N Florida Mike

I cant think of any freshwater fish thats in my area that I havent caught., except stripers. They arent real common here anyway. I cant think of a friend or family member that ever caught one here either. There are some saltwater fish, esp. offshore, since I dont get out there much.

“ There he is” If Its a big fish I usually pray out loud that I get it in the boat... and if I do then it’s “ thank you Lord “ If I lose the fish, If it was real big, I have been known to yell NOoooooo. Then I start saying stuff like “ Theres no way I should have lost that fish “ etc. I know the people on my lake must think Im crazy, and theyre half right! ?

I thought so...

My dad liked saltwater fishing, so we did a lot of pier and surf fishing. Caught more Spots and whiting than anything else when I was a kid. My uncle lived by a lake though, and I fished there for bream a lot also when I was 8-12 years old .Got into bass fishing when I was 14-15, mostly starting in the lake near my old house, that I live on now.

Wish I could acheive it each time. I tend to get mad and talk to myself if I lose a big fish or too many fish .

Just curious- how much of that was night fishing? That’s interesting. September is my worst month for any size.

Where you live matters too (N vrs S) Probably not many fish are caught AT ALL in the dead of winter in the northernmost states. Glad I dont have that problem.?

Im curious to know what months ( or seasons of year if you don’t remember the month ) your top 5 largest bass were caught in ? Mine were: ( Starting at PB on down) December January July June Late May or early June. I think it’s interesting that I have caught a lot more fish over 4 pounds in the spring than the other seasons, but none of the very largest ones.

Good advice , Tom. I may go today. If I do , I’ll employ these tactics and see what happens.

That was an insightful post A.J . I relate to every stage, and also am familiar with rusty de - liars! My pb was weighed on one! I got over stage 1 in the first year or two as a teen. The other stages I frequently experience. Stage 2: Ive always leaned more towards numbers, mainly because the more numbers I catch, the more big fish I catch. I know this is debatable, and I wouldnt argue it, but Im happy with the occasional big fish mixed in with the numbers. but... Stage 3 : Sometimes you dont catch bigger fish while numbers fishing, so that leads me to getting outside the box and fishing baits more conducive to larger fish. I will fish live bait when I really just need to catch,hold , admire, and release a larger fish if it’s been awhile. But what usually happens is I don’t usually find success in new, big bass baits( like big swimbaits) , so I go back to tried and true methods ( Like T rigged plastics), and have success again. Stage 4: I have been on it for most of my bass fishing life for NUMBERS. Im not there for dd fish no matter how hard I try with any method. Stage 5: I actually got to this stage around the late teens and began helping friends, family , kids , how to bass fish. I even did a speech in junior college on bass fishing ( Got an A , I might add.) I might add a stage 6 . Just fishing for pure satisfaction, and fun, without much of an agenda. Oh sure, I have a plan that day, but the main object for me is fun, rest, enjoying creation and the Creator, and the fellowship I have when I take others. Not doing it just so I can brag or put a new picture on bass resource, although that’s part of the fun.

I knew a kid with a glass eye that would do the same thing to scare the girls. He lost the glass eye playing marbles with it...?

Nothing I cant explain. There’s always the story around here of “Ol tail light”. He was (is)? a Gator of legendary proportions on the St Johns river system.He got his name from people saying his eyes shining red at night were as far apart as car tail lights. The gator trapper licensed by the state in our area was Bubba Stratton. He would occasionally get a complaint about the gator and hunt it. Although he got hundreds of gators in his career, he never got ol tail light. He said once he was going back into a creek , and Ol tail light was coming out with a 8 foot gator in his mouth sideways. Another man said it approached his boat and was the same length as it ( 16 foot).

5-5 1/2. Nice fish man.

That’s probably the skinniest fish Ive ever caught over 20 inches...

Caught this 21 inch skinny fish off my dock a little while ago on a 7 1/2 black with blue tail culprit worm. I had walked down and cast right near my boat, hooked the fish and he got off. Waited a few minutes and cast in the same spot , and got bit again...

Ive done some guiding but not for money. I thought about doing it for a living but chose not to because I know my limitations , I dont think I could keep from fishing if they were biting good. And I know Im not good enough to find fish day in and day out. Still toying with starting a you tube channel anyway

The hat looks somewhat familiar but not so sure about the build. Must have spent some time at the gym there lately, Mr Dance. That was my all time favorite Bill Dance show. I’ll never forget Jerry saying “ My bass is gone” ?

Welcome to the forums. Im checking out your river on google earth !

Thats my choice too 7”ft m/h , fast tip. Id choose a Shimano stradic spinning reel, spinning is more versatile for me. Id also use 12lb. test, but mono., I like line to float - suits me best . I like 6:2 gear ratio- not any faster. I like a slower gear ratio than that for some baits...

Fished hard for much of the day on Christmas eve. Didnt have much to show for it. I caught 4 on a green pumpkin big bite craw , and 1 on a fluke. Tried a ned rig for the first time , fished it hard without so much as a sniff. It was very windy and cloudy so I also slow rolled a spinnerbait with no result. Nothing on a trick worm either. There was a big front coming in that got here after dark. The later in the afternoon, they began to get more active . The windblown east shoreline had fish holding right against the bank. I missed a fish twice- he picked it up and dropped it right as I set the hook. A bit further down the lake I cast a foot or so from the bank and a big fish picked it up and went in closer to the bank, which they rarely do. He felt the pressure of the tight line and dropped it. When I began reeled he blew up on it and missed twice as I was reeling in. Not my best day on the water by far, but I wasnt skunked. This cold water has really slowed down the bite in general.

I went there last year and had fished about 20 minutes before I saw the sign lol. Didnt get a bite anyway.

I wish I had seen this earlier. I grew up and live near mandarin. You can fish the pond at mandarin park on mandarin rd . I caught a 7 pounder in there. There are 3 ponds at the greenland rd park. Its called palmetto glade ? park I think. Dont waste your time with the back pond . Fish the front or middle pond. Caught a 6 at the middle pond. You could also go across the creek on 13 to Davis pond blvd and fish the pond right on 13 at Davis pond. I park at the library and walk over. Caught a 4 in there. Go up the road a half mile and you can fish the big pond on the left. A 12 pounder was caught there. Hope this helps. Stay in touch- I also live on a good bass lake in the baymeadows area. You can come fish here if you want. Mike

Thats a kids fishing park. You must have a kid with you to fish it .

I eat any kind of fish. If I was a condemned man, fried fish would be my choice for a last meal... My favorites in saltwater: Sheephead, red snapper, Flounder, redfish, whiting, black drum ,spots, croakers. I catch all of them except dont get red snapper much because they are offshore and very limited to harvesting . Freshwater: Catfish, esp. “ butter “ cats ( yellow bullheads ) and channels, then brown bullheads. Any kind of bream, but redbreasts are my favorite. LM bass- I keep only 12-15 inch ones to fillet. I will eat specks( crappie) but dont fish for them much...

The first fish I remember was some kind of little sea perch ( my dad said ) that I reeled in when I was 4 in the marsh near Ft Fisher NC on a piece of shrimp. The first decent fish I caught was a 3-4 pound black drum I caught on shrimp while surf fishing at Ocean Isle beach NC. I was around 8 year old , and that fish is what hooked me on fishing for life... The first bass I remember catching on a lure was a 1 pounder I caught on a red and white spoon.I probably caught 2 more ever on that lure. I was 14-15 then.Then I got into the T rig and worms. ? I have no idea what rod and reel I caught it with.