What I Remember About Bass Fishing

[Swamp Girl]

17 hours ago, Zcoker said:

 

Yeah, I can too. Lotta vastness out there. Not trying to compare the glades to anything. I've been all over this country, camping and hiking and fishing, many years on the road with a tent, so I know very well just how vast it is. Even dabbled a bit in Canada. I also know how special each area is. Each area has it's own unique and special places. Just like Florida, we have our own unique and special places, our coastal beaches along with the wide open everglades! Our weather pretty decent as well...aside from a few hurricanes from time to time!

 

Your night fishing of the Everglades in tiny boats is admirable. Most anglers wouldn't do it because of its shifting canals, insects, vastness, and gators. Atop these challenges, you land giant bass. I tip my cap to you.  

[N Florida Mike]

On 6/6/2024 at 8:49 AM, ol'crickety said:

Mike, those waters still exist in Florida.

I know, but you must really put forth an effort to find them.

Katie, you would love all the ponds and small lakes in the Ocala nat. Forest. They are still wild, except even there you will run across more people than before…

On 6/6/2024 at 8:52 AM, ol'crickety said:

I had a Zebco 404. It was junk!!!

No arguments here! 😂

The 33s were made with more metal parts than the plastic 404s. I still have a 33 but it needs fixing.

 

[Captain Phil]

22 hours ago, Zcoker said:

Everglades National Park covers about 2,357 square miles, third largest park in the lower 48 states. That's no illusion. If you ever get a chance to get out there, you'll encounter some of the wildest wilderness imaginable. 

 

I was in South Florida last week visiting my son. They haven't had much rain this spring and the glades are dry.  This pulls fish off the flats and concentrates them in the canals. It's nothing to catch 100 bass a day right now.  Most are small but there are giants among them. Better hurry as the late June rains fill the canals quickly.  The fishing gets tougher after July 4th.  When the water is high, it can be the toughest fishing you will ever see.  Finding current is the key.  

[Swamp Girl]

2 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

I know, but you must really put forth an effort to find them.

Katie, you would love all the ponds and small lakes in the Ocala nat. Forest. They are still wild, except even there you will run across more people than before…

No arguments here! 😂

The 33s were made with more metal parts than the plastic 404s. I still have a 33 but it needs fixing.

 

 

Small lakes in the woods? Count me in!

[Alex from GA]

I have done float trips on several rivers in FL and GA where it seems like you're in wilderness.  The Wacissa in N FL is one as are many in rural GA.  Yes the Ocala Natl Forrest is a special place with many small lakes/ponds that are hard to access and they all hold bass and gators.  

[geo g]

What I always enjoy the most about fishing was your closeness to nature, and your friendships that are developed over the years.  When out in the boat, 90% of the time I'm fishing the Everglades.  My favorite spots are those away from the roads, and away from heavy boat traffic.  Favorite experiences are those involving wildlife.  I have been out at first light in the three pines area of L67, and fishing silently just as the sun broke the horizon.   We were floating with a slow current and not saying a word.  As we passed a spoil bank island a sudden scream from a large cat within 20 yards of where our boat was floating.  We stayed quiet looking for the cat, and about two miles away further out in the swamp a return call from a future love interest.  Although we didn't see the cat in the thick undergrowth, the calling continued for over 20 minutes, it was a deep call of a horney big boy.  I'm sure he knew we were there, and did not care. a bit!  His mind was on something else other than us.  It was the coolest morning ever, and my teenage son was there to share it with me.  

 

I have been out in the swamp and had a big bull gator put on a show for us, as the boat drifted closer.   Bellowing, thrusting his whole belly out of the water and vibrating a big circle around his body.  Then a fake charge at the boat, turning sideways and slamming his tail on the side of the boat.   We got his message and left the beast to his territory.  

 

I've seen wild otters, eagles, even once saw escaped Lemurs in the trees along US 41.  We have pythons, snakeheads, peacock, just to name a few.  The Everglades are still as wild as anywhere in the nation as long as we don't screw it up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[geo g]

5 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Your night fishing of the Everglades in tiny boats is admirable. Most anglers wouldn't do it because of its shifting canals, insects, vastness, and gators. Atop these challenges, you land giant bass. I tip my cap to you.  

I have done it a few times when I was in my 30's.  Now I'm much older and wiser.  Too many Skeeters, and ridiculous humidity, and a few nasty gator experiences in the bass boat.  Have fun, I respect your perseverance.

[WRB]

I am only 80 and didn’t start bass fishing until early 50’s or 25 years after the photo was taken. Excellent photo 👍.

Boats when I was a youngster were wooden including the rental boats at the landings where I lived. Aluminum boats were not common until about the 60’s replacing the wooden row boats of my youth.

The old 1920/1930 OB’s were very noisy, heavy and maybe 5 hp. Still around back in the 50’s until being replaced by the more modern recoil rope start engines with under water exhaust still a 25 hp OB was rare until the late 50’s when aluminum boats became popular. HP and boats evolved very fast in the 60’s.

I grew up casting a knuckle buster Langley reel Dacron line and tubular glass rod. All that changed in the early 60’s with ABU Ambassador reels and mono line.

I enjoyed the evolution of bass boats and electronics and don’t miss rowing a heavy wooden boat and the antique tackle.

Remote wilderness areas still exist you just need to seek them out, can’t drive and go fishing unless you live in a wilderness area.

Good memories, thank you for posting the photo.

Tom 

[Captain Phil]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

II grew up casting a knuckle buster Langley reel Dacron line and tubular glass rod. All that changed in the early 60’s with ABU Ambassador reels and mono line.

I enjoyed the evolution of bass boats and electronics and don’t miss rowing a heavy wooden boat and the antique tackle.

 

Major bass fishing game changing innovations in no particular order.

 

1. Level wind, free spool casting reel

2. Mitchel 300 type spinning reel

3. Electric trolling motor

4. Purpose built bass boat

5. Graphite fishing rod

6. Sonar fish finder

7. Plastic worm

8. Mono fishing line

 

What's your list?

 

 

[geo g]

1 hour ago, Captain Phil said:

 

Major bass fishing game changing innovations in no particular order.

 

1. Level wind, free spool casting reel

2. Mitchel 300 type spinning reel

3. Electric trolling motor

4. Purpose built bass boat

5. Graphite fishing rod

6. Sonar fish finder

7. Plastic worm

8. Mono fishing line

 

What's your list?

 

 

Still have a Mitchell 300 I bought with my allowance money, saved up for months.  Your post, makes me want to go find it, and put it on a spinning rod, and go fishing!  It's been a long time.

[Catt]

1 hour ago, Captain Phil said:

What's your list?

 

Bass boat & outboards shrunk large reservoirs & lakes. 

[Swamp Girl]

I had a Zebco Cardinal made in Sweden. I loved that reel. A fishing partner dropped it into a wilderness lake. I also had a Dam Quick reel that was so sturdy. 

[Mobasser]

6 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I had a Zebco Cardinal made in Sweden. I loved that reel. A fishing partner dropped it into a wilderness lake. I also had a Dam Quick reel that was so sturdy. 

I finally retired my Zebco Cardinal 4. I used it for many years. I think it is one of the very best spinning reels ever made 

[Bankbeater]

I used to have a cane pole that was broken up into sections.  You screwed the sections together to fish with it.  At Fifteen feet long, you could just lower the bait down on top of the fish.

[learnin]

Too many good things to pick one but I'll start with the first bass I ever caught when I was around twelve years old.  Fishing a long black plastic, or rubber,  worm from shore at a public reservoir with a split shot on the bottom with no luck.  Someone said time to go so I started reeling in pretty fast. When the worm got up on the surface it was really moving and about a 12" bass hit it so hard it came out of the water and I was hooked.

[Swamp Girl]

2 hours ago, Mobasser said:

I finally retired my Zebco Cardinal 4. I used it for many years. I think it is one of the very best spinning reels ever made 

 

Agreed!

[Captain Phil]

13 hours ago, geo g said:

Still have a Mitchell 300 I bought with my allowance money, saved up for months.  Your post, makes me want to go find it, and put it on a spinning rod, and go fishing!  It's been a long time.

 

Here's mine.  These reels changed everything.  They came out just about the time plastic worms did.  Back then, we didn't know about worm weights and these reels allowed light weightless worms to be fished.  Those old Creme worms were dynamite on bass.  Still are! 

 

[Zcoker]

21 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

 

I was in South Florida last week visiting my son. They haven't had much rain this spring and the glades are dry.  This pulls fish off the flats and concentrates them in the canals. It's nothing to catch 100 bass a day right now.  Most are small but there are giants among them. Better hurry as the late June rains fill the canals quickly.  The fishing gets tougher after July 4th.  When the water is high, it can be the toughest fishing you will ever see.  Finding current is the key.  

 

I remember when the low water season would dry up the cypress swamps, concentrating all the water into a little pool in the center of the swamp. All the wildlife would be concentrated in that one spot, snakes, birds, fish, alligators, turtles...it was like a zoo with all the animals in one spot except for no cages. It was a fantasy land for a small boy! The fishing can be intense during these dry spells and, like you said, 100 fish days are quite common, even more if you can stand it that long!

[Bankbeater]

I've still got my dad's Mitchell 300 that he bought back in the summer of 1971.  Those reels are tanks.

[Captain Phil]

4 hours ago, Zcoker said:

 

I remember when the low water season would dry up the cypress swamps, concentrating all the water into a little pool in the center of the swamp. All the wildlife would be concentrated in that one spot, snakes, birds, fish, alligators, turtles...it was like a zoo with all the animals in one spot except for no cages. It was a fantasy land for a small boy! The fishing can be intense during these dry spells and, like you said, 100 fish days are quite common, even more if you can stand it that long!

 

Years ago I lived in South Florida during a number of severe droughts where the flats were completely dry.  The rough fish in the canals were so thick you could destroy an aluminum prop in a 1/4 mile.  To thin out the fish, State Game officials remove all the fishing limits in the everglades.    They once held a night time bass tournament out of Holiday park.  I entered the tournament and we fished from 8 PM until dawn.  It took over 100 pounds of bass to win that tournament.   There were prizes for the most gars and mudfish.  The pile of dead rough fish was enormous.  Low water like that is tough on fish, but they recover quickly.  The Everglades is a special place.