WhateversBitin

I believe it's about 10 ft per ounce of weight, but that is also dependent on speed, line out, line diameter, etc... You can pretty much cover anything from 10 ft to 25 ft with 1 oz, 1.5 oz, and 2 oz sizes. Figure half the dive of a crankbait on top of the weight, so a 2 oz weight and crankbait that dives to 8 ft should get to about 24 ft. I'm sure someone much better at this than I am can correct this, if I am misremembering that. I have been using bottom bouncers and weights that I make myself. Bought a bunch of those wire markers with the plastic flags at a home improvement store. I rip the flags off, bend and/or cut them how i want, and JB Weld egg and bullet weights on them. They can get a bit rusty and ugly after some time in the water, but I feel a lot less pain when I lose one of them than had I paid five times more for the pretty ones.

Definitely. Every five minutes, it was "another catfish". On a humorous note (for me), I watched a man trot down to the surf and "soccer" kick a dead catfish back into the water. I told him they have barbs, and he nodded and pointed at the trickle of blood coming from the instep of his bare foot. I can't imagine that felt good for a few days.

I was actually fishing for pompano. Never caught a one. My friend hooked a really nice one. He said it put up a decent fight, then fought really hard for a bit, and then he reeled in a head. 😏 As far as your PSA, we didn't do that, but my wife put some shells in a plastic bag, not realizing there were live crabs in them. Boy, did they get ripe!

Yes. Mostly sand fleas and squid. It's been several years ago, but I think I also threw shrimp and cut bait.

Really? We caught several surf fishing at Alligator Point. A couple small hammerheads, too. Mostly catfish, though.

The Florida panhandle. The area that was hit hard by hurricane Michael, recently.

Thank you. I did. On a family vacation to the gulf coast several years back. They were plentiful.

I've had my boat float the trailer, because it was frozen to the bunk rails.

+1 on this for sure. I don't even have a minimum for this. All red meat on white bass gets trimmed off my fillets. Some of my best fishing memories are from schools of whites that stayed on the surface for a lengthy, and frenzied, period of time. I can't help but smile remembering myself and two other high school boys in a Scamp on Beaver Lake 30 years ago. It was sitting pretty low in the water, by the time we headed to shore.

Saved the link, as well. Thanks x 2.

According to MDC, "Game fish or their parts may not be used as bait." While I mostly understand why, it still irks me a bit that our wildlife code will not allow sportsmen to utilize the entire fish. I think about this every time I dispose of what's left after filleting crappie or walleye. Also, snakes are protected by state law. It is technically illegal to kill them. There are exceptions, such as a venomous snake in close proximity to humans, but I wouldn't use one to bait a trap. This isn't meant to be a lecture. I just wanted to put out there that if you do this, you might have some explaining to do.

Well, the reservation has been made, so I guess I'll be throwing soft baits. 😎

Big M and Rock Creek were bad enough last year that I lobbied friends to try Stockton this year. I'm not sure it will be any better, but I'm really hoping for less drama on the south (upper?) end. When you're tying on an old crankbait to snag the guy doing figure eights beside you off his jet ski, fishing is no longer therapeutic.

Well done. Like the hat, too.

I will have to try this. Since I prefer catching with my fishing, this was a great read. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. For the response as well as your informative posts and articles.

rps, can you tell me where to find the longer float beads shown in your article on worm harnesses? Or, maybe, what search term to use.

Weekend was tough for me. I caught a single keeper coming across a point at around 22ft, with a bb trailing a sunfish shortened crawler on a chartreuse floating jig head. The drum and catfish were a bit more active than the walleye for me. I found some crappie schools around 20ft, so I targeted them, instead. Which just affirms my choice of username for this forum.

Thanks Dutch. I will give them a try.

Any suggestions on flats near Ruark Bluff? Headed up that way this weekend, thinking I will give these "bottom bouncers" a try. This will be my first attempt with them, so any advice is appreciated.

They have what I've heard called 'pin' bones, like trout. They're fairly noticeable after fileting. Usually, I filet with an electric knife and clean up with a regular filet knife afterward. I run into them when cutting around the rib bones. I cut both sides, and can typically pull them out of the filet with the ribs.

The meat is more dense than what you'll expect. Just be sure to cut off all of the dark meat. It has a pretty strong flavor that I, personally, do not care for. I believe they aren't appreciated due to their down turned mouth, which makes people think they are a type of sucker. From what I can tell, their diet is more similar to sunfish. I eat them on a pretty regular basis, since they seem to like whatever I fish with. They aren't for everyone, though, My wife can't seem to get over the texture. I suspect that's some sort of ploy to get me to eat the drum and leave the crappie and walleye for her, but I can't prove it.

Talking drum caused me to stop lurking and join the forum. It's an old publication, but the Poor Man's Shrimp Cocktail recipe (page 18) is a favorite of my son's. Just be sure to cut off all the dark meat after filleting. http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/archive/_documents/publications/GS/GS-002 Guide to Utilizing the Fresh Water Drum.pdf