GatorBK

I am unsure of the weight gotta love it, but it wasnt one of the bigger ones here, it was close to 3 feet long but some in the lake here are 4 feet or better. I caught it on a size 1 hook and a bread doughball, I was using light line 6 pound test and no sinker , I just cast it out in about 5 to 6 feet of water while I was bass fishing , and let it sit with a little slack in my line so it could run a few feet. It was a good fight , everytime i got it near the bank it would run about 30 or 40 yards of line off the reel , after about the 5th or 6th time doing that I waded out and grabbed him up when he got near the bank.

Its not over here in Fl (beleive it or not) I saw small bass on a bed this evening

A Florida smallmouth ;D

Yeah the bread is working good , I caught another this evening

How much do you think this fish weighs I caught this eve? Its a grass carp I caught this evening on 8 pound test Here is a pic of the rod with a tape measure beside it , I figure the carp to be close to 3 feet , he was close to 5 inches wide at the base of his tail

I never tried the shad darts , but I have caught lots at night in a castnet , Shad gather underlights at night and can be castnetted that way . Find a dock with a bright light and try it.

3 to 6 days a week and average 2 to 5 hrs a trip , Mostly right out back in the lake here , I can be making a cast in less than 5 minutes if I got up right now .

I tried 2 new lures today I have never fished with senko so I got some. They worked well in the wind while it was sunny out I rigged them wacky style with no weight and caught several the biggest about 3 pounds Then it got cloudy and was sprinkling and I tried a chug bug and caught several off it

This was my first native brown trout 24 inches .I caught it about 20 yrs ago in the mountains in NC in a stream you could jump across

I have been using a Heddon Pop N image its like a Pop R but I like tha action better. I cast it into the wind to keep the bow out of my line ,and it works better retriving it with the waves than against them . I twitch it a couple times and pause it . Kind of a walk the dog action with the 2 or 3 twitches at the same time I make it splash the water in front of it instead of the deep popping sound or action. If I cast it with the wind I cannot get the right retrieve or spalshing action because the nose of it digs into the waves . I tried a buzzbait in a protected cove and caught a couple and missed a couple more but it didnt work as well in the rough water. Also I havent tried it down here but when I lived in NC the bass there liked a devil horse on windy days . I would rip it a few feet making commotion on the water . But it seems the bass here may not like as much commotion on topwater as other places.

There are probably some big bass in there then if they are healthy looking mine are starving from over population , About one out of 5 has a belly the rest are skinny. there are more pics on this topic http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1178544077

Seriously? I must be really naive. I've never heard of this nor would I have ever thought of it. To what end? Bragging? Food? Like Avid said both , I have seen the illegal aliens / mexicans catch big bass here in Florida in a castnet and take them home , Thats what most of them fish with in places they are allowed to catch tiliapia in a net but they aint gonna throwback a bass . Florida has immidiate release laws as well , Florida has good bass regulations but I think an exception would be made for a record , If I was to catch a state record I try to keep it alive and would take it straight to the scales and the FWC

I have been catching some 4 to 6 pounders but a lots of small ones , my biggest bass have been in the wind on topwater. I catch little ones on worms lately I even swiched to a 10 inch worm and caught even smaller bass???

Good question , I have the same problem , my lake has a few big bass but the majority are starving to death , I am ready to have a fish killing spree and feed the skinny ones to the coons , My bass are suffering in my opinion . Unless someone has a better idea than coon bait? I love to eat fish but not when they look like the ones I have been catching lately

I used a buzz bait yesterday in the wind and caught a couple , then I put on a topwater and caught several more. The topwater was floating around like a small boat in the ocean but bass were hitting it. Its still windy as heck again today :-?

That redfin looks like a fat golden shiner , I would have put him on as bait.

Well its just kinda handy to fish its about 100 yards out my back door and I dont have a boat to travel to the big lakes here . There are some big bass in it and I understand my chances are less catching a lunker here than in other places . I would like to get it straightened around if possible.

I think I will start keeping them if I can catch some that look healthy enough to eat , I am kinda in a dilemma though .If I keep the healthy one's and release the sickly ones it seems to be the opposite of what should be done. I just cannot bring myself to eat the skinny bass . I dont really want to put the skinny bass in a bucket and take to another lake in case they are sick. And I dont wanna just kill them although it might put them out of their misery. Any suggestions? here are a couple from this afternoon This poor guy has been caught before his lip is about ripped off

It will take them many years to get big if they are in my lake here in FL :'(

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/05/070522-coelacanth.html

Those pics dont do him real justice I should have got him onshore and took pics I did one of those umm saltwater leader release landing things lol ;D I had him to the bank and was fumbling around taking pics and holding my rod in one hand and kicking my shoes off when I should have been getting him outta the water and he snapped my line . I was using a cheap push button reel and a bream rod and 8 pound test , it was one heckuva fight. I would have had to wade out and scoop him up to get him becuse he was far to big to try and beach with my rod. It was a a real fight it took close to 10 minutes to get him in. I would get him near the bank one he would make runs back out deep he did that about 4 times stripping line . He was over 3 feet long and wasnt the biggest I have seen here there are a few that are 4 plus feet and I figure about 60 pounds

Yep I bowhunt and I hunt on the ground , I usually hunt the mountains of NC and its so steep in a few of the areas I hunt, a tree stand isnt really needed . I love it and it gives me a much longer hunting season than just rifle. I would love to take a black bear with my bow. In NC the bow deer season and bear season run at the same time.

I keep them in overpopulated ponds but I let the big healthy females go , People have questioned my keeping of bass, but when they look like this one I caught yesterday I feel justified in keeping them , Its a sad thing when bass get overpopulated Thsi is the result of a catch and release only pond after several years

Yeah I may contact them , there are no bait fish for the bass , I cannot catch a shiner or even a bluegill , there is no real structure for baitfish to hide in either just a little bit of grass along the banks and the bass cruise the banks like schools of redfish hunting the few small minnows there are. I do catch some healthy bass but for the most part they are thin , I keep some of the 2 or 3 pounders to eat was well. Its not a big lake only just over 20 acres , Maybe the state could recommend or stock some kind of baitfish in it I have noticed an otter swimming around lately . I am sure he will help with the overpopulation as well. I wonder if the otters eat the big bass out of a lake or mostly smaller ones?

I think its windy as heck here too I want to get out there myself> , I think I will wait a bit . I dunno about the soft plastic thing today , its so windy here a weightless soft plastic will swim on its own. I might start with a rattl trap today. As far as the topwater it may work , I caught several yesterday evening on one but it wasnt quite this windy. I would use a noisy topwater maybe a prop bait , one with rattles in it , or a popper. The lake I fish here in FL is clear water and I catch more on topwater with a light wind because the bass arent so spooky , but today is more than a little wind. Good Luck