N Florida Mike

A friend of mine had an old swimming pool out back and when he'd catch fish in the creek he would sometimes let them go in there. Whenever they wanted some fish quick, he'd go recatch them. Was always suprised the gators didnt clean em out. They were doing a pretty good job on his goats that roamed down below his house in the swamp.

I had a small bass on one other time and a 3-4 pound fish came up behind and attacked it, I was reeling both fish in for a second or two and the big fish let go.

I have been in the woods and on the water all my life and have plenty of outdoor stories. Not many scary stories though. One night we were riding around back in the woods in this area known to locals as the flatwoods. There were trails all through it, but you had to make all the right turns or you wouldnt make it through to the other side. And it was thousands of acres. I took a wrong turn and went way down a road and it just ended. It was very hard to turn around because there were deep ditches right off the road on either side. As we were going back I kept watching for a turn off I missed and never saw one. The road was long and straight and NO turn offs or anywhere to pull over even. Suddenly, I saw headlights way back down that road, in the direction we had just come from. I was genuinely shocked because there was just no way another truck was back there. We hightailed it on out of there and never went back down that road again. Not far from there a friend was hunting one time and as they were heading in, there was a truck locked with the engine running, nobody in it. When they came back later, same thing. Someone else found a man with his head cut off out there. There was even a road through it the locals called " Ghost light "rd. We went out there as teens and seen that light moving way down that rd between the pines. Figured later maybe it was just cars going by where the other road went by. We were camping once in the Ocala nat. forest. Very remote primitive campsite. Late at night I was awakened by a catlike grunt/ scream out somewhere in the woods. We figured maybe it was one of the very rare, or the last Florida panther left in N. Central florida. Not paranormal, but those things are like phantoms. There could be one right next to you and you wouldnt know it.

Where is that ?

Your'e in E. Tennessee arent you ? I have done a couple vacations there and loved it. went to cades cove. Seen bears, big deer etc. Fished the new river near there. Didnt catch anything but enjoyed it anyway. Have been all through the smokies, Clingmans dome etc. with the wife and grandkids. Wonderful memories from a beautiful area.

I dont golf . But there was once a time when I almost bought a golf membership so I could sneak in a 2 piece combo in a golf bag and fish the ponds. I almost did it but figured I wouldnt really be able to enjoy it with all the security and actual golfers around. I also came up with what ( I thought ) was a fun idea. You could have a redneck golf circuit where you follow the basic rules of golf but it wouldnt be so snooty. Like you could holler right when the golfer goes to hit the ball etc. ? You could also have a simultaneous bank fishing tournament going on ( right behind the golfers so the fishermen wouldnt get hit by the balls ) Seems like a win-win for the community. It would attract people to golf who otherwise wouldnt be, and it would open up the choice little ponds and lakes to fishermen. You could also buy a pond fishing membership only.You could also have a golf cart race, and maybe figure out a way to work deer hunting in there. ? I know, I know. Wishful thinking !?

For many years I kept mine in the original bag, and crammed them into plastic trays in bait boxes. One container holds 4 trays full of baits. I also had an overflow of plastic baits in the original bag that I kept (and still keep) on nails on the wall in my fishing room. For the last couple years, I started taking baits out of the original bags and putting them naked into the trays, grouped by type and color. I love this system except that it seems like the zoom baits I use lose their color and "slinkiness " doing it this way. Not sure why they lose color because they are no more exposed to sunlight than before. What I like about my current system is that its one step to the bait instead of 2 , and I actually enjoy seeing tha baits in the tray for some reason. When using the bag, there isnt quite enough room in the tray- they are crammed in there. Kind of looking for a new way. I dont like soft storage for some reason, probably that you are several motions away from the bait ( zippers drive me nuts ). I only have a small soft storage bag I carry for accessories and bank fishing.

Might be why he stayed drunk. ? Just sayin. My wife occasionally brings up something ( I dont remember ) from our first year of marriage. Apparently I asked her if she ever washed the clothes ? .

Awesome !

Thanks for this. Great idea.

That's it !!

It's Fun !

Just scooped them up with my hands. They were flapping around in the water.

There's nothing like a North Carolina mom ! My mom passed a couple years ago at 96 . What you just shared described how my mom was too , except that she was a nominal tarheel fan. Her sister's kids are big state fans though. ( As long as its not duke, right ?) Anyway , thanks for the post. Very thankful we were able to take care of mom for 5 years at our house and got to spend all that time with her.

So I got out on the home lake for a few hours. Very slow for awhile up at my end of the lake. I started noticing some commotion in the water a ways off. As I got closer, I starting seeing a fish flapping in and out of the water. I got there and saw a 3 pound bass had swallowed a bass only an inch or so shorter !!. In all my years bass fishing Ive never seen this before. I was able to pull the fish out of the others mouth, took a pic of the two side by side with the head on shots before releasing them apparently no worse for the wear. Do yall think the bigger one was trying to swallow the smaller one ?? Or maybe they were zeroing in on a baitfish at the same time ? I went on to catch some really nice fish too , on this cool , cloudy afternoon.The biggest was the last one, which was 4 lb. 13 oz. All they would bite today was the 5 inch pumpkin chartruese tail yum dinger. Nothing on a spinnerbait, craws, or worms. And it was the same pattern as its been being the last several times. Caught them around eel grass moving it through or dead sticking. Very enjoyable, and interesting afternoon indeed.

Wow. Cant say I know what it's like to lose a child , but I ask the Lord to hug my parents for me sometimes...

Cant remember if this was a dawn or dusk shot .

We had a nice thanksgiving too with my immediate family. Its not the same anymore though as I have almost as many people up there now as I do down here. Just a lot of missing places at the table now.? Thankful for another reunion we'll have someday though.

Was planning to fish the home lake today after 1. Forecast was rain. Radar seemed to confirm it , and showed some lightning strikes in it. Waited awhile and it still looked immenent , so I decided to fish the cypress pond down the road so I could leave quickly if needed. First cast got a dink, 2nd cast, one that was about 2 inches longer. Got these off a drain. Caught 5 more 1-2 pound fish, all out of the cypresses. Caught all the fish on 5 inch yum dingers in alabama bug and pumpkin chartruese tail. Nice little back up spot. These fish are broader in the tail half of the fish than the head half. Kind of backwards compared to most of the fish I normally catch. As I write this, is still hasnt rained yet...