N Florida Mike

Man,how awesome is that!

Sickness/ death of a loved one is hard to go through. My mom and dad both are gone now.The only thing harder than losing my dad was losing mom. I never knew my grand dad's.Both of them died fairly young just working themselves T o death.So take advantage of every minute so you won't have regrets.I pray for peace and comfort for you both.

I looked into getting a rudder for mine but haven't yet. I put a heavy piece of concrete in the back to weigh it down ,and moved the battery back to about halfway.I sit in the front and have the trolling motor up front.If someone goes with me it also weighs down the back and there is no problem steering . It will steer fine as long as the back is weighed down some.

Sorry to be negative about it.Not like I don't believe all the stories.My impression is that it isn't as practical for shallow weedy lakes that I usually fish.It gets weeds on it nearly every cast and sinks faster than they tend to like it here.

Maybe I did something wrong.I tried it and caught 2 fish in about 2 hours .Went back to fishing a t- rigged weightless senko and started catching fish again.

Plastic worms .Specifically,Creme, Manns,Culprits,and GY senkos.Oh yeah,and zoom trick worms.

Healthy fish!

I'd like to meet him, Shaw Grigsby,and a couple others.Sometimes in the past he had a drawing for a fishing trip you could win with him.Have enjoyed his shows.Dont know if they're still on.

Man,Id love that.How did it happen?

Well,I finally got back out in the lake for a couple hours yesterday.Decided to start a short distance down from my property and fish the whole west shoreline,not just the hot spots.I had a nice fish pick up my watermelon red fluke but he came off at the hook set,which rarely happens to me.Next fish I had seen a good sized swirl and through into the area and felt the tap.The line broke when I set it!? Which almost never happens to me anymore.It was then I noticed my (Shimano stradic) was reeling kind of rough.Needing oil. So not wanting to ruin the gears,I retired it for the day. So I pick up my spare plastics rod, which has a reel with a slower gear speed. Next fish, another good one,he runs straight at me into some eel grass.Im reeling frantically to keep up and HE comes off.Now I'm getting frustrated.Miss another fish. T hen I stick a 2 pounder,and as I pull him out of the water,the line breaks! I nearly went home at that point. But I kept on and caught 3 before dark.One of them, a 2 pounder, was caught where I caught my PB many years ago.And the other 2 were caught with baby brush Hogs in Ruby red by the Island out of wood.Even with the setbacks,it was a beautiful evening on the water.Owls hooting,geese calling,dogs baying way off. Lessons learned: Time to change line. Time to oil reels.( Should have done these sooner) and time to sharpen hooks!Things I know,but I have a lazy streak I guess. And not to get frustrated when things don't go my way.I could be in a 3rd world country just fishing and whatever else to just have something to eat! Very thankful! Mike

Hey ,welcome to the forums! What part of Florida are you at?

We trolled a deep ( for Florida ) ,clear lake a few times at night.One night he hooked a huge fish this way and fought it for a short time before it pulled the treble out of the crank bait. He went back the next night and caught an 11 1/2 pounder that way going through the same deep hole.We were using baby bass cranks .

You use a lot of the same baits I do minus the spinner baits.

Same here Catt.Ive caught one 4 pounder on the brush hog and nothing else.Have caught lots on the babies.

I use a disk weight ?

For me it's jigs.I hear so much good about them.I have never caught a fish on one,or even got a tap,swirl or anything.Not that I've fished them a lot though. Another is wacky rigged senkos. I catch tons of fish T rigged with them,but nothing with wacky style. Bubble gum flukes don't work well in my lake (fairly clear water ), but I caught one of my best fish ever on one in a fairly murky golf course lake.

Welcome to the forums!

I record Dance and Mlf and Scott Martin challenge.Also Roland, and I will occasionally watch Jimmy Houston.I just get tired of his laugh ,sounds like a turkey gobbling.

I always carry one in my work truck tool box!?

I tape mlf and watch it later so I can FF through the commercials.So I watched the one yesterday where Short pulled in front of Watson and caught the 5 pounder.I had never liked Watson up to that point,then found myself hoping he'd overtake Short.Watson made me laugh several times with his " pray for Suggs " campaign,and when he kept yelling at Suggs and he wouldn't respond.Also with his almost constant banter with the " score tracker update " man.H e was coming back hard there at the end with the 5 and 4 pounder. I kind of like Shyrock too he kept It competetive.

Y'all, this is one overcomplicated thread.I never use a leader.I use mono for most of my gear.I have a few that are braid.I Tie the hook directly to both and have no problems catching plenty of fish.

I went to a GM once.It was a smaller store and almost no customers.Looked around for a little while and Didnt buy anything. The first time I went to a BPS , my wife put up with it for 3 HOURS and finally asked if we could please leave.She almost had to drag me out . I see a little negativity on here with BPS.Whats up with that?I have had nothing but good experiences there. I also really like Academy .Great selection and lower prices . Dicks has less of a selection,but they often have specific baits I can't find elsewhere .

Healthy fish!

Enjoyed that.Thanks.

I went 20 years without using casting gear! I started using some casting gear again I n the last year or so but still prefer spinning.Its much easier to skip,casts into the wind better,and easier to get a grip when you're fighting a fish ( to me anyway. )I've caught nearly all my big fish on spinning also. • I rarely use spinnerbaits either,caught 1 fish on one all year. • I have never caught a fish on a jig. •I have no problem with using live bait?