My oldest boy at 13 years of age decides he's done enough snake wrangling for now and wants to start fishing hard. I'm cool with that cuz me and fish go back a long ways. We knock off his Redfish, Snook and Tarpon (his first fish on fly rod) and he switches gears..."Hey Dad, we should be salt water rednecks!" He then adds "We live in Islamorada...the so called sport fishing capital of the world, all we need to do is drive north to the mainland and fish bass!"

I tell him "Ok, I'm in."

So we've spent the last couple months fishing Largemouth bass.

Here's the low down...we fish mostly big lures because we only want one bite...but it has to be the right one. (Cuz we're rednecks.)

This is what we typically throw:





We particularly like buzz baits, 12.5" worms and these Spooltek lures cuz they separate from the bait via a wire leader and don't allow as many fish to shake the hook with the leverage that a 2 oz lure typically supplies. http://www.spooltek.com





In places like these...











We typically catch fish like these.























The poor kid's tired of the saltwater stuff and wants me to buy him a Stetson for his birthday next month so he can pitch baits at bass and scream "Yeehaw!!" when he get's bit...












This place has been a little slow so I thought I'd contribute. I think Muskymagnet is gonna put up some good Esox soon...if not, I will.


Tim

That sounds like a fine boy you've got, Tim, and with a fine sense of humor! I've no doubt his upbringing contributed more than a bit to that.

You might have posted just to keep the ball rolling here, but I must say I really enjoyed your report. Thanks!

Finally going to try fishing the deep water of the beautiful lake right in front of me (I'm currently living on the shore of the Adirondacks' Lake George, the so-called "Queen of American Lakes") for lake trout in a couple of weeks. I'll see if I can muster some kind of report from it.

Gerry

Great trips, Tim.
I like those lures, especially with circle hooks.

I have to suggest my very favorite place in the southern half of the peninsula: The stick marsh/Farm 13. It's still my son's favorite and he's almost 40.

Bass are catch and release because of the mercury, so meat fishing is out.

Don't forget your fly rod with your great (and large) snook flies. There can be large mats of hydrilla with holes, so weedless topwater on any type of rod can be exciting, especially with the cooler weather coming soon.

It reminds me of fishing bass in old Florida, where the average fish is much larger and the probability of a 10+ is high. It's a good drive from you guys, but generally worth the trip. PM me for more detail if you go.

PS
some very special herping there also if you spend a few days.

Thanks Gerry, he's turning into a fine young man. He'll be taller than me in about a week.

I look forward to your lake George report...'wish I was staying there now; it's awfully warm and buggy down hear at present but in a couple more months...

Thanks for the advice Bill! I fished farm 13 and the stick marsh back in the early 90's. I always wanted an honest 10 and have been close with a few fish nudging 9.5 but am still looking. I never got the 10 there cuz I always got side tracked by the giant Bluegills...the were a blast on little foam spiders or beetle spins on 4lb spin sticks. Oh well, I have no regrets; great times for sure!

Tim

Great post Tim! I've been trying to put together a post to share, but have been skunked and/or rained out more often than not this summer (I seem to go on a skunk streak every June & July. Heat must make me a lazy fisherman).

Interesting to see some bass caught on the Spooltek. Saw a discussion about them on an LA kayak forum after ICAST, but no one could personally say they've tried them yet. Doubt I'll spend that much on a lure, but good to know they work as advertised.

As for Stick Marsh, you could always motivate yourself to head back up and make a herp/fish trip out of it. Might be worth the long drive if you can break the 10lbs mark and manage a decent cruise in the evening.

Chris

Chris, I have no prob taking the drive to the Stick marsh but we have our hearts set on an Honest Dade county ten lber. As far as the snakes go, we've been chasing them on our way home after dark. It's sometimes a little tough breaking in time with a skiff in tow or turning around at dead end roads but we're making it work. We've found plenty of pythons, Corals, Brooksi and all of the assorted white noise that comes with them. As far as a ten outside of Dade, I have access to a 26 acre pond in the middle of an orange grove. It's coughed up two 14+ lbers in the past couple years, has almost no pressure and better snakes...we'll go there if I can't make it work way down here.

Tim

You're right Tim. Cramming on the brakes while pulling a boat can be exciting and more so for those cars following you!!!

Really tests your car's ABS system!!!

This is Josef's biggest to date...next Feb/Mar it'll make the cut handily.


9.6 lbs. 8/22/14