N Florida Mike

I also once wade- fished a bass tournament in gator infested waters.No, I didn't win.But didn't have to wrestle with wally either. And sofla,My son is the big saltwater man in the family ( He does commercial and recreational fishing)He is also good at bass fishing but I can tell he just doesn't get why I love bass fishing so much .He would much rather be saltwater fishing.I love doing it too,esp.inshore,but if I could only do 1 kind of fishing it would be bass.Cant explain it but that's it.

No ice fishing ?

I waited 4 hours one time in the truck with MY WIFE,waiting for it to quit storming so we could fish. Top that!!?

Go Gators.# 1 in the east!!!

I caught a big prawn shrimp once on a little piece of dead shrimp.I must have snagged it because I didn't see a mouth ? on it. I also watched a 4 pound bass try to swallow a one pounder I was reeling in .He hung on for a few seconds and let go.

There's a pond I know that's stocked,which is across the road from another,bigger pond that's also stocked.10 years ago or so ago they drained the bigger pond and put most of the fish in the smaller pond.( I was told this by the game warden that lives there on site.) Anyway,if you didn't know better you would think there is no bass in it.My son and me caught a few one day.I had a fish break my line one day.Other than that,nothing.I put my boat in last winter and fished very slowly around the whole thing without anything but one tap from a bream.Not a swirl,no sign of anything.But I believe there must be some huge,old fish in there.Live bait may be the best solution . The water is fairly murky in both the ponds ,which is in contrast with most of the other lakes around here.The fishing in the bigger pond is always slow too,but you usually catch 2-3 in a few hours at least.These ponds are one of the few around that are actually managed by the state experts but the bass fishing there has always been probably the worse of any I fish.Its mysteriously slow.Its also the one place I fish that gives me the creeps.Im always looking over my shoulder there.

Got out at daybreak today on my lake.Tried the frog for a little while at the first hotspot down the lake.Nothing there.So I fished the big eel grass bed going down the lake.Picked off a couple on trick worms.Got down to the island and got a 2.15 on the trick worm,and one on a black grape culprit worm.Got to the next hotspot past the island and got a couple on flukes.Fished east along the south shoreline inside an eel grass bed with nothing for awhile,then they began clobbering the 4 inch senkos in watermelon seed. in the eel grass and skipping under docks.Then drifted west across the middle of the lake and got another one on the trick worm.Tried a chartreuse swim bait across the deep hole with no results.Lost a big fish on the 5 inch senko when he pulled me off in an eel grass bed. Then I fished the other side of the island fishing back toward home.Nothing much for an hour or so.Then I got a 3.3 in the same area were my pb was caught years ago.The rest of the morning I skipped senkos and z- hogs under docks on the way home.Got a 2.14 under one of my favorite docks,which has a pontoon boat there also.Also caught the dink of the year which was maybe 4 inches, for my last fish of the day. The fish haven't bit this good since may.Caught 22 overall.Only a few dinks.Most were caught under docks.Best 5 fish totaled app.13 pounds. Here are the best fish.Y you may need to scroll way down to see them.I was trying to eliminate my owl post that got on here somehow.I can fish pretty good but technology not so much. Mike

lol that's how I feel about bass pro shops!

lol.Doing that right now. ( The early thing )?

Went to Academy sports last night to get them and they didn't have any.Web site says they carry them. So I settled for more senkos and a pack of ribbett frogs.

I usually use the June bug horny toads esp in low light conditions.Ive caught a few on two old top water frogs that I've had for so long I've forgotten who made them.They are green.

Mine was on an Olympic rod and spinning reel( ever hear of that?)and 12 pound stren. A fishing buddy broke the rod when he said"Is this an ugly stick?And he bent the rod to touch tip to butt.SNAP!!

what color(s) would be best for fairly clear water with the pad crasher?

I have been an occasional frog user but I now have 2 nice froggin rigs.so I'm doing it more.I plan to use one for slow topwater,and the other for cast and retrieve.What I'm looking for in a frog: 1. Must be as weedless as possible. 2.Must have good casting distance 3.Must have a good hook-up up ratio. 4.Must be liked by the fish.! I realize there will probably be one for each application. I use zoom horny toads for cast and retrieve.They get me a few fish.Theyre the one I have some success with at least. Thanks,Mike

Cool.Never seen this before.A girlfriend and me both caught the same bream once.He ate both baits within a few seconds.

I caught 1 4 lbder on a watermelon candy brush hog.It was under an isolated algae patch.Thats the only fish I've ever caught on one. Now,baby brush hogs are a whole different story.Its actually in what I call my "circle of trust " baits,Which are my best 5 go- to baits.Watermelon red or seed.

I caught my pb on Dec.31,1979. It was a very windy day and warm for Dec.That fish was the only bite that morning.I caught it in late morning.I had made a perfect cast just to the left side of a cattail bed right up against the bank.The water there was a couple feet deeper than usual for the shoreline.I caught it on a pinched off 10 inch Mann's grape jelly worm with 12 pound stren.The fish got about 1/2 of it's body out of the water when it jumped. It ran back and forth 3-4 times as I worked it closer and lipped it.I hooked it in the roof of the mouth about1/2 inch from the lip.It weighed app.9 pounds.24 1/2 inch.The fish was an early bedding fish .Its belly was sagging with eggs.I caught it about 250 yards from where I live right now.

Exactly what I have.Love it!! for my 12 ft JB.

We were in Cades cove Tenn.one time.And all of a sudden there was a"bar" over thar.It was funny to watch 50 adults running AFTER the bear.My wife being one of them.All trying to get a picture of it.The bear was trying his best to get away.

No,but I've surprised nutrias before.They swim away in the water but they'll hiss at you if they feel threatened.

I was a manager for 9 years.Some things I learned that may help : 1. If you have a problem with a worker,handle it with him alone.Take him into an office . 2.Be slow to judgement .Hear the whole matter before you jump to conclusions. 3.Handle small things yourself.With serious concerns,ask your boss.But don't run to them with every little problem.Thats what they hired you for. 4.Ask workers to do something as much as possible.Instead of telling them.(You can tell them later if they don't do what you ask.) 5.If you need to apologize,do it.Its not a sign of weakness,actually it's a strength. 6.Serve them,and they'll serve you. 7.Be very accessible to them.You will need to stop what you're doing to help them OFTEN. 8.Swallow your pride.Your men will get rewarded for doing a good job.You will get reprimanded if they do a bad job.Thats middle management!

A friend and me were fishing the home lake when we were 17-18.All of a sudden, rocks began to land around us.A couple even in the boat.I saw a younger kid,maybe 14, heaving the rocks while trying to stay hidden.What he didn't know was that I was one of the best rock throwers in the county having played pitcher on my baseball teams.I immediately threw the rocks back and hit him with at least one of them.He ran in the house crying. I think if you lived on my lake in the 70s through the 90s you had to have passed a test confirming mental illness.There were a lot of crazy people here then.Its settled down some since .

Just recently I set the hook on a bass near my dock area.He was a tiny 6 incher.He flew through the air and bonked off my kayak.When I went to release him he was already dead.So I threw him back.Immediately,a catfish swam up and started eating him.A dead fish in the water never goes to waste. I usually eat gut hooked bass.I carry a cooler and use it like a live well,since I mainly fish out of a 12 foot Jon boat.I watch a possibly injured fish for awhile.If they look OK I eventually release them.If they die they get filleted.As my dad used to say"Waste makes want"

Our boat broke down way up a wild river one evening and we paddled all the way back to the ramp against the current.It took us 4 hours. On the way dozens of barred owls began hooting.lve heard them a lot but never like this.You couldn't tell when one started or when it ended.

Thanks for the help.