It’s been a long time since I posted on my website so I thought I would post a photo of “fishin’ from the past.” This photo was taken about 35 years ago in a place called Burnt Meadow, Maine. It was the middle of summer and the water and cool air still made you shiver. Note my brother Steven in the background. The fish I’m holding is a Pickerel and it was caught on a Red Devil Spoon. At the time I thought the fish was a monster, little did I know, it was only a baby.

Back here in Florida, the cool weather slows down the Bass fishing but the Crappie fishing should be great this time of year. Use live bait such as Minnows, Worms, Crickets or Grubs. If you choose to use artificial lures, the Beetle Spin is my first choice in white with a red dot. Also, try fly fishing for a more challenging and, believe it or not, a more rewarding day at your favorite fishing hole. Go to your favorite tackle store and ask them what is the best “fly” to use.

I hope you get the chance to get out there and try these tactics and if anything else, learn, have fun, and remember, sometimes you don’t always catch a fish, that’s why it’s called “Fishing,” and not “Catching”

If you have a favorite fishing photo or fishing story you would like to share, send it to my e-mail at jimmy@mcfishin.com  and I will post it on my website and maybe start a new category. I think we should call it     “ Friends of mcfishin.com” 

Yes, there is a Lake Lure. That’s a Smallmouth Bass caught on a rooster tail, this is a beautiful lake in North Carolina with some great fishing. I can’t tell if my daughter is making fun of my fish or if she is proud of her daddy for catching a fish.( she is almost as tall as I am now), Go to mcfishin.com and see more photos.

      I love fly fishing, and I live in Florida. When I caught this rainbow trout in downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee with all the tourists looking on, and thinking I was a local, I had to convince them I was in fact from Florida, must be the long hair! I get the same kind of reaction when I fly fish in O-town. I catch everything from bream to bass. Give it a try some time, you might just tie into a line record fish. There are still open slots in the fly fishing categories. Good luck in all your fishing adventures.

This is a nice bass caught on East Lake Toho using a 7.5 in. red shad Culprit worm. This bass bit the worm as soon as it hit the water. I think  he had his mouth opened and the lure just landed in the right spot, what luck. It would be nice to catch a bass on every cast, but then again, would you get tired of it? I don’t think so, it’s just too fun! Go to mcfishin.com for more photos, videos, and info on bass fishing. thanks,  Jimmy

Do you know the saying? “ Give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man to fish, he eats for the rest of his life “ or something like that. Whatever knowledge you have about fishing, pass it along. Or for that matter, knowledge about anything at all. That’s how the past stays in the present, passed from your dad or grandparent. Learning to fish takes a lifetime. I hope I fish for the rest of my life!

I think the Snook is like the bass of salt water. Snook can grow very large, some of them 45-50 inches of more. The one you see here in the photo above is of average size. This Snook was caught by my brother Mike at Sebastian Inlet some years ago. Michael filet it and cooked it on the grill, it was so tasty. Salt water fishing can pose a challenge even for the seasoned angler. Many rules and regulations change with every season. Starting August 1, 2009 you now have to poses a fishing license to fish salt water from shore. I am not sure, but I think the fee is $10 per person per year. These fees go to a good cause like, funding for the Fisheries dept., keeping the local parks and recreation areas kept up, research, and most important, conservation.Snook are a lot like bass, if you catch a big one, let it go, it might just grow to lunker status. Thanks for logging on to mcfishin.com.   Jimmy 

Well, once again I’m showing off another one of Michael’s bass. This one caught several years ago at shingle creek. Notice the clear sky in the background! Mike caught that bass in one of the deepest parts of the canal Using a Texas rigged red shad Culprit 7 1/2 in. worm. Clear skies indicate the fish are usually in the deep part of the water. When it is overcast try your luck using top water,( my favorite way to bass fish). Once you learn how to read the sky you will learn which lure will be best to use for the conditions. Cloudy skies and/or light chop on the water? Try using a spinner bait, A Strike King Titanium is my first choice. Clear skies? Fish deep or near cover. When it’s sunny, bass will look for shade or something to hide under.That’s why I would use a weed less lure like a plastic worm.  Thanks, Jimmy

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Hello fishin’ fools, welcome to mcfishin.com, this is your fishin’ friend jimmy here. I was reading one of my old fishing mags’ and came across an article about fly fishing in Florida for bass. Actually it was a Q and A, the question was whether or not it was productive to fish with a fly rod and fly? The answer surprised and shocked me at the same time. It stated, to conserve bass in Florida is to fly fish for them. I think this answer is incorrect. I have fly fished in Fl. for many years and have caught many bass, crappy,and blue gill, some of them of decent size. Fact is I caught a 4 pound bass that fought and felt like a 10 pounder.  I had an 8 pounder hooked up and was fighting it just fine when a fish and game warden came across the lake to ask for my boat registration, his huge boat nearly tipped my little Jon boat and in the process that huge bass jumped out of the water and got off the hook. The 3 or 4 people in a boat watching me fight this monster on a fly rod and reel were disappointed I lost the fish and were pissed at the game warden for distracting me while fighting such a huge bass. I showed the intruder my registration and he quickly sped off from either embarrassment of not catching an illegal boater or causing me to loose that bass. I will always love fly fishing and I would give it a try every now and then. You never know what you might tie into.  Happy fishing, jimmy

Yup! that’s a 10 pound bass my brother Bobby caught a while back. I don’t know the details about it, I will have to ask him and get back to you on that. Bobby’s knowledge of bass fishing (or fishing in general) amazes me when ever we go fishing, or just talk fishing, which is not often enough.  mcfishin.com   thanks, jimmy