N Florida Mike

I didn't go night fishing much this year.I work outside,and by the end of the day I was just wanting AC and sweet tea.And there were a lot of nights that it really didn't cool off much.But night fishing is best in summer for sure. I have not fished the Osceola lakes,but have fished most of the big lakes near there like Ocean pond and Palestine with fair results. Stick marsh is a long drive from NE FL.I prefer Rodman but haven't fished it lately.There are some 16+ fish in there without a doubt.

I had a very slow summer.Hottest summer in 100 years In the Jax area I believe. Spring was good,not great.Fall has been about average. Still not getting big fish for some reason.

You can't go wrong with the T- rigged senko.I love watermelon colors and I fish them weightless.Always. I don't use rattletraps due to the excess weeds in most of the pond/lakes I fish. Another good bait around here are Zoom salty super flukes.In watermelon colors,and weightless of course. And Zoom trick worms are always good. I like slightly stained lakes.If I see a murky pond I leave it alone unless I know it's good.Thats just me though.Most of the ponds are on the clearer side around here. If you like crank baits,the baby bass color is good in deeper,clearer ponds. There has been a fair bite in traditional repalas around here lately also.

If you can ever get access to old sawgrass community,they have some hogs in the lake in there.I got an 8 pounder the only time I did.

Hi Johnny,Welcome to the forums.If you want to know about Jax.fishing just scroll further down in Southeast and you'll see a Jacksonville small lakes post.Theres plenty of local info.on there. Mike

They were biting big- time right as the front came in.I caught 7 or 8 that evening, 2 pound average. Mostly on a 5 inch senko. Fished a pond for a little while today.Had 1 bite in about 40 min.Big fish but lost her. And I caught a couple 3 pounders in the home lake on live bream in the last couple evenings.

I mean if it's blatant it should be called. but it usually isn't anything more than someone trying to make a tackle and possibly force a turnover.

I like watching SEC football ( geaux Gators !).What do y'all think about the targeting penalty? I think they call it too often.Most of the time they are just trying to make the tackle,not hurt anybody.I think its kind of a fad.I mean after all,it is football. I understand the effort to reduce injuries .But I think the players are often penalized when they were just trying to make a clean hit .

I've only flown 6-7 times, only to see my oldest son who was stationed in Omaha in the air force.I was 43 before I ever flew for the first time.Almost all my close family is in NC, so we just drive there. Not really into flying. If I never had to do it again I'd be very OK with that!!

I agree with the worms.A great bait for numbers with the occasional bigger fish is the Yamamoto 4 inch senko. Zoom salty super flukes are great too.

I actually used to really like the chicks music.Too bad it got so political...

I heard there was actually something Everything that swims hadn't caught.And that A.J has a swimming pool stocked with giant small mouth...

^ yeah,I awoke one night to similar sounds.At first I thought someone was trying to get in the back door.As I woke up a little more I thought someone was out there,hurt.Then I realized it was 2 cats either mating or fighting.My heart felt like it was going to explode. Barred owls really make some wild sounds .Maybe that's what you heard.( or cats ? )

So I was at a good friends house doing a bid for some work.When I got thru I remembered the pond behind his house and thought I'd give it a try.( I usually carry a R and R in my toolbox. Ended up catching 7, mostly on flukes.Nothing big,but it was a nice break between jobs. This one was one of the biggest

3-ish

I've been with 2. Pond bass,and Florida fishing fool.( who isn't on the forums anymore). Still maintain contact with both. I fish with my son a lot,but there's always time and room for others.Id love to fish with more of y'all.

I used to do it in my late teens,early 20s.A few times,I woke up the next day with no idea how I got there.Very thankful to God to have been delivered from that.Havent been drunk now for 32 years. One young man I grew up with killed a mom and daughter while driving drunk.His arm was permanently mangled..Got 7 years in prison and license permanently revoked.When he got out,I saw him one night at a store DRIVING AND DRINKING.I said something about it and he wouldn't listen.Around 6 months later he was drunk and walked out in front of a car and was KILLED.Could have been me. I think drunkenness is bad period. Even if you're not driving.

Look back to your original post.I responded on Oct 22. Mike

I am a simple man,so I keep the hooks simple.I use 3/0 gamakatsu ewg. for most of my t- rigged baits.I will downsize to 2/0 for plastic worms and like 1/0 for 4 inch senkos. I have no trouble hooking and landing fish with this method. I will occasionally fish live bait.I use a small #4 plain shank live bait hook in bronze by Eagle claw.It is small enough to not disrupt the baits natural action,but strong enough to hold large fish.Its surprising that I will rarely miss a fish with such a small hook.

This is my fishing room.Far left is freshwater catfish/ bream gear.The middle is all my bass stuff.The bottom middle Is casting gear,and on top of that is spinning.On the right is my shelves with various boxes of artificial and hanging baits ,hooks, accessories etc. The second pic shows the corner with my saltwater R And Rls. The whole room is a mess right now. I clean it up each winter. Pics are tilted again for some reason.

If I had to keep one kind of fishing and give up the rest I would keep bass fishing. That being said, I enjoy most kinds of fishing.In freshwater,I fish for bream and catfish,and rarely, speckled perch. I also do some saltwater inshore fishing,Mostly targeting Redfish, flounder and sheep heads.Also love surf fishing for whatever's biting. Also love offshore bottom fishing,but don't do that much. And I've tried trout fishing in the Smoky mts with little success. Like I said,I love bass fishing best.But I have never caught a small mouth.Its definitely on my wish list.

First fish was my biggest.App. 9 pounds.Caught on a grape Mann's jelly worm when I was 19. Second fish is my best in the last 10 years.Scale was on the blink so not sure of the weight.Caught this one on a small watermelon seed fluke.

Welcome to the forums.I grew up in the jax.area,so I know some spots.There are so many ponds,you could probably never fish them all. Many of the best ones are private .I'm always on the lookout to add new ponds to the list.My job takes me to houses,some with ponds.So I often ask if I can fish them.So cultivate friendships! I mainly fish on my home lake I live on.I have a waiting list though.Theres a lot of 3-6 pound fish here,but also too many smaller fish.Its definitely more of a numbers lake.Maybe you'd like to try it sometime. Tell me what part of town your in,and I can probably tell you a spot or two. Mike

I don't know...that's actually a good question.I ll call the friend who gave it to me tomorrow and see if he knows.You could try googling it in the meantime.

Those are some great fish.Id love to catch some small mouth someday.