Back Yard Bass Fishing

We tossed some catfood out for chum, launched the castnet against the wind and came up with a nice batch of Gold Shiners from two to six inches long - Bass candy?

The wind was howling and the rain was pouring down last Friday with lows in the 30s predicted and 25 knot winds for Saturday. These are typical weather conditions when you have company coming from “up north” who are expecting tropical fishing conditions like the “Spanish Fly” encounters as he guides his fishing party to trophy catches out of Key West.

The boat would remain in the driveway this weekend for sure. Uncle Gary and myself would have to seek another fishing venue for this Superbowl weekend. We decided to fish off my dock for Largemouth Bass hoping the stiff wind blowing into our faces would blow the baitfish toward us and inturn the bass would show up to feast on the bait. Our lake is located in the middle of Amelia Island and is home to Bass, Bluegill, Catfish, and assorted Shiners, Shad, Eels, Crabs ect. All of the things bass love to eat are in that pond, except maybe the Crabs, and I don`t know how the heck they got in there. Anyway, we tossed some catfood out for chum and shortly thereafter launched the castnet against the wind (not easy) and came up with a nice batch of Gold Shiners from two to six inches long – Bass candy? They love `em!

We pinned the live Shiner to a 2/0 Kahle hook suspended below a 4 inch cigar-shaped foam float with a 3 ft. piece of 20 lb. flourocarbon leader. Sounds complicated but its really not – just like fishin with a bobber when you were a kid. The baits were pitched out near the brushy bank adjacent to the dock as well as into the middle of the lake. It didn`t matter, the bass were hungry and we caught two right off the bat, 2 lbs and 4 lbs.

The Idea is to let the Bass have the bait when the float disappears for a few seconds while he positions it in his maw in order to suck it down his throat whole (no teeth required for this). Then set the hook and the fight is on. Let him have the bait too long and he’ll either spit it out when he feels the hook or swallow it and become gut hooked requiring major surgery and likely a trip to the frying pan. The proper wait time sets the hook firmly in the bass’ lip where it is easily removed for a healthy release of the fish.

We had steady action both Saturday and Sunday. Our final tally was eight bass between two and seven pounds and many fond fishing memories for Uncle Gary who is currently back home and shoveling snow in Saint Louis.

Call me for the Bass fishing trip of a lifetime, Captain Jim Wormhoudt (904) 753-0882 .