N Florida Mike

Got plenty of bears in Fla. The Fwc opened limited hunting back up last year. First time they were hunted since 1994. A semi ran over one about 20 miles from us that was over 600 pounds. We always have a few come into the Jax. area every summer. Its usually males looking for mates. The suburbanites freak out. I think Id rather meet a bear in the woods than a wild hog,although a bear can usually kill a hog.

Catt, The Gators around Gainesville are the most dangerous ,esp . on saturdays?

Thanks, everyone. I tried it for awhile this evening but no takers.

So do you fish it all day or just low light conditions? I havent fished topwater much and almost all the fish Ive caught with them is at dawn for an hour or so , an hour or so at dusk ,or at night.

Had a customer give me a whopper plopper last week. It was not in the package so I dont know what size it is. Its 3-4 inches long. This one is dark brown on top with stripes and a white bottom. So I went out back last evening to try it for the first time. We had a big rain all weekend so it produced some flow in the lake towards the little spillway which is right at my property. So made a long cast and hadnt reeled it 4 feet and BOOM !!! A big blow up. Reeled it in- a nice pound and a half fish. I thought , wow Im onto something!. That was the only blow up, although I tried for a half hour or so. So my questions. • What are the best ways to fish this ? I caught the fish just reeling it in enough to get the prop going. I had let it sit after the cast until the ripples were gone. • The bait didnt run straight. It didnt spin all the way over but came close. Is their a way to reduce this or is it normal. I tied the bait straight to the line with no swivel. Thanks.

In Florida, you can use a live bluegill but only if you catch it on hook and line ( no castnetting ). I used to use a 3/0 baitholder or wide gap hook and certainly caught a lot but the big hook greatly reduces the live action of the bream.I started using a much smaller bait holder hook. You get a lot more interest from the bass,but the hook up % goes down some. Personally, I like the increased action with the smaller hook ( I think its a # 4 ). I always use bronze,and I count to 10 before setting the hook . I have caught a 4 pound bass on a tiny hook that I was catching bait with more than once. I may or may not use a cork depending on where Im fishing. I get more interest from bass if I dont use a cork. People say they have to use a cork to know when a fish hits. Trust me, when a bass takes a bream , even without a cork ,youll know it!!

Welcome!

Ha. I took 2nd once with a 1.12. The guy that won got a 3 pounder. Only time I ever fished that lake!

Got my biggest this summer on the jr. booyah ( 7.3 ) Only caught 3-4 fish on it though. Just didnt seem to want it much this summer.

Had a big day yesterday and fair day today right as the pay period ended.Maybe this is just another patience building exercise from above...

I was planning to go this week end but theres a nor' easter coming in so it will shut down the fishing. There arent many bait stores open any more in our area and the ones that are mostly cater to inshore and offshore fishermen. There is a good surf fishing forum Im on. Look up Florida surf casters. I usually fish the S.Ponte vedra or Vilano beach area. But I occasionally go up to Amelia Island or down as far as Matanzas inlet.Stay in touch, maybe we can go sometime. As far as spots, they are numerous and I dont mind sharing them. Anywhere you can cast a line in the surf has potential.Some spots where Ive done esp. well are porpoise pt On the N. side of St aug. inlet , Matanzas inlet , and rhe " Gate station " , which is now an Exxon station near Guana preserve at S ponte vedra. Guana preserve can be great at times, its a dam over Guana river ( inshore of the beach ) It can offer incredible action during Nor eastrers, but the crowds there can be a nuisance .Where do you live ,Gainsville ?

Almost exclusively ribbon tail worms- all sizes. Went back to fishing like I did in the 80s and it paid off.

Sounds like your real close to that hawg. Ive had hook setting slumps before. I had one recently and realized I had bought some cheap hooks. They were twice as heavy and just wouldnt penerate their mouth and hold. Went and got me some lighter Gamakatsus and its back on again.

Nice fish. One of my potential customers gave me a W.P the other day. Its kind of a brown color with stripes. I think its the smaller version. Looking forward to trying it for the first time.

Would love to fish or hunt with him. Great clip. Makes you feel like youre there.

Started thinking today I might talk to the GM and see if I can go back out on the service truck for awhile. Im getting kind of old for that but maybe itll carry me through until spring. It seems like they really need help there anyway. ( but I'll still be looking elsewhere ) Part of me wants to save the day and help them since it has been a good job and met our needs all these years. The service side is what I did anyway for 19 years. But its kind of like going backwards through a door Ive already been through. So...I dont know. Thanks for the prayers and support. I did get one small sale today.

Last year I posted about changes in my job I didnt like. Things seemed to have stabilized ,and I had learned how to deal with the office politics and micromanagement. I was having a very stable year,but not near as good as the last two,but still enough. Since I do comission only sales,I depend on office leads and whatever I can generate on my own. The last 6 weeks or so the bottom has fallen out. Today was the third straight day with 0 $. I was told today by a potential customer that she had decided not to go with us because her dad had a bad experience with the service sideand they would NEVER use us again. I have worked there since 1993 largely because of the integrity and family atmosphere. I now have lost confidence that the techs can produce what I am selling,because of this incident and many others Im hearing about.So today I officially started looking.Dont know where this will end up except that I know God has a plan for me to provide for my wife,daughter, and 2 g- kids. I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Praying for a good and faster recovery

Was in Gainesville ( gator country) today hanging out with my brother. Every other person wearing the Orange and blue ,esp. after last weeks miracle finish against tenn. Now were fighting for our lives against kentucky.N othing like SEC football !

Thanks for sharing this special time in your life with us.Thanks for stepping up for your niece. We need more real men to do what youre doing. I have an adopted daughter and son that are now grown. I always wanted another daughter for some reason and had the name picked out ( Mackayla ) My daughter then had a daughter and named her Mackayla.( She didnt know that was what I would have named another daughter ) So now they are living with us and she is like a daughter to me,since her dad rarely visits. We fish, take walks, do hikes, swim,play sports etc. And I got her brother in the deal too. So never a dull moment at our house.Sounds like at your house too,Raider.

We were surf fishing once and my wife out of the blue said " Im going to catch a black drum " I told her I had not caught one there in years. I mean 20+. In a little while I look over and guess what she caught? And she caught another one the same day. She just doesnt make cute or funny remarks.When I say Im going fishing , she says ok. If I show her a nice fish, she says wow. Thats about it.

Ive done the party boat bottom fishing thing a lot and LOVE it. You cant beat the price for what you get.I have not done the more expensive ,bigger fish offshore trip,and have no desire to really. Mostly because Im a fish eater and fairly poor! But I would research and make a good choice of boats . Some are better than others.If you can find one that has less anglers and more space its a better experience.You would catch grouper,snappers mostly,with a great variety of other fish thrown in. Bigger fish would be amberjacks and sharks. You could also hire an inshore guide to catch trout,redfish,flounder etc.Those would be more expensive but its you and a couple others+ the guide so that could be an epic experience with the right guide. Keep us posted. Id be glad to share a few tips .

I use 4-6 pound mono mostly. When I fish the St johns river around docks I like a light braid which is stronger around docks.I got into some big shellcrackers ( redear sunfish ) under a dock and lost about a third of them wrapping around the pilings and breaking off. Got me some spiderwire ( dont remember the pound test,but it was like 6 pound mono diameter) Never had another fish break me off there.

Lmb.Suwanee bass,redeye bass,sunshine bass,Channel cat,brown bullhead,yellow bullhead.Bluegill,redbreast,shellcracker,longear sunfish, stumpknocker,warmouth, speckled perch.chain pickeral,florida gar.triploid carp,gizzard shad,mudfish,golden shiner,creek chub,rainbow trout,brook trout,brown trout.Dont know if eels count,but Ive caught some kind of freshwater ones and also florida sirens. So around 26. Probably forgot a few.Maybe more trout. Not good at i.d. on them,since Ive only fished for them a few times.

Ive said this before but if I had to do one kind of fishing and give up the rest, I would keep bass fishing. That being said, I also do some inshore fishing for Redfish,flounder,sheepheads, trout, etc.And once in a while some offshore bottom fishing. Also love surf fishing. I live about 15 miles from the ocean so oppirtunities abound. I also do some catfishing and bream. Id say I bass fish 70% and the rest 30%.