N Florida Mike

Exactly right. Except that I’ll keep working as long as I can. The job is actually fun and rewarding in more ways than one.

I love the company I work for. I changed companies almost 3 years ago. Same job, different company. So this is our slowest season, December and January. I make money based off commission mostly. So I had a low check coming up , and the day before my pay period was over the owner calls me and says I had an extra week of vacation that I didn’t use last year, and it rolled over to the new year. I had taken my 2 weeks ( or so I thought ), the last 2 weeks of the year. The owner informed me that Id only taken one week, because they pay us already to be off at Christmas! So I really get 3 weeks paid vacation! He paid me 6 extra days, it went on this pay period, so now I have a decent check! AND… I can take the 6 extra days anytime. So technically I get a whole month vacation this year! Our owner could have let it slide and I might have never known. He had to convince me it was true. All companies should be this honest and giving to their employees. But sadly, many aren’t like that anymore…. I got choked up a little when I realized what they were giving me…Ive never been treated this well before by any company… It may not seem like much to many of y’all, but it means a lot to me !!!

Whatever”s bitin! ?

I currently have nothing. I used to get the outdoor channel on my cable package and it quit coming in for some reason. Thanks for making me think of it- gonna see if can at least get it back…

Nothing much is any different here in Florida, except… Several of my friends and my pastor caught it and all are or have gotten better quickly. I think I may have had it 2 weeks ago for 7-10 days. Cough and felt bone weary. ( I went fishing anyway , lol…) Nurse at the docs office told me over the phone to rest and take whatever medicine I had. Tried to schedule a test and got the run around with automated answering machines at drug stores. Doctors office wouldn’t even let me come in. ( That was a first ) now I’m feeling nearly normal. But our businesses seem to all still be open except dr offices which seems backwards. I rarely order stuff over the phone so I can’t speak to that.

Thanks for sharing this. We need to get down there soon. Biggest bass I ever LOST was fishing a tournament there.

The fish adapt to whatever grass/aquatic weeds are there. In my home lake, it’s primarily eel grass. The fish relate to it big-time. They are in it and around it consistently. We did have more Niad, and they related to it as well.But as it’s been said, the edges of it tend to be along drop offs, which hold fish. We used to have a lot of cattails and the bass related to it, esp. in bedding season. I do very well in Maiden cane as well. Pads are the same- I dont care to fish them as much though .Any kind of grass / weeds will hold food source, ambush opportunities and bass feel safer there themselves from predators. The bass will use whatever is available. If there are multiple options in grass/ weeds, you have to find which one they are relating to that day for whatever reason. The edges , isolated patches, and holes in it, and other structure attached to it just enhance your chances of catching fish.

^^^^ THIS.

He caught his first bass there the 2nd day he was there! He loves Florida saltwater fishing so much Im surprised he hasnt come home yet. What kind of business do you do? He took a plumbing Job up there, and went up with a friend that was from there.

Dang. SMH. I was cold today here with 30+ winds and it was high 50s. We’re actually getting some winter weather this week. Looks like we may even get a freeze, lol. My son is spending his first winter in MI . He’s in grand rapids. I know he’s got to be thinking about coming home. Hoping he will. He’s my main fishing buddy!

Ive done it some in one pond , and my lake .. On light line , they are sporty. Actually snagged one once with a saltwater rod and he fought just like a big redfish, he peeled off nearly 100 yards of line in no time. 23 pounder. The problem I have with them is I wouldn’t eat one…

In Florida we can use live bream as long as they’re caught on hook and line.

I wouldn’t try to change your mind. I tried Floro once , and didn’t like it because it didn’t float, which meant I couldn’t see the twitch when they bit.. It seemed like I was dragging water setting the hook, and it was harder for me to tell exactly where the fish was. Talking about fishing soft plastics… That’s just me. I’m sure there are plenty of others that will try to convince you otherwise…

My buddies boat tops out at 60 , which is plenty fast enough for me. I dont think it even takes a minute to go across the 800 acre lake we like to fish… My old boat had a 20 evinrude. When I could get it to crank up it wasnt very fast , lol…

I would say 80% dead sticking. Of the 20 % thats left most of the bites are either on a steady retrieve or when it hits the water and I spin the handle to create a short swim for the bait. I mainly only do that with flukes though. I also catch some pulling it up and over weeds, and letting it fall. Strangely, you would think stopping and starting the bait, hopping it, or twitching it ( esp flukes) would produce a lot. But it doesn’t for me. Once and awhile, swimming a worm across the surface, letting it sink, and repeating it, will get me bit. But this is mostly at night…

Dang, I ought to go into the used C. Converter business!

That just happened in our work lot. They cut the locked gate, and stole the CCS out of the 3 pickups . It sounded like a young war when the trucks started up. My son had his outboard stolen off the back of his boat. It’s a good thing for them he didn’t catch them. I prayed the motor would break down and strand them somewhere to maybe teach them a lesson. And thought worse. It used to be that people would steal to have the item. Now they steal to sell the item for drugs… Most of what Ive had stolen were from relatives and “friends” of the family that have drug issues. Never could prove who stole but you know…

Got a couple this morning on a black strike king double bladed spinnerbait.

I thought his name was donk.? In any case , welcome to the forums unk

Ive fished 55 or so years now and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I don’t remember even a small time period of it either. I have gotten discouraged some but I get over it quickly. It usually happens if I lose too many big fish too close together. I can still fish all day if I have a seat with a backrest in whatever boat I’m in. If I’m in my jon boat with only a bench seat then I’m still good for 3-4 hours … especially if they are biting! ?

I dont do docks with people on them, but I can’t remember but one time someone asking me to leave his immediate dock area. I could have legally fished there right on, but it wasn’t worth the trouble.

I’m going to try that this year. Please tell me again your specifics on the jig and craw. I fished moderately clear to moderately stained water. We fish a lot of Tannic ( cypress tree ) water, but not the real muddy/ murky water. The fish really like the bama bug dinger. Half june bug and half green pumpkin. Or june bug.

Seems like especially so with ‘bama. Just sayin’

Skipping is my favorite skill in bass fishing. I LOVE skipping under docks. Half the fun is the challenge of the angles , velocity of the skip, accuracy of the skip, it’s just very fun , and a very productive way to fish. I use spinning to skip because it works. Pontoons are my favorite, they are so productive. The bigger and lower to the water the better. If you can get the angle to throw end to end, it often will end up in a fish or two. A good pattern from 10-4 on a warm , sunny day is to just ride from pontoon to pontoon. Docks are nearly as good . The lower to the water the better. Skinny walks to the end of docks aren’t as good. I even skip grass lines for a subtle presentation that won’t spook jittery fish. I also skip structure like lay downs because you can get it back in there where the fish are. My favorite bait is yum dingers or senkos fished weightless or with a little weight if it’s deeper or windy. Flukes are good too. Make the cast , watch the line, I count to 3 and lift. Most often the fish will bite it on the fall or just after it hits bottom. If the line begins to straighten or you lift and feel the tap, set the hook immediately because they will try to wrap around something. It’s an Awesome way to fish. I learned how to do it out of necessity. I liken it to skipping a rock or it’s a lot like throwing a baseball sidearm or submarine style…