Early Specks

[Sir reel]

Had an invitation from a friend who lives down here in Frostproof full time to go fishing this morning. He arrived on time about 6:50 am and by 7:30 we were on the water in Lake Arbuckle. Ran maybe 5 minutes and we were trolling in 8 ft of water. Here's a shot of the trolling set up on the back of his new Tracker.

First time I've ever fished for them with this type of trolling rig. 6 rods on the back with two more, one on each side for the man in the front. The bite was slow but fairly consistent with one here, two there, etc. Even though it was slow, the ones we caught were fairly nice and we even had a pretty nice bass decide to join the party. Water was really stained and the specks were pretty dark. It was foggy until probably 9:30 or 10 and then it lifted. My friend Gene did a good job of putting us on fish and keeping us on them. We kept 16 specks and the bass. We probably threw back a dozen. Really enjoyed it. Home by noon.

[bman]

That looks like fun and GOOD EATING!

[SS-342]

That birddog pointed something good! Thanks for the report and pictures.

[fireant21]

nice

[Redbelly]

Lazy-Man fishing!

[Sir reel]

Lazy-Man fishing!

I gota tell ya... when your set'n in that comfortable swivel chair and 4 or 5 rods go down at the same time... ya feel like Jerry Lee at the key board... it's exciting and your all over the place at the same time. It's a good thing the chair is bolted down or you'd be kick'n it to the bow.

[GaryDroze]

Thanks for the report, which brought back a flood of warm memories. My very first Florida fishing experiences were on Lake Arbuckle, when my dad was stationed at the Avon Park Bombing Range. There was a school bus stop on base, near the lake. I used to get up in the dark on school days, wadefish until sunrise, then barely make it to the bus for class. Learned all about bass, specks, moccasins, and mudfish. Glad to know Lake Arbuckle still kicks out specks!

[Salty Gator]

Good lookin mess of specs. Congrats

[Ifishtoo]

Lazy-Man fishing!

Only one way to improve on that rig. Lazy Boy recliners and jingle bells on the rods! Speck fishin in the fall, great for small kids and the AARP crowd.

[Flint River Pirate]

That's a lot of fun!

[Redbelly]

I know a fella at Talquin that installed lazy boy office chairs in his boat.

Yep, you get a half dozen rods with fish on it's a chinese fire drill!!

[FUTCHCAIRO]

HEY BUD, YOU DIDN'T GET MY PERMISSION TO FISH MY PRIVATE LAKE, HA HA HA . I DID NOT NOTICE ANY 2-2 1/2 # FISH ON THE PICTURE. WAY BACK EVEN BEFORE THE BOMBING RANGE WE USE TO CATCH A LIMIT OF 50 SPECKS IN ABOUT A HOUR. WE USED A LITTLE PLUG CALLED THE BLUE-EYED PEARL SONIC, CATCH LARGE SPECKS ALL DAY LONG ON THAT THING. ME AND MY GOOD FRIEND JOHN GIDDENS FISHED THIS SAME LAKE BACK IN THE LATE FORTIES AND EARLY FIFTIES AND STILL CAUGHT HUGE SPECKS ON THAT SAME LITTLE PLUG. THE LARGEST BLACK BASS I EVER CAUGHT THERE WAS A 15 POUNDER RIGHT WHERE ARBUCKLE CREEK RUNS OUT OF THE LAKE. I CAUGHT THAT BASS ON A CHUB CREEK TOP WATER PLUG , I THINK IT WAS CALLED THE 2000. I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK DOWN ON ARBUCKLE AND TRY FOR SOME OF THOSE HUGH SPECKS, I KNOW THERE ARE STILL SOME THERE. YA DID GOOD.
PA
SEMPER FI