Captain Phil

Strange at it may seem to some, bass fishing today is actually better than it was in the fifties. There were more fish and less fisherman, but the gear, knowledge and tactics are so much better now. Back then, you manually rowed your boat with a paddle as you fished. Boats had no padding on the plank seats and a 10 hp outboard was about as fast as it got You started it with a pull rope. If it started at all, you had to carry extra spark plugs because yours would often foul out. Your depth finder was a wooden pole. Your rod and reel was heavy and clunky. Lures had to be 3/4 oz. in order to cast. I could go on, but you get the point. Bass fishing will survive because there is a lot more to bass fishing than cranking fish to the boat. I caught my first bass when I was 12. Each time I catch another, the memory of the first one returns. So many things have changed, thankfully bass haven't. ☺️

Many people I know carry a gun. Where we live now I don't feel the need. When I lived and worked in Miami, I did as someone may kill you there for your watch. In my view, carrying a gun in your car is asking for problems. Things happen on the highway that can quickly escalate out of control. I would rather hit the gas instead of pull the trigger. A guy I knew in South Florida shot himself in the thigh by accident with a 357 magnum while sitting at a traffic light. He almost lost his leg. Chances are greater you will shoot yourself or someone in the car rather than an attacker.

The answer to everything in this world is not more laws and regulations. If you choose not to wear a PDF, the only one who is at risk is you and the people who count on you. Back in the 50s, a 25 HP motor was the biggest you could get. Now, the sky is the limit. A 50 MPH bass boat is far from the fastest boat on my lake. My Gambler ran 80 mph and I have been passed numerous times. Things happen so fast, you do not have time to react. Use your kill switch....

No one ever thinks they need a kill switch until this happens. You think you are strong enough and quick enough to stay in the boat. NEWS FLASH, you aren't. This can happen to you! This guy is fortunate that the big motor didn't cut him to pieces. Imagine what it would feel like to have a 200 HP meat clever chop you in the head or take your arm off. In my many years of fishing, I have seen dead bodies on the boat ramp too many times. It's a PIA I know, but nothing like the hurt you may feel.

When I was a young man, I thought 75 was really really old. I can remember thinking about the year 2000 in school and calculating I would be 53 years old. Couldn't imagine that! Now that I'm 75, I look forward to the future. I'm not as fast as I once was. I'm not as strong either and my stamina is not as great. I am a whole lot wiser and that makes up for it. ?

We have a local bait shop in Eustis called Owens that is right out of the sixties. I love visiting the place. The owner is an outboard repairman, which I am sure helps him with cash flow. The walls are covered with worm bags and lures. There is so much stuff they have moving display racks to hold it all. They sell live native shiners, minnows, grass shrimp, worms and crickets. They sell a lot of salt water tackle as well. If they don't have it, they can get it for you. Down in Orlando, Bitter's Bait and Tackle is worth a visit. One of the largest Bass Pro Shop stores is in Orlando. The store is fine if you need a boat, trolling motor, sun glasses or a shirt. They are always out of the baits I want, so I don't go unless it's for something special.

Bought my first Florida fishing licence when I was 16, stopped buying them when I turned 65. Ten years of no license so far. Wonder if I will ever break even? ?

Light line bass fishing is very rewarding and tons of fun. I don't care much about tiny fairy wand rods and reels, but put some 4-6 pound test mono on a standard bass rod and reel and I'm in. This tackle works best in water without a lot of cover. South Florida canals are perfect. If you want to have some fun, fish a small 3"-4" Rapala on light line. The biggest bass I ever caught on 4 pound test was about 6 pounds and I had my hands full. The 6 pound test world record is 16 pounds 9 ounces caught in California. All world records are posted on the IGFA website at https://igfa.org.

I still have my original copy from when I was a teenager. It's all marked up with notes and underlines. Rereading it is interesting if you keep those times in perspective. Back then, electronics didn't exist and tackle was crude at best. Jason was years ahead of his time. He realized bass move with the seasons. He talked about offshore structure and hunting fish in places most anglers did not know existed. He was the first to make reference to "flipping". His magazine articles were detailed without a bunch of useless fluff you find in some. If he were a tournament fisherman today, he would be a winner.

Excellent topic. It's been years since I bought a magazine of any kind. The only place where I miss them is in the bathroom. I worked for a newspaper when I was young and I have been the fishing editor for a few small newspapers. Today, I am paid to write fishing articles for Internet websites. Text content drives Internet Search Engine clicks. The more clicks, the more advertising revenue a website generates. To publish a magazine, you must produce, print and distribute physical copies. Posting an article on the Internet can happen in less than a few seconds. Nobody reads anymore. People want a show and tell. YouTube videos generate millions of dollars for their developers. It's all about money and there is no money in paper content.

Here are three premium spinnerbait blades all approximately the same size. The top blade is a Stanley Wedge, the middle blade is a Hildebrandt and the bottom blade is a Terminator. As you can see the top and bottom blades are creased while the middle blade is plain. The plating on all three blades is excellent. In the water, the Hildebrandt blade gives off more flash. It also has a somewhat deeper cup. The most significant difference is in the shape. The Hildebrandt blade is more like a parabolic mirror. The two other blades have less reflective surface. I am not sure why the Hildebrandt blades catch more fish for me. Confidence is a big part of it, but they do. Hildebrandt has been making blades for over 100 years and even with all the modern computer innovations, they are still in demand. Got to be a reason?

Get yourself a Shimano Calcutta B. They are the toughest reels made. These reels can handle everything from two pound bass to 100 pound tarpon.

Never leave fish to find fish...

I live and fish where the fishing pressure is relentless. Our boat ramp parking lots overflow every weekend. On the weekdays, it's nearly as bad. There are at least three club tournaments every weekend plus the National Tournaments. This makes our bass extremely picky. They see so many spinnerbaits, they can probably tell you which Walmart they were purchased at. To combat this, you need to fish differently than the hoards. Changing blades is one way to make this happen. I have seen days when the slightest change can make a difference. Flash and vibration are the two things a spinnerbait brings to the table. If you hold a Hildebrandt blade in your hand next to a No Name blade you can see the quality. Other than the visual differences, there are design differences as well. I don't work for Hildebrandt, nor do I sell them. I am stating this strictly from experience. Downsizing and upsizing the blades can also make a significant difference. The biggest difference in spinnerbait success comes from where you throw it. Where I fish, you can't normally chuck a spinnerbait all over the lake and catch a bunch of bass. You have to be selective. The retrieve speed is in second place. Spinnerbaits work best when retrieved slow and as close to cover as possible with repeated casts to the same target. Close can be inches. Sometimes I use a 3/0 Reel to slow my baits down. Will cheap spinnerbaits catch fish? Absolutely. The difference is in the quality of the result.

That's all you need to know. ☺️

I remember many great women anglers fishing in South Florida. Marsha and Lenny Bierman were a team. Lenny rigged the baits and Marsha reeled the fish. They liked to bait and switch by trolling hookless baits and dropping a bait back to the fish. That way they could choose the tackle they wanted to use. Funny story. Lenny didn't like to put live shrimp on the hook, he always asked the girls to reach in the bucket. People don't realize how much work Marsha did to stay fit. She had exercise equipment in her home and used it every day. My wife and I spent a month fishing with them in Australia and New Guinea. I could write a book about that trip alone. Women are tough....

This is a little off the subject of bass fishing, but some may find it interesting. When we lived in South Florida, I had the pleasure of fishing with Marsha Bierman. Marsha was a beautiful woman and a great angler. She is also in the Fishing Hall of fame. She pioneered the technique of stand up bill fishing. She recorded many firsts and holds a number of women's world records including a 1,270 pound blue marlin. If you Google her, you can read more about her accomplishments. I once took her fishing in the ten thousand islands. She hooked a 25 pound snook while we were staked out on a flat. On the first jump, she jerked that poor fish back into the water so hard, it didn't know what happened and just came to the boat. Huge tarpon where no match for her. She always told me she didn't understand bass fishing because her bait was bigger than the fish we were trying to catch. I lost touch when we moved to Central Florida. I hope she is doing well. ☺️

I spent years chasing bill fish all over the world. Whoever was running the boat should have known better. They were in such a hurry to land the fish, they let the fish jump in the boat. It is not necessary to flood the entire cockpit when backing down on a fish. Accidents happen, but this could have been avoided. Most anglers today release their catch by breaking or cutting off the leader. If they are going to harvest the fish, they use the right tools. A green marlin over the gunnels is suicide. All large fish are potentially dangerous. A large tarpon or barracuda can jump in the boat. Bill fish more so. You never want to have the bill aimed at your body. One flick of the tail and you can become a human shish kabob. I have seen broken arms, legs and gaffs stab people in the thigh so bad they had to be helicoptered to the hospital. Nasty....

She realizes you can't control the weather, but that doesn't mean you have to let it control you. I have had pity on her numerous times and changed the plan. I remember one nasty January day at Okeechobee. We were fishing a club He and She tournament. The temperature was in the 40s that day as we rode out the Clewiston Channel. I turned and saw her bundled up like an Eskimo. I didn't want to expose her to that, so I turned the boat around and headed up the rim canal. When I got to Uncle Joe's, we stopped to fish. While I was messing with my tackle, she told me to get busy. I turned and she already had two bass flopping on the bottom of the boat. We stayed there all day and won that tournament with 25 pounds. Good thing too, as we saved the club fish fry! ☺️

When it comes to fishing wives, I feel like I have caught the world record. My wife and I met in a South Florida high school when she was 15 years old. That was 60 years ago. Like me, she was the oldest child. Her family had a boat when she was younger and her Dad often took her fishing. From the beginning, we went fishing together. We fished on the bank before school and after. Salt water and fresh water. Piers, jetties, canals, rock pits. lakes and basically anywhere we could wet a line. When our son was born, we took him with us when we walked and fished Tamiami Canal. We covered a wooded play pen with a blanket and he loved the outdoors. We fished He and She bass tournaments together and were consistent winners. My wife is the kind of girl that will try anything. If you tell her she can't do something, she will do it better than you will. She can cast and fish better than most men and never complains about the weather or the fish. She started fishing with me in a 8' boat I built in my garage and has piloted every type of fishing boat up to a 55 foot sport fish. We have fished together our whole lifetime. She is a light skinned Irish Girl and has had numerous problems with skin cancer. This has slowed down her fishing in recent years, but she still finds time to go when the weather is nice. Girl's who like fishing are out there. ☺️

Back when I was tournament fishing I met a few excellent lady bass fishermen. One of the toughest was Captain Lynda Hawkins. She was a full time guide in Central Florida for well over 20 years and I had the pleasure of fishing with her many times. She was also a Lady B.A.S.S. Champion. She was as professional as they come and very tough to beat. I fished a few tournaments with her and she taught me a lot. My wife always wondered why there are no women in big money TV tournaments? Fishing with Lynda, I can answer some of the most obvious questions. If either one of us had to pee, we respected each other and looked the other way. It was never a problem. Some wives had a problem with their husband being in a boat all day with another woman. Lynda and I were there to catch fish and that's all. That problem is in the minds of others, not ours. The biggest issue is that many women have kids and family that they are caring for. Serious tournament fishing is a tough life on the road. Few women want that kind of life. There is no physical or mental reason a woman could not be a great bass fisherman.

When you are unhappy with your job, life is telling you to move on. Changing jobs is common today, it's actually a necessity. Gone are the days when you worked for the same company for 40 years. While you are in the middle of the process, it can be stressful. Staying in a dead end career and hating it is worse. Why don't you move out of NY and go where you don't have to worry about being shot? You may take a cut in pay, but you will have more money in your pocket.

It is much more common to be hooked by a flying lure than by a fish. Mono has a ton of stretch. If you get hung up and attempt to pull it toward you, the lure could be heading straight for you at a rapid pace. Anglers have been seriously injured by flying sinkers too. I remember one tournament where a co-angler hooked himself in the thumb. It was too deep to remove, so he bandaged it up and kept on fishing. By the end of the day, the poor guy was in shock. When we got him to the clinic, he was having some difficulty standing.

Every time I watch someone on TV grab a bass by the bottom lip with a bunch of treble hooks thrashing around, I cringe. Either they haven't been hooked or they like operating on themselves. The best way to not get hooked is to assume you will. I've been hooked so many times that I quit counting. I've had numerous customers who have been hooked, some worse than others. The worst was a guy who had a Rapala hanging from his eye brow. The worst I have been hooked was a triple and I was alone. A three pound bass had me hooked to itself, my palm and my chest. If you get hooked, and you will, carry a pair of these in your boat. Cut the lure off before you try to remove the hook. The string method of hook removal works 90% of the time as long as the hook is not too deep or near something vital. If that is the case, you need professional help.

Some years ago I became interested in record fishing. I was an active member of the I.G.F.A. (International Game Fish Association) at the time. Part of the record process was verifying the breaking strength of the line used. In order for a line test record to be awarded, the line used had to be tested to make sure it wasn't more than it claimed to be. We used a device that looked similar to a drill press that had a gauge to show the exact breaking strength of fishing line submitted with their records. Most fishing line tests much stronger than the label indicates. I wouldn't be surprised if most 15 pound test line is actually 20 pound or more. When record fishing I used Ande Tournament line, which is designed and manufactured to conform with all of the I.G.F.A. pound tests and testing regulations, The majority of the bass fishing I do today is done with 20 pound Big Game. I think you could tie your boat up with that stuff. It would take one heck of a bass to break that line. Most line failures are the fault of the angler not the line. Messed up guides are a close second.