Biglittle8

Those things are nasty... I dropped a tree on a nest once. I had to wait hours to get my saw back as I killed it and dropped it to RUN! Yeah Koz, I've been stalked too. They will definitely try to intimidate you for a fish.

You get used to gators... That's when stuff happens.

That's worse in my opinion.

Just a reminder to be careful when bank fishing in the weeds, you never know. I know this was discussed in a kayak thread, but bank fishing can be just as dangerous when dealing with critters. Was fishing this morning, I went in the opposite direction when I started this time. Low and behold, a 7-8 ft gator just hanging out. If I would have come from the other direction, I would not have seen him until I was on top of him. Just be careful!

Caught this fella this morning.

Billy Strings is amazing, there are a lot of great videos on YouTube of his early stuff.

Elijah Craig, Russell's Reserve( about $60-70 ) Knob creek, Woodford Reserve. All great. Pair any of those with a Padron 1964 Anniversary series cigar.

+1, this works. Or...I fish 1/2 oz Rat'l - Traps all the time in the weeds,( wood is a different story) I rip it through and I'm constantly cleaning my hooks off. But, that's where you're gonna find fish. A lot of times the fish will strike when the lure breaks free from the weeds. It gets old cleaning crap of your hooks every cast especially when your hands are cold, but I've caught a lot of nice fish using that technic. In my opinion, with a lipless you can control depth easier using your rod tip and still maintain retrieval speed. That being said, I do use the technic you're describing a lot when I need to slow down or vary my retrieve.

I fish my lipless traps in the boat and at fountain adorned ponds, what you say is correct. I have a lot more issues fishing stump filled lakes and I'm a lot more careful with cast selections when casting to the bank. I prefer other lures at times. Even when pond fishing, I bet I pull plant matter off my trebles 8 out of 10 casts... That's where the fish are. That being said, I go by the moto" Don't use it, if you're afraid to lose it"

I recently read a great book called"The Fish That Changed AMERICA" it's more about the people who popularized the sport we all love. It includes lure makers, boat builders, pro fisherman etc. It talks about the "building" of some famous lakes, the crafting of some famous lures and the start up of B.A.S.S. Check it out!

+1. I think sometimes we get complacent around dangerous things. if we fish around gators and snakes and have no incidents, we start to drop our guard a little. Mating season is when males of all species are the most aggressive. A small racked buck can kill you during the rut just as fast as a gator.

Rain but warmer. Caught this one on a Rat'l Trap, lost a really nice fish. I've been trying out Yo-Zuri hybrid line, a lot of stretch in that stuff. But I like it.

Leatherman OHT

I have a good time no matter how many fish I catch. It could be worse ... I could be at work! When I get skunked, it makes me think about how I approached the day of fishing and could I have done something different. I make a mental note of how I fished, where I fished and how can I get better results. Can I learn a different technic? Should I research some articles on the conditions I was fishing in? As anglers we never stop learning. I love the challenge of catching fish, it drives me to learn from every resource I can utilize. But in my opinion... Unless you do it for a living, it's should to be enjoyable! Let's face it.... Sometimes the fish don't bite.

Hi and welcome from a former Western NYer.

From the fall ... Surprise pickerel and Bowfin.

One of these Bowfin. Or...a Chain Pickerel. I didn't know we had em. Caught the Bowfin on a texas rigged worm!

I had a gator playing games with me last October. He would park off shore and swim in in when I caught a fish. Az time went on, he started parking about 20 yards off shore and now every hook up he would steam in fast and I would walk down the bank trying to expedite the removal of said fish. (See pic) the pond I recently caught my P.B. in has a 10 footer in it. I have seen it in temps as low as 50 degrees.

I saw something similar. A very large gator in shallow water arching his snout and tail making a bellowing sound the water was vibrating all around him. There was a dog in a fenced yard about 15 yards away...a bite sized dog!

Moved to N.C from Buffalo,N.Y. in 1996...It's hot here in the summer. The Hurricanes are a pain, move your stuff inside...move it back out. Clean your yard. Once in a while you have a bad one like Florence. I live on the coast, so sand gets everywhere, even though I'm miles from the beach. You do have a chance of an encounter with gators and snakes when fishing, but it's not very often that they will be confrontational. The good...I pretty much fish year round! No shoveling snow! Not much in the way of road salt except on Interstate 40. Taxes are a lot friendlier than N.Y.

Nice! I work in Castle Hayne.

Hampstead?

A Little different scenario, but when ever I bought old Harley's that was the first thing I did. Copper,Solder and heat shrink. Some quick connection is ok, but not on anything vital to having a good day! Beer well spent ?

I feel like I'm a combination of 3,4 and 5. I still am pursuing a D.D. fish but also, I have really been working on my technical skills. I used to rely on texas rigged baits...I could catch fish on them in almost all situations, even when others weren't catching fish. I have forced myself to put that rig away and to use other technics such as jerkbaits, dropshot, shakey and jigs. I must say, it opened up a whole new world for me. Lastly, I have two young Grandsons that have really taken an interest in fishing. I get so much pleasure from watching them fish! I even decided to purchase another boat so we could spend time on the water. Great post Ajay! Your description of your progression brought back memories! Rusted Zebco De-liar?

That is a true "Bucket Mouth" congrats!