On 1/30/2023 at 11:47 AM, AlabamaSpothunter said:

He was quite the character, I fished down in the Keys a good bit and have been to his home and seen the cats that still roam around with links to his own.   

 

Half the stuff I learn about the man, I absolutely love, the other half I absolutely hate.   Very complicated man.   The Old Man and the Sea is certainly the best long form story I've read, and To Build a Fire by Jack London is the best short story I've read.    Both are so vivid you really do feel like you are there.    Gotta throw Moby Dick and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in there as well ?

Luckeeeeee ?

This post was here for 16 hours without me seeing it, shame on me.

 

Beautiful fat fish!   Love seeing that. 

 

That Channel is really cool, can't remember seeing red on the ones I catch.  

Wow, somebody has been fishing next to the buffet line, those girls are PLUS SIZED haha

30 minutes ago, Master Bait'r said:

Wow, somebody has been fishing next to the buffet line, those girls are PLUS SIZED haha

I think you are referring to Bluebasser86's fish I quoted.....I wish I could take credit for those fish, but I've never come close to fishing in conditions like that, much less in a Kayak.    

3 hours ago, ScottW said:

Haha! It’s on both sides of the state line just off I65N. 
 

Ya learn something everyday! Never heard of it. Blue raider bob already answered your question perfectly, fish below the dams when shore bound 

17 hours ago, ScottW said:

Haha! It’s on both sides of the state line just off I65N. 
 

 

14 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Ya learn something everyday! Never heard of it. Blue raider bob already answered your question perfectly, fish below the dams when shore bound 

I-65 (near Ardmore) is about halfway between Wheeler & Guntersville dams. It's an hour or so drive from I-65 to either dam.

 

That beautiful part of the Tennessee River you drive across on 65 goes through the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge, which is the home of north Alabama's gator population. Not a ton of them, but they're there.

3 hours ago, Fishlegs said:

That beautiful part of the Tennessee River you drive across on 65 goes through the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge, which is the home of north Alabama's gator population. Not a ton of them, but they're there.

?

Caught about 20 yesterday, got another double up on the A-Rig, but now after several weeks of heavy action on these A-Rigs I'm finding myself really torn over if I can personally keep fishing them.   I keep snagging 2-3 small fish for every 20 fish I catch on them.   Never hooked a quality fish badly, but it's eating me up and ruining the whole point of being out there when I snag a few.  

 

I went barbless, and I'm downsizing hook gauge/size, and also gonna try to ease up on the hookset, but if that doesn't fix the problem, my A-Rig days are numbered for sure.     

 

15+ came on the A-Rig, 1 on the Blade Bait, 1 on the 110jr+1, and 1 on the S-Waver 168

 

Big girl of the day was close to 5lbs, and big Spot of the day was likely a bit over 3lbs.   

 

 

   

35 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I'm finding myself really torn over if I can personally keep fishing them.   I keep snagging 2-3 small fish for every 20 fish I catch on them.   Never hooked a quality fish badly, but it's eating me up and ruining the whole point of being out there when I snag a few.

Don't sweat it. They're tough little critters. I've caught several healthy fish that had recovered from an obviously broken back. Others that had survived the jaws of muskie. Your hooks ain't hurting them much. You don't mind hooking them in the mouth, why let hooking them anywhere else bother ya?

 I feel bad about the rare occasion I blind one. I eat the ones I gullet hook. Other than that..... meh... they're fine.

3 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Don't sweat it. They're tough little critters. I've caught several healthy fish that had recovered from an obviously broken back. Others that had survived the jaws of muskie. Your hooks ain't hurting them much.

Thank you Tim!   Makes me feel a bit better.   I always start off at the default setting that these are tough critters, then I hook one poorly and it's Bambi all of sudden 

1 minute ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Thank you Tim!   Makes me feel a bit better.   I always start off at the default setting that these are tough critters, then I hook one poorly and it's Bambi all of sudden 

LOL. That's cause you're a good person with a kind heart. NUTHIN wrong with that. God bless ya brother.

Just now, T-Billy said:

LOL. That's cause you're a good person with a kind heart. NUTHIN wrong with that. God bless ya brother.

Right back at you Tim, truly a brother from another mother!  ??

Ah, T-Billy, you're 24K.

 

And more great bass, Alex. You're a heckuva fisherman. 

Just now, ol'crickety said:

Ah, T-Billy, you're 24K.

 

And more great bass, Alex. You're a heckuva fisherman. 

Both of you are Platinum, 24k is for the peasants ?

3 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Ah, T-Billy, you're 24K.

 

2 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Both of you are Platinum, 24k is for the peasants ?

Rule #2: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. ?

1 hour ago, T-Billy said:

Don't sweat it. They're tough little critters. I've caught several healthy fish that had recovered from an obviously broken back. Others that had survived the jaws of muskie. Your hooks ain't hurting them much. You don't mind hooking them in the mouth, why let hooking them anywhere else bother ya?

 I feel bad about the rare occasion I blind one. I eat the ones I gullet hook. Other than that..... meh... they're fine.

I’ve been hooked in the mouth and the arm, much prefer the arm 

16 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve been hooked in the mouth and the arm, much prefer the arm 

My cat thanks you for scaring the day lights out of it when I erupted in laughter ?

Just now, AlabamaSpothunter said:

My cat thanks you for scaring the day lights out of it when I erupted in laughter ?

My buddy had a cricket on when he hooked me in the lip, luckily I was easily caught and released but it was double weird having a cricket on my lip 

3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

My buddy had a cricket on when he hooked me in the lip, luckily I was easily caught and released but it was double weird having a cricket on my lip 

Quiet trip home I imagine between you and that buddy ?

2 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

My buddy had a cricket on when he hooked me in the lip, luckily I was easily caught and released but it was double weird having a cricket on my lip 

Well... I'd take a cricket over a hellgramite every time!!!

I was on a musky fishing trip in northwestern Ontario when one guy buried his MUSKY LURE right above the other guy's eye. They had to go, of course, to a hospital, which was a long drive. Then, as one would expect of a musky fisher, the hooked guy went right back to fishing the next morning. 

Sorry about the image quality but I had to get it to where it would post!

 

Pre spawn 6 lber on the Siebert Outdoors Brush jig 1/2 oz in Sunfish with a Blue Shad Zoom big salty chunk on the back.

 

Caught her at 6 am in 1 FOW.  Hit it on the fall.

 

Happy pre spawn from NC!

1'??? Whoa! That must have been a sight when all that bass realized she was hooked.

11 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

1'??? Whoa! That must have been a sight when all that bass realized she was hooked.

 

 

Thought I snagged a beaver for a second ?

The drum was a riot on 4 lb test 

I haven't heard a sheepshead grunt for decades. Never thought I'd miss it, but I do!

 

4 lb. test is the great equalizer, isn't it?

 

9 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I haven't heard a sheepshead grunt for decades. Never thought I'd miss it, but I do!

 

4 lb. test is the great equalizer, isn't it?

 

Thought I had a very slow shark on the line