is. One way to look at it is that you made the right lure choice and presentation to get a hawg to bite.Thats a victory right there!!?

Your just going to miss some of those smaller fish.I probably get 3 out of 4 of the fish that bite under 12'.I usually fish t- rig with the point of the hook slightly sticking out. If I miss on little fish it doesn't bother me anyway.

I have a 12 foot little tri hull fiberglass boat that a friend gave me in the 80s.It was a great little boat for the small waters I generally fish. My son used it quite a bit and it began leaking badly,so they patched all the leaks and used it some more.The last time he took it out,it nearly sank the leaks were so bad. It's been leaning up against my fence for 10 years now. My opinion is that patching it again is a waste of time. So what would y'all do? Thinking about putting in the front with a sign " free boat " but am sort of afraid it might sink and drown someone ! Just want it out of the yard.

Smaller hooks! I use a 1/0 wide gap a lot with small plastic baits.

These were bass Roger.They weren't school size either,but had some substance to them.W e don't have many specks in this lake. My thinking is that they were picking off bream or shiner. Tonight I had a couple blow ups on the booyah PC, but they missed.

I should have thought of the bugs.Had a plenty in the boat that night. And thanks everyone.Time to feed the bait monkey ! I used to do fairly well with a devils horse but haven't had one for a few years now.

I was out fishing the home lake the other evening and it got dark with me still on the water. I was at the far end of the lake from home,and had caught some fish,including a nice 3.11. Bass began blasting something all around me on top.I don't fish topwater much,and when I do it's usually a frog. All I had was a frog,and they would not hit it. I have had some success reeling a big senko across the top,but not this night.Water was 4-6 feet deep,and fairly clear.What would y'all use in that situation?

I've never had a " friend" do that....

Cool shorts. I got these bass swimming trunks at West Marine.

My wife doesn't have a hobby either,unless watching romantic movies could be called that. As I posted in a different thread, she doesn't much like to fish anymore.Occasionally , I'll come up with an idea for something she might like,and offer to do it with her. Whatever it is ,I actually end up enjoying it because the motive was good.You have to spend time and study her and learn what makes her tick and then do that more.I know it's kind of a dirty word nowadays , but commitment always pays dividends. When I do stuff WITH her,and do stuff FOR her ,she has no problem with me fishing.

The shiners in my lake hide in the eel grass for the most part.If they don't,they get EATEN.The lake used to be chock full of them.All sizes.I wish It could be that way again.T he population fluctuates widely.Right now there is a low population of them,but they will increase in the summer because the weeds increase so they can hide better. I have caught a 2 pound bass on an 11 inch shiner more than once.Its amazing what a bass can eat. I have thought that the super flukes mentioned above would do exceptional but for me they haven't been that good.I did catch the winning fish on a golden bream fluke in a small tournament we had out here.Gonna try them again though.I t seems like bass would annial ate them.

Bet it's good to eat

Ya think? I immediately thought Orlando area before I checked out your profile. What's your go-to baits there?

Mike Barnett. Jax. Is there a way to win a fishing trip with him.Id like to enter.

I've caught 90-100 this year. This is my quantity vrs quality input.Somedays I feel like fishing for big fish.Somedays I like fishing for numbers.Usually it's somewhere in between,with a lean toward numbers.If I catch enough fish,theres usually a few big fish mixed in.

I haven't fished it in a long time now,so I don't have any new info. We used to do well around bear Island. .But I'd fish the areas mentioned before.Those areas work anywhere in the river system. If I had to choose one place to fish,it would be docks,esp between 10-4 o'clock. Baits: I always do well with red shad or black in those waters.My favorite is culprits or producto tournament worms.I typically fish black early or late,and fish red shad in between.

I do the same thing with the speed craw and do well with it.For some reason I don't do as well with the worms though. My secret weapons? No secret,but the zoom baby brush hog is one of them. A another less popular bait that I pull out every now and then is the Z- hog.

My wife used to go with me a lot.One of our first dates was wade fishing the st Johns river.She was one of a few that went and wasnt "skeered" of gators,moccasins etc. She was exceptionally good at bream fishing.She would give me a run for the money in numbers each time. We would go fairly often on the home lake until she lost the " bass of the lake" A huge fish she hooked at one of my best spots.The fish was actually towing my Jon boat with me and her in it. And it just came off. That kind of took the wind out of her sails and she hasnt been with me much since. Looks like youve got a keeper there!

I honestly cant think of one... Wait a minute! There was this bass boat....

My whole hand goes numb every night.,and every now and then,during the day.I went to see the doc once about it 25 years ago.You know what his solution was?? Sleep on my other side!! It either happenned when my friend ran us into an oak tree and my thumb broke in 3 places,or when a boss of mine( another friend) made me drive fence posts into the ground with the end of an axe handle. I wouldn't worry about it.I dont.' Course,Im not a doctor sooo....

I dont know about the distribution for other states but a majority of water bodies have them in Florida. If I wanted to catch them anywhere though I would find a spot convenient for you and chum it daily with bread until fish begin to hold there .With experience,you can tell its shiners by the way they dimple the water when they are present. Check on cast net laws for your state.In florida,you can catch them with a net unless that specific waterbody doesnt allow it.All sport fish must be released if caught n a net. If netting isnt an option,you can catch them with light line,a tiny hook,and a tiny bread ball. I dont use a weight or cork.Just watch the line for movement. If theres no shiners at least you will catch some bream,which are almost as good for bait as shiners.Again,check the laws for fishing with bream in your area. When I was a teen,we often caught 12 inch shiners in the home lake.Caught a couple over 13 inch!!! Our lake record bass of 13 1/2 pounds was caught on a 12 inch shiner!

Maybe he had a heart attack. Ive never had a fish die on the hookset. I did hit a bass with the oars one time when I was rowing but at least he was swimming around in circles not dead. I scooped him up and invited him home for dinner.Figured he would drown eventually anyway swimming around and around like that.

I would love to take a week or two and hike some of the appalachian trail.I would probably need to get in a little better shape first. We have a lot of trails here.One is in the Ocala forest,and you can primitive camp and fish as you go.

Depends on what size senko too.I can cast a 5 inch quite a bit further than a 4. I use spinning exclusively with a 4. Anything 5-7 inch I sometimes use casting. I would say I can cast a 4 with spinning around 125 feet,which is more than enough distance for me. With spinning ,I can cast a 5 inch another 20 feet or so further.Not so much with casting because I dont use them as much.