PABASS

Hello, Will be visiting Fort Myers this month, fishing from shore what places would you recommend and are open to public? Places that are kid friendly are a plus, I will also fish alone as well. Any help would be appreciated! Jason

Looking for advice on a guide service for a 8 hour trip. Looking to catch big fish!!

So Gene do you snore, lol... Anyway would love to take the boys to this but they are still a bit young maybe in a few years we will make the 14hr drive...

I know fishing is a Multi Billion dollar industry, how much of that is strictly from Bass fishing I can’t say, Bass fishing is the most popular freshwater fish, with that being said look at all the products that has KVD on it and its hard for me to think he isn't making little more than 2 million a year to bring it up with the lower spectrum of sporting events. Beyond this I don't classify a sport based on yearly salary, I did track specifically shot and you can’t argue this a sport and in my opinion its easier then 8+hours of fishing.. What made me an athlete for shot was my size and strength something you don’t need in fishing but you do need something else, mental attitude, drive, and raw talent which means many things but not everyone has this and that is why not everyone can be a professional angler in the sport of fishing. I want to add something else from what I see of professional anglers the ones that finish in the top they are smart & logical, you need to be intelligent in this game and again not everyone has this..

Keep in mind that only lists prize money, not endorsements were the real money is at.. "excludes endorsements, appearance fees, sponsorships and other income sources unless otherwise noted."

Competitive Bass fishing is a sport, I won’t say all Anglers are athletes but I know a few like Aaron Martens who keeps to an Athletes regiment with working out and eating correctly. I am a big guy not an athlete but this year I am loosing the weight and exercising daily my stamina has gone up, I never sit when I fish tournaments, I don't want a seat in the back of the boat takes up to much of my space, this last tournament I was nowhere near as tired and my fishing improved. Mind & Body you keep these healthy you can be a better angler; however like any sport raw talent is a key player. The typical competitive angler that fishes from a boat for 6-7 hours burns more calories than a football player during a game.

When I was younger there was a larger bass (maybe 4#) in a local pond that I would catch every year multiple times a year for at least 10 years, few tears ago visited this area and sadly she is no longer with us..

I want to add dead sticking can be productive with most lures, not just plastics, not just in cold months, the bass as you have learned will tell you how they want it. I use dead sticking all year round, especially if I have confidence in location/lure.

Its fumy my pre concede perceptions of people and where they live, Glenn I thought for sure you lived on the east coast never really payed much attention to your profile and thought you were from OH, lol. Very good episode watched it last night. Do allot of the WA smallies have that little white spot on the gill plate? Cant say I see that here in PA..

Texas Rigged them with a bullet weight great combo in spring, basically swim, sit and bounce depending on what the fish want. I also like using them weightless and almost like a buzzbait running them near the top of the water. I haven't used them much this year though been trying to many other lures..

Brian I think we are on the same book here, we know certain things because of science and we know certain things from time spent on the water and personally that's where I want to be..

If a western lab bass acts the same as an eastern lab bass is it really a western bass then? Then its just a bass, right? And isn't that the point of controlled environments? If you are implying that what I am saying is that science tells me how to catch a bass then I don't think we will ever come to an agreement because we are not communicating on the same level. Back to your grass, so with those results you know that grass based on the soil elements will grow well or might need some human assistance, about how fast it will grow and what grass does for soil, humans and many other animals, you know that grass will help prevent soil erosion and consume c02 to create oxygen. Do you think all these reproducible results were performed in the wild or in a controlled environment?

My use of aquarium was just a generic term, we clearly as pointed out in my post can make a controlled environment much more advanced then a simple glass aquarium to meet the needs of what we are trying to learn. And that's my point, we humans introduced bass to our human made ponds, lakes, rivers and streams yet we call it natural and wild, is it? I agree there is nothing better then learning true reproducible facts in the wild but lets be realistic here you cant always do this, again controlled environments are a tool and when its "reproducible" in a controlled environment the "wild" is the proving grounds which also means all things considered its reproducible in that environment as well. I have a question about "natural" and "wild" the Florida strain of bass why is it still not in Florida? How natural is it to have an unnatural fish in a man-made lake?

My point with man-made lakes versus natural lakes are simply man can create an environment that becomes "wild" or "natural" to a bass, without being a scientist logic lets me believe that something replicated in a "aquarium" must also be reproducible in the wild depending on what we are trying to learn. I am not saying that everything we learn is 1:1 however if your telling me what we learn in a controlled environment is nothing like in the wild as it concerns bass then show me the proof... I believe this very site had an article from several biologist whom used a pond in NY I believe as a controlled environment due to no fishing allowed, no "man" interference although its a man-made pond is this the "wild" is it "natural"? And if we have a hard time discerning the difference why then would a bass automatically know the difference? Take a 1:1 species of Bass and I would imagine Bass out west behave differently than a Bass in the east and I also imagine a bass in a lab out west acts similar to a bass in the east. The key here is controlled environments, which allows us to predict and learn regardless if its a wild bass or not. We can create environments solely on the goal of what we want to learn, can we learn everything from a controlled environment of course not but its a tool, please tell me why it isn't?

What defines a cage? Is a one acre pond a cage? For that matter PA doesn't have many natural lakes, we have a big one of course but most lakes and ponds are man made. This goes back to intellect are we saying that bass know what a cage is or that a bass knows a aquarium isn't "natural"?

In this day and age what wasn't forced by humans? SMB are not native to our rivers, they were released by a train crash carrying them so even if the study was done on this large sample it still would be forced by humans. I don't think LMB for that matter are native to PA and many other areas in the US. I think what this showed was eventual outcomes based on a small sample group that in nature could be an eventual outcome. Its all about replicating the results and if this was proved its starts becoming science.

I was pulling it out by hand that is how I was testing the drag, my 251 Calcutta is much harder to pull off but without looking at its drag specs I might be comparing apples and oranges. It probably wont matter, I will see if my hookups change with this new reel and I am still very happy with it.. ~Capt. Bob the Tourney MG is 14# the normal MG is 10#.

I love being in nature and I love feeling that bite, or that top water explosion and then to hear your drag, pull in that fish and that's when a plan comes together and I am as much about the moment as I am about the planning.

First don't approach him, did anyone not read about the angler whom was killed recently, shot over approaching a young person whom was stealing something from his boat. You simply leave it to your DNR, call them let them deal with this person who may well be in there legal right. Second concerning bass I am 100% C&R, I agree with Selective Harvest its proven by biologist to be healthy for a lake, around here there is just to much pollution to eat the trout and walleye.

I am used to fishing a Calcutta so its just my experience as that reel has very little give. Once I take it frogin and flipin I will see how it works with those duties.

A brief mini review on several outings with the Lews.. I done did it... I gave Lews another shot this time with a Tournament MG Speed Spool Casting Reel and I have to say that I am impressed thus far. Very smooth for a $130 reel, I cant think of a reel in this price range that is as smooth, that's impressive. Casts like a dream, I am by no means good with a baitcaster and I can set this on 0 and cast a lure mostly without overruns, lol. When I set it on 3 still casts great and no bird-nests, it also casts light lures very easily and it was used in some crazy high winds, I change the setting to a 4.5 and still no issues and that was with a crank bait KVD SQB 1.5. Its a very light reel and its small but even in my larger hands it just felt right.. I am getting another one of these bad boys soon, I am that impressed. While I haven't caught a fish with it yet I would say my biggest complaint is the drag at 14# seems a little weak, I will be mainly using this as a flipping/forging reel and with its larger handles excels at, just not sure about the drag yet. From my local tackle shop he has heard nothing but good reviews on these reels. I was somewhat disappointed that they are made in China, but facts are I don't know how else you get this quality at this price without taking some shortcuts in manufacturing. Other Equipment/Line/Lures *St Croix Mojo *Tuff-Line 20# ~3/8 Jig ~1/4 Jig ~3/16 Shaky Head ~Spro Bronze-eye Shad ~KVD SQB 1.5 for testing

I really want to try a Dobyns rod but they are just not popular here and no stores carry them. With that being said I have a rod from 97 that's still in my Arsenal and that rod is a Premiere from St Croix and I use it as a jig/frog rod. I have tried the Veritas and while I favor it over my St Croix newer premier and mojo bass its quality isn't on par with a St Croix. I have this issue of what rod to get as I don't want to spend more than 175$ on a rod and I know St Croix is quality so its hard going outside that box. At some point I will try a Dobyns and hope to own one soon..

Braid typically works well in vegetation, I have always used Mono for spinnerbaits however this year have been throwing it on braid with a fc leader just cant seem to get a bite this year with a spinner bait.

I got one in Killer Gill, they do walk easy and cant wait to give this a proper work-out next season..

Never caught a WP, not sure if they live in any waters I fish regularly. I would image Muskie would put a damage on them..