N Florida Mike

I had something similar to that happen to me. I was fishing one of the urban fish management areas in Jax. It is an area that is fairly large and has 2 ponds, a big one and small one. It has woods in and around it and is eerie at night, especially because a lot of drugs, prostitution and perverts tended to use it . It wasn’t always that way, and I had fished it for years before all the crazy stuff started happening.Went over there once with the kids to fish, and a drunk guy was coming out of the water with nothing on but his underwear , and the same day at the far side of the lake a car was parked and shaking from the occupants activities inside. Needless to say I was angry, especially with my pre teen kids giggling and asking me what was going on in there. Another time I went there and met 2 officers coming out of the woods who were arresting a couple for lewd and lascivious behaviour in broad daylight. Enough stuff finally happened there to cause the city to lock the gate leading into it at night. There was a FWC officer that lived there with his family that I was friends with. He trusted me to the point that , if I was there when he locked up, he would let me stay and catfish, and dummy lock the gate. When I left , I would really lock the gate. When I was there alone or with my son, I was kind of nervous the whole time, especially after this happened: I was loading my J boat up by myself after dark , and was pushing it up into the truck bed. A voice nearby said” Need any help ?” I nearly jumped out of my shoes. I had no idea anyone was there. After the initial shock, I asked him where he lived. He said “ In the woods” That was a fairly common response in my area back then, meaning you lived in the country. I said , Where at? He said “ IN THE WOODS”, and pointed to the woods nearby . I said Oh , THOSE WOODS” It was a fairly chilly evening and I offered to buy him some food or get him a blanket. He declined and went down in the woods for the evening. Never saw him again., but I was always looking over my shoulder after that, and always carried, and wore a large knife on my belt…

I have had several incidents there. I think nearly every time I fished it I had some kind of motor trouble( ( Which is the wierdest thing) One time we conked out several miles downstream from our camp. Night fell. At some point dozens ( if not hundreds) of Barred owls began hooting. All calls, variations and pitches. I have never heard anything like it since… Another time we were fishing there, hadn’t seen anyone for hours, total peace and quiet reigning except for the slight sound of water rippling down the river… Suddenly…. WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHH!!!!!!! A fighter jet flew over us at tree top level!!! hey - Words can’t describe the experience…

There’s a good bear population along much of the st Johns …

A bull gator?

Especially an Armadillo!

Got this snapper today. He wasnt happy. I dont think my nieghbor across the canal liked it much when I dumped the turtle across the road into the creek. She said WHY ? When I told her I was taking it to the creek… She would have really been upset had I chose to eat it. ? I didnt say anything when they cut down a tree that had been there all my life and shaded my property from the pm sun. ? and that they seem to put their barking dogs out every time I go out to fish and try to get some peace and quiet! So they are just going to have to get over the fact that there’s one less turtle in the lake…

I finally got a nice one on a little bream.

Z hogs worked great for me too, in addition to those already mentioned. They haven’t been in any stores lately for some reason…

I once had a 8 pounder eat a shiner as skiers went by closer to me than they should have. I used to fish with an old man in our intracoastal and all we did was troll grubs on a jighead. He didnt have a trolling motor. He just had the motor idling along at a low speed . You would think that the motor noise would have spooked the fish, but we tore up the seatrout and other fish nearly every time. I think boat wakes help the fishing in general because it stirs up baitfish and other critters fish eat… What I want to know is how you catch bass in the intracoastal. My part of it is way too salty to support any freshwater fish. I

That drum may have been a saltwater black drum. I dont think they have freshwater drum in South Georgia. When they get that big they look very much the same. Of course , he could have caught it further north.

I agree. It’s my least favorite seafood- I would much rather have fried fish. My wife’s favorite seafood is lobster. We are polar opposites about nearly everything.

Crawdads may be in The deep south. I honestly would rather eat them than real lobster.

Got out for a couple hours this evening. First hour I caught 5 on the june bug magnum zoom lizard. Last hour= nothing. Nice evening on the water … Still nothing big. It’s like they’ve totally disappeared the last 8 months.

I caught a 6 pounder once by casting a mann’s Jelly worm into a deep hole and letting it sit for 10-15 minutes. The fish finally picked it up after all that time…

My grandson just got his and my daughter is letting him drive her around. She said he’s doing well. I figured he would.He has a very calm personality so it bodes well for him with today’s crazy drivers. Not so sure about one of his friends though. He bought a new croch rocket motor cycle and ran it into our telephone pole ground cable and took out a few feet of my hedge , and walked away.That was tuesday, I think. Everything is still laying there as it was after he wrecked. Im expecting him to fix it, but wondering if he even knows he should…??‍♂️ . He’s avoiding me for some reason !

That’s how I catch most of my fish! , ( (deadsticking , not backlashing )?

Same dog bit me… I dont carry much cash. ( Dont have much to carry, honestly…) I usually dont have more than a twenty, for small purchases. I write one check every other week, and everything else I pay on the bank card. I dont want to tempt fate. I have thought about it a lot and I dont know that I would give up my money if someone pulled a gun and tried to rob me. I just work too hard for it. I think I could surrender 20 bucks, but 500.00? That’d be tough for me…

I never did. I never skipped school once for anything , except 1/2 day the last day of high school. I was in good shape in those days, so I would run almost all the way home, sometimes taking the shortcut through the swamp if we hadnt had much rain. When I got home, Id grab a snack and my rod , and was at the lake in a few minutes… In college at UF, that was different. Id skip fairly often and head out to one of the many lakes nearby. I always kept up somehow, and passed every class but one.

Where are you fishing? mexico?

Ive had the lowest numbers and big fish in the last 14 years. The fish have not been biting . I honestly have tried nearly everything in my bag of tools and nothing is paying off. Whats strange is that last year was one of my best numbers years. I think the best numbers day I had this year was 20, and I had a friend along. But most days we caught no more than 10 or so. Fishing alone more this year. Didnt have many days when I caught more than 10. Big fish have been nearly non existent. Last year’s biggest was 4.15, which is way off normal. I dont think Ive caught but one that was just over 4 this year. I think Ive been spoiled a little because the fishing around here had been SO good up until this year… It just doesn’t make sense… Hoping fall will perk things up - it usually does.

What would you call it? If it aint fishing what the heck is it?

What’s strange to me on this subject is that I have to always initiate the trip. None of my friends that fish ever say “ Let’s plan a trip soon.” It’s rare that they do anyway… That makes me really ponder why? Is it my personality? Is it that I often catch more fish than them? Is it that Ive offended them somehow? If I want someone to come fish with me ( it’s really more for them than me ) , I have to keep asking and they finally will go. Then, we nearly always catch good numbers and occasionally a big fish. I am careful to give them good opportunities and casting angles, basically I treat them like Im their guide- without harping on their weaknesses …But they are in no hurry to go again. Maybe I just love fishing more than them ? Maybe they are just busy… or maybe I’m the flake ? ? I can’t figure it out…

If she’ll go. Mine wont go anymore…?

How do you get into a locked cemetery at night? Use a skeleton key…?

I was never much of a thief . When I was 4 years old , my mom and me were at the grocery store. There was a giant bin of peanuts, and little bags to put them in and the weight determined the cost. I grabbed a handful and put in my pocket. I figured it was ok because I’d seen Andy Griffith take an apple and start eating it without paying for it, and other shows had people not paying for stuff. So I was happily munching on a peanut and mom said ” WHERE DID YOU GET THAT ? I said “ out of the peanut bin” She drug me to it, and made me dump the rest of them. And slapped my hand. HARD. Then I had to apologize to the cashier, then the store owner. I’m pretty sure I got a whooping when I got home. My excuse about Andy Griffith didnt work. I decided not to persue a life of crime. Ive seen my mon go back in a store even if it was a few pennies in her favor. Im very thankful she was like that…