N Florida Mike

That’s an iconic song. I have a friend from Michigan that could play it on guitar and knew all the words. His voice was just enough off key and raucous to make it real funny. I know it was a terrible tragedy though- not making light of it now.

Looks like it’s been in open, clear water. The more they are under cover or in dark water they are darker.

Got out for a few hours this evening. Nearly bluebird skys, temps in the 70s , slick calm on the lake- which is usually the least productive weather around here . I fished the West shoreline all the way to the south end of the lake. The weeds have died out some- this part of the lake, esp. the Northwest part, has been covered with weeds all summer- now it’s clear again. First cast- bam ! ( first fish pic) Caught the First few on the watermelon red trick worm, all on the retrieve. Caught the rest on the Bama bug 5 inch yum dinger. Ended up with 12 . Most of the fish were caught in 2 spurts. No big fish again, they have really been hiding lately. Thankful for a relaxing afternoon , along with many other blessings. Happy Thanksgiving Y’all !???

I liked the Pearl Harbor movie with Ben affleck. Thought it had good effects and seemed historically accurate for the most part... I also liked Tora, Tora, Tora. From the late 70s.

One of my sons is 37. Praying for yours.

Woke up to this today...

Backstrap son !!!

I saw the one with Charlton Heston from the late 70s -or early 80s. I’m a ww2 and civil war buff. I’m much more interested in the pacific theatre of ww2 than the other theatres .Had an uncle that was in the navy in the South Pacific then , so maybe that’s part of the reason why. Couldnt tell you the last time I went to a movie , but I’d like to see that one before long.

I would get rid of the leader. Tie directly to the braid. In a clear lake I personally use a 2/0 so it doesn’t ruin the action of the bait. The more stained the water the bigger hook you can get away with imo. I just get more action with a smaller hook because I fish fairly clear water bodies. I would use any size shiner you can catch. Usually the bigger the shiner= bigger bass. Believe it or not though , I have caught a 3 pounder on a 10 inch+ shiner. They don’t call em big mouths for nothing! I hook mine through both lips starting with the bottom lip. You must cast them gently or they won’t last long. I would also not recommend the commercially raised shiners. They are usually silver instead of gold color. Bass don’t like them near as well.

They would break that leader when they go into cover. You at least wouldn’t be able to pull them out of it going that light. I use 25 pound test mono and can’t remember one ever breaking off. I use a circle hook so the fish will usually get hooked in the corner of the mouth. But if you set the hook like you do with a Kahle hook, it usually won’t result in a hook up. Once the fish has taken the bait, I count to 10 as I locate where the fish is, as I get close to 10 I let the fish tighten up and as it gets almost tight, I gradually lift and reel. Not a violent hook set. I cannot remember ever gut hooking a bass with a circle hook. I also run the shiner with or without a cork depending on the situation. How would you tell without a cork? You’ll know! A bass will nearly always run off quickly with the shiner. Line will start peeling off much faster than it did when it was just the shiner. I love live bait fishing! Nothing wrong with it if laws are obeyed!

Caught this 11 1/2 inch shiner and threw him out for awhile. No takers . The lake used to be full of these and bigger. I caught one that was 13 1/2 when I was a teen.

The lucky strike worms at Wally World are good . They’re in the bargain basket. I get the 4 inch ones. Tequila is my fav. Color. They are light, so I use them with a small split shot on a finesse rig . I try to stay with 8 pound test so they will cast good enough, with a 1 or 2/0 wide gap hook .Bass love em.

I used to keep a lot of bass and occasionally keep some in the 12-15 inch range to thin the herd and I can’t remember ever seeing a plastic bait while cleaning them. I caught one that had line coming out the poop hole though.

There are so many variables on this subject that whole books have been written on it. I’m more of an experience oriented learner than book learning. I’ve fished in N Florida for 45 years and don’t feel like Ive scratched the tip of the iceberg in learning bass patterns as it relates to weather. I consistently catch numbers, with the occasional large fish thrown in. That being said, Florida is a big state. Bass always bed first from south to north. The North has much colder weather. The earliest I have caught a bedding fish up here is late December. The latest is April. I have caught a few fish as late as May with eggs. In the north the colder the year the later the bedding activity. I have many times seen them go on the beds in January, and a cold front come through and they leave until it warms up. Activity is especially fervent around full and new moon cycles. Look for them to bed first near spring runs, lake George has several good ones. Talking dec/ jan. As far as transitions from one season to the next it happens , but it goes back and forth here drastically. Extreme heat and cold turn off the fish, but strangely enough, I have caught most of my biggest fish in the middle of the summer and winter. I catch most of my big fish in winter in the middle of The day. I catch more numbers in spring and fall. I could go on and on but I try to: • Spend time on the water • Get to know experienced locals in your area. • Factor in weather, barometer, moon, etc but don’t get too caught up in these or you’ll never go. • Find a couple bodies of water close to home and spend most of your time learning them and patterns will develop. It will be overwhelming if you don’t, with all the water there is here... mike

You could always get Turtle man to come ! Live action! Ye yee yeeee!

Had 3+ inches of rain last night. The bream were fired up. Got a nice mess for my boss. And a bonus bass too.