Highhawk1948

Lights attract insects, insects attract small fish that eat them, small fish attract larger fish. During the day with swimmers in the water there will not be a lot of fish traffic at beaches. But at night some fish will move in. Use to night fish a private lake years ago and the best place was the isolated beach areas. Bass would corral the bait fish there and we would throw topwater lures.

Lighted boat docks and swimming beaches.

I am fishing 6 natural lakes and I like to get a map even if it just rough. I also look at Google Earth and look at the areas that I think are spawning areas, points, isolated docks, a concentration of docks, canals, anything that may draw bass. When fishing it I ususally start at the closest points to the spawning areas,(summer, fall, winter). Warm weather I like sloping points, in colder weather I like sharp dropoffs. In Jan, Feb, March, into April I am fishing spawning areas like canals, pads, other spawning areas. I never turn off my depth finder and look for the visible grass lines in the deepest water , and underwater weed beds. I mark this all on my map. Sometimes I will just "hunt" and not get a lot of fishing done. I was an avid bass fisherman in the 70's thru the 90's. Got out of it in the new century. Started in earnest again last year. Having a lot of fun using the above, and catching fish reguarly. Good luck! Hope this helps.

Plastic Worm

Look at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Lake County, Florida. Several smaller cities around, marinas, urban or country living. 6 lakes to fish, 5 are connected. Qauality bass fishing. Google it, several sites. Google Bass Fishing Lake County or Bass Fishing Harris Chain of Lakes. I lived in Lake county for 20+ years and now live in the next county over,still fish the Harris Chain. It is also close to St.Johns River, Rodman, Toho, etc. 45-60 minutes north of Orlando. Let me know if I can assist.

Neatest thing for me was a bull moose swimming by while fishing a remote lake in northern Minnesota.

I have used a medium action spinning rod by Berkley and it works perfect.

I will throw topwater and beetlespins on 6# mono with an ultralight rod. Lots of fun. Use 10# mono for dropshot and Slider 4 inch worms.

Look in the papers, and on these selling sites. You should be able to find a jon boat fairly cheap. If not I would go with a canoe like a flatbottom with a square back. Good luck.

fishking247, that is exactly what I did. Went back to mono. Did the line dressing and spraying it but too much drama with it. Have tied a FC leader to my dropshot though. We'll see how that works.

fishking247, that is exactly what I did. Went back to mono. Did the line dressing and spraying it but to much drama with it. Have tied a FC leader to my dropshot though. We'll see how that works.

I do a lot of drop shoting myself and you did a great job of relating how to do it. Very well done!

I have spent my whole life in the woods and waters and I use what I think are the best American Made Knives: Fixed Blade - Randall Made Knives in Orlando Florida (they make a knife for all outdoor activities including Military) Folding - I have and use Buck, Moore Maker, Case (As far as I know all are made in the US now.)

7 yr. old Golden, Katie

Or... The "Catching Jig"

The "Catcher Jig"

5 inch inovation worm, watermelon red (Drop Shot) 71/2 inch Culprit worm, watermelon shad/red flake (Flipping) 6 inch Produto Tournement worm, Black Grape (Texas Rig)

I have always been a mono guy but tried Trilene's FC on my spinning outfit that I use for drop shotting. I had to hand line a 3 pounder into the boat because of a loop of FC jumped off of the spool and wrapped around the bail. Yes I manually close the bail with my hand, and pull the line tight after the pitch. I took it off and put mono back on with a FC leader. Will try that tomorrow...

Waterdogs, snakes, eels, minows, small fish, crawfish, salamanders

Drop shot

I would suggest working you plastic worms in a swimming pool so that you can see exactly how they react. You will be surprised. Throw some poolside or lawn furniture in there and work your bait thru it. Keep you rod tip at 10 o'clock and feel your slip sinker/worm as it crawls across the bottom. Keep line slack to a minimum and be a line watcher. When you are actually fishing you will be able to visualize in the mind what your lure looks like and is doing down there. That will increase you concentration and sensitivity. It will also assist in picking brand(s) of worms that just don't lay there but actually float and have action.

Drop shot if they are suspended at 7-9 feet in 10-15 ft. of water. Try a wacky worm too.

X2 KDW96

I would drop a drop shot down between the house boats. Then a 7 to 10 inch weightless worm and let it sink very very slowly.

Trilene XL. I only use mono. Stren has a larger diameter but I have used it successfully. I just like Trilene.