everythingthatswims

Wicked cool, I have always wanted to catch a muskie. Cavitrons have magic powers.

One Fish Anna was surprisingly nice to me today. I went with the intent of striper fishing but that didn't pan out too well, we only landed four with one being a keeper @ 21"...Normally One Fish Anna lives up to her name this time of year when I try to bass fish, but today I actually got on a decent bite and caught about a dozen. Most were right around 12" but that is way better than I have ever done this time of year (from a kayak). My big fish of the day that ate a 3/8oz football jig that I was skipping under docks and dragging back out very slowly. 18" My little brother got this 20"er on a 6XD crankbait while trolling for stripers.

On Jupiter you might be close to DD

Haha we must have a different strain of gar living here or something. I always hear about how aggressive they are, but the ones we have here are pretty smart. You have to make a stealthy approach, and a long cast way past them with a very good presentation (very small strike zone) to get them to eat. The fish I was catching when I caught the black one wouldn't eat a strip of cut bait but if you could get a bluegill about 3" long, kill it, and pop the swim bladder so it would sink, they would eat that if you twitched it right up to their nose and let it fall. The only baits I have gotten gar to bite are hard jerkbaits, an s-waver 168, and last year I hooked a giant on my 6" bull shad but he threw it. One of my biggest curiosities is what would happen if I made "feathered" trebles on my s-waver but use the nylon rope that gar get their teeth stuck in.

I like it when it's tuff

Judging from your profile pic, you get along just fine with choco-milk

When they grab something, those teeth do NOT let it get away. They just work it down towards their mouth, get the fish headfirst, and gulp! Main issue withthe artificials is that they can't really be hooked in the mouth, you have to let them swallow it so bait is the only way I have been getting them. The fish around here are way too smart to chase one of those rope lures.

Sight casting with small dead bluegill

Welcome! Lots of VA guys on here.

I throw my 9" glide from my kayak. A 10' sit in. While standing. It can be done.

Those are tanks! Nice fish and I am truly sorry that you have had to wait this long!

The scales stay home on kayak trips. I always find a way to drown them despite putting them in three zip locs or a dry bag or something. I would say low 5s, she was skinny.

She slapped at my glide bait and didn't hook up, gave her some time and followed up with a finesse bait. 1/16oz shakey head with a 6" roboworm....6lb test sure made it interesting! My second VA citation this year @22".

I had a bass try to eat a 16" rainbow that I was hooked into a few years back. I'm going to quote a trout angler that saw me fishing a swimbait this year... "Yeah I guess using that bait makes sense, every time they stock here in the spring the bass pin trout on the bank and hammer them."....NLMB

I hope that one day I will have the confidence/patience to dead stick a jig. Pretty work!

Check this guy out! Long nose gar and he was jet black, crazy looking fish.

That is crazy, I didn't think that gags were supposed to be shallow in the summer. I have seen where people can catch them fishing docks in Florida, but only in the winter. Very nice fish! (and top notch table fare)

Why is my bait sinking? Oh...

Catfish?

I am going to quote Chuck Kraft on something he said to my dad: "Is there a hatch? Yeah there's a hatch...Of size 6 muddler minnows."

Unless you were using a spinning rod with 6lb test I think it's a pretty safe bet that what you lost was not a bass if you fought it for 6 minutes. Doesn't mean it's not worth going back to find out what it was though!

All treble hook baits have a higher chance of the fish throwing the bait, big swimbaits with trebles just make it worse. Big 'ol heavy bait so it's easy for them to throw it, and the bites can be few and far between. I have had some serious heartbreaks, winding as hard as I can with the rod tip down to keep them from jumping, but sometimes it just isn't enough!

I agree that it's a completely different bait, I didn't understand how they were different until I watched some of Winkiedoodles' videos on youtube about the ned rig and z man baits.

^^^