Leaderboard

One of the 51 brought to hand today from small water walking the bank. Bass appeared to be postspawn, as I never saw an actual bed, but they were cruising and chasing shallow. Did find some bluegill bedding. Zman plastics on a small jighead was the ticket (wacky).

Between the guy who was the boater and I, combined we probably caught over 100 bass, most right around a pound. (we stopped weighing after we got a limit of nicer ones). We found a rock pile offshore in about 5-7 ft of water and every cast with a jig that allowed the jig to drag over the rocks ended up in a fish. Felt the tap of the jig bouncing of the rocks then bam, jig got smoked. Every single time. Upgraded to a 2.15, 2.2 and 2.9 on some docks in a little man made bay. My best 6 were 15 lbs 5 ounces (mine is on the right) enough for a 3rd place finish! Sure made 25+ mph east winds with and chilly 40-50 degree air temps quite bearable. I also got to test the Huk NXTLVL Rain Gear @A-Jay sold me and I stayed nice and dry.

Good one from day's trip. A-Jay

Bank fishing, 7 tighteyes & 5# kicker ?

I don’t mind getting up at 5 to go fishing ? this is my first top water bite for the year, it was a blast!

My idea of fun is battling a good smallie on on a ML rod and 6lb. line.

Why does any grown man value a few dollars ahead of his own ethics & moral compass ? #patheticandweakminded A-Jay

No, but I do have a 1.5 year old with impeccable aim, constantly flailing hands, and is at that unfortunate height right now. He dropped me for about 5 minutes yesterday, much to the delight of my wife.

My wife and boys went on a farm tour today, several local farms open up to the public so you can see how they work and help folks get an appreciation for how much work goes into getting their food from the farm to their table. One of the farms they went to raised Hereford cows. My wife loves cows so she was happy to get to pet several and so was Lake. He also got to learn a hard lesson that you don't run up behind a cow, which he was told not to do several times but he's about as hard headed as his mom is ? Didn't really hurt him, just scared him about as much as anything that an animal that seems so big and slow can move that fast when they want to.

A law is only as good as the people who are enforcing it. It sounds to me that the area this man fishes without a license has poor enforcement and its the main reason he gets away with poaching. Maybe you should contact your local DNR and give them the location this guy likes to poach and maybe then they might be able to catch him.

So my ole lady divorced me today. She took half of everything I had. I never thought it would get this bad. She knew I was sneaking out on her a couple times a week. In my defense she was slender and always jumped up and smiled, but so was the other one when i caught her attention. I was only gone a couple hours a time in the morning as she still asleep yet I know she knew my heart was elsewhere. It all started out a few years ago as I was on vacation down in Florida. I was so excited to get away from the cold that I could not contain myself. With a few beverages in hand I made my way out. At first it was the little ones that always pounce on the fresh meat. That was not for me. As much as I loved them I knew there was more, as I felt bad for my woman waiting by the door. As I aged I knew that the more mature ladies would be harder to get but in the end more rewarding. My friends always laughed at me because I was not getting any, but the ones I did were overweight or too big as they would say. Yet they always made me smile. They had been around the block a time or two. They were not always the most good looking but they always aimed to please. Sometime they were harder to get, other times they were harder to let go, but they always had my heart. However a short while ago I was busted. My wife caught up to me as I was sneaking out. She confronted me about the affair. She asked if she could meet the loves of my life. So without anyway of getting out of it I had to to take her. So she caught a Tarpon, snook, redfish and a bunch of trout. On the way home she bought her own tackle box and started taking half of my lures. I have never been more proud. I can't wait to fish with her Tuesday. It is a joy to be able to fish with the love of your life. ps other than the fish.

Yellow trick worm.

Biggest swimbait fish of the season so far. She had a big ol belly but unfortunately the pic didn't do her justice. Just a bit over 5 on the scale. Pops with a nice smallie on a wacky rig

Air Temps in the low 30's early this morning. This Pretty Lady warmed me right up. A-Jay

I called the security office at Lake Springfield to see about purchasing a registration sticker for my boat. Talked to a woman named Mary Ann. I asked her how much the sticker would cost. She said, "How big is your boat?". I said, "14 feet long", Mary Ann said, "Oh, you have a small one". Okay, how big is your motor? She asked. I said 9.9. She said, "oh is that like a 10 h.p. I said, ''yes it is". Then she said, "That is a little one''. Then I asked how much the charge would be. Mary Ann said. "not very much since yours is so small". It ended up being $17.00 for a year. Not bad for Lake Springfield, lol. Now I have issues with my boat size.

BTW, I found out that rodeo clowns don't go to clown college. I mean they can if they want to but they don't have to. They won't get any benefits from the clown college if they continue to work as rodeo clowns even if they graduate from clown college. But should they move on to the more lucrative market of regular clown they will have the schooling to make the transition smooth. But the work experience of a rodeo clown will not transfer to credits in a clown college. In case you were wondering.

Only thing that worked yesterday was letting it sit still!

Me to, its quite an experience! Glad I can say I gave it a shot! A guy I knew through a guy had a couple goats, we’d go over there to fish, if you stood by the split rail fence with your hands on it she would come over and smash your hands with her head, that was a mistake I only made once! @Bluebasser86 I just showed my wife your picture, looks like we’ll be vacationing there next time they have this ?

One of my fishing buddies is a Ranger in one of the national parks down here. He tells me that Rangers and other conservation officers often dress up like fishermen and fish close to you to make sure you are following the law. He is very passionate about his job and I have his phone number to call if I see any poachers in the area I am fishing in. He loves his job and keeps one of the areas I fish safe so I am glad to see him when he patrols the area I fish.

Yep, I completely believe that. I rode a couple bulls in high school, pretty amazing to feel them work for a second, and the ornery one basically got his head under me and threw me about 10’ across the arena, I won’t go into what happened after that, let’s just say #metoo ?

Ever seen a 1200 pound bull jump 2’ off the ground? It takes an awful lot of power to get that much hamburger off the ground! My wife and kid would have loved that as well, in fact we usually have to stop when we are out in the country and see cows so they can look at them, especially when they have calves.

Possible? yes Logical? No Let's let retailers do what they do and simply sell merchandise and not turn them further into an arm of the state.

I think she was hitting on you @Lonnie Clemens. I would have played along and seen if you couldn't get that fee reduced. Bow-chicka-wow-wow.

Tell Mary Ann “ it may be small but it will run all night”!

I've heard it said it's not so much the length of the boat, but the beam that makes for a better ride ? Of course, you could always try and make up for boat length with bigger electronics...at least 10" (screens, that is) and preferably 12" ?

I totally agree. Fishing is my escape and my therapy.

That reel does not have bearings in the line roller. If it doesn't spin properly, it'll knot up your line in a hurry.

There are more than most people know or see. I've known and know 3 people who are or where part of the fish & boat commissions enforcement arm. My best friend and his FIL are both PA waterways conservation officers. Most of the time they try not to be seen unless they need to nab someone.

Either of you ever been rammed in the neather regions by a goat? That is pain. My uncle had horses, cows, chickens and geese and none of them was as dangerous as that dang goat. Use to sneak up on you when you were doing any kind of work on the property and ram you. That will make your eyes water.

We are blessed to live in the fishing capital of the world and it is our best interest to protect our fisheries for us and the next generations to come. The bass fishing right now in South Florida is better overall than when I was a child and I see it getting better as time progresses. I am certain I will surpass all my largemouth bass fishing PB's as time passes and I won't have to leave Florida to do so!

I use a 7ft medium Zillion for t rigs and I love it. I also have a fury which is a nice rod for the money, but it is no comparison to the zillion which is lighter,more sensitive and has a better feel to it. I also have a Tatula rod and that is a step above the fury.

I did not get a freshwater licence in Florida until I was 21, because of a rebellious nature. I never got asked to produce a license , and did have many close calls, fishing all over North and central Fl. One day I felt strongly impressed to get a license and did so. The SAME DAY I got it, We were launching at Orange lake and THE MAN asked me. I started chuckling, and told him my tale, while producing my brand new , freshly printed license.He was not amused. Ever since then, I have done my best to stay within the law, after seeing where the money goes to fishery and wildlife. I believe without a doubt I am blessed to catch a lot of fish because of this compliance . I call it reaping what I've sown. Some would call it karma. If I saw someone not in compliance, I wouldn't hesitate to call on them, unless they were possibly fishing to survive or just naive. But I would definitely speak to them about it . But we already have way too much Gov. Involvement imo, so I would be opposed to stores asking for your license, and for all the other good reasons mentioned above.

You should of told her it may be small but you know how to use it. ?

They kick you, not as hard as a horse, but pretty dang hard. My dad is missing the majority of his right calf muscle from a horse kicking him and peeling the muscle right off the bone.

The BG is a Procyon without magseal but, with a direct drive handle and carbon fiber drag. After having been a Shimano fanboy for years I have been converted to Daiwa. The Tatula is great for guys who want the lightest weight possible and have no need for any seals. I will likely be replacing my 3000 Stradic FK with a 2000 Tatula at some point this year. All things considered it is very hard to beat the BG for the money if weight isn't your primary concern, if it is go with the Tatula.

Maybe he is real and so smart that he managed to get a job doing commercials for Geico, and we didn't even realize it.

Are you sure they were bass? Lots of fish will hit the surface that won't strike a topwater bait. I've caught a ton of bass on a Whopper Plopper in very clear water and don't believe there is such a thing as too clear for a topwater. If you really feel the need to go finesse, a clear walking bait would be my choice. I use a clear Zara Puppy if it's clear and calm. I had really good luck Tuesday in very clear water with a Yo-Zuri 3DB Prop, catching a fish or getting bit almost every cast for most of the day. No big fish, but it was a lot of fun.

Hello fellow 40H owners! I picked my boat up last Saturday. Took my Grandson along telling him nothing about the boat, he thought we were shopping for tackle. Walking into BPS he said, "im going to get a shopping basket just in case."After signing paperwork for the boat I brought him through the service department for the big surprise. Just before opening the door going outside where the new boat was waiting, I told him he might need a larger shopping basket!

As you dont have to give them your name - Just call them on the payphone if you are worried about them tracking you.

i am the same way but i am a lone 90% of the time.

Dobyns FR 734C or SA 734C Irod IRG 744C Lots and lots of choices, comes down to personal preference and customer service. I know Catt like his Powell rod, my preference is ALX Dupty, with 20% sale discount. Tom

The pressure got the best of me... Got out this morning for a one-eyed, 20 inch bronzeback... Happy Season Opener to my Minnesota friends!!

It's an interesting question/observation. I've done similar in that I remember once having left my line cutters at home and having to cut a lure off straight braid. I thought, no problem, I'll just use this piece of limestone riprap to cut right through it...wrong. Took much more abuse and pressure to eventually cut through, way more than a bait would likely ever put on the line. And the scissors point is not too dissimilar to the fact that they use Spectra and Dyneema to make cut resistant gloves. The most likely scenario is that it is a matter of diameter. If you watch the Salt Strong video comparing the two, 20# braid to 20# mono, mono wipes it out. But 20# braid is the diameter of 6# or less mono. Another online video I saw took this into account by testing 25# or 30# mono to the equivalent diameter braid, which was something like 130 or 150# test. The braid won each time. So the simplest answer might lie with the fact that braid seems to be less abrasion resistant because rarely is line diameter taken into consideration. Would be great to see some detailed testing that either proved or disproved this theory.

Lucky Craft Pointer.

That is a favorite method of mine and my husband. Fantastic for Florida even in the murkiest of water. One thing I noticed was fishing the open was the boaters were fishing very fast with the trolling motors wide open (it seemed that way when I'm having to feed out line to get my bait deeper in the water no matter how far I cast). Mostly Stick baits and Flukes. Cast it, pop it a couple times, let it fall and sit. Twitch it after 20-30 seconds then let it sit. I also used Megastrike crawfish formula for scent, if it's really nasty or dark waters. I always had my finger under the line and you can usually feel the little "tic" of the line or it just feels different when you pick it up and they are doing the Ninja bites. When my day 1 boater watched me put two in the boat dead sticking, and he had none, it clicked with him. Too late for day 1, but he thanked me the next day in the weigh in line saying he caught fish doing what I showed him. He said it was like a light bulb clicked on for that type of Florida fishing. I gave him a few more tips but dead sticking is my favorite style especially in the Florida 99 degree heat we get. My biggest bass was 8.29 pounds dead sticking.

Throw em both & let the bass tell ya which one they prefer!

I used to think guys looked like idiots wearing the long pants, sunshirts, buffs covering their whole faces, gloves, hats, and sunglasses. Well, after working with guys missing chunks from their faces, ears, noses, arms, and heads, I'm one of those idiots now. You just can't cover every little piece of exposed skin with sunblock no matter how hard you try and as much as I fish, that's a lot of repeated exposure. I have a couple spots on my hands already that I'm concerned about because I've never work sunblock on my hands and only started wearing the gloves in the last 5 years. I even get the jokes from my family "You fishing or robbing a bank?" I don't care, skin cancer isn't a joke.

I got this one deadsticking a Slammer. First hint of movement she crushed it. I do it a lot with big topwater swimbaits. Anything to make it look like a big, easy meal. I'll do it with frogs too just because that's how a real frog will do a lot of the time.

Since we were discussing the old Charlie Brewer slider in another thread earlier today, I decided to tie one on tonight and get an hour or two of "Do Nothing" in after dinner. Thirty fish later, the old slider worm still works as well as ever. This one sure didn't hurt my feelings any ?