The only way to tell fall has arrived in Florida is the color change in the lilly pads, a few leaves falling from less than half of the trees, and nights that have become bearable.  The good news is that has started the waters cooling off slightly, but just enough to get the bass to start schooling up.  I noticed it on this last moon just before I was ready to call it a day around 11:00 am.  It is still too hot during the day to stay much longer than that, but I had to cast into them for a bit.  The sad thing is I didn't have anything in the boat that day that they really seemed that interested in.  Oh, we caught a few on swim baits and a few on live shiners, but nothing to brag about, so I won't.

After we get some substantial fronts through to cool the waters even more, get your small bait gear ready for some chunking and winding into hoards of schoolies.

 

MY APOLOGIES!

Sorry that I have totally neglected the blog for so long, but my wife and I have been so busy with our businesses that there is hardly time to blog.  Working 30 hrs/week at a tackle store around scheduled fishing guide trips, keeping up an online tackle store (www.moretackle.com), and promoting/selling at tackle shows for our manufacturing company's rod holders (www.katydidfishingproducts.com) - doesn't leave very much 'spare' time.

Fishing has been unpredictable lately because of such a fluctuation in the water levels.  Since Isaac skirted Florida and dumped a fair amount of rain the runoff has clouded the water and pushed it up into higher grasslines, but then they open the flood gates and the water drops again.  Pretty good fishing while the water is moving, but still dirty unless you can get into places where the grasses are filtering it well.

The summer heat has been sweltering this year, too.  You know it's gonna be a rough day when you start sweating outside and the sun hasn't even come up yet!  It's just too hot to eat, even for the fish.  Soon though it will start cooling down a bit at night which will stir their instincts to bunch up into schools and start fattening up for the winter months.  Fall fishing can be a blast if you like catching a lot of numbers.  Getting the bigger ones takes a little extra patience, since they still lurk below the smaller ones, waiting for their leftover kills.

I should have more to discuss when things get busier.  Until then, fish really early, really late, and watch some football inbetween ... or consider a fishing trip further north where it's cooler and more enjoyable.

LABOR DAY ADDITIONS

It was no labor at all to add these great items to More Tackle.  Hope there's something here to peak your interest.  We only have one or two of each model of the Fin-Nor reels, so first come, first served.

Fin-Nor Reels:

• Offshore Star Drag
• Santiago
• Sportfisher Spinning
• Sportfisher Lever Drag
• Marquesa
• Megalite

MonoMaster by Grasshopper Outdoors

Keep checking back periodically for more great items as they get added to the site.

Thanks for shopping with More Tackle and God bless you all!

Fly Fishing for Bass

I’ve been fishing since I was a kid, and from the beginning, I knew my favorite times on the water would be when I was bass fishing. For about 95% of my fishing life, I used a spinning reel.I picked up a bait caster once or twice, but was never in thick enough cover to need heavy line, so I rarely even bothered.It is fun, fast, convenient and little still gets me as excited as a smallmouth crushing a topwater lure, but I never realized how much I was actually missing out on.

After I graduated college, my mentality toward fishing began to change. While always enjoyable, fishing just was losing a bit of it’s luster. I wanted more of a challenge. I thought back to a trip I took with my family to Yellowstone, where my dad and I had a guide float us down a river with a couple fly rods.I couldn’t get the fly to float to save my life, but I realized the scenery, the quiet, and the focus each cast took was what I was missing in my current outings.So I borrowed an old rod from my neighbor and decided to try fly-fishing.I’ve since found it is endlessly adaptable and never boring. It truly elevates fishing from a hobby to an art form. If you’re interested in getting started, here are a few suggestions to help you begin.

Just Do It

When I started I pored over magazines and even watched a couple of instructional videos. After some extensive studying I quickly realized there’s no substitution for experience. Like golf and other instinctive sports, fly-casting relies on muscle memory that improves with practice. If you have a friend who is already an experienced fly fisherman you’re golden. I had just moved right outside of New York City and was on my own.I found that local fly shops were happy to let me try a few rods while handing out helpful advice. Some shops even offer classes in casting, reel loading, or even tying flies. Look for a group locally or online that accepts beginners. Then, the best way to learn how to fly fish is go out and do it. Also, a day spent with an experienced guide can be worth more than weeks on the water by yourself. You won’t regret it.

Don't Go Crazy

Fly-fishing, like most hobbies, can get expensive. Open a catalog and prepare to be stunned by the infinite variety of rods, reels, lines, leaders, tippets, auxiliary equipment and, of course, flies. Fly rods and reels can be several thousand dollars on the high end, but can also be found for less than one hundred. I found that most other traditional fly-fishing gear, like waders, boots, vest, etc. were unnecessary since I was usually fishing from a boat and already had what I needed from years of bass fishing.I was able to find anything else I needed online at a discounted price after asking the local shops what they recommended and why.

Don’t Give Up

Any kind of fishing takes patience and perseverance, fly-fishing even more so. The beauty of fly-fishing is that it merges aspects of both science and art. The satisfaction of one perfect cast, the line looping effortlessly and a fly landing exactly where you sent it is worth five – maybe even ten – bad ones. It makes all those stares I received from my neighbors when I was practicing behind my home in Long Island worth it.If you love bass fishing and you’re up for an adventure, try hitting the water with a fly rod. There’s a good chance you’ll get hooked.

Written by Adam Coholan

On Twitter @Coho22

HOT ~ HOT ~ HOT

Hot Lures –

Summer fish and how they react.  In the summertime, when the water temperature gets in the 80’s, fish seem to get more lethargic and become rather finicky.  So, what can you do to remedy this kind of behavior?  You can use a Senko worm, which is pictured here.

You can rig this worm three different ways.  The way this picture shows you here is a Texas rig.  When using a Texas rig, run your line through a bullet weight, size of your choice (if using a weight), and then tie onto your worm hook.  I prefer a Palomar knot because of its strength and it won’t come untied.  Then run the hook down into the top of the worm the same length as the top of the hook prior to the 90 degree  curve.  Bring the hook out the side of the worm and pull the worm up to that top section of the hook.  Turn the hook back toward the worm and bury it back into the worm, making it weedless.  If it is a tough worm, you might want to run the hook all the way through and then back it back inside.  That way you get easier penetration at the hookset, but you might also be more likely to hang up on vegetation.

Or, you can rig it by putting an “O” ring (a size 6) around the Senko worm and roll it on to the middle of the bait.  This lets the bait oscillate and flex as you work it, giving the bait more action.  You can also use just a regular 6”-10” worm, working it around the edge of the grass or out in open water around brush piles and grass beds.

Here is another way.   A lot of people don't know about this.  You can use a Carolina rig, as this picture illustrates.

You will see I have a jerk bait, such as a Thunder Stick, a Long-A Bomber, or a Rapala.  This type of rigging will keep the bait just up off the bottom.  As you are working the Carolina rig with the weight, this pulls the bait down toward the bottom.  As you hesitate, the bait floats backs up a little ways.  It mimics an injured minnow.  Believe me, you will get bit.

You can also use a Senko worm with or without a weight by rigging two different styles.  Use a Texas rig or put your “O” ring on the Senko using a weedless hook.  Either way lets you get back and throw it into the grass, pads, gator grass, or pencil reeds without hanging up.  These are my favorite ways of fishing a Senko.

Some other lures you can use in the summertime would be lipless crank baits, frogs, and spinner baits. Sometimes around this time of the year you will see fish schooling.  When this occurs, take and throw your lipless crank bait into the school.  If this does not trigger a strike, you could start fan casting around for the fish.  Even though they are not on the surface, this has been known to still trigger a strike.  The best way you can find where these fish will come up is by watching the bait fish.  If you see the bait start skipping across the top of the water, get ready, because something is chasing them.  If you find yourself in this situation, you can catch a lot of fish in a hurry.

Hot Time In The Summertime –

Let me tell you about this one trip I had on May 28^th.  The water temperature was 85°.  I had four people (two couples) from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  We were using live bait on Lake Kissimmee after coming out of River Ranch on the Kissimmee River.  Suzanne March had called me about this trip a few weeks before.  She and her husband, Mike, and Patrick and his girlfriend all went together on my pontoon boat to go bass fishing.  We also went catching … we caught around 15 or 20 bass, which is already a nice morning.  Patrick is playing with his cell phone when he gets a strike, and this picture is what that strike produced - a12 lb. 1 oz trophy largemouth.

 

That was the second largest fish that I had guided for this year.  So, while we were taking pictures, I said we've got about four shiners left.  Let's put all new shiners on and make another trip around the same area.  Well, guess what happened. So Susan and her girlfriend got in the two back seats and we went around again through the same area.  This picture will tells the rest of the story.  This fish weighed 13 pounds on the nose.  

Even I have never had this happen on a guided trip.  These are two fish of a lifetime and are now the two biggest largemouth bass caught in this season, which I generally consider begins in November and ends in May.  They were both photographed and then released in the same area.  Bet you would like to know exactly where in Lake Kissimmee I have been fishing all season long.  A successful guide never shares all of his secrets, especially the best ones!  After all … it is my livelihood.

Hot Tips –

There are a number of ways for keeping yourself from overheating while summertime fishing.  First, make sure you have plenty of water on hand.  It is extremely easy to get dehydrated before you even realize it.  Second, wear lightweight clothing that is light colored, breathable and dries easily.  Either wear long sleeves and pants for protection from the sun’s damaging rays or wear a strong sunscreen.  My dermatologist recommends Neutrogena’s 85 SPF.  Third, either carry some towels on board to soak with water and place around your neck or on your head for a quick cool down; use one of the various neck wraps available at local tackle or sporting goods stores; or there are neck scarfs/ties that have beads sewn in that, when soaked in water, absorb and hold it all day.

So, keep your cool and have a hot time on the water this summer.

Late Spring/Early Summer Bassin'

TROPHY BASS

Generally, a bass weighing in at 10 pounds or better is considered a “trophy.”  Many, including my wife’s father, have set that bar for whether or not to have a bass mounted.  Her father fished all of his life in waters from Canada to Florida and never boated that 10 pound plus bass.  He caught a lot of bass, both largemouth and smallmouth, walleye, muskie, and northern pike throughout his lifetime; and generally caught more than anyone he was with, but never the trophy largemouth bass that he sought after.  His wife (my mother-in-law) caught two in her lifetime and he made her mount them both!  Now, thanks to fiberglass replicas, we are able to “have our cake and eat it too” so to speak.  We are able to have a “copy” trophy mount on our wall or table, but we are  also able to release these trophies back into their habitat to continue producing more bass that are genetically prone to growing up to trophy size … like the one below:

This is a picture of the biggest bass landed this year.  On or about March the 10^th we get a call from Tom Keady and Gail Klusek from New York. Tom and Gail have a place at Lily Lake in Frostproof, Florida. They were out at a restaurant and Tom picked up a copy of IN THE FIELD Magazine.  They came across the article that I had written back in January for the February issue about schooling bass, and what Joyce (my wife) and I do every Christmas morning, which is to go fishing and spend a little spiritual time with our deceased Dads, who showed us the great outdoors that God has provided for us.  Anyway, Tom read this and was inspired by it to the point that they called to book a trip, and this is what became of that trip.  This is Gail's 12 lb 12 oz largemouth bass, also pictured in my last article with Gail.  That same morning they had one that weighed 6 lb 12 oz.  Both were released back into the lake to give these fish a chance to lay their eggs, so we can have the opportunity to catch more like them.

SUMMER SCHOOL

As the kids are getting ready to get out of school, the bass are starting to get into schools.  For the last couple of weeks I have been catching schooling bass in Lake Kissimmee using both live bait with medium sized shiners and with artificial baits, such as lipless crankbaits and plastic swimbaits.  They have ranged anywhere from dinks too small to measure all the way up to around 6 lbs.  I’ve heard of bass schooling up in Lake Toho, also, but it is that time of the year.  With all the new hatchlings of a multitude of panfish, shad, and minnows, the bass are feeding on a virtual smorgasbord.  They have been known to gorge to the point of regurgitation and then feed some more.  It’s kind of like going out to eat to a buffet and, since you can’t make up your mind what to eat, you have some of everything.  At least we know when to stop … or most of us do, anyway!

This is a time that can be a lot of fun, but also very frustrating.  If you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time when the bass run bait to the surface which lets you know where they are feeding, then you can cast almost any small bait just past the school and then run it back through it, almost guaranteeing a strike.  But if you are not lucky, you will run your trolling motor batteries down to nothing trying to chase after the schools that are just out of casting distance.  Your best bet is to determine what areas are holding the bait, and why.  Once you figure that out, concentrate on keeping your boat near those areas and sooner or later the water will appear to boil as the bass run the bait to the surface sometime during the chase.  It’s kind of like “feast or famine” or “hurry up and wait.”  Once you are in the right areas, continue to fan cast even if you don’t see them on the surface, because the bass and the bait are still in the general vicinity.

Another thing to keep in mind during these feeding frenzies is that generally it is the smaller bass that do the chasing, gorging, and regurgitating.  The larger bass have wised up (or have become basically lazy) and will cruise a little deeper beneath the school, scarfing up the injured, falling bait and regurgitation.  If you have had your fun already with the smaller bass, try twitching a fluke or anything that mimics an injured baitfish, a little deeper using a #3 barrel swivel with about 18” of leader.  The purpose of this is two-fold - by using a swivel, it helps to eliminate line twist that so often occurs when using twitching bait; and the minimal weight added using the barrel swivel will help bring the bait slightly deeper and create a slow fall during each pause between twitches.

End Of A Season

Bass fishing this season has been the best I have seen in a number of years.  I know this year started off cold and rainy, but January and February has come and gone, but not without its rewards.  And March and April has been a blast.  I have fished all around Polk County, and it has been great.  As most of you already know by the amount of boats I’ve seen, the Winter Haven chain has been a good producer since we have had enough water in the canals to be able to commute from lake to lake.  Lake Kissimmee has continued to live up to its reputation as one of Florida’s best producers for most all of the sporting fish.

I have had some of the best clients that a fishing guide could ever ask for.  Here are a few pictures to show you just what I mean about this last season (which I consider runs from November of 2010 through April of 2011):

  

  

  

 

 

Some of these customers caught their largest bass ever ... and some their very first bass!  I hope I am able to continue introducing anglers of all ages to this wonderful sport and spiritual resource as I continue to evolve from a fisher of fish to a fisher of men.

Thank you Jesus for blessing me and my patrons with a bountiful season.

TAKE A LESSON FROM NATURE

There are a number of ways the fish population can be altered … for either the good or the bad. Some ways occur from nature … some occur by man. But we need to become aware of both.

First I think it would be good for you to understand the impact that the fishing industry has on the state of Florida. Florida is considered the “Fishing Capital of the World.” This title is backed up by surveys done every 5 years by the US Census Bureau. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the economic impact is somewhat staggering. Overall retail sales are $4.4 billion (yes, that’s billion) with freshwater sales making up $1.5 billion of that. It supports 75,736 jobs of which 23,480 jobs are in freshwater, yielding $728,646,722 in salaries, wages, and business owner’s incomes. Non-resident fishing expenditures total $1 billion, for a total economic output (ripple effect) of $7.5 billion. What that means for the state directly is $550 million in state and local tax revenues … more than 3 times the revenue from oranges! Florida has 2.8 million anglers, with 885,000 being non-residents.

 

Mother Nature’s “Cleansings”?

It’s not just the over-catching of these fun and tasty creatures that have caused this. Natural causes have also had their effects on Florida. The hurricanes of a few years ago took their toll as various news media made it clear that these immense storms can cause devastation, but it may be difficult to see how hurricanes and tropical storms could affect fish. Yet it becomes evident when you see fish kills following a major storm event, due to several occurrences. There can be changes in the saline content in freshwater due to a saltwater storm surge. Flooding waters can carry fish into low lying areas and, once the flood waters recede, the fish are left in pools that eventually dry up, leaving dead fish.

Low oxygen content is the most common cause of storm-induced fish kills. This happens from excessive wind pushing the surface water to one end of the lake. Then the water from the bottom rises to the surface, bringing all of the bottom debris with it, which is naturally low in oxygen. In addition, this bottom water may include hydrogen sulfide which, when in high enough concentrations, can be lethal to fish; and can be detected by any "rotten egg" or "sewage" odors. Bacteria present in the sediments brought to the surface also uses up oxygen. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “The lake has turned over."

Florida, known as the Sunshine State, rarely has long periods of cloudy days, except for storms of this type. During this time, photosynthesis in organisms and aquatic plants is reduced. Therefore, these oxygen-producers use up what’s already in the water, causing an overall depletion of oxygen, leading to fish kills.

Although we do normally get a lot of sunshine, it’s not always associated with heat. Recent cold snaps have affected Florida's freshwater and marine fisheries as water temperatures dropped below normal for extended periods. Hundreds of reports of cold-related fish kills occurred across the state last year. Fish may either die from cold stress or become more susceptible to disease. Warm-water species are more vulnerable to cold temperatures. In fresh water, some native fish have been impacted, although most deaths occurred among non-native species, such as tilapia. As a reminder, harvesting distressed or dead fish for consumption is not advised under any circumstances.

Disease Infestation

The largemouth bass virus, LMBV, is the only virus to have been associated with a lethal disease of largemouth bass. While LMBV has been isolated from a lot of other species of warm-water fishes, the disease response has only been observed in largemouth bass. Since 1995, LMBV has been implicated as a source of mortality in more than 25 fish kills in the United States, specifically throughout the Southeast and the Midwest. Fortunately, evidence suggests that fish populations develop immunity following exposure to the virus. Fish kills associated with LMBV have also declined over time, and to our knowledge, none have been observed over the past two years. In fact, fish kills which may be a result of LMBV have been rarely reported in Florida during the past 10 years. Although, in the past 3 years, three fish kills in Florida were evaluated as potentially being caused by LMBV. A bass die-off in a private pond near Tampa was diagnosed as being caused by low oxygen levels. A second disease event at Lake Butler in Orange County in 2003 was associated with an outbreak of bacteria. In 2004, a die-off of largemouth bass at Lake Hollingsworth in Polk County followed a lake-wide alum treatment by the county, and the results of the investigations were inconsistent with LMBV disease.

Research of LMBV is ongoing at the University of Florida, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Auburn University, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation. Disease and fish kills in bass have not been linked to LMBV in Florida. However, buoyancy problems and swim bladder lesions, symptoms associated with the virus, and an antibody response to the virus were observed in bass following a bass-only fish kill in Lake Harris in the early 1990s. The bass virus was also isolated from bass that had been collected from Lakes Weir and Holly during a disease episode in this same period of the 1990s.

Tissue and blood samples collected from bass in 45 water bodies since 1999 indicated that the virus, but not the disease, is widely distributed throughout Florida. Results of laboratory studies strongly suggest that many bass become immune upon exposure to LMBV. A distinction should always be made between fish that are infected with LMBV and fish that are diseased as a result of the virus. Almost all of the populations sampled in Florida and included in this data were not experiencing disease problems or fish kills.

There are limits as to how many game and nongame freshwater fish you can keep and retain, and this varies from one body of water to another. In addition, there are various regulations on the methods of taking freshwater fish. To find out these regulations, pick up a Florida Freshwater Fishing Regulations booklet at your local tackle or marine dealer.

The restrictions are much tighter on Florida’s largemouth bass than on panfish, such as bluegill, sunfish, crappie, shellcracker, etc. But due to a number of factors, the limits have been reduced on them, too. Although we have such a widely dispersed population of freshwater fish, being able to fish within a 30-60 minutes drive of anywhere in the state, conservation is more paramount than ever. Information gathered lately shows that the resources have been slowing eroding. If you talk to anyone who has fished Florida for many years, they will tell you that it’s not “like the good ol’ days” when they could catch stringers upon stringers of bass; not to mention the coolers full of panfish. The trophy populations of all freshwater fish have also declined severely. That is why catch limits have been reduced … to protect one of Florida’s greatest forms of entertainment and revenue resources, the fishing industry.

Law of the Wild

The “Law of the Wild” says kill only when you are hungry. A photographer captured these amazing pictures a couple of years ago and said he was astounded by what he saw:

"These three brothers (cheetahs) have been living together since they left their mother at about 18 months old,' he said.’ On the morning we saw them, they seemed not to be hungry, walking quickly but stopping sometimes to play together. 'At one point, they met a group of impala who ran away. But one youngster was not quick enough and the brothers caught it easily'." These extraordinary scenes followed.

Then they just walked away without hurting him.

When fishing, we too should only keep what we are going to eat, and release the rest. This is why I am so adamant about Catch, Photograph, Release (CPR). That is what this lady, Sheila Daniel of Charlotte, NC, has done every year for over 10 years, as she comes to fish with me every spring … and has caught at least one bass over 8 lbs every year.

Note that even the cheetahs realize that the younger meat is the best, so let your trophies go to make more babies … for your babies to be able to grow up and catch them!

Florida Bassin'

Thought you might get a kick out of this video one of my recent customers put up on YouTube.

DEER TREE STAND ... I mean SWING

If you live anywhere in the wilderness or country, you may have had a deer or two wonder into your back yard.  You might even have feed or a salt lick available for them.  But I never thought of providing things for them to "play" with, so here is one buck that improvised with a backyard tree swing.

Makes you wonder how they got him untangled from the swing!  Now that would have made for an interesting video, too.