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Bass fishing today

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

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caveman

A good friend of mine invited me to go bass fishing today.  He and I used to bass fish (and fish for about every other thing that swims in Florida a lot) together at least 100 days a year but the last several years, I have not bass fished at all.

We did not get an early start as the fish were expected to feed a little better as the water warmed.  We began around 8:30.  We never really slammed them but through persistence, we were able to boat 37 by the end of the day in addition to the largest soft shell turtle that I have ever seen, which came on a crank bait. We did not catch any real big bass today.  Several were boated in the two to three pound range and the largest being a little under five pounds. 

We fished until a little after 5 p.m.  As we were pulling his 20' bay boat out of the phosphate pit, the rusty galvanized tongue broke.  We strapped a 2"x4" x 8' which I found near the ramp to the bottom of the tongue to get the boat out of the water and the trailer to flat ground.  We called Rocky at the boat trailer shop and he was still at work and cut us a new aluminum tongue.  After grabbing the new parts and returning to the boat, we were able to replace the tongue with hand tools and the illumination from my buddy's headlights and head back towards civilization. 

This was an enjoyable day with one of my best friends and his two boys.  One of these days JMoore, Bub (today's fishing partner) and I need to write a book containing some of our misadventures in the pursuit of piscatorial  species.
Caveman
Caveman

crtreedude

Brings back memories for sure. I used to fish at least every Saturday morning with a couple of friends when I was in the states. There was a water supply lake just down the road, which would not allow any motor bigger than 10 hp, so nice and quiet. Very deep, nearly 100 feet. All sorts of fish, perch, small mouth bass, trout (lake, brown, rainbow), etc.

We had a running bet. First Fish, Most Fish, Biggest Fish. Lose in all three categories, you buy breakfast.

I never lost. They would show up with big tackle boxes full of all the shiny things that hook fishermen (fish don't read catalogs. lol) I had a pond for minnows and crawfish, and would usually have 6 or more dozen of each with me.

I learned a long time ago, fish like meat, they aren't vegetarians. lol
So, how did I end up here anyway?

crtreedude

About a week ago I was fishing in our ponds and was very surprised to catch a Guapote (Rainbow Bass) bigger than 4.5 pounds - which fought like it had 10 pounds!

Very tasty too.  8)
So, how did I end up here anyway?

doctorb

caveman-

Love your fishing tale.  Something always seems to need repair after a fishing trip.  It's part of the day.  Our water is still a little to hard to get out yet......

My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

WV Sawmiller

Caveman,

   Glad to hear you had a good time. I'd love to have the softshell turtle. Very good eating and lots easier to clean than a snapping turtle. Never heard of anyone catching one on a lure. Can't imagine the fight he must have put up or how you ever landed him. Sort of like trying to land a big bullfrog on a fly rod.

   I used to fish for bass when I grew up in NW Fla but one day I realized it was getting to be too much like work so started fishing ultralight for bluegills and crappie and had a lot more fun at it. Half lb bluegill on ul fights like 5 lb bass on heavy tackle and there were a lot more half lb bluegills around.

   I do usually keep a bass rod in the boat in case I hit a perfect spot but most days never pick it and just fish with ul or flyrod.

   As they always say though, a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.
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

WVSawmiller,
The soft shell turtle was definitely grown.  I have accidently caught a few logger head turtles (salt water species) on heavier tackle.  The soft shell is an angry beast in comparison. Their quickness and the reach of their necks do a really good job of discouraging me from handling them while they still have their heads.  We did not keep this one.

Dr. Rob, you are absolutely right about having to repair stuff after/during fishing trips.  I need to clear out some wood in my shop in order to make room for my boat.  It is in need of some substantial attention prior to putting it back into regular service in a few months.  The trailer is just one example of what you previously mentioned.  Last summer, I got my boat back to my uncle's house and discovered I was missing something.  JMoore, my middle daughter and I spent an afternoon or two replacing axles, wheels and tires (in the mud).


 
This is an example of the average bass from yesterday's trip.  Some were quite a bit larger but no really big ones.


  

 
Caveman

WV Sawmiller

Caveman,

   Yes soft shell turtles are fast. Like a Frisbee on legs. I had caught a big one on a trotline in Albany Ga and took it home. It got loose in the yard and took off at a high rate of speed right toward my 3 y/o daughter and her neighbor friend same age. They were riding their tricycles and big wheels and took off as fast as the could pedal to escape and both moms ran towards them to protect them from the monster. I barely caught him before he could get into a storm drain.

   The axle incident reminds me of the Jeff Foxworthy tale where he said the highway patrol pulled over his somewhat tippsy father on the way home from a fishing trip. Said his dad asked "What's wrong, can't a guy ride in his boat towed behind his truck?" Said the HP replied "Yes, but most use a trailer".

   Pretty fish. Glad y'all had a good time. That is what is important.
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

fishpharmer

Caveman, sounds like a great fishing trip.  Here is a video of a little softshell turtle...
http://youtu.be/JgOnc0RW3ic
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coxy

this is coming from a guy in the frozen north ;D  is a soft shell turtle  like a soft shell crab  :-\

caveman

The soft shell turtles taste more like chicken than a crab. 

Fishfarmer-Your tank looks a lot like the burial vaults the tropical fish farmers around here use in greenhouses for their breeder fish or the fish they bring in out of ponds to sort.

WVsawmiller-I did feel fortunate to have made it back without damaging the boat or anyone's property with the wheel and tire coming off. 
Caveman

Caveman

Magicman

Quote from: coxy on February 17, 2016, 08:43:45 PMis a soft shell turtle  like a soft shell crab  :-\
No.  A soft shell crab has "molted" and is growing a new/larger shell.  A soft shell turtle has a sorta soft shell that continues to grow/enlarge as the turtle ages.  Not the same process at all.  Soft shell turtles are a species that is favored for eating.
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WV Sawmiller

Quote from: Magicman on February 18, 2016, 08:56:42 AM
Quote from: coxy on February 17, 2016, 08:43:45 PMis a soft shell turtle  like a soft shell crab  :-\
No.  A soft shell crab has "molted" and is growing a new/larger shell.  A soft shell turtle has a sorta soft shell that continues to grow/enlarge as the turtle ages.  Not the same process at all.  Soft shell turtles are a species that is favored for eating.

    Correct. The shell is extremely flexible like leather. And as mentioned above SS turtles are very fast. If you drop him in the boat he may easily escape before you can catch him.

   The last one I cleaned as I remember I cut the head off and when I went to open him I inserted the knife in the notch/fork on the bottom of the shell at his tail and wiggled a little and hit an unseen seam right up the center of his underside and he opened like pulling on a zipper. We fried him like chicken. Vey tasty.
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

drobertson

February is big bass month for those who know,, thanks for the spur caveman!  nice bass too!  love those black, black bass, good color,, 
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

caveman

We went bass fishing this morning.  We did not get started until late as I had to take my Dad to dialysis and determine why the head lights in my wife's Chevy Lemon (Suburban) were not coming on.  After checking four fuses and a relay I pulled the headlight assembly out and determined there was corrosion in the connector.  I was soaking wet from sweat before 8 a.m.  My good friend and teaching buddy called and told me he was heading to a lake.  I told him I would put on a dry shirt and meet him there as soon as I could.  The lake we fished is in the middle of town and I only bass fished there once before, i think.  We used to net tilapia out of it and sell them to support our fishing habit.

Today, the heat index was 110° and the air temp was about 98°.  We fished from about 9 a.m. until around 1230 p.m. (I had to meet a slab customer at my place at 2 p.m.)  As hot as it was, the fish were feeding pretty well.  I brought a few home and we let several of the bigger ones go.  We probably boated 12 or so and several more shook off near the boat.  We are going to another lake tomorrow (JMoore is at a baseball tournament with his son so I am going to fish in stead of saw tomorrow).  I got the fish cleaned and they nearly filled a gallon bag with fillets and waited for my slab customer.  Coincidentally, he turned out to be a student of mine from the mid 90's.

 
Caveman

Walnut Beast


ellmoe

  I used to fish....then I bought a sawmill! :(
Thirty plus years in the sawmill/millwork business. A sore back and arthritic fingers to prove it!

doctorb

What's sad is that this thread was dormant from 2016 until now!  Nice day, caveman! Tight lines!
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

Tacotodd

The absolute WORST day that I've ever had bass fishing was the time that a buddy and I went. My very first cast I hooked and caught a reasonably good sized bass. After this happened, we both thought that it was going to be the best day that we ever seen. Well...

This was the only fish that I even had a hit from all day. My buddy must have boated 20 or more. I fished hard that day from before sunrise until after sunset.

From then on, I have not been in near as much of a hurry to be the first person to get a hook wet.

The rest of my fishing "career" has dropped off slowly but considerably. Now it's all hunting, but that is a totally different thread. 

Good luck men, and women, with all of your future fishing endeavors and expeditions.
Trying harder everyday.

caveman

We went again this morning to another lake.  The lake we intended to fish in had the road blocked up due to a shooting (the cop got shot in the ankle and the fellow that drew on him and the other officers was shot six times, he did not make it).  Any way, we fished another lake a mile or so away.

My buddy and his son went this morning.  They were catching fish, losing fish at the boat and then I finally caught a few.  Most of the fish this morning came on crankbaits.  The whipper snapper who was with us lost a big fish.  We did not keep any this morning and the biggest boated was probably five pounds.  We caught 12-14 but the bite tailed off at around 8:15.  Did I mention that it was hot?  We did not even start fishing until around 9 yesterday.  We stayed with it until around 11:30 and headed in.  We needed to get some ice and get some rat killing done before an FFA event (virtual) tonight.

I need to get Howard to school me up on the fine points of catching catfish.

No pictures today.
Caveman

hacknchop

Rhonda  and I own and operate a bait and tackle shop , I of course used to fish regularly now unfortunately I seldom get out but I sure do enjoy reading and seeing pictures of adventures others are having, thanks for sharing the details.
Often wrong never indoubt

terrifictimbersllc

Not too much sawing last Wednesday.  33 inches 13-1/2 pounds.  
 

 
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Walnut Beast

Quote from: terrifictimbersllc on June 27, 2020, 02:39:53 PM
Not too much sawing last Wednesday.  33 inches 13-1/2 pounds.  
 

 

Very nice

caveman

John was busy coaching his travel ball team today and the weather was good so we went bass fishing.  The water temperature was 65° last weekend and after this week's unseasonably warm weather it went up to 73 °.  We started fishing artificial baits and I caught a couple of decent fish on a crank bait.  We chummed  a few areas with wet laying mash and fish feed and came back a little later and tossed a bait net over them.  On the third bait station we caught some decent wild shiners.  

Over the next several hours we caught some good bass.  The action was not stellar but it was steady.  We ended up catching 15-16 fish, keeping the smaller seven for eating.  Anyway, it was good to take a break and fish a bit.  When we keep largemouth bass we call them greentrout, as my grand daddy referred to them.  These are a few we returned to spawn.

 

 

 
The
The biggest bass we had hit today was about six pounds but it threw the hook.  All of the ones pictured were released.
Caveman

YellowHammer

That looks like fun.  We used to shiner fish lake Toho many years ago.  Ain't nothing like seeing a bass explode a quarter pound shiner in a blast of scales in that black water.

Brings back memories.
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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

This was the first time I've used shiners in years but my longtime friend/coworker and I were in a meeting Friday at UF and decided to go fishing Saturday.  The questions of where and what to fish for came up, of course.  The past few times we have fished together we discussed trying to chum up some shiners.

We noticed a few grass shrimp on the boats deck after dumping the net.  Next time we go speck fishing we will likely be using grass shrimp instead of minnows.

We had a ball.  The anti-reverse pawl on my old Ambasseduer 5000 quit performing reliably which made catching fish a bit more of a challenge (my other six reels on board had 12 lb test so a a bit on the light side for live shiner fishing).

I enjoy sawing and we have several logs (mostly cypress and live oak) that need sawing but it is good to not to work every weekend.
Caveman

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