Speed limits in SWFL are there to protect the endangered manatees. PLEASE comply with them! Don't be jerk!
I grew up using Tennessee style spinning rods with aluminum rings holding the reel in place. No reel seat. I recently bought one and it came without rings, and looks like I wouldn't be able to slide the rings over the butt anyway. What's up? Folks taping reel in place? Some new style of ring I'm not aware of? Thanks!
Smaller the fish less time for mercury etc to build up, so panfish should be fine. Bluegills are easy to catch in decent quantity, and fileting them will keep you busy for the rest of the day. :).
Pointed sticks are also good for pitting cherries. Stem side up on top of a beer bottle and poke. Seed goes into the bottle, cherry into the pie filling. If you're still fishing you can be productive and earn points with the wife. Of course you'll need a steady supply of empty beer bottles, and a wife who doesn't notice the occasional fishy cherry. Cheers!
Remember catching them off a seawall in Woodmere NY. First unsupervised fishing expedition, my kid brother and me, all of eight yrs old, clunky old reel, and somebody's hand me down boat rod. Plenty of sinkers, lots unsuccessful casts, and the feeling of a half pound of tackle whacking me in the back of the head and burying a hook in my scalp. Perfect catch and release - nice old guy fishing nearby clipped off the barb and got me untangled. Biked home with a bucket full of puffers and a hole in the head.
Try rubbing a bit of nose grease on the inside sleeve of each joint. It won't freeze up.
fearless42 wrote:
not sure what type structure you have in the lake but a couple baits that always work for me are a 1/2 oz bleeding shinner rattle trap or a white and chartreuse spinnerbait.
agreed. chartreuse spinner. mepps makes a few good ones,
That was takes, not takes.
We had a lake with a severe agricultural runoff weed problem that it would clog up the wooden slatted 2x6 dam spillways and need to be cleaned out. Taking the boards out and encouraging the weed to wash through was the only solution. It was a three foot thick mat. We put a kid up front in a Jon boat, gave him an oar to stick in, and pushed. It worked fine until one day the driver revved the engine and flipped Butch right over into the morass. He wasn't a terribly good swimmer, but I doubt that mattered.. Two of us fished around, got hold of him and hauled him and a good 50 lbs of weed back into the boat. He looked like the creature from the black lagoon, draped in six inches of weed, head to toe. We used takes tied to a car after that.
Butch, if you are reading this, glad we got you out buddy!
The only way to "cure" a deep addiction is by getting support and going cold turkey. Given the obvious severity of your problem,. I'd enlist some friends and spend weekends glued to football together, or get yr wife to compile a massive honeydo list. Avoiding situations that might push you towards relapse is key. I can help out there -- gather up your collection and send it to me. PM for address. Every trip to the garage will cease to be a nightmare of tackle boxes, rods,reels etc..You might even be able to get the car back in there!
Heck, it took me forever to find a spinning rod with the old style cork handle and two ree holderl rings. It's what I learned to fish with, and love them because you can adjust the rod balance to fit the lure weight by moving the reel around. Not for bigger fish of course, but for casual lake fishing they are lighter, less fatiguing, and in my hands at least, more responsive. I think they are called Tennessee something or others these days.