Bird

Have always heard that they will eat anything that can fit in their mouth......that's a little extreme.

At least we don't have salt water crocs, now that's a whole other level of apex predator. I've seen video of one taking down Cape buffalo.....had dreams that night. Lol

That is a well timed photo. Think my next step is working on balance.

How many of you can flip from a kayak with low positioned seating ? This is where I struggle with my mostly 7' rods. Neither one of my fishing kayaks are confidence inspiring while standing.

Roland Martin down on Okeechobee is the first time I've heard the term flipping and or pitching. Of course he was tearing them up with jigs and huge live shiners. I've only flipped with worms, teaching my daughters to catch bluegill.

Wife and I hiked around our local lake yesterday.....I doubt punching would work yet.

Retaliation is never a solution.....those fish at your dock will eventually get gun shy a nobody will catch them, then he'll move on.

Never would I ever get comfortable with a critter that has a mouth like that. Only gator I've seen in the wild was in Alabama visiting family. Keep safe.

To edit just tap the 3 little dots to right of your username.

My brother has had a very successful construction business for well over 30 years and when showing up on a job site, you'll see nothing but Milwaukee tools lying around. I can tell you that in an increasingly growing popularity with electric motors which operate anything from tools to electric bikes, Bosch is top tier when it comes to the motor itself.

All the lakes I fish are tropical clear. Use a fluorocarbon leader in 8 - 10# and use natural colors........Ned rigs, drop shot, creature baits and baby brush hogs work on the lakes I fish. Not into the science but on cloudy days I've found nothing to beat a pearl or white suspending Jerkbait in clear water, pre-spawn. Enjoy yourself.

Went to local lake today, about 20 minutes away and a very good fishery......not ready yet.

Rural living is all I know, once a small farming town of less than 500 has ballooned to 1500 mainly from city folks heading west to retire but we are still without a single traffic light. Wife has family living in Cincinnati and they know how uneasy I become dealing with congestion, traffic, sirens and 1 hr to go a mile, plus people look at me funny when I wave. Lol The only way they can coax me into visiting is by purchasing Reds tickets. Give me the mountains or some lake frontage or both.

Consider your tolerance to heat and humidity, mine is next to non so coastal south would be a no go but certainly doesn't discourage millions. Been googling retirement lakes for over a year and visited a few so here are a couple. Fawn lake - Va Keowee key - SC Wind river - Tenn Lake Tansi - Tenn Lake arrowhead - Ga Shoreside at Sipsey - Al K hovnanian's - SC The wife is not on board yet as she has a business that she's not willing to part with......yet. Good luck in your search.

Hair jigs with pork trailer was the #1 bait for smallmouth growing up. Then fishing became electronic and science based and found myself intimidated into using " cool baits ". Lol

What Pat has accomplished surpasses the imagination, great article. Even retired, I could never devote that kind of time. This man is consistantly fishing 6 days per week, wow. Thanks for sharing.

So let's delve into this a little deeper. Lol So an avid bass fisherman geographically located between the state of Minnesota and the state of Florida was given a choice to go to Florida and catch a 9 lber or go to Minnesota and catch a 7 lber......I'm betting that 9 lber would get caught over and over again. Understand what your saying though.

Believe it or not but never thrown a Rage craw by itself or as a trailer. In colder water I like a pegged creature bait or brush hog, very very slowly in structure.

I've only ever caught one PB largemouth bass in my entire life. ?

As soon as I know the water temps, I go to the exact same spots that caught fish on the exact same baits the previous year. Whether I'm in the optimal location, I'm still reproducing the previous year.

The older I get the more I detest winter. We've had snow covering the ground now for over 6 weeks here in the mountains of VA. BUT a real shocker today......64.2*

Lol, and I 100% agree. Was stationed in Fort Gordon GA for a month in August 1981 and was without doubt the hottest most humid place I've been.

Jerkbait is a go to bait of mine but i never lip a fish with one in it's mouth.

Hmmm not to be defying here as I've lost plenty of fish but it's been 90% on single hooks and on the first jump. Call me a minority but loosing a fish at the boat or bank after an intense fight is something I've rarely experienced. Idk

I've actually asked the same question to an game and inland fishery representative in lakes that were stocked with trout. I was targeting Bass only and the reply that I got was to simply throw the trout back, surprised. VA and WV may be a little more lenient though.