N Florida Mike

I guess I'm just a simple man, but arent we mainly in it to catch fish ? Live bait=more fish. I love fishing, but I love it more when I catch some.Therefore, I use live bait sometimes.

Its just so...drastic. Whenever I go by a place out there I havent been in a month or so there will be another development starting by then. I then sometimes think of a memory that happenned there or try to figure out what dirt road went through there when it was woods. They are even building condos out there , and just opened a wal mart. And SOCCER FIELDS . ? At least they are supposedly going to build a bass pro shops .

I was born and raised in North Florida. There is something that I have been trying to get my head wrapped around for a while now. When I was growing up in the 60's and 70's , Florida was still a wilderness and had comparitively little development. In my area, there was a 30 mile gap of woods between Jax. and st augustine. My dad would take me fishing at St augustine and once we left home it was nearly undeveloped all the way. Beaches were completely uncrowded, even in summer. We got our bearings from big blocks of woods followed by a rare road through it. In other words, we might say " Did we pass Pine Island road yet ? " And the answer would be " No, it's after this wood line " Now, with so much development, I cant hardly tell where I'm at, so I started using gps if Im trying to find a specific location. The area Im referring to is southern duval and northern st Johns counties. It was our " outback" . People had hunted and ran dogs in it probably for at least 200 years. Now all thats in the past. When we were growing up, it was comforting to know it was out there, and all the wild critters with it. Bears, panthers, Bobcats, wild hogs, deer, areas so thick humans had to avoid. It was open too, we would just go out and mud bog, cruise the roads at night, spot light deer etc. and rarely see any one else out there. Locations were known by swamps we had to cross, a wood bridge over a creek, a large tree, etc. We got a lot of our identity from that.There was a southern culture and dialect with this too , that is rapidly disappearing. To me, it's very sad. With each generation of old timers dying, and newcomers coming, it's all being watered down and rapidly changing. The old culture is almost gone. That being said, Im not a tree hugger. I just hate to see SO MUCH DEVELOPMENT !!! I believe people should be able to buy land and according to the law, develop it. These beliefs pull me both ways. I have started contemplating a move, but I really cant go anywhere. At least I have my lake I can fish on !! Just wanted to vent. Maybe some of y'all are experiencing this too.

Who knows what you'll see on a residential street! This rd. runs right into where I hunt though.

I dont think they avoid sunlight except that in the summer temps would have to be considerably warmer out in the open as opposed to them being under cover. Esp. in the south ! I have not caught many fish in the summer out in the open from 10-4 unless its a deep hole with cooler water. Otherwise, theyll be under cover. Cooler temps !!

I thought a truckers cap was the old ball caps from the 70s and 80s that had the big forehead ! Got a few of those left too.

Same here !! Got dozens of caps. Mainly wear these when fishing: All 3 are mesh hats that keep my big head cool.

My grandson made Chicken casserole ( his moms recipe ) Excellent !!

One of my favorite sunrises ever, took it a couple mornings ago.

• My dad, who taught me to fish. • My son. • Several bass resource members. • My friend since childhood, Jeff. As for pros, I would pick Scott Martin, Shaw Grigsby, Hank Parker, or Bill Dance. And Im with @Catt , would love to get some smallmouths someday. My G-daughter is probably my favorite at this time.

Welcome. The closest I usually get to Orlando is the Ocala Nat. forest. Great small lakes and uncrowded water!

One of the broadest Cypress trees Ive seen. It stays broad way up the trunk. You can kind of get a perspective by looking at the palmettos at bottom left. I wouldnt be suprised if this tree was 500 years old.

You got that right. Hardest fish Ive unhooked in years. Hard even with pliers.

This thing is probably mine. It's some kind of puffer .

•Catch a new PB •Set a new daily record for numbers •Get my son back out on the water with me. He had an accident that hurt his back this year so we didnt get out together after that. •Get the G-kids out with me more often • Make new fishing buddies • Reastablish old ones. One of my best friends since childhood recently got a bass boat, and we have already talked about getting out in the st johns river system near us. • Get better at one more technique sych as hardbaits.

I have several loved ones that smoke. I hate smelling it and all the money wasted just to kill yourself. I tried one once when I was 14 or so and hated it and only smoked one more in my whole life. I struggled with alcohol for awhile as a young man and by Gods grace was delivered from being a drunk. I started chewing tobacco when I was 17-18, and chewed heavily until I was 26 or so. I quit when I was 26 and only chewed once more. I am no special person but I just quit. I do not understand the attraction or addiction. If I could quit nicotine, anyone can. I just dont have much tolerance for that. It separates so many families. Glad your mom will be ok. Your post has motivated me to attempt to help them quit again. Thank you.

Thats like asking what my favorite food is ! I would have to say Texas rigged senko or yum dinger, 4 or 5 inch .

My G- daughter would love having one like him around. If her chiwawa ever dies (hopefully sooner than later) , I may get her one like that.

I dont have a bait monkey problem because ... I dont have much ( sometimes any ) money to spend on baits. This year especially. Just paying the mortgage to live on my lake just about does me in. I have been using up my stock of plastic baits I accumulated through the years. I wouldnt think of selling any..... If I do buy baits lately its been yum dingers. Cant go wrong for 2.99 a pack.

Ive live bait fished a lot. It's not cheating if you dont break any laws. It takes twice the work if catching your own bait , and in some cases, twice the patience. To me, there is not much difference in gut hooking fish with live bait than artificials. I started using circle hooks, which get less gut hooks than other hooks. If a fish is gut hooked , I carefully work to get the hook out without injuring the fish. But I get just as many if not more gut hooks using flukes as opposed to live bait. Sometimes I just get in the mood to live bait fish, and usually just do it out back when I dont feel like going out. It is a relaxing way to fish , just catching a little bream , hook him on, throw him out, and wait for a response. It sometimes doesnt take very long. I dont do it much anymore, but it's fun to go out and fish with bream or shiners , almost like you would artificials. Cast em out in clear areas with no cork ( or with one ) wait a minute or so, then reel in , cast to a new spot, and repeat. You will likely do very well.? Just let the big mamas go !!.

You laugh... but he came to school in the 6th grade fighting back tears over it ! Within a few months he had shot and killed the 11 and 1/2 footer, the main culprit, and we were eating gator tail for months to come. ? That was the year they outlawed gator hunting in florida.

Nice to hear Rodmans still going strong. Thats a purty fish for sure Dwight.