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Bass fishing today

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

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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.



 
Caveman

sawguy21

That is just plain mean, it is -20C right now. ;D
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

JJ

Quote from: caveman on December 12, 2021, 07:34:41 AMmy 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.  


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

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.
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

Quote from: YellowHammer on December 27, 2021, 10:42:21 PMI 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

caveman

Quote from: JJ on December 27, 2021, 10:22:39 PM6-8lb 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

caveman

 

JohnM's 28 1/2" bass.

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

customsawyer

Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
www.thecustomsawyer.com

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.   
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

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.
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

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

Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Southside

Quote from: sawguy21 on December 27, 2021, 08:55:54 PM
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.  
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

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.
Caveman

WDH

Those glaciated Northerners have to do things different.  Even if I caught some ice, I would not know what to do with it.  
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Southside

Cook it in the air fryer.  Gluten free and low fat.   :D
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

Mooseherder


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. :)



 

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