Like many folks who have not used live bait, we found that the interesting technique the Rawlins' brothers demonstrated takes a little getting used to. But we were rewarded with a number of good-sized fish and a good time.

We used stout bait-casting rods with 20-pound-test line, with the hook placed approximately 2 to 2 1/2 feet beneath a bobber. For a more natural nose-down swimming action, we hooked the shiners through the lips. The trick was to cast the bait to the edge of the pennywort and hope the shiner swam along hugging the edge, or even going under the cover.

We were told to keep our rod tips up and keep plenty of slack in the line. Rick Rawlins even suggested keeping the bail open until the bait was taken and we were ready to set the hook.

If the shiner didn't cooperate and headed away from the weed cover, we reeled up and recast. The idea was to keep the bait near or under the floating cover where the bass are.

Sometimes, giving the rod tip a jerk would get a lethargic shiner on the move again.

As we left our lines slack, we kept an eye on our floats, waiting for them to disappear under the surface. Some nervous movement of the float -- or even the shiner skipping to the surface to escape a predator -- would usually precede the bobber going under.

When the float did get pulled down, it was hard to resist the instinct to immediately pull back and set the hook. But instead, the procedure is to line up the rod with the submerged bait while slowly reeling in the slack line, thus not alarming what is on the other end. As you reel in the excess line, lower the rod tip towards the spot where the line disappears under the surface -- and get ready to pull up hard and set the hook!

When we did that, a number of the big fish we caught were unfortunately not largemouth bass. We hooked plenty of bowfin -- or mudfish, as they are referred to locally. The mudfish prefer much the same habitat as the big bass and, even though they have some size to them, they can be a bit of a nuisance.

After hooking a few mudfish, you'll detect some differences in their method of taking the bait. But since these aren't a reliable way to tell what you have on the end of your line, Rick and Ron both said to assume that every bite is a big bass!

Largemouths grab a shiner and turn the bait to swallow it headfirst. That generally causes the float to go straight down sharply. If the fish throws the bait and it has scales stripped from its sides, that's a good indicator that a bass had hold of it.

Bowfins grab and hold the bait in their mouth horizontally while swimming with it. If you see your float "submarining" or cruising just under the surface with a steady movement, a mudfish likely has hold of it.

And more times than not, even after you set the hook and fight the fish to the boat, a mudfish will get off. They just hold the bait sideways in their mouths, refusing to let it go. That makes them more difficult to hook. Bite marks across the shiner's side indicate that a mudfish had hold of it. But again, the Rawlins said they have been fooled. The best method is to set the hook as if it were a hawg largemouth.

If the mudfish dominate the bite at one location, then move on to another spot. There are too many big largemouths out there to waste time -- or shiners -- on mudfish.

Masses of pennywort floating in creek mouths are particularly good places to target the bass. Often the creek is so congested with pennywort or lily pads that it's hard to tell that there is a creek there.

We also fished a few of the "dead rivers," including Hontoon Dead River. These dead-end channels were once part of the main channel of the St. Johns. During World War II, the river was straightened by dredging through its twists and turns, creating a number of those dead-end rivers.

Ron Rawlins mentioned to us that stingrays also thrive in the St. Johns River, which is highly unusual due to the fact that they are saltwater creatures. In fact, the St. Johns is the only body of water where the Atlantic stingray actually reproduces and completes its life cycle in a freshwater environment! But they are almost impossible to see in the dark water, except in the clearer water near springs, where they can sometimes be spotted in great numbers.

As mentioned earlier, the panorama of plant and wildlife along the stream is a real bonus to the fishing. This is truly a birder's paradise! Those who know me are aware that I'm as hardcore an angler as any who suffer from the addiction. I have a hard time being anywhere near water without a rod in hand. I rarely cross a bridge without peering at the flow below.