pete s

a laminated bait like shad. black back and pearl belly can be dipped in dye to make red shad,blue shad,chatreuse shad,green shad and so on. it is messy and bleed all over the place. the early colored laminated worms were made this way. they all started out as shad, black back and pearl belly. pete s.

wind,wind,would try protected areas in the nw part of the lake.. look for flats,canals,bay areas. nw part of the lake gets most of the sunlite that time of the year ,usually more vegetation,and this area afford some protection for the 20 mph winds out of the wsw. that time of the day the big fish tend to move(many years fishing that time of the year big fish caught during that time of the day). start out fishing shallow to deep,looking for signs of spawn. fish small plastic baits tubes,lizards etc. if bass are on or near the beds. if it looks like the bass were trying to bed and seem to have left area because of weather changes. try flipping the nearest thick vegetation. if no luck move to deeper drops ,fish carolina rig etc.. they will be somewhere near the spawning areas. pay attention to water temp. look for the warmer water. should be able to quickly determine if the bass are actiive on the beds.

something to try. when bass are negative. try moving the boat 6-10 feet at a time ,and fish slower(trolling motor on and off). instead of putting your trolling motor on slow and just moving down the shoreline. many times for me it can make a difference(imho). makes you fish slower and you dont have the noise of the trolling motor all the time. pete s.

avid ,pic looks like you are holding a pistol to the head of that bass. haha nice fish. pete s.

enter the plastic world. catches more bass in fla than any live bait or artificial. you can fish any part of the water column with it or the thickest cover. the most versatile bait ever invented. before plastic ,they even used pork rind and fished it much like we fish plastic today. larry nixon made his reputation fishing a plastic worms and most of his peers think he is the greatest in the world at fishing plastic worms.

THIS IS ALL OLD SCHOOL. ALSO.I DO FISH WATERMELON NOW AND THEN.

fla grape green flake year round and red shad green flake during the spawn. (FLORIDA GRAPE -IS BLACK GRAPE BUT HAS A VIOLET HUE WHEN HELD UP TO SUNLITE) all black grape not the same. another tip,you want the darkest red shad you can find. tip i learn from one of largest plastic bait manufacturer around. we were using rejects because they were too dark and the fishermen didnt like. on the dark waters of florida the bass love them. (kissimmee chain) another thing,i found out there is a crawfish that lives south fla. the front pinchers look like red shad and the back looks like june bug. COINCIDENCE??????????? PICS WERE ON INTERNET

any technigue or bait that i have been throwing for the last few hours that is not productive. and, my new favorite technique or bait is the one my kid(who just started fishing) just threw in and caught a large bass with. im going to try to figure why the bass struck that bait. (size,color,brand,type,size line,type of line,type of structure,weather,or technique) moral of the story, none should be your favorite. you have to be adaptable to ever changing mood and unpredictability of the beast we chase. if we can do that,we will all be better fishermen. you can have favorites,but you have to be adaptable;or you can be waxed by the 6 yr old kid in the back of the boat. or worst yet,everyone in the tournament will load the boat with the technique that you refuse to use.

AVID no,i live on lake conway in orlando. i have found that most deeper clear water lakes are pretty much the same in fla. have you tried dragging worms during spring,summer,and fall? another tip about the c rig in fla. downsize your weight(1/4oz good place to start). i use 1/4 oz bell sinker with with a zoom lizard and it seems to come thru the grass better. although,it is slower fishing than with heavier weight.

cat you got number one right. i was at the leesburg weighin,and watched the guys leave the stage and pass tim tucker(bass). most had very little they would reveal. tommy martin was there about 15- 20mins talking about fishing,and the tournament. larry nixon was same way. if you want to learn fishing get larry or tommys dvds. they are both like e.f. hutton and you need to listen.

avid,in fla you need to bury the hook and skin hook a small light wire ewg type of hook. cant get away with exposed hooks in fla(too much grass). more importantly,this is a light line type of situation(flourocarbon???);and you cant set the hook like you have been doing with this light line. bass here tend to like 8-12 ft comfort zone in our clear lakes with submergence grasses. also,3/16 weight seems to be about right for that depth with a 4 or 5 in worm(8lb line).

avid,in fla you have a big problem drop shoting because of the aquatic grass invasion problem in the lakes in fla. check my drop shot idea in tackle section it may help. dosnt seem to hang up as bad as the commerially available weight systems. most items already in your tackle box. but,the better question is are you fishing the carolina rig? tends to catch legal fish better.(especially with a lizard on) but,you probably already know that. the key ingredient in fla is deeper,clearer waters .

thanks chris,very unselfish. if you ever plan a trip to fla i will try to provide fishing info.

in florida, a 7 1/2 in culprit type worm( fla grape green flake(junebug),and red shad/green flake during the spawn). notice i said fla grape,it is dark grape but held up to the sunlight it has a violet hue. not all black grape are the same. color tried and proven in florida waters. in earlier days, this was a top secret formula that worm manufacturers held dearly;and would not disclose to anyone. in cold water, use same colors with small straight tail worms. (remember you can fish a worm too fast but you cant fish it too slow in cold water,and this applies anytime the fishing is slow)

does anyone here have the recipe for key lime pie. new to pouring plastic worms. got most of popular recipes ,but need that and zoom chartreuse if anyone is willing to give up. still collecting molds and supplies on ebay. thanks

jitterbugs wow. my old fishing buddy died (GOD bless him). he taught me the art of jigger fishing with a giant musky jitterbug. used a musky jitter bug with with large treble hooks(and i mean large) attached ,on a long trout bamboo pole. the jitterbug was tied to the end with 120 lb braid doubled(tag end only 8ins),and spiraled half way down the pole(sometimes the huge florida bass broke the pole). then,you could still land by overhanding down the broken pole. this was a old turn of the century way to catch the biggest fish in the pond(AND I MEAN BIG SAW A 17 LBER THAT WAS CAUGHT THIS WAY). usually,fished in front of a canoe(holding the bamboo pole straight ahead,while some one paddled the canoe) at night. the jitterbug chugged along in the moon light and the bites were tremendous. scares the blank out of you. one nights catch equaled 5 fish from 9lbs to 17lbs in a local lake. had pics to prove it.

in fla too much grass to use comercial weights. came up with idea(modified carolina rig). i use brass weight,glassbead,a and a carolina keeper at the end. (keeper is the plastic device that u use a pr of pliers to open and insert line thru) finally, at the botton u tie a knot. looks just like conventional drop shot with added freature of sound. works better in grassy lakes in florida. try you will like. drop shotting new to me (live on clear water lake in orlando) you guys out there how do u work a drop shot rig and what kinds of baits. i was using a 4in razor worm,and it was productive. i was working it like bill dance works a worm and it seem to be more productve.(bouncing the bait along the bottom). arond here we drag or dead stick traditional texas rigged worm,dont do much bouncing the bait. any replies