N Florida Mike

Biggest one I caught was in the Sante fe too. Around 2 1/2 pounds. Thought it was at least a 4 pound largemouth when fighting it.. They look like a smallmouth to me.

Real Purdy fish!

Gonna try this out.I catch some on trick worms but mostly dead-sticking,and occasionally get one on the retrieve.I haven't caught as many lately on them but I bet that'll change now. Thanks,Glenn.

It's always a shock when it's sudden like that. A nearly lifelong friend of mine just had his younger brother pass away from cancer recently at 51. He got it and died 6 months later. Sorry for your loss and I'll pray for his family and you.

Cool story and Good job!

I caught a severely damaged bass a few years ago. The best way I can explain it is that about a third of his head was missing. I don't know how it was still alive. My guess is an osprey or blue heron got a hold of him for a little while. Did have a pic, but phone got wet and I couldnt retrieve it.

Got 3 fish on frogs in the last month but none near as good as yours.

I can't remember ever being bored with fishing. I have gotten a little tired of it before, but by the next day or two I'm ready to go again. I don't understand people that think it's boring either, but I try not to judge them for it. ( I said TRY not to ) Millions of people got excited about disco too, for example, and I never had any interest in it. One explanation is that My dad did it, and I loved him and what he did. I could go all day with him and not catch anything ( which didnt happen much )and never get slightly bored. My middle son is like that. He would go every day if he could. My older son is good at it but it's not a passion to him. I think it's part of a big master plan that we only see glimpses of from time to time. People are just made differently, for different reasons. As Andy Griffith once said, " Some's got it And some ain't " ?

Got this 4 pound , 3 oz. Fish on a 3 inch 'gill.

I snagged a carp near it's tail a few years ago, and it was like hooking a small submarine there for awhile. Had a heavy saltwater rod and reel but he peeled 300 feet off before I got him turned. Ended up weighing 23 pounds. I have never had one hit an artificial bait, but have caught some big 'uns on bread balls.

Is that what it is ? I thought it was the new phone and coverage acting up.

I've noticed the English do say " reckon " a lot. Mom's family has been in NC since the 1700s. More Scottish than anything else. Yeah, I won't give reckon up either, although the wife won't tolerate antee beeotics.?

^^^ this.

Not me.

I haven't fished the Bradenton area before, but soft plastics work great anywhere else I've fished in Fl. Senkos haven't been mentioned yet. For numbers of fish, use the 4 inch ones. Watermelon colors are generally a good place to start.I like Texas rigging them. As mentioned, flukes and plastic worms are always good to have in your box.If it's tannic stained waters from Cypress trees, red shad is a good color. Bank fishing can be pretty difficult, if not impossible in many of the wild natural lakes though. Find some good retention ponds and start there, or get a boat ! If you can get a hold of some wild shiners use them.

Went for a short trip with the G-Daughter and got this one one an orange senko right before a thunderstorm sent us home.

That's cool, no disrespect intended.

Do you live in Canada ? ? Seriously, I have never heard anyone pronounce it poe-tay-toe, except Richard Pryor doing it in a comedy routine once. One of my pet peeves was my wife giving my mom a hard time for not pronouncing words the way she would . My mom grew up in a very small town in N. Carolina, and said Antee -beeotics instead of Anti-biotics.She also said " I reckon " a lot , and my wife would occasionally say it, in a mocking kind of way. But my wife , who has West Virginia and Virginia roots would say " all's " instead of " all " , and any woman she didn't like was a " wench ". But she never got any grief from me about it, you can be sure ! For fishing it has to be boaters than run over my lines when I'm pier fishing in saltwater. I don't do it much anymore for that very reason. They will run right over your lines less than 50 feet away and look surprised when they see me waving my arms and hear me yelling ( no, I don't flip them off ) Other than that, my biggest pet peeve is bad drivers. ( See my road rage thread from last year )

I've lived the outdoor life since I was very young, doing a lot of fishing, some hunting, hiking, camping ,Played all kinds of sports with little precaution and have done a lot of manual labor including farming etc. I think generally its been good for me because at 57 I feel good most of the time . My left shoulder gives me fits at times, as does my right wrist, esp. After casting a bait caster for awhile ( My friend ran his dad's truck into an oak tree with me on the side that hit the tree, breaking 3 bones in my lower thumb when I was 19 ) My lower back gives me fits if I stay out fishing too long, but by the next day it's fine. Im having a little trouble getting out of the boat at the dock, mainly due to being overweight ( 275 and just under 6 ft tall ) But all things considered, I'm blessed to be as healthy as I am. My 12 yr old G-Daughter keeps me going though. Today she had me climbing the big ol' oak tree with her out on the island in our lake.

When you go to post something hit the smiley face icon at the top, then categories, then emoticons.

Is it just me or what. I have no idea what this thread is about. Maybe I can Google it .?

I noticed that too. Or maybe he's like me and has technology limitations.

I use a gamakatsu 3/0 wide gap hook almost exclusively. I land 90 % of the fish I hook on flukes. I use a sweep set ( more horizontal than verticle) , and work hard to keep pressure on the fish during the fight, and also to keep the rod down to not allow the fish to jump.I also tex pose the hook so the point is just out of the fluke. You will miss a few on the hookset, esp. If the fish takes you by suprise and if you arent positioned correctly when setting the hook.