Bass fishing today

[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

[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

[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)

[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......

[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.

[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.


  

 

[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.

[fishpharmer]

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

[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

[Magicman]

is 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.

[WV Sawmiller]

is 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.

[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,, 

[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.

 

[Walnut Beast]

Nice 👍 

[ellmoe]

  I used to fish....then I bought a sawmill! :(

[doctorb]

What's sad is that this thread was dormant from 2016 until now!  Nice day, caveman! Tight lines!

[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.

[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.

[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.

[terrifictimbersllc]

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

 

[Walnut Beast]

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.

[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.

[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]

We went bass fishing again this morning.  I met my buddy/teaching partner at the ramp a little before daylight.  I started with a plastic worm and caught one and missed a couple.  We also fished crankbaits and chatter baits.  The weather is incredibly warm for this time of the year.  I literally had sweat running down my face today while fishing.  The water temperature varied from 68-73 and the fish will likely be bedding within a month.  The fishing was a little slow and we each missed a few.  The biggest missed fish we laid eyes on was 5 1/2-6 lbs.  I brought some home and we'll eat them tomorrow night with my folks.

The last batch I filleted, I kept the backbones, which is something I quit doing when I started using ziplock bags to freeze fish in years ago due to them poking holes in the bags.  Anyway the backbones were what the kids got when I was little.  The ones I had the other day were fit to eat so I kept them today too.

I bread the fish in yellow corn meal with salt, pepper, Lawry's seasoning salt, garlic salt, and a bit of Everglades seasoning and then drop them into boiling peanut oil for a few minutes.  I keep the bag of batter in the fidge or freezer and just add to it what it seems to need.  I fillet a little off of the back of ribs to use as grease testers and to determine if the batter is lacking anything.

We need to go speck (crappie) fishing soon.  My fishing buddy prefers them to bass but I like bass better but will certainly eat either.  Tomorrow morning John and I will saw some cypress logs, maybe some pine and when we are finished we'll work on my old 90 hp Evinrude.  John seems to think the needle in one of the carburetors is not seating properly.  I've replaced the mechanical fuel pump and added an electric one.  I have to cycle the electric pump on to keep the motor fueled and off to keep it from flooding while occasionally pushing the key in to enrich while running.



 

[sawguy21]

That is just plain mean, it is -20C right now. ;D

[JJ]

my other six reels on board had 12 lb test so a a bit on the light side for live shiner fishing

6-8lb is my go to for casting and bait, why >12lb, show picts :0
fish in my avatar landed on 6lb leader.

      -jj

[YellowHammer]

Nice going, Caveman, you've got them dialed in.  I went smallmouth fishing today, 68F and on this lake the water has dropped maybe 20 feet, not sure why.  They say they are putting in a new marina, and need the water low.  Anyway, it's a small lake, only 22 mile long, and I spent the day driving around looking for exposed but normally submerged structure, stuff that I wouldn't normally see. For example, 2 big root balls rolled out in what is normally 15 of water, on the edge of a shelf.  I caught a smallmouth here today, and it's almost dry.  In the background, you can see some cedar tress that were put out out by a dock.  They are high and dry now, but come springtime, they will have fish in them. 



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Here's a place I catch a nice smallmouth but I never could figure out what is was.  With the water so low, I see that what I thought was just a rock bank is some crazy looking lava flow thing.  I will fish this more often for sure.  

[WV Sawmiller]

Robert,

 It is fun to get out in the lake sometimes when it is real low like that just to see what is really there. I'm sure you have a good idea from your depth gauges and such but seeing in in real life is fun and educational. I remember we had warm weather here one time in February and they had dropped the lake level 6-8 feet so we had lots of bare rock banks to watch. Turned out it was mating season for the mink and we spotted and photographed several of them. They run the bank chasing each other but that year we were able to see them. It was neat to see. Normally they are hidden by the trees and roots and such.

[caveman]

I spent the day driving around looking for exposed but normally submerged structure, stuff that I wouldn't normally see

My friend bought a Lowrance graph with the side scan.  He has spent a good deal of time learning to use it and while not as good as seeing a low lake or seeing saltwater inshore spots on full moon low tides it has been very helpful.  I bought a similar Garmin for my center console boat but have not used it enough to be really proficient with it ( my old Furuno bit the dust).  I had written a rather lengthy post to respond to JJ but it got lost somewhere along the way.  Most of the lakes we are fishing are small.  One of our favorites is probably only a few hundred acres.  Another small lake we used to fish put out some monsters.  I never caught any really big ones out of it but the guy I was fishing with today used to guide out of that lake and he's caught two over 12 lbs there.

[caveman]

6-8lb is my go to for casting and bait, why >12lb, show picts :0

We've caught fish weighing several hundreds of pounds on 20lb test line but when fishing heavy structure or thick vegetation, your odds of landing a quality fish go up considerably with heavier line.  Sometimes when fishing live shiners we let them run way up into heavy grass.  Some folks use 50 lb test braid when flipping or fishing live shiners for bass.

When we were kids, JohnM and I went fishing after spending most of the day painting a fence.  He was using 8lb test throwing a huge electric blue worm into open water while I fished the weedline along the shore.  He hooked a monster 28 1/2" bass that quickly located the cattails which were 60' away.  This fish of a lifetime would have surely never been landed if one of us would not have bailed out of the boat and waded chest deep 40' back into the cattails to follow the line down to the fish's mouth.  I'll post a pic of John's bass in the next post.

[caveman]

 

JohnM's 28 1/2" bass.

He let me hold it and bring it back to the boat.  We were younger then.

[customsawyer]

That's a hog right there.

[YellowHammer]

Wow, some people looked a little younger then. :D

I am a bass fishing nerd, and have the most advanced electronics available.  This configuration is typical of a tournament boat, and it lets me see pretty much everything but the pictures look like 1960's black and white tv, grainy and open to interpretation.  Most transducers only image clearly at maybe 5 to 7 mph, and are much like a spotlight at night, you only see what is actually illuminated.  So covering water isn't fast, and even with a small lake like this, it still has 257 miles of shoreline, and takes seasons to map it all.

In contrast, running along shorelines at 60 mph, I can use my own eyes, at full resolution and full color and get a true 3D image of specific structure.  The old adage is 90% of the fish are in 10% of the lake and of that 10%, only 10% holds fish all the time.  These spots are called "Honey Holes" for a reason.  8)

With the lake at record lows water conditions, I have an opportunity to find these and I've already found a few that will pay off for the rest of my life.   

[WV Sawmiller]

Robert,

   My grandfather always called them his "smokehouses" because they were where he went to get his meat. The concept of catch and release would never have made any sense to him. You kept what you caught and if you caught more than you needed you preserved them of late or gave them away. Generally, once you caught what you needed you'd quit and go home.

[Mooseherder]

My son in law this morning on lake Okeechobee with this 8.2 pounder in a club tournament.  He won big fish but came 5th place for the tournament. 

 

[Magicman]

That's a Pig !!!  8)

[Southside]

That is just plain mean, it is -20C right now. ;D

I'll take an ice shack, a propane heater, some smelt lines, a cribbage board, and flags out on the ice over bugs, sweat, and a sunburn any day.  

[caveman]

That's a nice one.  I have never fished in Okeechobee, but it is on my list of places to fish.  Heck, I have not even fished in most of the lakes in my county. 

Jim, the items you write of are completely foreign to me.

[WDH]

Those glaciated Northerners have to do things different.  Even if I caught some ice, I would not know what to do with it.  

[Southside]

Cook it in the air fryer.  Gluten free and low fat.   :D

[Mooseherder]

At the Marina yesterday.
Boating yesterday. - YouTube

[newoodguy78]

You southern guys have your share of good food for sure. A nice batch of fillets caught through the ice is certainly worth the effort of putting on long johns and dealing with some cold fingers. Dang good eating. 

[Mooseherder]

Lake Okeechobee this morning.