SirSnookalot

You mean like this guy ?

Fished freshwater 60 years until I heard the term for bass " green fish", not until I joined this forum. What we call greenfish is a hard fighting fish that you've had on the line 10-20 minutes or more and showing no signs of getting tired. It's green, as in not ripe yet, not finished, sees the boat and decides to peel out another 40 yds of line not ready top be landed............we say that fish is still green.

Myself and some of my fellow pier rats don't understand who decides what is a game fish and why. We catch species that are not considered gamefish, yet they are wary and difficult to catch, fight as hard or harder as any gamefish, and in some cases much better eating. I think the parameters of what a game fish is need to be reevaluated.

As far as I'm concerned the main issue of fishing is to catch them and the preservation of my equipment is not the top priority, it's all easily replaceable. Given the nature of the danger involved, I know what those gators can be like, I'd just swing them up. Not only do I freshwater fish but spend much more time in saltwater. Just this past Monday and this is commonplace, we catching 20# bonita. By the time we get the fish to the boat these 20 pounders are now 10 pounders, simply reason a school of 6-8 bull sharks hanging around us all day................so ya gotta be careful , gators pose an equal threat.

Many people do with no problems, me being primarily a salt water fisherman I like using the right equipment.

Beating a dead horse to death with complaints of the heat. Myself and many of the oldtimers grew up with no a/c at home, school, work and our cars, we survived just fine and it was plenty hot then. I think it was a big plus not having 24 hour news and weather( had only 3 channels), I never knew the temperature, just did my thing.

I swing or better put "spring" the fish up as high 10 ft at the Boynton inlet, jetty is too high to do that, average snook is probably 6-8#, with medium or med hv spinning gear Fishing off a boat this technique could be done with some practice, but there are a couple of easier ways I think. Needless to say I think a net is the best option however we never carry one when fishing offshore. I either lift a non toothy critter by the leader, bonitas run 10 to over 20#, no big deal to lift them, or you can use a gaff. I can lift a fish with gaff either under the gills or use the gaff on their lips. I don't see a bass posing any problems in landing. I just noticed, yea the boga is a good idea too.

Checking the weather is the first thing I do each morning before heading out. My first stop is always the ocean or ICW so the marine forecast gets special attention. I need tide information, swell direction, wind direction and velocity, how I determine what species I'm targeting along with the location I'm headed for and the tackle I'm taking with me. I may check a forum or online reports to see what's happening where. I never decide yesterday where I'm fishing today. It's 3:15 am and I'm leaving very soon to go fishing, still haven't decided where I'm going.

I'm both an avid fisherman and golfer, with the emphasis on fishing the last few years. Golf courses don't open at 4 am and that's the time I like to start fishing. I don't think it's fair to pit one activity against another as to what's more challenging, most likely one's own passion appears to be more difficult. If on a golf forum, fisherman would get little respect as to what's more challenging, and tennis players would be snubbing golfers. Fly fishermen think they are the purists and the rest are just wannabees, personally I'm the only one I know that bass fishes, all my friends are strictly saltwater and think freshwater is for drinking. I'll keep my sentiments to myself as far as what's challenging and what isn't.

Beautiful dish...........................I mean fish.

I have fished the 441 canals quite a bit, not far from my home, and for the most part have done pretty good. IMO this is the worst time of the year for bass from shore, I don't do it until the weather cools down. The old saying, "when the bass turn off, the snook turn on"...........go east young man.

Drifting with frozen sardine, 3rd one this year, have not done well at all trolling. Bone fish off L/W ? wow...........from shore, pier or boat? That has got my interest.

I only use florocarbon leaders and tie leader to braid when fishing for certain species, freshwater bass are not one of them. Almost all of my fishing is done (salt and fresh) with braid and about a 15" leader tied to BB or barrel swivel, ordinary clinch knot works just fine, even for larger fish. The only thing I really do different is I use a heavier leader than most do, my standard set up is 10# or 15# with 20# leader, same set up in saltwater but a 30# or 40# leader there. I'm able to save more lures when they get hung up with the heavier leader, I've seen no loss in lure action.

Line is a personal choice, for me it's such a secondary issue I don't push one over the other, I buy the best deal out there, around here that's Power Pro of Fins. If a person thinks they aren't catching fish or knots not holding with certain lines, it isn't a different line that's needed. People catch fish on all lines made, all equipment made, it's never the bow, it's always the archer.

I've been in that area fishing from shore in peak bass season and really have little to show for it. Try the spillway off Military Trail, you may be surprised on what you hook into.

We aren't talking survival, that's entirely separate issue. Ethical to bow hunt a fish, IMO no, but if it's legal I can't get bent out of shape about it. I see little or no difference in shooting a carp, bass or any other species. Some people classify fishing as a sport, others call it an activity, I can't be convinced that bow hunting fish is a sport.

Tell your friend to move to Florida and buy a 42' Yellowfin for about $140k, I'd love to fish off that boat.

Personal choice, I don't even own a freshwater b/c reel, nothing I fish for can't be handled on a 2000 series spinner.

I'd send it back.

Line twist on a baitcaster happens if the bait is revolving like a spoon or soft plastic, in my case cut bait. Ball bearing swivels will help.

No

Great fishing weather but not much was doing except this one.

When I need to get down lower I'll put a small splitshot couple of inches above the lure or use a wire leader to get me down.

Being a 7 day week saltwater inshore fisherman I think I can shed some light, as I said fish are fish the only thing that changes are subtle nuances regards to tide,time of day, location of fish, etc. Any soft plastic works excellent in saltwater, providing your quarry has no teeth like stripers, snook or tarpon ( probably redfish too but my expertise is limited regarding them), those species are caught pretty much the same as any LMB. Any hard bait I can think of will work fine, I catch the majority of all my fish on spoons. Eel type baits are excellent for stripers, a guy out of Maryland made and marketed surgical tubes for stripers, those same tubes are now a mainstay for barracuda, I'm one of the very few people I know that carries any gear with them, I use a small fanny pack, most fisherman I see just have 1 lure on the rod, we do analyze a bit less and the lure consideration is secondary, if the fish are on they will hit anything. But they are always not on, many times just no fish in the area and can go for hours without a strike,

Fish are fish, they hit most anything.