SW Florida Kid

I took my girlfriend out fishing yesterday. She really wanted to go fishing with me one day. The sky was clear, the temp was in the 70's, and the water was calm. We went fishing near Shell Creek and Jewfish Creek. We were out trying to catch Spanish Mackerel and Speckled Trout, but we kept on running into schools of Ladyfish. All in all, we caught 6 Ladyfish and 1 Lizardfish. Haha. All of the Ladyfish were between 20-26 inches. It was nice to have the girlfriend happy. She caught 3 and I caught 3. After we hit the schools of Ladyfish in Shell Creek and Jewfish Creek, we called it a day and went on an island to get some sun and relax. It was a fun day for both of us. =)

Tabloid Prodigy » Blog Archive » Fried fish eaten alive! What are your thoughts on this?

3 lbs - Good 5 lbs - Big 7 lbs - Huge!!! lol

I was looking at zoom worms, senko worms, and space monkeys. How do I know what color to use? I've only used crankbaits and livebait... i've never been successful with worms... i want to start using them. Can you guys give me advice? Thanks!

I agree with you. Luck is thrown around a lot. I'd like to use the word "chance" instead.

I have a Shimano Rod 6'6" and a Shimano 4000 series spinning reel. Thanks for the advice!

I use the X-Rap and I love it! Definitely a great lure. Good thing about this lure is that its not just for bass. You can use it for salt water too!

Is it common?

Thanks for the response! What test strength should I use and do you have any recommendations on a brand?

It depends. Every year, I get better and better at fishing. I keep on telling my fishing buddy that we are getting better and better. I can only speak of my own experiences and I can tell you that the reason why I keep getting better is because of skill. I'll start knowing the lakes I fish more and more every time I fish them. I'll know what type of bait they like in a particular area. I'll know which times to fish which places. I'll know what certain spots fish hang out at. I can talk all day about it, but the short answer is no... it isnt luck. The more a fisherman studies, experiences, fishes, and understands the aspects of bass fishing, the more often you are going to catch the big bass. Just like someone said earlier. A rookie can luckily catch a big bass, but he wont be able to do it over and over again. The experienced bass fisherman will be able to land bigger bass more often because they know the environment, circumstances, they know the bait better, they know what bass like. Hope that helps the discussion.

Maybe its just because I caught a gar last night and it's teeth broke the line (luckily the gar was already on land)... and i was wondering if I should get a different type of line or maybe add a leader.

I use a spinning reel. Right now, I use my rod for saltwater and freshwater fishing. I think I have Power Pro 20# on my reel right now. It was used for snook, but now we use it for bass fishing only. So my question is, what type of line should I be using? And what test strength should I be using for bass? Is it ok to use a rod for bass AND snook? Oh yeah.... I use the Rapala X-Rap for Snook and Bass and they both love it.... so what line should I be using for this lure?

Thats what I was thinkin... thanks man!

ROTFLMFAO!! Hilarious!

Time of fishing - 6:00 PM Location - Little ditch in SW Florida. 1 foot deep ditch, 10 feet wide I went fishing in a ditch on the side of the road. The ditch was 1 foot deep in the dead center and was 5 inches deep on the side of the ditch. I saw tons of decent sized bass that were very active. I was using my Rapala X-Rap Silver and casted out 4 times, each time feeling a good hit, but never caught anything. The fifth time I casted out, I pulled in a gar. It was 18 inches in length, felt about 2-3 lbs. I'm wondering what type of gar this is. Any help appreciated.

Where do you fish at ?

I bring: 1. Rapala X-Rap (Silver) 2. 6" Plastic Worms 3. Blue Swimbait 4. Rapala Minnow 5. Worm Spray

Its crazy... a lot of our canals here in Fort Myers/Cape Coral are all getting polluted. The canal I used to live on 7 years ago now has no fish in it. It's sad. I keep trying to find better fishing spots, but Im coming out thin. I'm going to hit a new spot next weekend. Many places here are either polluted or either fished out. It sucks.

Haha... i bet. I guess that may be a valid answer. LoL.

LoL... no, I've been looking at this forum for a while now and decided to join yesterday. I also belong to another bass forum. Most of the people are not from Florida. Just kinda interesting. I was VERY surprised that there are a lot of New Yorkers that bass fish. I just thought it was a southern thing. ;D

At the looks of it, it seems like Florida is not that popular for bass fishing. I've lived in South florida all my life and grew up hearing from everyone that Florida is the fishing capital of the world and stuff. But then I get on these fishing forums and everyone is from Texas, Tennessee, New York.... I just found it interesting that I havent found that many Florida bass fishers and there are absolutely no SW Florida bass clubs or anything. Am I looking at the wrong places? Thanks!

That doesnt look like a jon boat... it looks like a row boat. You got jipped.

+1 a 12" is perfect

An 8ft jon boat is extremely small... A perfect size would be a 12" jon boat. I found it to be great for two grown men and all of our gear.

I've been using the Silver Rapala X-Rap lately... I've been getting really good results. Fish strike at it like crazy! It's $7 and you can get it at wally world. I have the silver one.