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Bass fishing today

Started by caveman, February 15, 2016, 10:55:58 PM

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Jeff

Ill volunteer to edit!  I'm not bad. 99.999999999993% of the world would tell you they have never seen a badly edited video by me
I can change my profile okay. No errors. If you can,t remove all the extra info in other fields and try.

caveman

There were a couple of guys who make their livings off of golfing and youtube who visited the resort about a month ago.  Grant Horvak and Garrett Clark (I think that was their names).  I could not find the video link.  They golfed, went bass fishing and shot sporting clays.  They went fishing with my boss/buddy Jimmy.  They struggled to hook fish.  They evidently have quite a following.  The resort comped all of their expenses and the admin team was very interested that they get VIP treatment.  We treated them like we would anyone else-respectfully but not doting on them.

If we did a youtube video of most of my fishing days, it would likely make the blooper reels or Ridiculousness.  The number of tangles and snarls I deal with on a typical trip would astound most.  We do catch some decent fish though.

Today, after I did my before daylight chores, we went speck fishing for a bit.  Then we headed to the Bass Pro in Brandon to pick up some supplies.  I drove back to the resort while Jimmy called the marina down south to solidify the deal on a new boat.  We ate a late lunch at the resort and fished until dark.  We both needed a day like this.  We caught a good mess of specks and probably 20 or more incidental bass on speck jigs while ridiculing each other each time we missed a fish.  We learned a bit about some spots that should be helpful on future bass trips. 

I don't have any trips scheduled until Saturday.  I have two fishing trips scheduled for Saturday.  I'm going to try to find a good weather day when I don't have any trips scheduled and try to get my grandson out there.

  
Caveman

barbender

Caveman, that's what your missing- the snarls and ridiculousness is exactly what people want to see! 

I know Bill Dance has made lots of episodes of his fishing show. But all I've ever watched are his blooper reels where he's falling in, or breaking the tips off 6 rods at once😂
Too many irons in the fire

caveman

A typical trip begins when I'm driving them across the parking lot towards the dock.  Someone will ask what the biggest bass caught there is.  I'll reply 14lbs, 3oz.  This is what I was told and do not have a way to verify it.

I'll explain that we will be fishing with live, golden shiners with kahle hooks under corks.  Some of the baits are 10" or more and it takes a little work for the smaller bass to get them lined up just right to eat.  I demonstrate how to let the bass take the bait, tighten the line, bend the rod tip slightly and sweep the rod against the pull of the fish and keep the line tight.

The self-proclaimed fishing champion of Wisconsin kept setting the hook on his bait last week, even after repetitive reminders that the shiner was bobbing his cork under, and he did not have a bass on.  Generally, I'll coach the "anglers" on how long to let the fish run, when to reel and when to set the hook.  

When going through the canals between the pits, a guest will usually pull out a phone to take a video and comment that it looks like Disney World.  They will also comment about the mangrove trees.  There are not any mangrove trees there, but a lot of invasive Brazilian Peppers.  We'll see some gators.  On cool, bright days like today, they will be on sunny banks absorbing the heat so that they will be ready to go on the prowl around sundown.  We saw several over 11' today.

Occasionally, an Osprey will swoop down and nab one of their shiners or a gator will attack a cork that is not retrieved fast enough.  At least once a week, an "angler" will be reeling a spinning reel backwards and upside down because that is the way he has always done it.  I offer to put the handle on the other side of the reel, but it rarely occurs. 

On one of the guide's trips about a month ago, a really drunk angler fell out of a pontoon boat.  His buddies filmed him, and he begged everyone to help him keep it a secret.  I don't think the secret was safe with his friends, but he evidently tipped very generously.

I doubt I'll make any fishing videos, but I'll try to share any humorous or ridiculous occurrences for the entertainment and amusement of my FF friends.

 

Caveman

caveman

I took two fishing trips today with one person on each.  The first was an 8 hour trip and the second was a 2 hour trip and I kept him out for 2:45.

When I got to the dock with the first guy, he refused to fish out of a pontoon boat.  I had it already loaded with a cooler, three dozen shiners, tackle and the rods and reels before daylight.  I told him that it would take me a few minutes to transition to the skiff.  I had to move everything and change trolling motor batteries.  I don't generally fish out of the skiff, and I apologized for it not being clean.

Bottom line, the dude could fish and wanted to use artificial baits only.  He fished from a little after 7 a.m. until I had to shut him down for my 3:30 trip.  He caught 40-45 bass on toads, jigs, spinner baits and chatter baits.  He could have caught plenty on drop shots, but he preferred not to fish them.  His best five fish would have weighed 23-24 lbs., which is a pretty solid day.  He even asked me to fish with him.  I fished some and caught a few, thankfully my biggest was a little smaller than his (I would have hated to stick a big one while guiding).  He lost one that would have probably gone over 8 lbs.  His biggest today was about 5 1/2 lbs.
Chad from Bristol, Tennessee with a decent 5.5 lber.  
Caveman

aigheadish

I haven't fished for a long time but used to go out every day when I was a wee teenager. I prefer lures and fake stuff too but I don't know that I'da crabbed about being on a pontoon, and as soon as you mentioned catching 5 lb. plusers I'da probably been fine using shiners too...
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WV Sawmiller

   I bought 2 of the 10' telescopic fiberglass bream/crappie poles Friday and yesterday I rigged them to the proper length with line, float, split shot and a paperclip for a hook. We have an upcoming birthday party in a couple of weeks and the soon to be 6 y/o GD and her 8 y/o brother are coming up.

   I will give them their poles and set them up with some of the small HF magnets and let them take them home and practice their accuracy in placing a bait on a paper plate or sheet of paper with a magnet in the center. I figure they can make a game of it but the ulterior motive is the better they get at putting a bait on target, the less time I will spend getting them unhung and out of the treetops next summer. :wink_2:  They can bring them back this summer and I will replace the paper clips with a couple of #4 circle hooks and a piece of night crawler and take them to the local lake to catch little bluegills and green sunfish for me to use for bait on my catfish lines. :thumbsup:

  
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

aigheadish

My job as a wee teenager was to work at Steel Mill's company park boat dock. We rented out small John boats with trolling motors and would let folks bring in their bass boats and stuff like that. No gas engines, only trolling motors for a lake that was 125 acres (I think). Well, I'd get there early, riding my ten-speed bike that was a little too big for me, carrying my fishing pole and tackle box in one hand. I wrecked several times. Anyway, after I'd loaded the boats with the motors and batteries (a few of which made it off the dock and into Davey Jones' locker at the bottom of the lake) I didn't have a lot to do other than fish or make up games, so when I wasn't fishing I'd throw lines with weights at a trashcan at the bottom of the hill or lures with weedless contraptions on them. I got pretty accurate, but caught very few fish. 
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caveman

 I took my grandson out to the pond this afternoon to cast a spinning reel with a swim bait for bass.  He has not practiced casting in a while, and it showed.  He was still quite a bit better at casting than some of the guests that I guide.  The talapia would have been easy to catch today after a couple of days of warm weather, but I want the boy to learn how to fish (cast, work a bait, set a hook, etc.- Heck, he's six years old now).

Tomorrow, at work, we will fish a pasture pit (not fished, other than those who sneak in) and hopefully find some exceptional fishing that we can offer to guests.  We will have to quit around noon so that I can take a few folks to shoot clay pigeons in the afternoon.

I sawed some cedar today and a guy came by to pick up and pay for some pine fence boards that we sawed yesterday, but getting paid to catch fish is still not a bad gig, even if the hourly rate is low.  The tips pay the bills.  They are not always commensurate to the service provided.  Sometimes I'll get $200 for a two-hour trip and other times I'll get $20 for putting several non-fishermen on good bass for a couple of hours and even taking pictures of them to document their accomplishments of catching above average bass.  It is still not like making big rocks into little rocks.  With the warm weather that we will have for the next week or so, I expect that we will catch some good fish.  I saw bass huddled over wood in the water yesterday.  They would donkey stomp a shiner and I suspect they are preparing to bed.  

The water temperature is in the 60's now and the action should really pick up.  They shut down here when it gets below 60 degrees.  The highs for the foreseeable future is 80+.
Caveman

WV Sawmiller

Cavey,

   A few quick questions.

1. Do you guys practice catch and release with your clients or do they occasionally take a lunker home to be mounted or smaller ones to eat?

2. Where do you get your shiners? Do you catch or buy them?

3. How do you rig your shiners? Hook them through the lips? In the eye sockets? Through the back? Other rigging?

Inquiring minds want to know.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

caveman

The bass are all catch and release.  Streamsong Resort will post a picture of the angler, the weight of the fish, name of the angler and the hometown in their "Bass Hall of Fame" for all over 8 lbs.  A few weeks ago, I had three folks get fish added.  I suspect some more good fish will be coming soon.  The water was in the 50's last week but this morning it was 71*.

Hooking shiners.  I am only using khale hooks now 1/0-5/0 and most of the time I use a cork 2-4' above them.  Sometimes I'll hook them through the bottom lip and come out a nostril, especially if I want to drag them from one fishing spot to another 100' or so away.  When fishing pads (spatterdocks) or up under Brazilian pepper tree limbs I'll hook them behind the anal fin or behind dorsal fin.

I was not scheduled to work today, but another guide called and asked if I'd take his clay shooting trip today at 1 p.m.  It was supposed to be only four guys shooting 50 shots.  It turned out to be six, shooting 100 and it was a 20% auto gratuity tip for me-so it worked out.  We are taking the same guys plus eight or 10 more from the same company tomorrow afternoon.

I rode to work with my friend/boss this morning.  After he finished reading e-mails and I finished getting the pool and fire pit areas set for the day, we went to a pit neither of us had fished and no one else has fished in years.  It looked amazing with hydrilla, relatively clear water, plenty of depth and other vegetative cover.  Jimmy caught one on his third cast while I was tying on a Ribbit toad.  We fished hard for the next hour without another strike.  We pulled the boat out after nearly getting his truck stuck and headed for another pit. 

We are trying to find some other pits that we can take guests to since there will likely be some construction on the one we primarily fish out of by the lodge.  We fished the second pit from 9:30-11:30 and boated 52 bass on chatter baits and worms.  We could have wrecked them on crankbaits.  Some were small, but we each caught several in the 3-4 lb range and I had one that was 6-7lbs shake off a few feet from the boat.

After the clays trip, we did not have time to go back to the remote pits we fished earlier in the day so we took the skiff tied to the dock and fished a small pit attached to the resort pit.  I tried to get one to eat my frog while Jimmy caught several decent fish flipping a creature bait.  I caught some on a 10" worm and got one a little over 6lbs on a chatter bait.  The gator pictured tried to get in our boat while we were unhooking fish.  He got bonked on the head with a metal pool pole.

Caveman

barbender

Being catch and release, don't you have problems with hooking mortality using live bait- especially with inexperienced anglers?
Too many irons in the fire

WV Sawmiller

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on February 04, 2025, 09:59:55 AMCavey,

 2. Where do you get your shiners? Do you catch or buy them?

Inquiring minds want to know.
:huh?
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

caveman

I'm sure some bass die after being released, but gators gotta eat too.  Most don't get hooked deep, but most of those that do I'm able to get the hook out with a dehooker that I made out of tig wire with a cypress handle.  

I got a call this morning asking if I wanted to take a fishing trip this afternoon.  All of the other guides working either were booked for clays or fishing.  I declined after thinking about it for a few minutes.  My grandson and I were already on our way to go fishing.  He and I have been looking forward to this for quite some time.  He asked me to take him a couple of weeks ago when the weather was cold and windy.  Today the weather was much better- foggy, relatively warm and a water temperature of 71*F.

My grandson was able to catch four or five bass on his own-casting a spinning reel, retrieving and hooking his fish.  He had one that was about four pounds shake off near the boat.  He fished a while, snacked some, looked at gators and then fished some more.  We fished for three hours or so, but when he was ready to go, we left.  He was asleep after being in the truck for five minutes and slept over an hour on the ride back home.




His tender little thumb was sore from holding fish, so I let him use a towel.  This was the biggest he landed this morning.
Caveman

Magicman

It is more important to take care of the important things!!  ffsmiley   :thumbsup:
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caveman

I was supposed to have four trips today, three fishing and one clay shooting.  I got up early to get my boat prepped and ready for a 7 a.m. trip.  After waiting for quite a while at the hotel front desk without anyone showing up to fish, I found out that someone in the reservation department screwed up and the trip is actually for tomorrow morning (I'm not working there tomorrow, John and I have to saw and hopefully sell some wood).

I did have fishing trip from 10-12, I kept them out until about 12:30.  The fishing was mediocre.  They did land a 4 and a 5 pounder with some buck bass.  The 5 pounder looked the part.  It was fat and full of roe.  I took the same four guys clay shooting at 1 and was back at the dock by 3 for another fishing trip.  I tried to give those four a free hour so they could catch some fish in the hour before dusk, but they had dinner reservations.  They still caught some, but the bight today was much better in the last hour and a half before dark. 

I should have taken a picture of the 5 pounder.  It was a freak at only a little over 17".  It looked like one of the big-bellied bass that show up on FB from time to time.

Caveman

caveman

I was supposed to have three trips today, but that got changed to two.  The first group had a guy catch on just shy of 6lbs.  

After lunch, my boss/friend, another guide and I went fishing and looking for "new" fish.  We fished areas that were set up similar to what we fished during my 10-12 trip this morning.  Those three guys used 34 shiners and some were reused.  We were fishing artificial baits.  I lost a fish that will likely haunt me for years.  I got a good look at it but while trying to get it out of the Lili pads (spatterdocks) it spit the hook at me-my buddy and I agreed that it was well north of 10lbs.

This afternoon's trip was a spur of the moment scheduling deal with one guy.  He was probably the most interesting person I've taken.  He used to own crab boats that fished out of Dutch Harbor and later he commercially fished tuna in Hawaii.  He caught quite a few bass, and he got excited after a monster strike on a very big shiner and set the hook too soon and missed a grown one.

I only have one trip scheduled for tomorrow.  I wanted to go fishing some other pits in the morning, but we need to go to the clays course to clean up and load more clays.  
Caveman

YellowHammer

Is it normal for 2 hour trips?  With fishing like that I would want a 4 hours, at least to catch a whopper or three. 

How big was the one you lost?

You kind of have a dream job.

Are you having to catch the shiners yourself with a cast net?

YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

caveman

We typically do a two-hour minimum trip length and that is what most select.  I have three-hour trips occasionally and a week and a half ago I had the same guy for eight hours.  He would have fished until dark, but I had to end it to get ready for another booked trip 15 minutes after he got off the boat.

We have a guy, Steve, who supplies our shiners.  I like throwing a net, but I don't want to do it all day, every day.  He's bringing several more dozens of them in the morning.  He fishes local lakes and now, many of the pits on the resort's property.  We buy them from him, and he pays us for each dozen he catches.  He supplies Roland Martin's guide service in Okeechobee as well as others.  Some days he'll catch 50-100 dozen.  So far, I don't think any money has changed hands between us and Steve.  There is a running total of caught and bought in our office.

The bass I missed today could have legitimately been 12 lbs.  She probably spawned today and will be a little lighter tomorrow.  Hopefully she will remain in the neighborhood, and I'll get another shot.

Some days this job is not like work and others I question why I drive over two hours a day to get there and back while working for a low hourly rate-the tips can make it worthwhile though.

YH, a few weeks ago you asked about the size of the pits we fish.  I used my Hunt Stand app a day or so ago to estimate the area of the pits.  The one behind the lodge is about 60 acres, the small one east of the lodge is about nine acres and the pit west of the lodge pit has many cuts and coves and some islands so it will take me more time to figure the area of it, but it is likely 60 acres with a lot of shorelines.
Caveman

caveman

I ended up with two trips today, both two hours long.  Jake (not Customsawyer) is the young guide that took out four of the seven fishermen of our corporate fishing trip.  I had the other three.  Jake put them on a 7lb and a 7.6lb.  The best my guys did was a 5lb and a 6lb.  We went through 3 dozen shiners on each boat between 2-4pm.

At 430, I picked up two women who booked a trip late.  We started off slow, but they finished strong, and they were hooking or missing fish on every cast as darkness and mosquitoes closed out their trip.



My guy's 6lber.


Caveman

aigheadish

Love to see the ladies out there getting some. Hopefully, that's a trend that grows. 
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caveman

She caught the heck out of them because she was coachable.

Today, I took an archery trip early, after my Dr.'s appointment and had a dad and son trip at 4pm.  I told them that I'd keep them out until the skeeters told them no mas.  They ran out of shiners at 5:50, 40 minutes before dark.  They could have caught fish on artificial baits, but they were satisfied with their catch, and we headed in.  I got to eat supper at work (score).  The biggest on their trip was 4lbs.

I lost track of how many they caught, but it was north of 10.  They even caught a couple of fish on the same shiner. If I catch a bass or two an hour, I'm satisfied.  These Michiganders are getting spoiled. 
Caveman

aigheadish

Shew, that's a big 4 pounder! 
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