N Florida Mike

Interesting ! Never seen that before.

Welcome from N. Florida !?

Wire leader! To prevent them from biting through the line. I've never used anything but my hands to unhook em , but a fishing pliers would help ! Another fish caught that way is Spanish mackerel but I'm not sure when they are in that area.

I can't speak about smallmouth , but I have gone full circle and back a quarter on largemouth. When I was starting to bass fish , most people kept most of the fish most of the time. It was a prevailing attitude down here from our depression era fathers and the condition of much of the South before that. We fished to feed our families and still do. Attitudes changed slowly regarding bass and much of my change toward it occurred by watching BASS members practicing c/r. My dad couldn't believe people would fish and throw them all back. He would always say "You could feed a starving family with all those fish " So it was hard for me to throw em back too. So I adapted by catching and keeping lots of other fish , which we have plenty of around here. I got to where I released nearly all bass unless they died on me. Then the lake got too full of little fish and I realized culling some was the best solution , so I starting keeping fish in a slot of 12 - 16 inches .Kept 150 last year. I give most of them to a friend and filet maybe 1/4 for the family. Every fish over 16 goes back. Sorry for the long post. I believe you need to obey the law and do your part to conserve the fishery . That being said , keeping some doesn't hurt most fisheries. Balance is the key.

Welcome to the forums ! I dont personally know any guides in the panhandle but if I was looking I would Google " Lake Seminole guides " and see what comes up , since its probably the best known lake over there.

I'm trying to learn jig fishing as well. What kind of jig would you experts use in a shallow , weedy lake , fairly clear water ,with a good amount of laydowns along the banks ? Excuse me , not trying to hijack the thread.

I think bass react like bass fishermen do. Sometimes we buy ( bite ) the lures that look catchy ( pun intended ) to us.

It's hard for me to pick one or two , because I'm in Florida. I'm very content with the small lake I live on . It has consistently produced for 40 + years now. Caught my pb largemouth , catfish , and bream in it . Have had lots of fun experiences through the years here with family and friends. If not there , I'd like to live or fish on a remote part of the St John's river, where the area around it would never be developed. A part of old Florida that would always stay the same....

I was on a hike way back in the NC mountains and came to an old house at the "head of the holler " I didn't go in but wanted to. Looked like the perfect set for one of those backwoods horror movies .It looked like a little breeze would finish it off. Got pics on an old phone. If I can I'll post it later. Be safe out there.

I've caught some of those , but not recently. They love dead squid or shrimp. I'm sure they bite lures , but I never caught one that way.

Just use a #2 circle hook, 1 -2 oz weight and cast fresh dead shrimp in the surf. Use a fish finder rig. It isn't too common to use lures in the surf there but if you do spoons are ok. Bluefish are the main target for them in the surf. If you can find somewhere inshore , use d.o.a shrimp or a chartruese grub on a jig head , or live shrimp under a popping cork . Use a gold spoon for reds. We usually fish live/dead finger mullet, or mud minnows for inshore fishing. They will work in the surf too.

Ok that makes more sense. Pitching might work on my shallow lake. It's 5 feet avg. And pretty clear, so getting too close will spook them. Deepest hole is 8 feet , and it's fairly clear of weeds there but has a grass edge on one side so...maybe There. I also have some good laydowns I can pitch into. Catt, do you ever jig fish after dark? Seems like it would work better then on a shallow, clear lake.

Hope y'all are doing well today. Looks like day 2 was good for you.

One of my goals this year is to become at least moderately proficient with a jig. A friend from s carolina gave me one but I just cant get bit on it. All I do is dredge up grass every time. Never have gotten one bite on it. So I bought another one-same story. And the lake I fish most has plenty of bass in it . Slay them consistently w/Almost anything t-rigged. So , needless to say , a jig is not a confidence bait for me. One question. Why does the weight have to be so heavy on a jig ?It seems like it would work better the lighter it is , except if you were fishing deep water. In my home lake, bass just love a slow falling bait , with a suttle approach. With a 3/8 jig and up , they make a big plunk when they land , which to me would scare fish off , then they sink way to fast. If I move them at all, they immediately get covered with grass , algae, whatever's on or near the bottom.And that's with fishing the clearer spots! With t-rigged rigs , I catch 3 times as many fish with either a bb shot or no weight. The more weight, the less fish. Don't mean to hijack the thread , but what am I missing here ? Not being contentious- you can't argue with other people's success, but for me- no success.

Meh. Pats win....again

Sorry to hear this Lonnie. Will pray for y'all.

10 to 15

A friend went there years ago and used live shiners. In one day he caught an 11 , a 10 , 2 9s , and 2-3 8s. I went with him shortly after that and only caught one 4. Realized at the end of the day they had sprayed the lake for weeds so it turned off the fish somehow.

If you could only fish and/or live on one water body you've already fished , where would it be and why ? Doesn't count if you've never fished it. I Know it's hard to pinpoint just one , so let's do one or two. An example would be the water body you would choose to retire on if you could.

THANK YOU!!!

Plastic worms, of course! Lately it's been ol' monsters and trick worms. In late fall-early winter They were all over grape shad 7.5 inch culprits and 6 inch lucky strike worms in tequila sunrise.

Sean Rush on Rodman has a good rep...

My wife has had several accidents that have given her bad back problems. The last one was getting bucked off a horse. After that she got an inversion table ( the dr recommended it ) and she got better quickly. Almost miraculously. Maybe that would be a solution. I have never officially hurt my back , but can't stand on a hard surface long without pain. I'm ok indefinetely for bank fishing as long as I'm on a soft bank and/ or keep moving. I get bad lower back pain if I fish in a boat with a bench seat without back support. But It hasn't stopped me yet , just slowed me down a little. By the next day , I'm fine. No solution here , just commiserating. Wish you the best.

Great subject ! All mine are grown. My oldest is a natural at bass fishing , and we used to camp and fish before he moved out west with the military. He doesn't fish much anymore but he likes to camp and hike with his wife and kids. My Middle son would fish 24/7 , and often does. He loves it so much he did it commercially for awhile. He will go anytime, rain, shine , whatever conditions.He is also very good at bass fishing, but prefers saltwater.We still go together at least once every month or two. Fishing ( and the grace of God ) is what kept us from killing each other. He was the hardest one of the 3 to raise. My daughter doesn't fish much. When she was young , I could be catching them like crazy, and when I would hand her the rod the fish wouldn't bite. She would hand it back and I would immediately get bit.This happened so much she just kind of gave up. I also have six g-kids. All but the youngest has caught fish with me in my lake behind the house. The pic is my 12 year old g-daughter mackayla who was teaching her friend (a boy ) to fish and shoot that day. She considers herself a redneck. She can do anything outdoors better than most boys. She is so much fun to hang out with. Very thankful for the time to fish and spend time with them all. My dad is the one who started it all , taking me many, many times.