The Forestry Forum

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

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

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)

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......

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.

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).


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


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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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

February is big bass month for those who know,, thanks for the spur caveman!  nice bass too!  love those black, black bass, good color,, 

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.
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Nice 👍 

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.


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

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

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.  

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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.

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.

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.

 
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JohnM's 28 1/2" bass.
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He let me hold it and bring it back to the boat.  We were younger then.

That's a hog right there.

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.   

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.

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. 
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That's a Pig !!!  8)

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.  

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.

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

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

At the Marina yesterday.
Boating yesterday. - YouTube (https://youtu.be/3y9IDwJbA_w)

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. 

Lake Okeechobee this morning. :)


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Here are a few of the bigger fish from my trips this week.  Tomorrow will likely be a challenge with cooler weather, and I suspect, blue skies. 
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8.5 lbs.  The angler brought a book to read while her daughter and husband fished.  She never opened the book and after missing several fish, she figured it out and caught five or six good ones. (Saturday).

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This young man is from Shanghai, China and was fishing with three friends and their mom.  It too was 8.5, although it does not look that big in the picture.  The resort lodge is in the background.
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This one was 8.1 and was caught by a friend of the young man from China on the same trip at a different location.  This was Monday.  I did not take any guests fishing on Tuesday, but I went and caught a few and ruled out some spots.  I hate to waste the guests' time prospecting and would rather them be in the vicinity of fish.
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This is a selfie of the first fish I caught on the new rod and reel my daughter and son in law gave me for Christmas during Tuesday's second prospecting trip which was before my afternoon clay shooting trip.
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This young man lives in NY, NY and reeled in a 6.5 pounder on a chatter bait this afternoon.  He caught quite a few others from heavy cover on this trip.  I have a five-person afternoon trip tomorrow.  Guiding five at a time on a bass fishing trip is a challenge.  I'll be untangling lines and tying a lot of knots tomorrow.  It surprises me how many folks want to cram a bunch of folks on one boat rather than take two boats, each with a guide.  The cost is the same.

Caveman,
What magic spot are you fishing that has such wads of 8 lb bass?  We catch a few big ones here in Alabama, but that is a high density of whoppers!

That's a phosphate pond, I think, how big is it?  Or is it a series of ponds?  Very impressive!

Mooseherder, those are nice fish too.  I miss my Florida bass fishing!  My grandparents lived across the road, 100 ft from Lake Toho, and I remember some great trips in my youth.  A kids dream lake!

I'm fishing these Tn mountain lakes this winter, because I like fishing sterile, cold, deep, bleak water!  Stupid hard fishing.  This is Tims Ford, sometimes called "the Dead Sea" because it is so difficult, and it's about 15 feet down for winter pool.  Yesterday, I caught smallmouth, largemouth and when I saw what I thought was a big school of smallmouth on the Livescope, I cast this crankbait into them and well, wrong species!  But he choked on that crankbait, he wanted it.  These were the fish I caught, along with a largemouth, while on the phone to Andries in Canada.  So he is good luck when to comes to fishing.  if you are having a tough trip, call him up, and you will start catching fish!

There are three phosphate pits that are connected at the resort.  Those are the ones we fish.  There are other pits on property that have even more fish.  We are trying to convince the higher ups to offer VIP trips to those with higher prices. 

I would guess the smallest pit we fish is less than 10 acres and the one the hotel is on is probably 30 acres and the one to the west is larger, possibly 140 or so acres.  You can look at them on Google Earth.  The resort is Streamsong Golf Resort in Bowling Green, Fl.  https://earth.google.com/web/@27.6914503,-81.93295854,38.54781122a,5737.93290359d,35y,359.2242431h,0t,0r/data=CgRCAggBOgMKATBCAggASg0I____________ARAA 

I've been guiding here since September (took most of October off for FFA trip and Hurricane repair/clean up) and did not have any 8 lbs. over the rail until Saturday.  We have caught several 5,6 and an occasional 7 lber previously.  Several big fish have been missed, usually a couple a week.  Most of the folks we take fishing are golfers who like to fish. 

It is not uncommon to have someone on the boat beginning the cast with one hand and ending with the other and then retrieving the bait with the spinning reel upside down and reeling backwards.  Baitcasters are available upon request.  I took a Shimano Calcutta out of an annoying guest's hands a couple of weeks ago after I asked him not to cast it.  It belonged to a friend, and I brought it to cast very large shiners on 5/0 hooks.  He was casting with the bait click on and had already dropped a Penn Battle reel on a St. Croix rod into the drink (I've been trying to snag that outfit between trips on some days). 

The resort puts the folks who catch bass over 8 lbs in the Streamsong Bass Hall of Fame.  My goals are for the guests to catch fish on every trip, then catch lots of fish, then we start looking for bigger fish.  They are still pre-spawn, but some are likely getting close.  The big females are moving in where the bucks have been numerous.

I've never fished for or caught smallmouth but I hear they put up a good fight.  I'll probably wish I had Andries' number the next couple of days as our weather is going to be cold and probably have high, blue skies.  I'd be like a fish out of water fishing your mountain lakes.  We've been getting ours out of or near heavy vegetation (Brazilian Pepper bushes, torpedo grass and Lili pads).  We've had to leave some spots due to fearless gators.  I smacked a 9-footer today with a landing net that followed my guest's bait all the way to the boat.

I took a family this afternoon from Wisconsin on a two-hour trip.  The wind was mostly from the west to northwest, which really limits where one can fish in these pits.  I have the rods rigged on my boat with Khale hooks, orange corks and stiff rods for those who can set a hook.  I also have rods rigged with circle hooks, yellow corks and softer tipped rods for those who like to feel it and reel it.

Thankfully, the folks today wanted to set the hook.  The mom, Kate, ended up catching more fish than her husband and son.  The conditions were not ideal, with a high, blue sky and cold weather.  They caught 9-10 bass in a two-hour trip that I extended to 2:45.  I would have gone longer, but the mosquitoes were swarming, and they were ready to go.

The college aged son managed to catch an osprey by the wing after the osprey tried to steal his shiner.  I've unhooked pelicans, sea gulls, water turkeys (cormorants), egrets, and probably several other fish-eating birds, but the osprey was the most challenging.  They did not catch any big fish; three pounds was about the best today.  

Yellowhammer could probably out fish me in these pits within a day in his boat.  I do not have a working depth finder/graph or any electronic equipment.  This has been a busy week, 70 + hours and it is two-hour round trip from home (so much for retirement).

Tomorrow we will saw and Sunday I'll be back down there trying to help folks catch fish.  The weather for the next week or so will be offering challenges to fishing.

I doubt I could outfish you at all, you have those pits dialed in!  

How do you untangle an osprey without getting whacked?  I've untangled most of the toothless and talonless birds,  even the big Velociraptor looking birds, they can get pretty mean, but not an osprey with both a meat cutting beak and talons.  

I remember one day I was fishing, standing on a jetty and a seagull got wing tangled and then hooked in my line, just as a great big tourist attraction boat motored by, maybe 50 people on board.  As soon as I reeled in the squawking bird it, I could hear over the tourist boat loudspeakers announcing "Look, he's hooked a poor bird, let's watch."  Uh Oh. The pressures on, I guaranteed I was now being filmed and figure if I didn't do everything right, I was going to jail for a felony "harming a cute bird" charge or something.  So I proceeded to untangle and unhook the little screaming demon while everyone watched with cellphones out, because the durn boat had actually pulled up to watch!  Jeeeze!  Anyway, he flew away fine and folks on the boat clapped.  That was definitely my most pressure filled bird release!        

I had a frog tangling this summer. ffsmiley

Jeff, that frog would not last long in these phosphate pits.
Robert, much to the dismay of the glaciated northern guests, I just wrung the neck of the osprey and fed it to a gator-just kidding.  

I did the best I could to release it unharmed.  I had the young man who hooked it reel it in, and I grabbed the line above the squawking beast.  The talons and beak concerned me (I've unhooked everything from pelicans to great blue herons, but never an osprey).  I had them grab a hand towel off of the console with intentions of covering the bird's head.  Most birds chill out when the lights go out.  He was too quick and snagged the towel with his talons so I grabbed the back of his neck and held both legs like one would hold a chicken.  I asked the dad or the boy to grab my Gerber tool from my waist.  They could not figure out how to open it, so I wrangled the osprey with one hand and opened my pliers, extracted the hook and gave the bird a tossed release-like one would do with a gull.  It hit the water 15 feet away and clamored to shore.  It was still on the isle when we left 30 minutes later.  If it does not make it, gators have to eat too.  There are hundreds of ospreys down there and that one has been a pest for the past three weeks.  I hope it recovers and associates people with danger and steers clear.

I now have two fishing trips scheduled for tomorrow.  This cold weather and high blue sky is making it tough.  Each guest asks what is the biggest fish caught (14.3lbs), and they all expect to catch a whopper.  Most do not have much fishing experience or skills, but I still try to give them a shot at good fish and try to provide a good experience.

Some great stories, Caveman.  I always understood that the birds that some call water turkey are Anhingas, which have a long pointed bill. I once accidently snagged a fair-sized beaver on a rapala. I was sweating bullets trying to figure out what to do, running out of line when  the rapala pulled free. 

The anhinga are black and glossy with a straight bill.  We have always called the cormorants water turkeys.  I am not an ornithologist, but cormorants have a hooked bill and are kind of a dull black.  I have it on reliable report that water turkey is not good table fare.  A couple of my redneck buddies, in their youth, struck out on a hunting/fishing expedition and did not take any food with them, anticipating eating bass and venison.

They ended up eating a water turkey.  They reported that it was not fit to eat.  Good hunters and fishermen are made by such experiences, or skinny men.  One has passed on and the other is not skinny.

There have been hordes of water turkeys flocking to our area over the past month.  It pains me to imagine how many fish they eat each day.  I've never noticed nearly as many prior to this year.

Cavey,

  That tale reminds me that the old Indian word for poor hunter or poor fisherman is "VEGETARIAN".

  If Jeff's frog would not survive in your phosphate pits have you ever tried Jiggerfishing (old times called it Jomoling where I grew up). If so please describe your rigs and techniques.

  I wonder if Jeff's mink would survive in those phosphate pits. Heck - I'm not too sure he would survive in Robert's bluegill lake.

  When I was a kid dad brought home a large bass we ate that my grandfather had shot in a sinkhole off the Stienhatchee River. He spotted a small gator swimming in circles in the middle and quickly drew his old .38 Long Colt, Colt revolver service pistol, kept a bead on the gator and when there was a big eruption in the water he shot and climbed down and collected his bass. I never did hear if the gator survived the incident.

Your jiggerfishing sounds a lot like our dibbling.  The oldtimers would take a cane pole and a foot or so of mason's twine tied to a huge jitterbug or a wad of trebble hooks and skirts and work a figure eight under the bushes.  Some huge bass have fallen for this technique.  Once they hit, it was a hand over hand on the heavy bamboo pole to get the fish to the canoe, pirogue or whatever skiff one used.  I have not actually caught fish like this but know several who have.  I have the big ole jitterbug plugs-gators will smash them too.

Speaking of gators, I need to make a video one day.  We have some true dinosaurs down there right now.  I suspect several are over 12' and the pit north of where we shoot sporting clays, I bet there are some that are close to 14'.  Some are getting pretty brave and following baits right up to the boat.  Last week, a 9-yo I had on the boat hooked one while bass fishing.  Thankfully, it came unhooked.  I'd still rather deal with a gator than an osprey.

  Your dibblinbg sounds like what we called Jiggerfishing. Dad said his mom called it Dabbling only she did it with a small fly or piece of cloth on about 6" of line for catching big bream. Of course she fished during daylight hours and all Jiggerfishing I ever heard of was done at night, usually on or near full moon when they had some light.

  The only guys I knew of who did it were 2 bothers about my dad's age. They used a pole as described with a big treble hook covered with a white rubber skirt although I heard of folks dragging a big Jitterbug around. I worked summers with one of the brothers and asked him about it and he said you had to have someone sculling the boat at the rear and the other one fishing in the front because they had to be so quiet and an electric trolling motor would spook the fish. They used a real short, strong line and lightly beat the end of it in the water creating a big V like a frog swimming on the surface and would run it along the bank and under overhanging limbs and bushes and such. When one hit they just had to drag the pole in and net or grab the fish quickly. Maybe they just jerked him in the boat as there was no playing him

    I asked him if they were doing any good at it and he said "Yeah we are catching lots of 10-12 lb fish but we aren't catching as many of those old big ones as we used to." I don't know of anybody else in the area who was even catching 10 lb fish let along those old "big" ones.

  From what I heard you needed regular check ups with your cardiologist if you did much of it as it was a severe shock when those big bass hit that rig.

I had two fishing trips today.  The first was at 8a.m. and the second was at 2p.m.  I was dreading today due to a brisk north wind and morning temperatures in the high 30's.  On the first trip, I did not even start the engine on the boat and just used the trolling motor to go about 20' from the dock.  We stayed there for over an hour, with the guests catching several very nice bass.  The biggest this morning was 8.4 lbs with a plethora of 3-5 lbers.  

During lunchtime, we (my boss/buddy and the potential new guy) went out fishing.  I was looking for "new" fish and Jimmy was evaluating the potential new guy.  I caught a 7.5 lber on kind of a drop shot rig with a live shiner.  I surmised that some of the big fish have pushed out to deeper water with the cold weather and high blue skies.  Next, I caught one about 4 lbs.  I recognized that fish by its battle scars.  I mentioned that we caught it in the other pit last week.  Jimmy looked at the fish and said that he had guests who have caught that fish twice in the past week or so in the other pit.  That fish is dumb but has been paying the bills.

I took two guys this afternoon that I took Sunday and another guide took yesterday.  It was supposed to be a two-hour trip with two dozen shiners.  I told them at the outset, that I'd keep them out until dark if they wanted to fish that long and that I put a lot more than two dozen shiners in the baitwell.  The fishing was slow for the first couple of hours.  They were around fish the whole time and at each spot, but the fish were not feeding very enthusiastically.  

About 45 minutes before dark, they turned on a bit.  The biggest on this trip was a 5-6 lber that I did not weigh.
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8.4 lbs from this morning (guy did not hold the fish right to display its size).
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_8958.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=357339)
My lunchtime 7.5 lber.  When I saw it surface, I thought it may weigh 9 lbs, but its belly was not filled out yet.  It was still a good fish and will lead to different fishing techniques for us.
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The afternoon trip's best fish.

Holy socks! Those are big bass! The biggest we see up here is like 6 pounds on the enormous size. 

I used to fish a lot, but catch very little. Catching 5 pounders on the regular might bring me back to the game for a bit. 

I'm pretty sure if you pay the fees, that you can hire Caveman to let you catch a few. ffcheesy

I'm gonna start saving up!  That's some big old bass!

I had three trips today.  This morning at 9:00 we met 15 people from a corporate group to go do an archery outing.  When we pulled into the facility, the three I had riding in the Explorer lamented that they wished they could shoot clays instead.

I mentioned it to my friend/boss and he mentioned it to the group.  Seven went with me to shoot clays at six stations and the rest stayed with him to fling arrows.  It worked out well for all of us. 

At noon I met a family to go shoot clays and archery.  None of them had ever shot a gun before, except for the dad from New Jersey.  He mentioned that he shot a water pistol.  The mom was likely the best shot.  I don't think their son was on the shooting team at Yale.  He did not even know Yale had a forestry school, but he does now.

This evening's trip was 10 men from Wisconsin divided between two pontoon boats.  Jimmy and I collaborated before the trip as to which areas we would fish so that we would not be on top of each other's spots.  The first thirty minutes of the trip we had no action, so I asked my guys to reel in and I headed straight for the dock.  They were questioning my move, but I assured them there were fish in the area, but I was not sure they would bite.  I tossed a shiner up towards the torpedo grass and pads.  It was in a fish's mouth before I could bait the next hook. 

Jimmy's boat caught 15 bass and a catfish with 3.8 lbs being the largest bass.  My guys caught 16 with a 5.0 and a 5.2 and several in the 3-4 lb range.  This was supposed to be a two-hour trip, but we kept them out an extra hour.  By the time we got them unloaded and back to the lodge, the cafeteria had quit serving supper (after 6:30).  Free lunch and supper are perks of this job.

Before our trip, Jimmy had a 7-8' gator slip up behind him while he was rigging for his trip.  Where the gator is pictured is the spot my guys probably caught 10 bass and the spot where the 8.4 came from yesterday morning.

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Kyle I don't think I ever asked you, as we sat at the picnic table, what your work was. I assumed sawmilling. Now, it sounds like you run an adventure service? You taught for a while didn't you? And you take the kids to the different forestry stuff? Man about town!

I retired from teaching in June after almost 33 years.  John and I have run a rinky dink sawmill business for the past 14-15 years.  We work it part time, but not as much lately (I've got another day on this two-week pay period, and I've got over 30 hours of overtime, and I'm scheduled to work tomorrow).

I took this part-time job after a friend of mine, who was doing this job, got promoted to a manager position.  I did it as a favor to him and to have the opportunity to fish a bit more.  

Today was not ideal.  A trip booked late for this morning.  I took it.  It was one guy from Ohio.  I picked him up at the front of the resort a little before his scheduled 8:00 time and we headed to the dock.  It was 36* with a brisk north wind and did not warm up much.  The skies were high and blue.  The fishing was slow and the guy did not help himself much when he had opportunities to hook fish-he missed more than 50%.  After our two-hour time slot expired, he had boated two.  I told him that we could stay longer at no extra cost-my goal was for him to catch fish.  We stayed for an extra hour and a half.  He ended up with six bass with the largest being about 4lbs.

He was a nice enough guy, but his tip was not commensurate with the service he was provided.  

Due to a scheduling miscommunication between this afternoon's guests and someone other than myself, my four-person, two-hour afternoon trip did not show.  I was waiting by the lodge front desk for 45 minutes before I left, loaded all of the tackle and four dozen shiners and took it back to our guide shack.  At least the lunch was good today.  I have one trip scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.  I may have my friend/manager take it.  I'll be working on my outboard's carburetors tomorrow morning and may just take the day off-I'm retired.  I think I have three trips on Saturday.

Sounds like it's still more fun then teaching school.

Teaching had its moments, but it could also be mentally draining.  The hardest parts of this job are remembering so many different people's names every day (not my strong suit) and consistently putting guests who are not great fishermen on quantities of quality fish.

They are going to hire another guide soon.  This should enable me to cut back on the days that I work.  It will also mean someone else is using "my" boat and possibly the rods/reels that I have at my tackle station.  When we share reels, I end up relining several a week (I like them full, so they all cast consistently well).

We have not even started the mill since last Saturday and we have a load of hickory to pull out of the hot box and take the better slabs to the local wood store.

Can't trust them Ohio guys...

I ended up not working on Friday and another guide, whose main job is a valet at the front drive, took them.  He's a good fisherman and he put the guests on fish.  I was happy for him.  

After replacing the fuel tank, tank fitting, fuel pick up, cleaning and reinstalling just about every wire and connection on the outboard, compression check (we rebuilt this engine about 20 years ago using Wisco pistons), checking for air leaks and cleaning the entire engine twice, my grandson and I headed to the lake to test run it at speed to see if the fuel delivery problem had been solved (the other actions not related to fuel were done on the advice of a good friend/outboard mechanic).

At the ramp, the starter's bendix would not engage with the flywheel.  Thankfully my 6-yo grandson was able to turn the key while I used my Gerber tool to engage the bendix.  We got it started and verified that we still have a fuel delivery problem at higher speeds.  Sometime this week the carbs will be cleaned once again, new needles and seats, floats and gaskets will be installed.

At the resort yesterday, I had two trips scheduled.  In the morning, I took a young couple to shoot sporting clays after my boss/buddy and I caught a few specks (crappie) under the dock.  They were pleasant, generously tipped and we all had a good time. I did not have another trip scheduled until 3:30 p.m.

Following my morning clays trip, I ate lunch and then headed down to start setting my boat for the afternoon trip.  Jimmy returned from running errands in town and suggested I try to catch more speckled perch from under the dock while he went to eat in the cafeteria.  When he returned 20 minutes later, I had about 15 more slab specks in the livewell.  He brought a cooler down to the dock for me to load with fish.  This job has its perks.

My afternoon trip cancelled about 20 minutes prior to our departure time due to the guests stating that "with the conditions, it won't be very enjoyable".  The wind was up a bit, with cloudy skies and temperatures near 60.  I was confident that we would have a good outing.  Jimmy charged the guy $400 (half price for the two-hour trip, four-person trip) and $100 for me.  The guest was completely content with this.  I can't imagine paying $500 to not go fishing for two hours.

In the meantime, Jimmy's eight-person clays trip called to cancel.  Jimmy talked to the guys and two decided to go shoot.  I got to take them (Wisconsin guys from the fishing trip a couple of days ago).  One was on my boat the other evening and one was on Jimmy's.  The one who was on Jimmy's told me when I picked him up at the front desk that I'd cost him a lot of money the other night-they had money on the most fish and the biggest fish.  Both, luckily, came from my boat.

We went to the clays range.  The men shot well, and we all had a good time.  Upon returning, they tipped me generously.  Jimmy billed the guys who cancelled with short notice 2/3 full price.  

It was a good and strange day at the office-getting paid to fish and not to fish and generally just conversing with folks about a variety of topics while shooting inanimate object.  The pay is mediocre, but it aint busting big rocks into little rocks either and I spend a lot of time outside, see the sun come up and go down every day and have the opportunity to fish, a lot.

I don't have any trips scheduled next week.  The resort is hosting a big golf tournament.  All of the 228 rooms are booked, but folks who are there now are all about golf-not bass fishing.  It'll be good to have a few days to catch up on things I've neglected around the home front.  (this is starting to rival Old Greenhorn's posts in length)

When you are shooting sporting clays, do you have to "strategically" lose, or do you shoot it with a handicap?  

I had a 1988 Mercury that wouldn't get to full throttle because of the spark advance module, if all the carb work doesn't fix things and it's still not working.  

After all you've done to fuel system, I'd be looking at something ignition related as YH suggests. 

The power pack/rev limiter going bad can also make an outboard lose power at high speeds. It's an inexpensive part.   

I had one go bad on a 200 Johnson Ocean.  Shop wanted $800 to fix it.   :veryangry:

A $150 power pack with integrated rev limiter later I had it fixed.  

We discussed that last week too.  I made a puller for the flywheel several years ago.  We may be looking into electronics this afternoon, but if it is not a fuel issue, I'll be surprised.  I've been ready to pay someone to fix it for a while.  My friend, Blackjack, is pithed at it now and it has become personal for him to solve the riddle.

The reason I think it is fuel related is because it will run as it should about halfway across the lake (a couple of minutes) and then start falling on its face like it is running out of gas.  When I continuously push the key to activate the enrichment solenoid, it will jump back up.  The tubes from the solenoid to the carbs is very small, like chainsaw fuel line.  I can keep the boat on a plane while sending fuel through those little lines from the solenoid, but the engine still wants more fuel. 

I'd like to start fishing out of this old tub again.

On the clay shooting, I don't compete against the guests.  I just push the buttons to launch the clays and load the guns if they don't want to do it themselves.  Many of these folks I take have never shot a gun before while others are quite proficient.  I don't shoot often and really need to practice on some of the stations so if I do get called out by a guest, I can show them that the shot is possible.  I'm mediocre at best with a shotgun on crossing clays.

"Mediocre at best" describes my skills in a lot of areas, but it's gotten me through life😁

No fishing today, but I'm elated to report that my 1985 90hp Evinrude lives again.  This is a reminder to KISS (keep it simple stupid).  If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck.

This whole fiasco began a couple of years ago when I did not have an abundance of time to fish or tinker with stuff.  I initially thought that it was a carburetor problem, so we pulled them off, soaked for a weekend in the Gunk carburetor cleaner, used compressed air and blew through the passages, jets and any orifice that seemed suspect.  I think we (John and I) may have done this a few times.

Fast forward to today.  I had a complete rebuild kit for both carburetors in hand (not after-market).  With Black Jack's guidance, I pulled the carburetors apart.  With orifice drills and .023 mig welding wire, we cleaned all of the passages followed by spraying carburetor cleaner.  After reassembly, we ran it on the muffs in the driveway.  The engine sounded good.  He followed me to the lake, and we went for a short ride.  After a short warmup, I ran it at about 3/4 throttle for a mile or so.  It did not miss a beat.  I trimmed the motor out and ran it at full throttle for a short while and it still ran well.  I let it idle at the ramp while I backed the trailer into the water, and it continued to run well.  

Now it's time to grease the trailer hubs, buy two trolling motor batteries, find or buy a spare tire and start harassing the speckled perch and bass.  I probably ought to change the water pump impeller too.

Kyle you should be running a youtube channel following your trips. It would be amazingly popular.

I agree!  "Golfers Gone Fishing" 

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

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, 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😂

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.

 

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.(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_8976.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=357625)
Chad from Bristol, Tennessee with a decent 5.5 lber.  

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...

   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:

  

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. 

 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+.

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.

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.
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Being catch and release, don't you have problems with hooking mortality using live bait- especially with inexperienced anglers?

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?

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.

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

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

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.

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.  

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?

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.

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.

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My guy's 6lber.
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Love to see the ladies out there getting some. Hopefully, that's a trend that grows. 

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.
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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. 

Shew, that's a big 4 pounder! 

Today was a long day.  I left the house at 515 and got home around 845.  I had a one-person, 2 hr fish trip this morning at 7.  The guy caught one just shy of 6lbs and missed another really good fish.  He caught 8-10 bass during the two-hour trip.  

At 2, I took a Canadian couple to shoot clays and at 4, I had seven men who had been playing golf and drinking all day show up to fish on the same boat.  I was expecting couples (male/female) who wanted to drink champaign and eat cheese, look at gators and maybe catch a fish.  When they met me at the hotel desk, it was a bunch of men.  They all caught fish, used 47 of the 48 shiners I put in the livewell.  The biggest on this trip was 4lbs, but I was happy we were able to get them.  It was like "take a kid fishing" x 6 (one was a legitimate fisherman).  

I walked over seven miles at work today and most of it was in a boat.  I've got to take five more at daybreak tomorrow (7 am).  

Before the trip, I need to reline a couple of reels, get the boat set and load the livewell with shiners.  I'm looking forward to Ramon's project.

After the morning trip, Jimmy and I went looking for more fish and we both threw chatterbaits.  He outfished me today, but we found some fish that can be caught.  The wind was howling this afternoon, so we were unable to fish in the areas where we located fish earlier in the day.  The pontoon boats catch a lot of wind.  He and I were fishing in a skiff.

Despite the small appearance, this fish was just shy of 6lbs.  (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_9024.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=357806)
The afternoon trip yielded several 2, 3 and even a few 4 lbers, but no hawgs.

This young man, Shep, got a 6lber as his second fish this morning.  He and his dad had an epic trip over the next two hours, boating over 40 largemouth bass.  They had several doubles and burned up 35 shiners.  Shep caught three fish on the same shiner.  The dad, David, missed a big fish (I don't know how big, but I saw it strike, and it would have been over 8).
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(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_9159.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=358052)There is a 5-6' gator in the background that ended up getting hooked in the gear this evening.  This is one of several doubles the duo had.
Some from yesterday are below.
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This afternoon's trip went from four guys to two and they did not tip commensurate to the trip they had so they get no posts.  The two caught three over four pounds up to six and lost one that was a real stud during a two-hour trip.  

If I did not like fishing so much, I'd just run the mill, not drive over two hours a day and make $$$.  As it is, I've been guiding a lot and milling a little.  I need to find some pine logs to saw soon to fill a big order for the middle of next week.  My pasture trees are in peril.

After today's post, y'all will likely get a break for a couple of days.  I don't think I work again at the resort until Thursday.  My personal fishing plans for Monday are not going to come to fruition, due to us needing to find some good 16' pine logs to saw 160 or so 1x6's.

This morning's trip was three guides on three boats with three guests each for three hours.  We ran through nearly four dozen shiners on my boat in an hour and 40 minutes.  Each of my guests caught several fish.  The woman of the group was coachable and ended up with a 4, 5, and 7 lb bass along with several smaller ones.

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This afternoon's trip consisted of four "buddy golfers" who wanted to fish.  The three fish pictured are a triple they caught at the same time.  The guy on the right got the biggest of the trip, but I did not take a picture.  This trip started slow, but the last hour was very good. 

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Nice, I really enjoy this Bass topic.  ffcool

Here was my latest trip to Guntersville, this Wednesday.  This is why the average bass fisherman, like me, hates tournaments.  As I understood it, there were three of them practicing for the weekend. 

I have a disdain for fishing tournaments as well.

That lady caught a fish that no longer looked like a bass! Man, huge! I've got a buddy who will still go fishing occasionally and he's amazed at these fish, as am I. Monsters! 

Kyle, those are some fine looking fish!  They sure are black on their backs.  In this part of NC and especially this time of year, bass will be green to gray across their backs. In eastern NC, we will see them much darker.  I suppose it's the tannins in the water.  

Tournament fishing is the antithesis of why I fish!   

Years ago I fished several king mackerel tournaments. King mackerel tournaments are as close to a bass tournament as you can get.  Did well enough a couple times to almost break even.  Otherwise it was hard work with very little return.  Even the receptions and parties weren't much fun.

The summer after I quit tournament fishing, I was fishing for fun just outside Bogue Inlet (Emerald Isle, NC) on a tournament Saturday.  

The tournament boats blasted by me as I was catching king mackerel.  I could guess they were headed 5 or 10 miles out to artificial reefs, wrecks or ledges and rocks that usually hold fish. 

I caught my limit within a mile of the sea bouy, two of the fish would have won the tournament in the 35 pound range.   ffcheesy  I guarantee it burned less gas, had less invested in my day of fishing and had loads more fun!   

This morning, two other guides and I took out a corporate group that was supposed to be 12 men, but it got reduced to 10. The other two wanted to golf instead of fish.  I had three on my boat.  I took some pictures of their better fish.  The heaviest of this trip was just shy of 7lbs.  Erik (guide) had a guest catch one that was almost 9lbs.  The wind was howling out of the northwest with high, blue skies, but the fishing was really good.

This afternoon I took two men fishing for a couple of hours.  We had a slow start for the first 45 minutes, but they ended up catching quite a few.

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Wow, your pond looks lots better than mind. Of course some of it might be your skill as a guide! ffcool ffcool

I had a couple of trips today.  We got quite a few nice fish.
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Where do you get your shiners? Catch or buy?

Steve, the shiner guy, supplies them.  He fishes local lakes and also some of the phosphate pits on the resort's property.  The pit shiners are so much better than most of those out of lakes.  I guess if the shiners make it to a size big enough to be adequate bait, they have avoided a lot of bass strikes.

I made a video of a leftover shiner that I tossed right by the shore in front of where I dock the boat following yesterday's afternoon trip.  Within 40 seconds, I was hooked up on a respectable fish.

I had one fish trip with five guys this afternoon.  We went through about four dozen shiners and everyone caught fish.  We did not get any trophy sized fish, but the action was pretty steady.  One spot that has been very good did not produce any.  It is different fishing five guys out of a boat than two-you have to ensure everyone has a decent chance to catch a fish.  We had two guides available, but they all wanted to be together.

This group was well lubricated (lots of beer) and not too good at keeping baits out of bushes.  I tied a lot of hooks on during this trip, but they tipped well, and all seemed to have a good time.  We finished up at the dock and they had nearly a dozen hits on live and dead shiners as well as a couple on artificial baits.

I did not have time to take pictures.  I walked over 17000 steps today and most were on the boat.  Sawing tomorrow.

My guests got a few good ones today.  The wind was up, which presented a challenge in the pontoon boat.  I debated taking the skiff this afternoon, but without a functioning livewell, I opted to take the pontoon. 

I don't go back down south until Friday (unless I get some trips).  I really need to saw anyway.
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(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_9217.jpeg)[/url+  I think all of the guests got their personal best largemouth bass today.
Grandson may need to miss another day of school to go fishing with the old man one day this week.  The weather is supposed to be good for the next few days.

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Nice hawgs! 

My grandson, one of my best friends and I went fishing for a few hours this morning.  Tennyson pulled a pretty good one out of the hydrilla with a Zman chatterbait.  His casting was much improved over last time.  I need to get some line on my ultralite spinning setup that is more resistant to wind knots.  The reel he used most of today is a little heavy for him to continually cast.

We caught about 25 bass in the 2-3 hours we fished with the average probably around or slightly over three pounds.

My 6 y/o grandson took a pic of Jimmy and me with a double.  I did not realize until later that the one I hooked was bleeding quite a bit.  It swam off fine, so I hope that it will be okay.  Most of the fish we caught today seemed to be post-spawn.
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I hate for him to miss school, but he learned about invasive species, wildfire, ospreys, elephants, bass, bleach, axles/spools, sonar, cattle, and a few big words.  I suspect that a missed day every once in a while, will be okay.

Certain things in this world are "importanter" than school! 

A mental health day with grandpa IS ONE of those things!  

I always love seeing the posts with the grandson, and you got some good fish!

Cavey,

   Great to see the grandson pics. 

   As to elephant training be sure he knows the udders are under the front legs rather than at the rear like a cow, deer or antelope or such. Most people don't know that. (Then again - how many people are gonna try to milk an elephant? ffcheesy)

My homeschooled kids get pulled for whatever fun stuff we feel like. Of course, the difference being that for them everything is where they left it, whereas if you're in public school the rest of the class leaves you a day behind. Either way, we'll worth it!

I'm a big proponent of school.  I taught for nearly 33 years, but I think back over my career and many of my students learned and gained an incredible amount of knowledge and understanding of the world around them while on "field trips" or during their participation in FFA Career Development Events (contests).

Something else my friend/boss Jimmy and I were discussing yesterday while fishing is that a young person who is good at helping people do recreational things and is good with people can make a lot of money.  His 20-year-old son gave up an opportunity to go to college and play baseball to work as a golf caddie-He made $10,000 carrying golf bags in January and has had some ridiculously lucrative job offers from guests.  Some young hunting and fishing guides do very well for themselves too.  It is kind of like sports-folks pay other folks a lot of money to catch, throw, hit and kick balls while other jobs that are much more important to society are poorly compensated.  Entertainment is highly valued by our society.  

Many of my daily working skills are the result of 3 years of Agriculture classes & FFA.  That also helped me to graduate because it awarded 1 1/2 credits per year.   :wink_2:

I too spent 30 + years in education and strongly believe a day with grandpa every once in a while isn't a bad thing.   

There's an essay A Poor Scholar's Soliloquy that speaks to how life experiences are important to formal education.  

I'm sure Kyle, you've seen this.  

Here's the link

https://cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cyconline-july2010-corey.html

It's a good read.

If I came across as diminishing the value of education, I apologize.  That's not what I meant at all. Rather, I was trying to express the importance of a day with Grandpa👍👍

I had some great teachers when I was in school. The only limitations in my education  were self inflicted. I'm sure Caveman and Ted would have been among my favorites, too. 

We decided on the homeschool route because we didn't like some of the things that we saw happening culturally. But I never had a problem with the quality of the education that was available, and I'm sure our kids would've done fine with their readin', 'ritin', and 'rithmetic in public school. 

One big benefit they have realized, is being able to graduate high school with an AA degree as well.  

Thanks for sharing that, Ted.  

Barbender, I did not take offense to anything you wrote.  When the education system begins pushing agendas that are different from those our families endorse, it may be time to find alternatives.  The last several years I taught, we spent an inordinate amount of time on mandated lessons that ranged from bullying, depression, run-hide-fight, along with a plethora of others.  

I had two fish trips yesterday.  The four I took in the morning caught quite a few in their two-hour trip, probably 25 with the biggest around 5 lbs.  From 12 until 2:00 we fished with artificial baits trying to pattern some fish for my afternoon trip since the Georgia boys did not want to fish with shiners.  We caught over 20 bass in those two hours in the middle of the day, but nearly all of them came from flipping creature baits (Zman's goat and gremlin) in very heavy cover.  I got one about 6 lbs., that looked bigger.

The guests from Georgia caught 10 or so, but no big ones during their two-hour trip that I stretched to almost three hours.  They had a few hits on spinner baits and chatter baits but weren't incredibly successful at hooking them.  Most of the fish they caught were while flipping.  I'd position the boat up tight so they could hit the likely holes, but they'd cast parallel to the outer edges of the vegetation.  That was the wrong strategy for the day.  Regardless, they caught fish and had a good time.  

I think that I fish on Tuesday, Thursday and possibly Friday this week.  I have some hurricane related repairs to do on Monday-the gift that keeps on giving, so another guide is covering my trips. 

I have a trip tomorrow afternoon.  We caught fish yesterday, but no big ones.  Most of them have already spawned.  The biggest yesterday was 4lbs.

JMoore's dad's funeral was today.  We spent the day with his family-which is almost my family.  

Tomorrow we'll work on fixing a few stations at the clays course and then I have a trip booked for fishing in the afternoon.

I unloaded a couple of GN trailer loads of cypress this morning before the funeral, but it seemed like extra credit was given for dragging the logs through the mud.  Maybe in a week or so the bark will slip, and it will be ready to saw.  These are for a customer and are not our logs.  There are a few more loads coming.  

I have not posted any fishing topics in a few weeks.  We are still catching fish, but not as many big ones.  This week the three pits that we primarily fish near the lodge had an algae bloom.  I saw a bluegill that was struggling to hang on this morning that was belly up.  My two trips today were artificial baits only, but I took them to another pit a few miles away.  They caught fish on drop shots mostly (Yankee fishing, but DanG effective).

Today was a long day with an early trip for tomorrow.  At least it is not busting big rocks into little rocks.  

The wind was up today so I did not even take pictures of the good fish since I was on the trolling motor and untangling lines constantly.  

Sorry to reply to my own post, but yesterday I had over 14 hours on the clock with two fishing trips and all of the other stuff ( boat cleaning, loading and launching boat, prepping tackle, etc.).

I was not even scheduled to work yesterday.  This morning, I was supposed to take a few corporate guys fishing at 9 a.m. Last night I was notified that three wanted to go at 7 a.m. and only fish artificial baits.  Another guide's guests showed up 15 minutes early and he took them to my first spot of choice.  When I left the dock, he went to my second spot, using live shiners.  I was a bit aggravated but went to a few other spots where we caught decent bass. We went and fished the spots where he had previously fished shiners with artificial baits and caught several good fish.  After the trip, I found out that my guys caught 17 bass on artificial baits and his guys caught 0 on shiners. My guys should have caught more. One, a CEO, was not a fisherman at all, but ran into a few fish.

I found out later in the morning that the other guide's guests did not land a fish.  I felt bad for him and them.

I had another corporate trip at 1pm.  The temperature was 93 and there was an algae bloom this week.  I was afraid this might be my first shutout trip.  The first two fish that hit, the guests missed.  The five of them all ended up catching multiple fish, with the biggest being 6lbs, 14oz (post spawn).  We only caught three pre-spawn fish today.

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This is a pic of my little skiff on a recreational trip on Monday.  Some of the rods are not pictured, and only some of the tackle made the shot.  There were three of us fishing out of that boat for a few hours, but we landed over 70 bass.  I became a believer in the drop shot rig with floating worms that day.

FYI- I've had that boat since my birthday in 1985.  It is on the third outboard and at least that many trolling motors since I've owned it.  We've put two floors in it, but the keel and transom is the original 1976 homemade rendition.  

Kyle, did you check out the Punta Gorda boat rage incident ? Man you charter guys take your fishing really seriously ! ffcheesy

That boat captain screamed his way into a world of hurt.

Yeah, his six pack is short one can,,,,,

I saw it-disgraceful behavior.  Many years ago, when John and I were fishing with our young wives, a couple of guys cut right in front of us while we were trolling for kingfish near the Egmont Shipping Channel offshore of Tampa Bay.  We motioned at them to move.  They came over and got quite lippy. 

At one point, I thought one of the men was going to try to board our boat.  That probably would not have ended well for him.

I get perturbed at the tarpon guides quite often.  At my best nearshore snapper spot, there happens to be quite a few tarpon during the spring and early summer.  These guides will pull up right next to us either fishing for tarpon or for snapper like they own the place.  Heaven forbid someone encroaches on them while fishing.

Some are not too bad though.  Several years ago, after catching bait early one morning, my usually reliable Honda outboard would not start, and a morning thunderstorm was approaching.  A guide who was also netting bait nearby towed us to a boat ramp.  He would not even take any cash.  There are still some good folks out there. (Good grounds are important.  Check them and clean them even if they appear to be good).

Unrelated to the comments above, but relevant to the bass fishing post-while standing on the bank fishing one of the pasture pits last week a 9' gator slipped up really close to me (3-4' feet away) before I noticed him.  He hissed and made an aggressive move towards me.  I jumped back and looked around on the shore of the phosphate pit and found a rock about the size of two bowling balls and tried to hit the gator with it.  I missed by a few inches, and I anticipated that the gator would move along.  Instead, he came at me.  There was another rock of similar size.  I did not miss with this one, landing it right on the back of his head.  He swam offshore about 30' and then continued to follow me along the shore.  They can get stoopider than normal during mating season. 

Boeshield T-9 on all connections is your friend. Tight lines buddy 

Yup, some guys only got one oar in the water.

That guide should never get a license again, and hopefully spend some time in electro shock therapy, he was totally out of control, and I'm glad they charged and jailed him.  Makes me wonder how many others he's done that too, some may not realize just how deadly that could have become.

The kid could have also done more to keep the boats separated, he should have never let the other guy bump boats.  I spend a lot of time on the water, makes me wonder what I would have done.  I have had people try to rob me at gunpoint on the water, certainly mouth off to me, try to push me off fishing spots, but I would never let anyone get within boat bumping distance, even if I have to do the old "trim the engine up, full throttle firehose spray" defense technique.  It is amazingly spectacular.

Also, watching the demeanor of the charter guests, they could tell the guy was out of control, and the kid should have tried to engage them more, to settle the guy down, especially when the guide said they were his friends.  I have had to do just that, talk to clients in guide boats and ask them to settle their guides down, and yes they get that close.  Sometimes that works pretty well.  Only a coulple years ago, I had a bass guide pull up on me, getting pretty mouthy, trying to push me off a spot I was catching fish on, because "He's a guide and do this for living" whatever that matters to me, and after I asked the client how much he paid this guy to embarrass him with his ridiculous behavior, and if he wanted to climb my boat and fish for free, the client said to his guide, "Hey man, it's just a %%## fish, get a grip! It's my money, we are done, take me back".  That was good.

It's also very common behavior when people are fishing tournaments, they really get stupid aggressive,.  "Hey you, leave, I'm fishing a tournament here!"  So what?? Once I had my dog "Buddy" in the boat, and I said, "No, Buddy really likes this spot."  Then the guy went right around me, cutting me off, and fishing right in front of me down the half mile or so long weed line, and I told the partner in the back of the boat, "Sorry you are going to lose the tournament, the guy in the front isn't very good, how about I'll just follow behind you guys and catch all the fish you are missing?"  And I did, and every time I caught a bass they missed, I'd hold it up and say "Hey, you missed another one, this one was big!"  It was hilarious to me, and after one about 4 pounds I caught right behind them, I heard the front guy say a few choice words about me, fire up their boat and drive off.  As I said the guy in the front of the boat wasn't very good.     

This morning was a different kind of fishing trip-one I volunteered for several weeks ago.  My boss/buddy mentioned that he had to take the J-1's out on the boat this morning.  I told him that I'd take the trip.  He mentioned that they would not be expected to tip.  I did not care about that.  These folks leave all that they know and are familiar with for the chance to come here for a few months or so to work and further their education.

They met us in the parking lot with Jen, from HR a little after 8 this morning.  We took them on a tour of the three pits by the lodge looking at birds and looking for gators.  Each got a chance to steer the boats.  We also took them fishing for a bit.  The water is not the same as it was a few weeks ago-we've had an algae bloom, and it looks like peas soup now.  The fishing has become tougher.  To fish, I took them to a cove in the far back that usually has a few fish.  I've never fished with shiners there.  It started slow, but I noticed a cork was down and appeared to have a fish swimming with the huge shiner.  My guest up front (for the life of me I could not pronounce her name, much less spell it-she was from South Africa and she and her South African friend laughed each time I mispronounced their names) reeled down, set the hook and landed a 3lber.

I was casting a worm on a drop shot and hooked a fish that I handed to the other female guest.  She was elated to land another 3lber.  Pepsi, the name the male guest from Maldives asked me to call him, finally landed one about 4 lbs that hit a worm in another area.  My buddy's guests had not landed a fish at this point.  He took them to a rock flat in 6' of water and they each caught a fish.  These folks were so grateful and had the time of their lives.  

After eating lunch, Jimmy and I went out to one of the pasture pits and caught some nice bass.  Our best 12 would likely have weighed 48-50 lbs.  I'll probably take my afternoon guest tomorrow out to the pasture pit we fished today.  It is about a 10-minute ride from the lodge, but the water is clear, and the fish are hungry.
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I had a one person, three hour trip this morning.  The guy caught several bass (30 or more) on a chatter bait.  I was tossing a drop shot with a Z-man worm above it.  I handed him quite a few fish to reel in.  The last one was 6lbs. 8oz.(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_9302.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=358916)
It would have been much bigger before spawning.  

We fished a new pit to me today after lunch and actually moved the skiff into it.  We caught small ones, medium ones and large ones- about 50 in an hour.  I hope to move our pontoon boats tomorrow after my morning trip.  The pits near the lodge have become green with algae and the fishing has become difficult.  

I have to take several folks at 8 tomorrow morning.  I hope we can find some in the green water.

Today was challenging, I met the guests and had them at the dock 10 minutes before their trip was to begin.  The boat was already loaded with shiners, freshly lined reels, the seats had the dew wiped off and the motor was warmed up.  We headed to the first spot.  When I dropped the trolling motor, the only thing attaching it to the boat were the wires.  No problem, we'll head back in, and I'll transfer everything to the newest boat that a guy guided in yesterday.   
 
I moved three dozen shiners, nine rods, an ice chest and my tackle box.  I went to start the boat, and the key was nowhere to be found.  I ran to the office to grab the key.  It was not there.  I called my boss/buddy.  He called the guy who took the trip yesterday afternoon and he thought the key might be in one of our Explorers.  It was not.  I began casting out live shiners near the dock for the guests while I was awaiting a key.  Boss/buddy came down with a spare key.  We headed to another spot that was not facing the morning sun.  I dropped the trolling motor, and it was as dead as a beaver hat.  I could barely turn.  The other guide used it yesterday afternoon.  I apologized and asked them if they would consider an artificial only trip about 10 minutes away, crowded in a small skiff.  They were game.  I drove too fast down dirt roads and through cow pastures, but we got in the skiff in pit four and caught a lot of fish.

I kept them out and extra 30 minutes and would have gone more, had they not had to catch a plane back to glaciated Minnesota in Tampa.  They caught small ones, medium ones and a few good ones.  I think all caught their personal best bass today.  They even had a triple.  Their tip was not commensurate with their fishing experience, but I don't know that I'd tipped much either after the morning debacle. 

I stuck around and got the pontoon boat prepped for an afternoon trip, including loading it with shiners, only to find out the group cancelled 30 minutes before we were to get started.  I should have come home and sawed $650 of wood in an hour or so, but I played with the grandchildren instead.  The babies kept saying, swing me higher Papa.

 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_9303.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=358924)They had a triple that would have gone 10-11 pounds.  I'd take that any day of the week.  The dude in the middle caught about 25 bass during a two-hour trip.  I was thankful the other two stayed in the boat.

I'm not guiding trips until next Monday. 

Yikes to the morning... Hopefully people can have a decent attitude about that, similar to my Costa Rican mistake "it wasn't meant to be at that time..."

We will likely be moving boats on Monday morning.  I talked to my boss/buddy this evening.  He had three guys on the skiff in the same pit this evening and said they likely caught 80 bass in 2.5 hours, up to six pounds.  The boys from the panhandle could catch them.  My guys yesterday were lucky to run into some.  YH would likely catch 50 an hour in this pit.

Another guide took a trip today in the pits near the lodge.  They boated one fish, but it was 6.5 lbs.

John and I will be sawing and doing other sawmill chores tomorrow.  I asked him if he wanted to work or go fishing-the boy is evidently all about working.  We do have a lot to do.

I did not fish today.  I did deliver wood, load wood and make an extensive list of things we need to do.

I went out for about 4 hours yesterday with my son's buddy.  My kids will go fishing,but only Connor likes to fishlike me, so went out in one of my canoes on a little local lake.  I guess I caught about 25 fish.  Nice to get out.  Some were small and some were not as small.

Just found this post, I like hear about your escapades. I'll follow along for a while popcorn_smiley 

Me and my BIL (old school fisherman, doesn't even use a depth finder, went Tuesday and caught a little over 50 bass before lunch, mostly on top waters, the shad were spawning and that is always a fun topwater bite.  We were returning to the marina about noon, boat on plane, and drove over a big school of shad about 20 feet down and I saw a bunch of gamefish on the sonar tearing into them, and said we need to turn back, we were going to hammer them.  He looked at me like I was crazy and I said if we didn't catch a fish in 5 casts, we would leave and go home.  About 30 minutes later, he said he was tired of reeling them in, mostly stripers, with the occasional bass, and I put the boat on the trailer.

I took this picture Friday as a group was leaving from fishing our piranha bream pond Friday, they had maybe 30 lbs in the fish basket, and he said some were so big they weren't sure they would fit int the top door.  One of the guys said he'd never seen bream this big and several were his "personal best" about the size of a paper plate.  The picture doesn't do them justice, some were huge. 

Those are some thumper bream.  Y'all smacked the bass too.

I fished four separate pits today, while collaborating with my boss/buddy on where to put boats.  We moved the skiff a couple of times and ended up in what we call pit two.  We fished it this morning after catching 58 bass in pit three.  In pit three, in about an hour, I had over 30 bass which were mostly small, but some up to four pounds.  

Sometime this morning.  I don't recall if it was in pit three or two, but my boss/buddy and I were throwing square billed crankbaits.  He was throwing a 2.5 size when I felt a smack on the back of my head.  I reached up to determine if I just got whacked or whacked and hooked.  Unfortunately, a hook was buried in my head up to the bend and my hat was pinned to my head.  Jimmy was more upset than I was.  I knelt down and asked him if he could pull the hook out of my head.  Thankfully, he had some pliers that he uses when installing split rings on baits that have a little nib on them.  He asked if I was ready and I told him to let me get a grip on the trolling motor with my right hand and for him to not miss on the first pull.  He got it out.

He was super apologetic.  I reassured him that it was not a problem, and we continued to catch a lot of fish.  Later, we moved a pontoon boat over to pit three.  The mounting bolt that used to hold the trolling motor on the bow bracket vibrated out on a few mile trip on the washboard dirt road. 
 The motor was not damaged but fell from the bow onto the tongue of the trailer.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_9322.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=359014)I had a trip this afternoon from 5 pm and we stayed out until sunset.  The father/son duo were good guys and mediocre fishermen.  They struggled to trick fish on crankbaits, but the dad got many on a swim jig and the son finally ran into some on a wacky rigged worm with 1/8oz of lead about 1' above the hook.  The last hour, they both caught a bunch of fish on topwater chugbugs.  The biggest bass of this trip was a 5lber, but they likely boated 50 or more.

I suspect that between the guest trip and the fish we caught this morning, we likely boated 150-170 bass.  I even caught two at one time on a 1.5 square bill crankbait this morning.  I've got two trips booked for Thursday.

That's some hot fishing. The only time I remember getting that many fish in one day, was with a bow. Used to shoot carp and use them for bear bait.

We used to shoot tilapia with a bow, but if we got a few, it was a good outing.  I'd be exhausted after pulling my bow back enough to shoot hundreds of fish.  Even when I was in shape, after 35-40 shots, I was done.

Ouch Kyle!!

One of those Brim would be equal to a limit here I think!

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Jeff, it hurt at the time, but today I can't even tell where I was hooked unless I rub my head and feel for a small bump.  It did hit pretty hard though.  The split ring that holds the treble hook to the plug was nearly opened and the hook that grabbed my head was bent partially open.  We were casting into a pretty good headwind, so we were rearing back.

After delivering some dunnage in town this morning, I stopped off at the tackle shop on the way home.  I even ran into the husband of my third-grade teacher while in there.

I caught about 10 smallmouth today, this was the biggest, about 5 lbs, on topwater.  It was feeding on this school of deer, and so I threw a deer hair lure by them and the fish hit and jumped so high, it knocked a crow out of the air.  The deer got away, the bass was released, and the crow was surprised.  Good day fishing, smallmouth are my kryptonite, I catch just enough to keep me frustrated and going back for more. 

Pound for pound there's no more exciting fish to catch with the right gear!  A smallie on light gear is  a thrill one doesn't forget easily.  

I understand the addiction.  

I agree, and in this Tennessee lake, I have to use 6 lb line, the water has about 4 foot visibility, so it is really clear.  They will short strike on heavy line, and it's all you can do not to jump up and down in the boat and yell at them, when there is a great big boil under the lure, and nothing happens, it just sits there, in a swirl or water as the fish spotted the fake at the very last millisecond, and the fish never looks back.

I love to hate these fish they are so finicky and obstinate, but every now and then, wow, it's showtime.  

Oh, it's worse than any drug. A long time ago we had a permanent site in a campground. The kids were small and my folks had a site across the road from us. It was what we could afford and a way to get the kids to have time with their grandparents. The camp had a 15 acre pond that was on my parents side of the road and we had a canoe dock there. We also had a few neighbors there who were tournament fisherman. They would go to tournaments and bring a few of their fish back to camp and release them in the pond. All the regulars at camp had fish tags and when we caught one, we would scratch our initials in a tag and release it back with the tag. Over the years we had quite a crop of nice bass. I caught a lot of fish, but never one with somebody's tag on it. They prospered.
 So one Sunday morning I take my son out in the canoe with me. He is 6 years old and had, literally, a Mickey Mouse fishing pole with the big Mickey Mouse float on it. I am catching and releasing some decent fish. My son hooks into a good one and it pulls the back of the canoe around. I know he has like 4 or 5lb. test on his line, so I drop my rod and start following the fish wit the canoe as I coach him through it. I know he is going to lose this fish in the heavy weeds, but we keep working at it. He is (as you might guess) extremely excited and shaky but he is also listening to me and very serious about getting his fish. I am trying to figure out how to console him when he loses this fish because I am sure he will. But we keep working on it and I keep coaching him and we work through a ton of weeds on his line. After about 15 minutes we boat this  fish. It's a 16" large mouth at about 6 pounds and came into the net with 10 pounds of weeds on the line. :wink_2: The fish was more than half the length of his rod. Turns out the camp was running a fishing tournament for the kids that weekend (we didn't know that) and he won 1st prize and a nice rod and reel. It's the only fish I ever had mounted and gave it to him for a Christmas present that year. He was hooked. That fish is still hanging on his wall.
 He has more hours bass fishing in the last 5 years than I've had in my entire life. It's as if I got my kid hooked on a drug.

Catch a 4 pound small mouth in a river!  There's nothing like it.  I've caught some big saltwater and fresh water fish and none compares to a small mouth bass for pure fight!  I'm not too enthusiastic about large mouth bass.  But small mouth!  Wow!

A small mouth on 6 or 8 pound test in a river is like catching a lightning bolt without the pain!  Every nerve will tingle and sometimes picking up the fish is hard due to the shaking!

Tom, there's nothing like watching a kid manage a trophy fish!  When they start out catching big ones, it's no wonder they become lifelong fishers!  That's a great memory!

Finicky and obstinate, Robert. It's like looking in the mirror😁

Yep, they sure are purty!

Eeewwww!

I'm working less at the resort now than I was a few weeks ago.  As the weather warms up, fewer guests want to fish.  Yesterday morning, I took a Swiss family fishing.  The mom and daughter had never fished prior to yesterday.  I had to teach them how to cast a spinning reel.  After a few minutes, they were both catching fish.

The dad and brother were not incredibly adept casters, but they caught some fish too.  I took a pic of the son/brother and his sister with a couple of fish.  They were catching them so frequently that I did not have much time to take pics and on time it took me probably 10 minutes to get one hook tied on due to being interrupted netting and unhooking fish.  It has been taking me a little longer than normal to tie knots over the past week and a half (my tip of my middle finger on my right hand nearly got lopped off last week while tinkering with our blade sharpener).  It still does not have much feeling past the cut.
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The Swiss girl and a respectable bass.
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Her brother caught quite a few nice bass on a Chatter bait.  We had a good time fishing. 

After lunch, three of us guides fished another pit for a couple of hours.  As usual, it became competitive.  The young guy threw a topwater chug bug for the whole time and boated 20 or so bass.  I was surprised, since the sky was high and blue and many of the hits came in 8' of water or deeper. 

I'm not scheduled to work down there again until next Friday.

That looked like a very successful day for your young Swiss clients and one that they will never forget.  You are making lifetime memories Sir.  :thumbsup:

Who else wants to go fishing with Caveman?! :thumbsup: DanG, you catch a lot of fish.

I'm just thrashing the water into a froth here, trying to act like I know what I'm doing, but here's the trip this week.  I found a couple nice schools of smallmouth, they are just as golden bronze as can be, and whacked em with a crankbait.  I caught 11 smallmouth, which for me and smallmouth, is a real good half day trip.  Here are a couple, and of course, I let them all swim away.  I was prac-tizin (southern slang for practicing) with my sonar later in the morning, and spotted a couple big balls of shad about 10 feet deep being whacked by some adolescent largemouth, threw a swimbait to them and caught a couple of them, too, just like the Pros do on any Sunday Bassmaster TV show.  So with me feeling like Bill Dance, I spotted another ball of shad on the sonar, saw another fish cutting into them, and threw the swimbait to it, dragged it right in front of what should have been a nice bass and and wham!  Up comes a surprised catfish that was impersonating a bass!  So much for me being Bill Dance....oh well.  I mean you can still see the surprise on the catfish's face, and I was surprised too.


  

I don't have sonar on any of the boats that I fish out of.  I'd love to have you down here with me fishing-I'm sure I could learn a lot from you.  We smacked them pretty good yesterday in the points pit.  Big fish are still eluding us, but we landed several over 4 pounds.  I spend most of my trips having golfers catch bass.  Most have only caught fish flyfishing (evidently, that is a thing for rich folks).

I tried to get JMoore to go fishing today instead of doing sawmill work.  We spent most of the day trying to create our own lubemizer, to only have a solenoid failure.  We should have gone fishing.  Fish will be eaten for supper tomorrow night (bass and specks).

It doesn't sound like you need sonar, you just keep whacking and stacking them!

And yes, what the heck is it with fly fishing??  For Bass?? I couldn't imagine a more handicapping technique in a southern impoundment.  Sure, it does well for trout and stuff on the local streams, where it is more optimum, but when I see a guy wading a lake and just blind casting out, the first thing I think of is I hope he sees that snake in the tree behind him, and I guess he got bored mowing his lawn.

I love flyfishing for trout. And I would like to try it on the small local lake that is loaded with aggressive and decent sized bass. But my trout fly rods aren't heavy enough for bass. 

Fly rods are rated by the "weight" of line they are designed for. On the small mountain headwater streams Iike to visit (when out west) I have a 2 weight Cabela's combo that my wife bought me back when Cabela's had great gear. A 2 weight would be like a really small ultralight spinning rod. 

On an "average" stream, a 5 weight is normally recommended. But for bass, I think guys are using at least an 8 weight. For Northern Pike, 9 and 10 weight. 

I've thought about getting an 8 weight to harass those local bass with. 

The draw for me is top water hits. If that gets you going, then fly fishing is where it's at. There's lots of other techniques that fly fishers use, but all I've ever really been drawn to with a fly rid is dry flies and surface fishing.

Robert,

   Was that you thrashing the water on Guntersville Lake and the Tennessee River last Thursday along highway 69? We left West Point/Cullman and drove that route up to the NE corner of the state on our way back to WV and I thought about you as we passed all the fishermen fishing by the pilings, docks and Rip Rap along the road.

I have one fly rod and reel.  I bought it as a combo at Wal-Mart back when I was a kid.  The whole shebang was less than $18, if I remember correctly.  You know it is high quality when it comes with line already on it.  We used to use them to catch bluegill during the mayfly hatch.

I have caught bass on the big bumblebee popper flies.  I landed one in my pond that was over 10 lbs on it once, but she had nowhere to go.  I have no idea what weight the rod is.  I often considered taking it to the coast to try to land a ladyfish or mackerel, both of which are a hoot to catch on light tackle.

I wasn't at Guntersville on Thursday, but I fish it routinely, it is 75 mile long, and I bet I have fished every inch over the last 40 years.  It's a very high biomass lake, the fish density is amazing, but that's why it is the most tournament fished lake in the country.

I was fishing up in the Tennessee mountains, because this is the time of year of the "shad spawn", and it's like a Mayfly hatch, the fish are very active feeding on the shad who are careless and have there mind on other things, and I'd rather catch a bunch of smalljaw bass than a wad of largemouths, if for nothing else, for grudge payback for the tough trips I had this winter, when it was January cold and the fish were laughing at me.  Stupid fish.....

I got my first flyrod when I was kid, and I terrorized the resident bream and juvenile bass population.  But I quickly learned it was a specialty niche technique down here, pretty good for only a few weeks or even maybe, a month of the year, when the water temps hit 70F, but before and after that, there are other techniques that are far more efficient and productive.  I still use it in my pond occasionally, but at the Big G?  Nope, although I'm sure I could probably catch something, I still like conventional techniques.  

I used to fly fish a lot on the streams and rivers in the NC mountains. I am in remission.  

Fly fishermen can be a curious crowd.  Some how there's a thrill in catching a 6" trout in 8" of water with a spider web strung from an expensive bamboo stick while fishing a ditch you can step across.  

On the other hand, I have caught false albacore aka Little Tunny on a fly rod in the ocean.  It's a challenge for sure. 

I don't why small trout in small streams excite me. Probably because of the usual locations 😊

Last summer, my SIL and I went trout fishing, 2lb line, spinning gear, Trout Magnet lures, me in my cute little hip boots, him in an old t shirt, shorts and sneakers, and we were slaying them on the Elk River.

We came up in two fisherman, both looked like matching mannequins at the Orvis fly fishing shop, fully matching waders, even with cute little landing nets, vests, hats and even wicker creels.  Wicker creels?? Didn't those go out of style in the 1800's when they found a better insulating material than grass?  These days, Igloo makes these newfangled things called "coolers".  And landing nets? For fish the size of the bait I use when I go saltwater fishing?  We were using 2 lb line and my golden rule is landing nets are not allowed, following in the tradition of Ray Scott.  And why were they keeping trout anyway? My philosophy is catch them, let them go, and if we are hungry, stop at Zaxby's on the way home for chicken fingers and fries.  Anyway, since we were done and heading back, they asked if we were catching and I said yes, probably 20 or so, mostly rainbows, a brown or two and one brookie, between the two of us.  The guy exclaimed that even with his guide, they had barely caught any, and asked what we were using.  Guide?  He had hired a trout guide? A guide to wade along a little bitty stream and tell you where to cast to catch a stupid trout that has the brains of a carp? I wondered how much the guide cost?  More than their fishing costumes?  Anyway, they didn't look to be "from around here" which got my fun streak going, and I mentioned we had been using "gravel fleas" for bait and that we had caught a mess of the little critters in a riffle about a half mile up the creek, "where the red shist gravel turned to Chatanooga Shale, you can't miss it" because I had to make it sound good and technical.  Now I knew these guys were flyfishernan, and looked down on us lowly spinner guys, especially ones using bait, (we were actually using lures, but they still classified us as spin fisherman heathens) so I couldn't help it, teasing them.  I couldn't help myself, i commented on their cute little matching trout nets, and mentioned I was surprised they were catching fish small enough to fit in them.  Anyway, as were we wading away, I heard the guy ask the guide if he had any "gravel flea" flies and what the heck Chatanooga shale looked like. 

Anyway, when we were back at the truck, my SIL asked why I did that, and I said, I don't know, but it sure was fun, trout fisherman were more fun to catch than the trout.  Here is our trout stream, in this video. Maybe one day I'll fish a real trout stream, maybe have someone show me what all the fuss is about.  As long as I can find gravel fleas, I know we will catch them.   

 

ffcheesy That's funny, Robert! ffcheesy  I think I ran across those guys at the coast a while back.  Some guys asked what bait I had caught a bunch of black drum on.  When I told them clam snouts they thought I was lying.  

There are probably more fly fishing snobs than any other kind of fishing snob.  It's fun to be top rod wearing a no name vest and cheap waders.  

My older brother aspired to be one of those Orvis models.  Seemed like when we fished together I had to follow him because...well because he was an "expert" trout fisherman. :uhoh:  

Back then a few extra dollars to go fishing were hard to come by.  I had a no name vest, clunky boot foot waders, my flies were in 35 mm film canisters and I wore a dark green hat with a tractor logo.  My rod was a fiberglass Heddon combo I bought on clearance from Roses department store for $8.  

He was in his stocking foot waders, wading shoes, high dollar Orvis vest, graphite rod and $$$ reel.  His flies were in aluminum fly boxes, his vest was bristling with hemostats, leader dressing patches, little retractable gizmos and once used flies on the drying patch.  Most were either gifts from his in-laws or purchased due to prompting from his now first ex wife. 

I believe my appearance embarrassed him a bit. My first ex sister-in-law was definitely mortified by me on various levels and certainly by my trout fishing gear!  ffcool

He tried to instruct his less sophisticated amateur younger brother on how and where to fish.  I listened with one ear because his fishing approach made no sense.  So I dutifully fished along behind him with him being the expert and all.  

After two or three trips, I decided I would fish my way but still fishing along behind him.   It was tough, he tended to whip the pools into a froth casting to and fro.  I started seeing where the trout either stayed or fled to due to his "casting."  I started catching fish where he didn't. 

Another two or three trips went by with me catching a 7 fish limit and him catching 2 or 3.  Little did he know little brother had been learning fly fishing on his own.  
Seems like he lost interest in fishing with me.   :huh?  That was 30 years ago.  We've fished together only once since.  

I did later upgrade my gear somewhat but never owned any Orvis gear but the hat my neighbor gave me.  

I'd like to go fishing with all of you!

I have a small, spring fed creek on our farm, I was thinking of making my own trout stream, our even just a trout pool, but I figured the spring floods would wash them out.  Has anybody done that?  Of course I'd have to stock it with gravel fleas to feed them. ffcheesy 

I apologize for being so tongue in cheek for the real trout fisherman out there, I kind of look at it as an amusing hobby for me, I mean I am in Alabama, trout are kind of not native here, but I've been fishing for them for more than 30 years.

To put it in perspective from my point of view, here is some of my saltwater stuff, it fills up half a room, the bass fishing tackle fills up the garage.  However, the trout "stuff" barely covers a table, and fits in a Cabelas fanny tackle pack, and it's so cute.        

As I mentioned, I am in fly fishing remission.  

The Dan River here in Stokes County and the Hanging Rock State Park Lake are stocked with hatchery fish.  Between April and July a person can look up the sticking schedule and fish accordingly.  It is mostly spin fishing.

It's something to go do as, Yellowhammer so appropriately described, an amusing pastime.  

I've had to consolidate my off shore and near/inshore saltwater tackle and merge with my crappie and catfish gear storage.   Mine only takes up a room in the basement and one long wall in the garage.  

My bass fishing gear really could fit in a shoe box and 4 pegboard hooks.  My trout gear is about the same. I've given away most of both.  My oldest daughter fly fishes and my son bass fishes some. 

If I lived closer to the coast I would gear up for fly fishing for false albacore.   It's fun to catch a few every once in awhile.  Cape Lookout is known for the spring and fall runs.  

I used to bass fish two natural lakes in Hyde and Tyrrell Counties here in NC.  About this time of year the grass and weeds would grow in huge mats.  The bass would gather in the holes in the grass.   A good fly fisherman could land a popping bug on top of one of those holes and the bass would slam them. The grass made it challenging but it was fun seeing that top water action. 

For me, fly fishing is usually up in the mountains out west. That is 90% of the draw for me. Southeastern MN has highly rated trout streams, it is farm bluff country along the Mississippi River valley. It's pretty, but it's not out West. I never seem to get down there.

My grandson has a random Tuesday off of school tomorrow.  My oldest daughter asked me if I could watch him.  I told her yes, but we're going fishing.  I've got the boat hooked up to my truck and the rods are ready.
The boy is big on snacks, so I asked my daughter and my wife to take care of that stuff.  (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_9353.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=359161)
This ole dirty skiff needs a bath.  We finally got some rain this weekend, but not much.  The dust layer on this poor old boat is significant. Rather than wash it today, John and I rebuilt the hydraulic steering cylinder on the center console, and I swapped a couple of reels to new to me rods.

Jeff, if you make it down here, I'll take you fishing...a lot.

I'm not going fishing with you guys. You'll laugh at my Zebco 33 and Dollar General rod. That and the fact that a lot of y'alls fishing sounds like work. You guys fish hard. I hit a few local ponds around here and enjoy them. One we have been working on making into a trophy bass pond. Not sure how well it's working, but the fish are getting bigger.

It's fun seeing ponds improve.  We used to stock every pond within bicycle range of here when we were kids.  I've caught a lot of good bass on a Zebco 33.  If my daughter will hurry up and get here with my grandson, we'll be off on our adventure.

My wife is packing his requisite snacks.       

If there's not a well used Zebco 33 in a closet, garage, attic or out building somewhere standing next to two or 3 cane poles, you were spoiled as a kid!  

I have a buddy who buys every Zebco 33 he can find.  He loves them, they make him happy when he catches fish with one. 

If there is ever a FF Fishing Project I am sharing a boat with Jake. We can both take our antiquated gear and a 12 pack and have a good time without trying to sink the boat with fish.

 When I was a little kid, my Grandmother would sit in a chair on the after deck of the boat while everyone else was fishing with their fancy gear. She had a 2 section bamboo Snapper pole and a bait pail. While all the others were changing lures and bait all day, she would quietly fill her 5 gallon pail(s) with snappers and blow fish as she pulled in one after the other. Bamboo pole, no reel, cotton twisted line with a mono leader, and a little twist of lead foil was all she had.

 My son took his boys with their Cub Pack up to our local Scout Camp this weekend. Since COVID hit there has virtually no use of the camp in 5 years for several reasons. They are now reviving the camp. Anyway, the lake at the camp has been left on it's own with no pressure. It used to be a great place for kids to learn to fish and had a lot of panfish and a few bass. All catch and release. Saturday, on his first cast, my son pulled out a 5-3/4 pound Large Mouth, which we believe to be a camp record by a long shot.

We got the boat in and started fishing around 930 this morning.  My grandson had already boated two or three before I got my stuff rigged.  When I did start fishing, I was using a weedless chatterbait.  I missed the first eight fish that hit and then I cut the weed guards off and caught about half that hit.  I switched it to an Evo chatterbait and started catching almost all that hit.  

My grandson caught bass on a Texas rigged worm, jigs and a chatterbait today.  I caught them on a chatterbait, Berkley Bulldog crankbait, worm, jig, and a chugbug.  His casting is getting much better, but he still has a long way to go.  His thumb is raw from holding fish.  I don't think we caught any much over three pounds, but most punched above their weight and were fun to catch.  He napped on the way home.

A few pics of some of his fish.

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reeling one in
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We got a double.  I think his was bigger.
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That smile says it all! :thumbsup: smiley_smug01

Yeah, that is so cool to see the "fishing smile!"
 
I remember when I was really "in" to bass fishing, wide open, hardcore fishing, dawn to dusk, tournaments, all that stuff, and my Dad would come along some times.  He had good tackle for the day, Ambassadors, Diawa's stuff like that, but once he slipped in an old ZebyCo 33 rod combo into the boat without me seeing it, because he know I would make him leave it, as I was "too good" to have that junk in the boat.  So I started  giving him ALL kinds of trash talk, and even said if he puts the rod down, I would throw it in the lake, because I was too embarrassed to have it in the boat.  What would happen if one of my "fishing buddy's" drove by and saw it?  So he says he's going to fish with it the whole day....of course...well real quick, he realized that the 1:1 coffegrinder retrieve wasn't good for crankbaits and spinnerbaits, so he put on a plastic lizard and fished it the whole day.   He never put the rod down, even while we were eating lunch,  It was hilarious!  And just like any bad TV script, he caught the big fish of the day, on the "spaghetti rod."  I learned a lesson that day.  Karma can be a you know what!

Fast forward 30 years, Dad and I we were out on the ccean snapper fishing, and he had a very nice, but undergunned Penn 5500 spinning reel and rod, and although he caught some small snapper, he couldn't ever get anything decent into the boat, as they would pull drag, bend the rod over and he couldn't do anything but watch them go deep and break off.  So in my most diplomatic fashion (not), I suggested he put up the toy and use a real rod, because there were necessary when "combat" snapper fishing.  He finally agreed after he lost some more lost fish, and he had a great time from then on, and when we got home, said he wanted a new rod and reel for Christmas.

Then, and @customsawyer can attest, a few yeaqr later, the exact same thing happened to my Brother in Law, he brought his favorite but undergunned catfish rod to the Gulf, saying it could land anything out there.  So on that trip, Jake shows up, we hop in the boat and head out about 30 or 35 miles, and I put us on a monster snapper spot, because I wanted Jake to catch a decent fish or two, and they were biting!  Well, my BIL was still using his "catfish pole" as he calls it, and while we were catching monsters, he would drop down a live bait the size of a crappie, set the hook, start reeling, and stand there and watch his line peel off, full drag (which wasn't much, maybe 30 lbs) while Moby Dick would take him to the bottom structure and break him off.  Time and time again, it was inevitable, and a I hate to say it, pretty comical, because it was fish after fish. So we started giving him a hard time, and I offered one of my rods and nope, he was too stubborn to take it.  He would just tie on a new rig, send it down, set the hook, start fighting and then, like clockwork, watch the reel unspool and break off.  It went on ALL day, beyond belief, but pride will do it, and me and Jake just kept whacking and stacking, hooting and hollering "I got a whopper" and "Look at the size of that fish!" and "Let's get another!"  Meanwhile, it got quieter and quieter in the bow of the boat, and we looked and my BIL had put his rod down and was steaming hot!  He was so mad, he had stopped fishing!  So I tried to be sociable and asked since he was probably out of hooks, if he wanted some of mine.  Wow, he really got hot at that, but it was fun.  He never did get a monster in the boat, for the whole trip!  Jake can back me up on that.  Of course, as is always the case, the next year, his kids asked me to held them Christmas shop for him, because he told them he wanted a new rod and reel, a "saltwater one" and was too embarrassed to ask me.  Here's Jake with one of the snappers, and yes, they were all that big.  

I like catching bass, but anything that ends in snapper pushes the buttons for me.  I hope you or your BIL had some sunscreen for Jake's legs.  They came out with the gulf snapper dates recently.  I hope to get out there some.  The last few years I've had other stuff going on.

Yes Sir, we had a lot of fun that weekend. Had to come back to the mill to get some rest. Heck I got so tired I even drove the boat a little and let Robert have at them.

I took this incredible family fishing yesterday morning and this morning.  They caught a lot of fish and caught some good fish.  I've caught thousands of speckled perch (Crappie for you Yankees) but have never caught any on a big crankbait.  Here are a few of the fish they caught that I felt were worthy of pictures.
  
We have been dry as a bone for months.  The monsoonal rains are finally coming.  They will make the grass grow and the fishing better, but they do pose problems on our trips.   We have to follow a weather app and shutdown outdoor activities based on lightning strikes.  I had a 3pm fishing trip cancelled due to weather.  I picked up a 2pm clays trip that we finally got to take at 5pm.  We got most of the way through it when another thunderstorm rolled in and sent us scurrying.  
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They had a triple a few times today, but I could not take a pic due to the wind and unhooking mayhem.
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One on the front hook and one on the back.  Two of the plugs they used today need to have new hooks.
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Caug(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_9376.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=359223)ht on a popping frog around 10 am.

The patriarch got one on a chatterbait.
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I think this one came on the last cast of the day on a whacky rigged Z-man worm.

Kyle, my dad called crappies "specs"

   We called the Chinkapins (Chinkiepins?) where I grew up. My uncle used to fish on the Suwannee River and would talk about specs and I thought he was talking about speckled trout down in the Gulf.

We usually just call them specks or specs as well.  Regardless, it'll be next Sunday before I go back down there.  

Perch or White Perch here with no differentiation between White & Black Perch.

In Louisiana they are called Sac-a-lait which I reckon is a French word.

Yesterday, three of us went fishing for recreation.  I did not get any pictures.  At one time, I had a 5lbr on and my friend had one on that was quite a bit bigger.  Our lines got tangled and his fish came off.  I would have liked to have gotten a picture of us holding large bass.  We've been friends since we were nine or 10 years old and I don't think we have ever had a picture taken together.

Another friend, lost one that got around the trolling motor shaft that was north of 8 lbs.  I got a look at it and was awaiting his approval to raise the motor.  I was a tired boy when we got home.  A thunderstorm blew up around 2pm and we loaded the little Tracker boat in the rain and headed home after seven hours of catching.  We fished two separate pits, and combined, caught over 130 bass.

The second pit we fished was phenomenal.  I'd only fished it briefly once with my grandson back in the winter.  After a few minutes, we pulled out of there due to the filament algae that I was constantly having to help get off of his baits.  

It was worth the hassle yesterday.  We caught them on topwater, crankbaits, worms and chatterbaits.  I thought I had a monster bass on a worm.  It hit like a bass, and I could tell it was huge.  When I got it to the boat, it turned out to be a softshell turtle with a shell about 20" across.  Unfortunately, my new-to-me Spiralite 7'2" heavy action rod shattered while I was trying to unhook the savage beast.  Regardless, it was a day I'll remember until my brain completely fails me, or I die.  I was hoping JMoore was going to accompany us, but he wanted to spend time with his boy.  I can't fault him for that.

Kyle,

    Softshell turtles are really good eating but they are fast if you drop one in the boat.

I've eaten softshell turtles.  They taste a bit like chicken, but a little tougher.  Heck, I've even eaten sea turtles down in the keys, before that was taboo.  I have not been to the keys in over 30 years.

I have a couple of friends who are now deceased that have told me manatees (sea cows) are really good to eat.  There are 50 x more people here than years ago going after the same resources.  Things get tighter.  I saw on FB today that the most dangerous invasive species in our area is the out of state real estate developer.  Apartments and storage places are springing up like weeds.

My maternal GP owned 100 acres over near where Cape Canaveral is now.  He bought it for $0.50 an acre and sold it for $1.00 and thought he did well.  This was back in the 1930's.  He used to get sea turtle eggs out of nests for breakfast.  That land is over $1 million an acre now, easily. 

Man, 50 cents an acre is bonkers. 

Dad worked with a guy who talked about somebody trying to sell him land down around Panama City Fla for 50 cents an acre but he looked at it and it was old pore sandy beach property and he knew you could not grow anything there so he turned it down

I had a trip with four guys this morning for two hours.  They caught quite a few fish.  We fished the same pit as the Cedar crew.  They caught some respectable bass, but nothing huge.  I took a few pics.

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We went out and fished this pit for an hour or so after lunch before our late trips.  I caught them on a Texas rigged worm, chatter bait, and hurt their feelings on a small squarebilled crankbait.  Our evening trips got scrubbed due to lightning.  I was on a four-person, 100 shot each clays trip when I got the alert.  I volunteered to wait around an hour for the storm to pass, but my guys were afraid the bugs would be too bad later.

A bit of advice.  If you go fishing offshore on a boat that will anchor, get a spot near the stern.  If bass fishing out of a boat using a front mounted trolling motor, work your way to the front deck and be the first to hit the likely spots.

I don't have any trips scheduled until next Thursday.  Tomorrow, I'll tinker with the Honda outboard and do a few small sawmill jobs in the afternoon-once the frost danger passes.

Frost danger? Is there something I'm missing with your weather?

It was my attempt at sarcastic humor.  The last couple of days have felt like mid-August (hotter than blue blazes).  

JMoore (John) and I used to fish together a lot, probably 100 days a year or more.  The past 30 years, family, jobs and other adult responsibilities have gotten in the way of that.  He and I fished together Friday and again today.  

We had one of the most epic topwater bass fishing mornings I've ever experienced.  Our best 10 bass would have probably gone over 40 lbs, which is not bad for summertime.  We weighed a few and they scaled a bit heavier than I estimated.  John started out fishing an old Diawa Procaster reel on a pistol grip rod he has probably had since we were in junior high school.  He caught several on that set up and then caught them on more modern tackle.  We caught them on chug bugs, worms, crankbaits, chatterbaits, but could not trick them with flukes.

A few pics of two longtime friends catching a few bass.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_9475.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=359612)
A little slither to creep into your dreams.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_9478.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=359613)
John with a respectable bass in my 1976 homemade skiff.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_9479.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=359615)
A little better one.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_9481.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=359616)
We doubled up on 3lbers.
John tricked another one.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_5501.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=359617)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_5497.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=359618)
He let me catch one.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_5498.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=359619)
John got another pretty good one.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_5495.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=359620)
Another good one for me.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/IMG_9489.jpeg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=359621)
My grandson called me from my daughter's phone after we had been fishing all day and cleaning fish for probably 1/2 an hour to ask if he could fish when he got here today.  He and his friend caught several talapia and hooked a baby gator.  I had no clue the gator was in the pond until today.

I think I have bass trips on Tuesday and Thursday this week.  

A couple of months ago, I was about ready to buy a used basstracker with a small 4-stroke outboard.  After finally getting my old 90 hp Evinrude 2-stroke running right, I'm happy to be fishing out of the boat I've been using since my 16th birthday.  I got it from my uncle, who I used to help run a gill net for mullet during the summers out of an old wooden skiff with a four-cylinder Jeep engine for power when I was a child.  He also was one who took the time to take me fishing in the phosphate pits near Mulberry, Fl when I was a little fellow.  

Thank you for taking the time to read this post.  Today was a good day.  

Two longtime friends keeping on keeping on.   ffcool

I hates stumptails!!   :veryangry:

We have a little lake that requires about a 1 mile portage to get in to, but the fishing reflects that. We were out over the weekend, I think that was the 4th trip this year.

There are Largemouth, Northern Pike, Bluegills, and Crappies. I fish with an ultralight, and a 1/8 oz Beetlespin with a twistertail. The spinner blades on the Beetlespin make it so you never know  what it will be when you set the hook.

My wife, tow of the daughters, our son and son in law got out on this trip. Lots of bass form 1-3 lbs, with a couple around 4 lbs. I got one Northern around 4 lbs, lots of crappies and bluegills. A great time was had by all😊

I decided to keep one Northern, typically I turn the big bass and Northerns back and keep panfish. Big bass get kind of mushy, and Northerns I've always let the bigger ones go because it takes a long time to grow one. Pike, while excellent eating are very bony, and they have a different bone structure that makes them a challenge to debone. Smaller fish are even more challenging and hardly worth the effort. 

I've been catching so many decent sized Pike that I kept a few on these recent trips to try a different debone method on (called the 5 chunk method). It worked really well.

Anyways, what I have circled in the picture of the Pike carcass is a perch in its belly that is about the same size as the Crappies we kept. That one, 6 lb Pike yielded more meat than 15 10" Crappies.

When I saw that you had cleaned that pike, I told my self to sit down and see how you debone that thing. We always used the pressure cooker on them rascals. That way you could just eat the bones. 

Always the challenge, cleaning pike, great eating if you get all the bones out. 
I've never heard of the pressure cooker and now Caveman what is the 5 chunk method?

I think Barbender was the one with the five-chunk method.  I suspect it involves taking a fillet and then cutting it into five pieces to work around.

I can't find an illustration that really does a good job of demonstrating how to do the 5 piece method. There are a lot of videos though.

I used both an electric filet knife, and a regular filet knife for the more finesse cuts. The electric filet knife works great for the initial cut behind the head and along the spine, as you are cutting through a lot of bones. What you are doing is basically cutting off the loins or backstraps. But then you are left with a "U" shaped chunk of meat with the skin on, how the heck do you filet the skin off? What I ended up doing is putting the skin down, and fileting along the spine down to the skin, and then fileting that piece of meat loose. Do both sides, and you end up with two long northern backstraps😊

Then you are left with a Pike carcass that is missing it's back. This is another job for the regular filet knife, as you need to go along the edge of the cut you made releasing the previous piece of meat, and fin the y bones. Then filet along them to release the piece of meat along the side, going back to meet the end of the previous cut at the dorsal fin.

Next, I took the electric knife and cut from the dorsal fin back to the tail, like a regular fish. If you look at some of the available diagrams online, it will show to waste a short section of meat right under the dorsal fin from this piece of meat. That is because there are y bones right there, I chose to just cut those y bones out and save some of that meat. It resulted in those filets looking like they'd been bitten by a northern pike, ironically😂 But it saved some good meat, so that's the way I did it.

Anyway, repeat on the other side, and then use the electric filet knife to filet the skin off all the resulting pieces.

It's much more difficult to write out a description than it is to actually do the process😊 I dont have it mastered either, as I missed a few bones. But I can say that northerns over 3 pounds are now in more danger of the frying pan😁

Northerns have flesh that is a bit denser and firmer than our other fish, with a slightly sweet flavor. They are excellent eating when the bones are dealt with!
Another word on Northern Pike- they are kind of the thug of the freshwater world. They are extremely aggressive, have a mouthful of teeth that are a cross between needles and razor blades, they are really slimy, and there is seemingly no good way to hold onto them. Those sharp teeth cut monofilament like scissors. In some lakes, the northerns end up with a large population of 1 pound fish. There are a lot of names like "slimers", "snakes", "hammerhandles" people use for them. They swim around like 1 pound mobile scissors, cutting the line of people fishing for walleyes when they hit their bait. But people almost prefer that to actually catching the northerns, and having them flop around the carpeted floor of their $40K boat😁

A northern's biggest enemy is other northerns. They are extremely cannibalistic, and every year you'll see a story about a huge northern that was found dead on shore- with an even bigger northern half swallowed stuck in its gullet! I'm talking about say an 8 pounder that tried to swallow a 10 pounder😬

Northerns are probably the best fighting fish we have. Nothing else has the power and ability to peel line off the drag like they do. When you set the hook on a Pike, you know what it is as soon as it makes a run. Another thing I really try to get through my wife and kid's heads- a northern always saves a burst of energy. I get them up and ready to land (I don't carry a landing net, especially in a canoe), and I wait. The fish will look like it's played out, but as soon as you reach for it, it will explode into another run. A lot of people end up getting their line snapped right there, the really unlucky ones end up jointly hooked on a treble hook of a daredevil lure with a Northern- not good.

So I let the Northern use up his second wind, and third and fourth if he is so inclined. It does not pay to frantically try to get the fish in the boat with them.

If you try to hold a Northern like you would a Largemouth, recovery would be a long time coming. I hold them by sliding my thumb inside the bottom of their gill opening to the bottom of the inside of their mouth. Their teeth are all along the outside of their jaw, and as counterintuitive as it is to put a finger inside that toothy maw, the membrane at the bottom of their mouth is a safe spot and provides the only way I've found to securely hold the toothy, slimy monsters.

A little illustration of the aggressive and fearless nature of Northerns. As my daughter and I were fishing from the canoe, I got a bite. What felt like a small fish, suddenly felt bigger. As I got it closer, I could see what I had. A really small bass, like 8", with a 3 pound Northern attached. I told my daughter, "check out this Northern, I bet it's not even hooked!" I got it up to the canoe, and sure enough, the Nirthern had the bass in its mouth sideways, with the hook in the bass' mouth. I brought it right up to the canoe, and the Northern wouldn't let go. I finally grabbed the canoe paddle and started just tapping it on the snout, after which it finally let go. Ornery beasts!

https://1source.basspro.com/news-tips/pike/7455/how-cut-5-boneless-fillets-northern-pike-chain-pickerel-infographic

This is exactly how I did it, but gives the basic idea.