Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

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cotton
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Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by cotton »

I haven't posted a report in a while, so I thought I would post something different.

A week ago I found a mudhole to explore. I fished there a few hours and hung what I thought was a Kayakwars record mudfish. I hung him on one of my favorite crappie jigs. After trying to grab him several times with my fish grips, he slipped away. I was pretty disappointed, so I returned this Sunday.

Lucky for me, the mudhole I was fishing doesn't seem to have any remaining fish real anglers would target. Perhaps it's all the big gators. I have had it entirely to myself for both trips. The first fish I caught wasn't the monster mudfish I was seeking but he certainly looked prehistoric.
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I then proceeded to start catching mudfish. It took 3 before I hooked the beast I was after. I knew the crappie jig I was using wouldn't support his weight, so this time I proceeded to nearest shore and pulled him up on a shallow bar. I don't believe he was as big as the one I hung the previous week. But, he was still big enough for a new kayakwars record.
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I'm official the new king of freshwater trash fish. I hold 2 kayakwars records. Carp and mudfish.
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by Shorewalker »

All hail King Cotton, Supreme Ruler of the Freshwater S***fish Masses of the KayakWars Kingdom.
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by WannaDoDat »

:lol: :lol: :lol:

All kidding aside, congratulations Tim!!! Way to go on that Kayak Wars record bowfin!!!
That's 28 inches of pure muscle!!!

Way to figure them out!!!

Sure wish you had a glory shot with that mudder.....if only you had moved just a tad away from the kayak your face would be in the water reflection!!! :D
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by oldblue »

CONGRATULATIONS, Cotton , nice record !
Smart move there, the tiedowns on your board there ...
You don't want them mudders flopping about in a bass boat, much less in a kayak

Free "mudder fishing tip of the week" here (?) -
Early October, I thunk mebbe I had Googled me up a hot spot within easy reach of T'ville, ideal paddle water... mebbe

Looked good on GoogleMap
Even looked good on a drive-by on a Sunday for a quickie looksee, no-boat.
The put-in ramp was decent on the pretty state owned WMA property there, plenty of baitfish in the water at ramp,
looked to be some small channels running off the pond area, though it obviously is 3 or 4 feet down from 'normal' pool, like most all area lakes & ponds
looked 'bassy' enuff from what you could see from the put-in pond area ramp

I shoulda' Googled it harder before I went back with yak
turkey vulture heaven
no channels other than back up towards CR146 bridge (mostly miles and miles of nothin' but pads in too shallow), which I did follow only that far, when I launched
"headwaters" of the Aucilla, aka "tailwaters" of Thomasville sewage un-treatment
Florida bought the property as part of their efforts to protect the Aucilla, a buffer zone wetland to minimize downstream pollution impact
might ought wear rubber gloves if touching anything that has touched water, high coliform and all
(ain't smelly, but sure enough nasty microbiology)

a local who lives nearby, retired fellow about my age, was out walkin' his dog in the cool morning air, stopped to chat about the same time I was putting my yak in
nice fellow
he sez ain't nothin in it but a whole bunch of big mudfish
they even have had bowfin tournaments there, so sez he
said to use nightcrawlers, sure fire bet if you want to actually catch 'em
I was already there and half launched, so I paddled about a bit anyway
just might be the place for big coliformed mudders for anybody who wants 'em
Sneads Smokehouse Lake, just east of Monticello, ya'll can have it
I pass
(this searching for 'new' water can be a tough game !)


Salvaged my day by reloading and headed over to the Wascissa Springs headwater, for about two hours on water 1st-look-for-me at that
Low water (of course), but still pretty in spite of way too much hydrilla;
tough to work a Torpedo or swimbait or spinner bait with all the hydrilla, takes some patience in slots and pockets
I think I will mebbe try some Johnson spoons w/ UJ pork ribbon trailers next time around
picked up 3 micro-sized bream while fooling about, that's it, but enjoyed that 1st look anyway, a classic kayak stream if ever there was one
gotta go back there one of these days, maybe if I ever make good on my threat to go after some mullet on hook-n-line

PS
used to be a bunch of fat bowfins in Micouskee also, not near as nasty water, if you can slog your way out to what little water is left
the local lake folk who live there used to catch lots of 'em
they liked to eat freelined large shiners back-when, just chuck 'em out to "open" water on a weedles hook and watch your line really close
reel up, check your shiner and chuck it out again to check that you bait is still lively, every 15-20 minutes
(pretty boring until one of 'em grabs it; might ought bring a cold beverage or two along for the trip)


well.. time to go load up, heading on out to Weed-Bingham today, for a paddle on the Little River, scouting skunk apes
(since seatrout seem to be allergic to fool-in-blue)
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by fishunter »

Cotton, I guess I'm going to need to take my trash fishing a little more seriously next year. Those two records you hold used to belong to me. :mrgreen: Well done and congrats on catching two of the most underrated gamefish of all time! I think you would love to go on one of my bonita trips next February. :A1
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by BigIrish »

Congrats Tim! Way to represent! and you took them from Donnie, this club stil amazes me.
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by copperhead »

Good job cotton.those things sure are mean.I just entered a 31 incher in the big catch program.Shooting for 10 species this year and got 3 today.Not in a yak though.those big gators are still lookin hungry.
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by frank »

Congratulations!
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by fishunter »

copperhead wrote:Good job cotton.those things sure are mean.I just entered a 31 incher in the big catch program.Shooting for 10 species this year and got 3 today.Not in a yak though.those big gators are still lookin hungry.
What's this Big Catch Program all about?
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hammy
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by hammy »

Trashmaster! What a bloody mess!
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by capncrunch »

I certainly hope you wont be targeting the coveted KW "Snot Rocket" record. Because if you are, this means war :twisted:
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by andystaxidermy »

hey i think i got me one of those KW records for a trashfish too :A1 lol big ol longnose bout 54" long i think if i remember right lol :lol:

Fishhunter, the big catch is just another way kinda like KW to push yourself to target fish you normally wouldnt...no alot at the end of either other than a warm fuzzy feeling and a lil braggin rights LOL :A1
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by WannaDoDat »

andystaxidermy wrote:hey i think i got me one of those KW records for a trashfish too :A1 lol big ol longnose bout 54" long i think if i remember right lol :lol:

Fishhunter, the big catch is just another way kinda like KW to push yourself to target fish you normally wouldnt...no alot at the end of either other than a warm fuzzy feeling and a lil braggin rights LOL :A1
:lol: Great way to describe it, Andy! And, I would say they are a great way to promote catch and release of the big breeders while still getting your "props". :D
Holy smokes on the 54 incher!!! :A1

Donny, here is one of the threads from KayakBassFishing about the Big Catch and TrophyCatch programs.

http://www.kayakbassfishing.com/kbfBB3/ ... 49&t=20140
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by JT »

That's a monster. Bet he gave you a good tug....
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Re: Prehistoric Monsters - 12/1

Post by BloodyChamp »

Ahem.

I will not tolerate any bashing of Sneads Smokehouse! I've caught plenty of bass, bream and perch out of there over the years. The place took a hit when some logging in the late 90s next door sent a ton of slop in the left side of the dam, and I admit that when it got low it was a little on the icky side. But anyway they've removed the dam and the place is great again. The removal of the dam has allowed the water to flow again thanks to the sinkhole on the left side. There are a ton of Blackfish out there but they get hit with the cane pole mafia every year so 15 pounders aren't as common as they are in some of the other upper Aucilla Black Holes. I'd go as far as to say it has the most Blackfish of them all though lol!
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