And Turtles Too!

ALL had CPR given to them (Catch, Photograph, Release), "FISHON!"

Red Belly Maneating Florida Piranha!

Roosevelt presented piranhas as vicious creatures in his 1914 book Through the Brazilian Wilderness, indicating that

They are the most ferocious fish in the world. Even the most formidable fish, the sharks or the barracudas, usually attack things smaller than themselves. But the piranhas habitually attack things much larger than themselves. They will snap a finger off a hand incautiously trailed in the water; they mutilate swimmers—in every river town in Paraguay there are men who have been thus mutilated; they will rend and devour alive any wounded man or beast; for blood in the water excites them to madness. They will tear wounded wild fowl to pieces; and bite off the tails of big fish as they grow exhausted when fighting after being hooked. But the piranha is a short, deep-bodied fish, with a blunt face and a heavily undershot or projecting lower jaw which gapes widely. The razor-edged teeth are wedge-shaped like a shark’s, and the jaw muscles possess great power. The rabid, furious snaps drive the teeth through flesh and bone. The head with its short muzzle, staring malignant eyes, and gaping, cruelly armed jaws, is the embodiment of evil ferocity; and the actions of the fish exactly match its looks. I never witnessed an exhibition of such impotent, savage fury as was shown by the piranhas as they flapped on deck. When fresh from the water and thrown on the boards they uttered an extraordinary squealing sound. As they flapped about they bit with vicious eagerness at whatever presented itself. One of them flapped into a cloth and seized it with a bulldog grip. Another grasped one of its fellows; another snapped at a piece of wood, and left the teeth-marks deep therein. They are the pests of the waters, and it is necessary to be exceedingly cautious about either swimming or wading where they are found. If cattle are driven into, or of their own accord enter, the water, they are commonly not molested; but if by chance some unusually big or ferocious specimen of these fearsome fishes does bite an animal—taking off part of an ear, or perhaps of a teat from the udder of a cow—the blood brings up every member of the ravenous throng which is anywhere near, and unless the attacked animal can immediately make its escape from the water it is devoured alive.

# ^ Through the Brazilian Wilderness, Roosevelt, Theodore, 1914, Online Bartlby Edition
# ^ "Can piranhas really strip a cow to the bone in under a minute?". HowStuffWorks. http://animals.howstuffworks.com/fish/piranha-eat-cows.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
# ^ "Rumble in the jungle with Amazon's killer piranha". Los Angeles Times. http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-os-piranha22nov22. Retrieved 2009-08-01.

Bass-Beads

Whether you are using a G-MAG, Oversize Worm hook designed by Gamakatsu to fit magnum size tubes, worms and jerk baits or your own favorite variety, slide a colored bead onto your line before tying on the hook. Your bead will slide freely on casting giving you an advantage in catching big bass over average to little ones. Depending on water clarity and temperature, combined in matching the hatch from bugs to the guppies or minnows in the water, may allow you to do a color change on your bead. An example would be if you happen to notice a hatch of frogs, I would put on a dark color like black or green, imitating the hatch. I enjoy both fishing live baits and top waters when in my canoe, angling the canals of North Port, Florida for bass to Panfish with various beads and baits. The one item you can always find in my tacklebox is the 6MM plastic facetted bead, as they work best in finessing fish to the bite. Crappie to largemouth bass, Catfish to Bream, Bass beads deliver extra action to spinner lures, top water lures and live to dead baits in fish attracting color. Primary colors generally come in clear, red, lime, purple, green and chartreuse, though if you take the time to look or ask at your favorite bait shop, I am sure they will find or order the color of your choice. From the canal behind Fines Bait & Tackle, to all the canals that cress-cross the North Port area, east of HWY 41, you will find Largemouth Bass, a whole slew of Pan fishes, Oscars, Florida Spotted Gar, Brown Bullhead, Channel, Walking and Armor Plated catfishes. All of these fish react differently depending upon weather, approaching “Lows”, water clarity, the hatch at the time, temperature and what is about them on the sides of the canal. Urban settings tend to have less squeamish fish than do canals with no development but bridges are best in approaching the use of urban bass bead fishing in the heat of the day, for the bridge offers shelter to shade and an incoming food supply. READ THE WHOLE STORY...