SRQAlex

When I was a little boy, maybe 6 or 7 my dad took my fishing on the Ringling pier in Sarasota. All was going well until I went to cast a fresh pinfish out and got stuck on something behind me. It turned out to be A WOMANS EARLOBE. I straight up gave her a perfect ear piercing. The pin fish was dangling from her ear! Luckily the lady took it all in stride and laughed it off. I’ll never forget the look on my pops face. Pure terror.

I am rebuilding my 1980 bass tracker from the bottom up. What are the things on your boat that aren’t obvious but make your life easier? It can be anything big or small.

We are headed to lake istokpoga.

Thanks. That’s pretty much what I was thinking. I just wanted to hear some other’s opinions.

My wife got me a guided bass fishing trip for Christmas. In the reservation it says all gear is provided. Would it be rude to bring my own gear?

Ehh. I enjoy having company with me as long as we are on the same page. I fish with my BIL often and we get along great. We both have been bass fishing since we were kids so he gets how it can be.

Fishing with people that start getting antsy if we aren’t getting bit immediately. I took a buddy out a while back and an hour in with 1 fish caught he started complaining that we weren’t catching anything. I tried to tell him we are working out a pattern and hopefully once we figure it out we will start slaying. His attitude stayed pessimistic the rest of the trip so I cut it short, dropped him at his truck and went back fishing solo. No negativity is allowed on my boat. PMA ONLY! He’s a good guy but he doesn’t have it in his blood. Maybe bottom fishing a wreck for snapper would be more his speed.

Both. Pond hop during the week and in my boat on the weekends. Thanks for the link! Lots of good info in that thread!

I’m not much of a jig fisherman, I don’t have a lot of confidence when I use them. I’d like to get better at it. Give me your best jig fishing tips! Thanks!

Thanks!

Is that a black mouth cur?

Most days I bring 4-5 rods with me. med action crankbait rod med action Texas rig rod med heavy spinnerbait / chatter bait rod heavy punching/frog rod med light spinning rod for finesse fishing, although I don’t finesse fish very much.

I picked up fly fishing for the first time ever last week. Just a cheap setup from Dicks. I have caught two bass so far! Both on a black nymph. Super excited to learn a new style of fishing!

I went fishing last night for a few hours, the bite was tough and it was hot and humid after raining all day. I went to the first pond right across from my work and fished for about an hour, I couldn’t find any fish and decided to try the next pond about a half mile down, which historically has been tough to catch fish in. After trying a small swim bait I switched to ripping a small lipless crank over some submerged grass and felt that thud I had been waiting for. The fish was coming in easily but it felt awkward in the water when I was reeling it in. I got the fish to where I could see it and realized I had not one but TWO little bass on my lure! I know that this happens and it probably doesn’t sound as cool to a lot of you as it is for me but I am so excited about it! I went on to get into a school and caught 4 more small fish before heading home.

Hey there, the biggest piece of advice I can give you is to pick a single technique like a Texas rigged worm and get really good at using it. Once you have the understanding of how to work whatever technique you choose and can consistently catch fish with it, THEN move to the next technique. Keep it simple and don’t overwhelm yourself with a ton of different gear at first.

During the week I pretty much exclusively fish the banks of the ponds near my job those trips are usually between clients and last about a half hour. If I can sneak away from the wife and kids during the weeks to bank fish I’m usually gone about 1.5 hours. If I am taking the boat out on the weekend it’s usually at least a 4 hour trip.

Most of the time I’m fishing within 10 minutes of my house so there isn’t much time to think about anything. If I’m on a longer trip to one of the larger lakes near me I usually put on a podcast, usually 2 bears 1 cave and listen to the fattest man on earth talk about nonsense.

Based off some of your posts I have seen I’m pretty sure we live near each other. I’m in North Port. Always down to meet new fishing buddies.

I had a similar incident a few weeks ago. I’m lucky enough to have a few nice ponds near the clinic I work at and I was fishing about an hour before my client was scheduled to arrive for our session. We had some heavy rains in the days leading so everything was wet. Well, it was time for me to head back to work so I packed up and started to walk along the bank toward the clinic and slipped on a patch of mud that was slicker than snot. Mind you, my client was due to arrive in about 5 minutes and here I am covered from behind to elbow in dark brown mud on my nice light gray scrub pants and white tee shirt. I get to the clinic and rush into the bathroom to try to clean up as best I can but it didn’t help a bit. I looked like I had been in a battle with dysentery and lost. I walk out to the parking lot to get my client from his mothers vehicle to start our session and have to explain why I’m covered in mud. I ended up calling my wife to bring me a fresh pair of clothes and of course she thought it was hilarious. So she shows up with a pair of BRIGHT PINK scrub pants just to rub it in ?. Needless to say I now carry two extra pairs of work clothes in my car at all times.

I went a week without a single bite last week I couldn’t put a pattern together to save my life. Then I caught 5 in 15 minutes Monday and put a pattern together. Chin up, the fish are there just gotta figure out what they want to eat.

Well done!

This was my first trip to Istokpoga and also the largest lake I have ever fished on. Day 1: After the 2 hour drive to Lorida, Florida Ian and I arrived at Trails End Fish Camp. We were greeted by the camp host (who’s name is escaping me )who was as laid back as grandpas La-Z Boy. We checked into the room which was as simple as walking up to her and saying “we were here for cabin 3” she replied “ok you’re checked in, keys are hanging inside the door” We launched my 1980 bass tracker II and hit the water. The water was low and hot, about two feet in most areas and about 90 degrees. I was taken back by the size of the lake, it seemed to go on forever compared to the little lakes I normally fish. We weren’t able to find any fish on day one but were successful in dropping one of my combos out of the boat which was never found. Day 2: Up at 5:00 and on the water by 6:00 we spent the morning fishing grass edges with frogs and buzzbaits with no luck. Once it started getting hot we made a quick run back to the cabin where I made homemade biscuits and gravy and hid from the sun for a few hours. We got back on the water around 4:00PM and I was able to catch one small 2 pound fish later that evening on a 7” black worm. We headed back to the cabin around 8:00PM to enjoy some cold beer and steaks. Day 3: We decided to sleep in a little later and got up around 6:30. Jimmie and Tim left early to go home and Ian and I decided to stay for the morning to try to get on some fish. We made a 4 mile run to some of the most beautiful cypress fields I have ever seen and flipped black and blue jigs at them for a while. I missed one fish and decided to move to another spot in the cypress fields. FINALLY I was able to hook into a healthy little bass on a black and blue bladed jig In a lily patch near some cypress trees. We worked hard to try to put a pattern together but just we’re not able to figure it out. It was a humbling trip for sure but a trip with great friends and cold brews is never a bad trip. ✌️

What’s up with all the photoshop? No way that’s an unedited photo.

Thanks everyone. ?

Tardiness is a pet peeve of mine. Whether it’s at work or in my personal life I can’t stand people being late. My clients know that if they are more than 15 minutes late I’m leaving the clinic and going home. At home, if you tell me you’re showing up at 4:30 that means you will be there at or before 4:30. If you’re late you’re getting left behind. It’s a respect thing, I respect your time so you need to respect mine.