RAMBLER

My mind never quits. Drives me nuts sometimes. I have to consciously shut off the ramblings and make a conscious effort to be aware of my surroundings. Then I can concentrate on making every cast more accurate, putting the lure exactly where I want it instead of in a tree or dead centered on the top of a stump. Why do I hit a 3" stump dead center and can't hit the 100 yards of water around it?

Like DarrenM says, they like anything, but, if I am targeting them I like to use spinner baits. While bass fishing I catch more pike on spinner baits than anything else.

A light rod casting a number 0 or 1 silver Mepps spinner. I would use 6 lb. test line. I think a size 30 spinning reel is better than the smaller ones. Just my opinion. You really need a good smooth drag. Cast into that white water as close as you can from where that picture was taken. Retrieve it downstream and let it swing out into the current and bring it back across current, to you.

Use what you want. You don't have to justify yourself to the world. There was an old guy, back home (Wis), that used nothing but the cheapest Zebco plastic reel he could buy. I think it was a 202, but maybe a 404. He caught muskies on them. When he hooked a big one and it pulled the drag fast and long enough it melted the reel and he bought another one. He caught enough fish on those reels so that he never went hungry.

How's your 4th day going? The 4th day will be for the rest of your life.

I tried some red worm hooks. The paint peeled off, the points rolled over and the hooks bent. I don't know if the RED made any difference or not. The problem was they were just cheap hooks. I've never seen a quality worm hook in the color red. Maybe they exist, but I just haven't looked for them.

I fish a lot with Zoom trick worms/watermelon red. I've fished with a friend that always used a white trick worm. I tried to tell him that real fishermen did not use white trick worms. Darn it, he always caught more than me. So, I guess white can be a very good choice, especially in darker water.

That is one of the most awesome weekends you will ever have. It's one thing to say God loves you. It another to truly experience it.

I love animals, right next to my mashed potatoes and gravy.

Good chance it's bluegills nipping at the worm. They will hit worms bigger than they are.

Isn't every answer, here, a personal opinion?

Sounds like you were fishing in some of the same places I fish, in Florida. Never caught a bass where there is a concentration of spotted gar. When I see a bunch of them, I just keep on going and look for another place to fish. I've caught bass where there are long nose gar, mainly because there are long nose gar every where. I was out on a river, today and caught 7 bass, none big but they all bent my rod. There were long nose gar sucking air off the top the entire time.

Go to www.barlowstackle.com and get all the components and make your own. I've never made spinner baits, but you can get the parts to make just about any bait you want.

I have Costa amber with green mirror. Not only can I see underwater very well with them, I also feel that they protect my eyes, from the sun, better than anything else I have worn.

I've used Berkley and Strike King, from Wal-Mar. The amber lenses with green or blue reflective coating I liked really well. I got some grey lenses ones and they distorted my vision. I couldn't drive with them. I called them my painted plastic glasses. Now, all that said, in a drawing, I won a pair of costas with amber lenses with green reflective coating. Holy cow. I would never have spent the money for these. They were valued at $240.00. There is really no comparison. I was one that believed that sunglasses are sunglasses and anyone that spent that kind of money for some was silly. Not so, now. I could never afford to replace them if I lose them, so, I am pretty careful with them.

Now that I can, (71 years old) I fish only during the week. No way will I get on the water on a holiday weekend. It's like being in among a ton of disrespectful, stupid, arrogant kids. You know, I've held the door, to a store, open for my wife and had some of the same kind of punks bump into her getting through the door before she does. I'm not much of a people person, anymore. I could rant forever about rude, arrogant, inconsiderate people. If I had acted, even as an adult, like a lot of these punks do, my mother would have lit into me like all hell. I guess there are more and more parents that just don't teach respect and politeness, anymore. Well, thanks for the rant time. There are some really good people in this world and I tend to spend my time with them as much as possible.

I tried those things and did not like them at all. Someone else, from Wisconsin, tried them and liked them. They went back up there and then asked if we would send them some. We got some cans of boiled peanuts, from Wal-Mart, and sent them up there. They were looking at the labels and found they were canned in Green Bay. I guess it was something to do to keep the canary working in the off vegetable season. I really like roasted and salted peanuts, but boiled ones you can feed to the hogs.

I tried some flouro to use as leaders with my braid. It might have been vanish. I only remember that I got it at Wal-Mart. The knot kept breaking. I lost a couple of lures that way. Finally put it all on a spinning reel. It had too much memory and I couldn't get the stuff to straighten out. It was hard to cast, too, on the spinning reel. It finally went the way of everything else that doesn't work.

You should check your state regulations about pike. In a lot of states they are a regulated game fish. There is a size and bag limit on pike. Kill any and throw them back, if a warden sees you, they count toward your limit. Purposely killing an undersized pike, I believe in some states is, the same as taking one undersized. It can be expensive, and if considered serious enough, be reason to lose your license. Just because you don't like them is not a reason to disobey the law.

Chet Atkins

I, too, smoked for over 20 years. When I had finally convinced myself that I really wanted to quit, I did. I threw about a half pack away and never touched them, again. At that time I was married to a woman that smoked. When I quit, she would walk up to me and blow smoke in my face. Not long after that she was my ex.

From the employee's comments about getting the nicks out of this particular brand of knife, I would say that he knew exactly what he was doing, thought it was funny and has done it before. From the manager's lack of interest, I would also think that there is a relationship, of some kind, i.e., brother-in-law, etc. I would definitely let the big BPS in the sky know about this.

I think it is commendable that someone has taken the time to do the research and set up a table that tells us when the fish are going to bite. Now, if that person will bake and frost the cake I need for tonight's dinner at the church, go to the church early and set up for the dinner, and mow my lawn, I will be more than happy to go fishing. Not ranting, just saying. Since I retired I fish about 3-4 times a month. I don't have the luxury of picking and choosing when I go. When I was working two jobs, somehow I managed to fish 2-3 times a week. This all seems to have gotten backwards somehow. I guess priorities change. God is good.

I go fishing when I can take the time. However, I do check the tide on the St. John's River to help me decide where I will fish that day.

I've fished for them to keep and eat. I really like them. One time, for the heck of it, I boiled one. While the meat was hot I dipped it in melted butter. That was really good, we called it poor man's lobster. Then, I cooled some and put it on ice. Dipped it in shrimp cocktail sauce. That was really good, too.