N Florida Mike

Great day the bream were ON FIRE! Caught 25 or so… Shellcrackers and Copperheads…

Caught a 8-9 inch shiner while bream fishing . Tossed him out… maybe a minute… BOOM !

Thanks Katie. The fish in this pond have the same general color as my lake . Like we discussed before, the water is somewhat stained but not close to murky. It’s generally clearer in the summer when the abundance of weeds helps. Yeah, I had to leave the fish biting to meet a friend but I’m thinking about heading back out to the same pond when it thaws out from the deep freeze we’re fixing to get !!

Went back to a pond I haven’t fished in a year. They were all over the june bug UV Speed worm, only if I dead sticked it and let it sit for 20-30 seconds. ..

Well, that was a hot mess. It was acting like it wasn’t sending, but it was… nobody will forget me today anyway…? Time for a “ Goodnite Irene “ again …

Thanks, and you guessed it ! But no fish in this lake is ever very far from eel grass… If you think these are dark, you ought to see St Johns river bass. They are much darker than these ! That bite has really been off lately… Seems like they mostly just want culprit worms lately- it’s a throwback to the 80s !

Caught a few on a cold day for Florida… They bit Red shad culprits and pumpkin yum dingers .

If we’re talking ANY fish now, I’d have to say a crevalle jack is the hardest fighting fish I’ve caught. Even a small one will have you shaking your head when you pull it in that a fish can pull so hard. The hardest fight I ever had of any size fish was a 25 pound amberjack. It’s like hooking a small submarine! That’s why we call them reef donkies ! I caught a 40 inch tarpon once while surf fishing for redfish. Redfish that size fight much harder. And hook a 5 pound sheephead and they will nearly pull the rod out of your hand!

Sorry for your loss @Catt

It came through here too. Thought I had my roof leak fixed but the heavy rain made it leak again… Now it’s turning colder just in time for my 2 week vacation … ?

I owe most of my work ethic to my dad. He was born in 1918, the oldest of 3 siblings in the SW Virginia mountains. At some point , his dad and mom separated, and he had to work to provide for his mom and siblings. He didnt want to be a coal miner like grandpa, so he eventually moved down into NC to find work and got with the railroad, met my mom, and was transferred to Florida. He had me doing outdoor chores as far back as I remember. We had a big garden in back that took a lot of work. I didn’t like working at home as I got older, because it interfered with outdoor pursuits and sports, but I obeyed . There was never any question in my mind I would work, because my dad modeled it for me . The longest I’ve gone without working my whole adult life was a three week period when I was between jobs. That being said , I have a lazy side I have to stay on top of, even though I still work app . 56 hours a week, and do most of my property upkeep. IMO My generation generally had it easier than my dad’s because they worked so hard to make our lives better than what they had to go through…

Probably the hardest fight per pound bass I ever caught was a 2.5 pound Suwannee bass ( Sub largemouth specie)that I caught in the Sante fe river here in N. Florida. I thought it was 4-5 pounds while fighting it. Cannot compare a smallmouth to it since I’ve never caught one .

There are hundreds of ponds in my area. My first rule is: I don’t want ANY hassle with anyone. So anything posted is immediately off limits. People’s lawns are always off limits. I don’t try to figure out loopholes so That I can be legal . Neighborhood common area ponds are usually fishable, and are often stocked, but business park ponds usually aren’t, but may hold a few big fish. City park ponds are sometimes good, especially in areas where they are numerous. DOT ponds also sometimes hold fish. National and state forests are often dotted with ponds. The 2nd biggest bass I ever caught was in a pond behind a Target store. I found that one on google map. One stategy is to get with a couple friends, quandrant off areas for each one, and try ponds in those areas, then share them in your small group. Just don’t tell the wrong people or they’ll ruin it. And actually consider asking people that live on them. Some of my best bank spots were gotten this way. But those I respect highly and just fish them myself without bringing friends.

The dogs stay inside our fence. It is app 250 feet to his house across the narrowing neck of our lake and up his property to the house. They could swim over, but our dogs never jump in the lake at all. I am willing to let it go but now that this has happened once, It will make it easier for it to happen again. I found out he’s an ex marine and nyc police officer which I respect, but he really ought to know better because of that…

Tyler’s mom said he told her that it all started when the neighbor yelled for him to get his dogs in. Grievous words stir up anger !

Seems like some on here are Rod snobs. Just sayin’ I have had my 6’6 medium Ugly Stik for 25 years +. Have caught way more bass on it than any rod Ive ever had, and I primarily fish soft plastics. I have no problem feeling the fish on the bottom. And my hookup and landing ratio is very high with it. Wish I could say that about my “ more sensitive “ rods. If something ain’t broke and works well, then why fix or replace it? If you need proof, look up my picture albums in the gallery. At least 75% of the fish I caught that are in there were caught on that ugly stik…

I haven’t had a chance to talk to my grandson yet, but as I said before, this is by far the worst he’s ever lost his temper. He is so consistently calm I can’t imagine how he could have lost it like that. He had gotten a short bat somewhere, and was hitting the top of a stool with it. I think that’s the main reason I had words with the guy. I can take most stuff people direct at me- but I get real defensive when family is involved. We do keep the dogs in , and they are only let out for 30 minutes or less each time. If the guy would have just waited a few more minutes, they would have been inside… He kept saying I knew our dog was barking and didn’t care as he was trying to sleep ( at 10:30 pm) . He’s retired by the way… I even apologized but said I didn’t know they was barking. He said How could you not know? Which essentially was calling me a liar. @Bluebasser86 , that’s terrible and absurd that someone would do that because of your job. We had wannabe rioters come through a couple years ago and I had words with them because they were well up in our property near the house. After I confronted them , they ran, but I kept getting flat tires after that so… Yeah I know about the violence the man has. I’m not at all concerned about myself, but my family members. My daughter and her husband ( Tyler’s parents) haven’t been arrested for any violent crimes but they are people that this guy probably doesn’t want to mess with. I hope and pray it doesn’t come to that… No thanks. Not spending the rest of my life in jail for anyone ! ?

I was already thinking about that. His wife is on the lake ass. board with me. So the next meeting should be interesting ?. Unless we make amends before then. I avoid drama at this point in my life but sometimes it finds you. I put up with the “bumpus dogs” across the canal that are way worse than ours. Because I didn’t angrily confront them, it seems that they respect my being out back more and so they keep them in more… That beagle tho !! I don’t know if he confronted them or not about their dogs but they are way worse and 3 times more numerous than ours. He must have had a bad day before that. I’ve talked with him before and he’s unmovable in his positions on things. He’s exactly like those grumpy old guys in the balcony on the muppet show. Or like walter Matthau on “ Grumpy old men” , except without the humor…

I agree, except the pansie part. People have every right to carry in their vehicle. It’s just stupid to leave it in there…unless there’s a safe. As for me , I have my guns hid out around the house unloaded, but with the shells hidden nearby. I keep one loaded pistol well hidden. No kids anymore so I don’t worry about that… I don’t carry my pistol out every day because I drive a work vehicle and they don’t allow it. I mostly just carry when I’m doing my part time security job.

A little while ago I started hearing a dog barking and people yelling. At first I thought it was someone else's dog because we live on a lake and sound carries over water. Then I thought maybe the neighbors dogs had gotten in our yard again . Turns out my daughters dogs were barking and a nieghbor catty corner across the lake was shouting at my 20 year old grandson. Our dogs don’t stay out long, and rarely bark unless stimulated to. Dogs bark so regularly around here and I’m so used to it now that I’m even used to the “Bumpus” dogs next door across the canal.…. that are out there barking a lot more than ours. Anyway ,The same neighbor had shot another neighbors dog that got in his back yard. The police didn’t do anything. That caused those neighbors to move to get away from him. Anyway , I have never seen my grandson get that angry in his life. In fact, it’s the second time I have seen him ever lose his temper. I don’t know what all was said before I got out there, but apparently the neighbor was upset about the dogs barking and started yelling at Tyler. I went out and told Tyler to get in the house but got kind of riled up like back in the old days. I still dont respond well to being cussed at outside in the dark over something I had nothing to do with. I told the neighbor he needed to watch his mouth and if he would have just been a man and knocked on my door we would have took care of the dogs without all the trouble. He kept on . I went in and shut the door and him still running his mouth. Now Im all keyed up and don’t feel like sleeping… I love my lake , but sometimes wish it was in the middle of 100 acres with me being the sole owner… Sorry , just had to get it off my chest.

Hope everyone is better soon @Catt. I was talking to a man at church sunday and after we shook hands he said” I had covid this week “ ? Nobody I know had it since my friend died from it last year. I reckon I’m a little gun shy. As soon as I could, I slipped over to the disinfectant . I looked back and he was watching me… Its been a strangely un-sick year around here overall though.

Dern . I would do it for that . But I wouldn’t want to live there. I heard that they pay one hunter to control the wild hogs on cumberland Island GA. It’s his full time job, 5 days a week. I think that would be fun for a year or so. I’ve been on cumberland, and it has some very thick brush, lots of no see ums, absolutely infested with hogs…

And they won largely because of that terrible call by the refs on that endzone play…

Glad y’all caught some !

I watch videos on water I’m planning to fish no matter who makes them. I only have a few that I’m subbed to, and that’s more to help them out than anything. I have been thinking about making some fishing videos, but I’m terrible with technology.