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Tom I feel your pain, but can't imagine your loss. God bless you, and I hope he brings you some comfort, and peace. Wish I could invite you to go out and catch some peas in the glades, that would be a real honor for me. You are appreciated by so many on this site!

Over the last 40 years I have been stuck at least 6 times. The ones in the fingers were easy. With a good pair of plyers my friend pushed the barb out, then cut the barb off, and backed out the shank. A must to have a good pair of cutters in the boat, always! Then twice I buried a deep diving crankbait into my stomach all the way to the bend. This wasn't so simple and I had to go to the emergency room to be cut out. Nothing like walking inot the ER with a big crankbait hanging from your belly. Both times I was snagged on weeds and when I tried to power the bait out. Big mistake, it shot back like a heat seeking missile right into the biggest thing around, My Belly. Thank God I have never been stuck with a fish still attached. A big Peacock would be the worst, they never settle down when out of the water.

Frogg Toggs are the best, if you pick the right one for summer fishing. They make several thicknesses for different weather conditions, but the summer thin version is the best for Florida. I buy a larger size than I usually wear. so I can put layer under in cooler weather. I also get the pants two sizes bigger so they slip right over jeans in the cooler weather. Just make sure you get the correct material, it makes all the difference.

There is no way to determine whether Perry’s fish was legit or not. I except it! If you look at the California fish caught over recent years, they are all Florida gene pool fish brought in and feed stocked trout that allowed for their size. Now that the trout stocking has stopped, sizes have gone down. Experiments like this should exclude those fish from any records. Nothing natural about that. Or should we include bass from giant aquariums hand fed by biologists! Crazy!

I get it! After a year of Covid 19 and no partners to fish with in the boat, everything has to be almost perfect before I get the boat out of the garage. The thing that saved me is I am surrounded by man made lakes that have good bass populations. I have seven lakes within a mile of the house all connected by way of culvert pipes. I will go out for an hour or two from the bank and catch bass and Peas of all size. A lot easier then loading and unloading the boat in the everglades. I've gotten lazy in my old age!?

Old school bait, good then and good now! Congrats, and welcome to the site!

When fishing plastics, I work them using a slack line, but I am a line watcher all the time. When I see or feel movement of any kind I immediately take up the slack and check for life. At this point the rod is in hook set position, and I set the hook like its a ten pounder regardless of size. So at the time of the hook set, I am setting with tight line always. This all happens automatically in less then a few seconds. If you do it enough you don't think about it any more, it just happens. You must be a line watcher, have sensitive line, and the proper terminal equipment to get the job done. 90% of the time I am throwing plastics of some kind when out fishing. 10% of the time I am throwing top water, and hollow body frogs in the weeds and slop.

Yes I do. The most important thing is keep your mouth shut. Don’t post pics of fish that will give away your location. Stay in stealth mode or you will soon be sharing your honey hole!

I fish south Florida and fish from the bank at least 5 days a week. All the better lakes I fish all have weed field around the lake. The shallows are all packed with weeds. Getting fish out successfully can be a challenge unless you are prepared. 1). Have the right equipment to get the job done. 2). A good casting reel, to wrench them out. 3). At least a medium heavy rod. 4).The right line for the job. At least 15 pound Floro, or 25 pound braid. The braid will help cut the weeds under pressure. 5).A stout wire hook so it will not bend under the stress. 6). Proper technique, immediately after a hard hook set, keep the rod high, and get the head up over the weeds. Don't ever let up on cranking the reel, and surf the fish over the pads, and weed fields. Don't play the fish at all or a big fish will bury itself in the junk. 7). If the fish does bury in the weeds and will not move, give it some slack in the line and watch closely. 90% of the time they will swim out of the mess, once the pressure is off. As soon as you see movement in the line, set it hard again and get the head up above the weeds. Head up is key especially in thick pad fields. 8). Where you see open water without weeds usually means a depth change. A great place to target adjacent to a weed line. Bass will move in and out of the weeds depending on the conditions, time of day, and seeking deeper water for temp changes, and schooling bait fish. Be prepared my friend, and don't take a KNIFE to a GUN FIGHT!

If the problem just started, and you never had the problem before, it sounds like a weight distribution problem, or a motor problem. If the boats sits outside are you getting water in the hull between trips? Has the motor been running properly? Have you changed the weight distribution in the boat by adding anything, like an additional battery, or power poles. Good luck, never fun when the boat acts up!

As a football coach in Florida for over 40 years the professional thoughts on this subject have changed a lot over the years. As a player in the 60's and early 70's our water consumption was limited because they said it would slow us down. Back in the mid 60's we had a bucket with a couple of sponges to wipe your face and head, and we used to suck on the sponge to get more fluid. Nuts, (how are we even alive!) Lol Then in the late 70's we had scheduled breaks where everyone drank for 2 or 3 minutes, and no water until next break. Inadequate! Then in the 80's we had supplemental substances added to the fluids like Gatorade, and other brand names. Still scheduled breaks! 90's we had fluids on demand during the entire practice and games. Whenever you wanted it you could get fluids. Mostly ice water with supplements added. 2010's it was determined that if you wait for fluids until your thirsty, it's already TOO LATE. This is where most of us recreational fisherman fail. We wait until the thirst sets in. Big mistake. You must continue to drink throughout the day and night with scheduled small amounts of fluid, not including alcohol. Urine must be light in color and not on the dark side. Dark Urine your already in a dehydration state.. The latest thing is you should not drink really cold water. I don't think this is as important as long as your drinking. I personally love cold water on a hot day. But that goes back to almost 55 years on a football field, as a player, and then coach. I make sure I drink water constantly, sometimes flavored waters. When I go out fishing in Florida waters, especially in the summer, I always take 3 times more water then I think I will need. God forbid you have a mechanical problem, that extra water will keep you alive until help comes. The Florida sun, without shade, will become critical quickly, without water. Always bring a lot more water than you think you will need. I freeze water bottles, and always have three thawing out on the deck, as I finish one, I take another out to thaw. Water will save your life in an emergency. The older we get the more we are subject to dehydration, and some medications will increase our odds at having a serious dehydration problem. Things have clearly changed over the years, and we are much safer today then ever before. Just follow the simple rules on hydration!

Can't help unless you tell us which Mosquito Lake your talking about. I have fished the one in NE Ohio.

I love fishing with others and have for the past 40 years. This pandemic has force me to fish alone for quite some time. We are back now, and love the experience. Nothing better than sharing the experience with another friend in the boat.

I catch them all the time with holes and rips around the mouth. Years ago I caught one with the lower gill plate completely detached from the lower jaw. These creatures are tougher then many give them credit for. They live in a violent world and would not be here today if they died off easily. They take a licking, and keep on ticking!? You have to be a certain age to get that!

Alligator Alley MM 39 7:00-11:30 Saturday 5/29/21 Mostly Sunn Temp 90* w/T. 83* stained At first light we ran east to the dead end and fished back to the west. Second cast I hooked into a two pound bass on a fluke. He hit it as soon as it landed in the pads. Several casts late my buddy landed an exotic on a senko. This went on for a little while. As the sun came up the bite slowed. Around 9:30 we were both dragging the ledges with plastics. I look over and my buddies rod is bent in half and I can hear drag from the reel. I’m telling him to tighten the drag and that’s when I notice he is now using one of the smallest reels Shimano makes with 8 pound test. The bass went way right, then reversed way left, then headed for a pad field, and finally tried to go under the boat. This was like a bass on steroids. After about four runs I noticed the problem. The bass was foul hooked and not in the mouth. I finally got his mouth opened and jerked him in the boat. This old girl was 23.5” long, and 7-05 pounds. A new personal high for my buddy. Foul hooked made the fight with that tiny Shimano spinning reel a real battle. All bass except the first one were caught deep along the bottom on plastics. Tons of exotics in the canals right now.

Before or right after is usually good. If there is a lot of rain dumped that will screw up fishing for a while because the PH gets screwed up for a day or two.

Nice, I once caught a black peacock bass on my home waters in south Florida. It just shocked me but all other factors were pure peacock. Freaks of nature happen mother nature’s world.

The Peacock are a blessing and just fun to catch. Pound for pound the pitbulls of the fish world. The Cichlids are another story. The number of Oscars is ridiculous in some areas of the glades.

When they leave it's in a box! ?

Loved watching Doug Hannon back in the day.

Color is not as major factor as other variables. Location, and action are much more important. I will say as a general rule, in low light and heavy stained water I will go with dark colors like black and junebug. On sunny days, and clear water, I will go with natural colors like watermelon, green pumpkin, and shad colors.

Thanks for keeping politics off the site. You guys do a great job!

I caught a bass a few years ago with the entire gill plate on one side was torn at the base and hanging lose. It was a terrible injury that had healed, and the bass seemed in good shape and ready to eat again. It was released in good shape and swam off strong. This was clearly an old injury. These creatures live in a dangerous world, and are tougher than many of us believe.

I have been fishing from a boat for 40 years and have only had one incident with two airboaters taking up the entire ramp and loading supplies from their truck into the airboats while I was waiting to use the ramp. They sat there for over 30 minutes with no regard for anyone waiting. It came very close to an all out brawl and lots of name calling. Two of the biggest jerks I have ever met. It could have got ugly quickly!

From the boat and bank, I have caught them on 4" & 6" Watermelon Red senko type baits, flukes, Zoom U-Vibes. From the boat also wacky rigged trick worms jerked off the bottom especially at the north end of the lake close to the deep bad fields. The water flows in on the north end, and is released on the south east side. There is a typo map of the lake on line and this helps especially on early trips in the boat. Good luck and enjoy the experience.