davecon

Come on down to Florida and see what a cold front does here ! Doesn't get that cold really, but the weather change literally throws a switch on em. Many years ago a local club I was in had a little tournament. 22 boats. On Saturday 18 of the 22 had at least one eight pounder. You were embarrased to go to the scales with less than 25 pounds. Saturday night a cold front came through and on Sunday not even one bass was caught. Same guys, same lake. That is typical of what a front does down here. Sounds to me like you did OK.

Yes

This thread got me to thinking about a fellow that used to guide here in the Tampa area. Back in the 60's and early 70's he guided locally fishing mostly with wild shiners. He GUARANTEED a 10 pounder or you did not have to pay him. This was on public waters. He told me he didn't get a 10 every trip but nobody ever failed to pay him. The same guy and his uncle, which happened to be about the same age, fished the Ocklawaha River when they first built Rodman Resevoir. They would spend an entire day catching wild shiners locally, keep them in aerated garbage cans , keep in mind this was in the 60's prior to todays livewell systems, then head to the Ocklawaha for two days. If they didn't get at least 10 or 12 that went 10 or better they were very upset. No such thing as catch and release in those days and they would ice down the bed of a Datsun pickup truck to bring home the catch. I know they got several that went around 16 and I believe one that approached 18. While it was a different era and much has changed, those guys were two of the best fishermen I have ever known.

Here in Florida the game commission is FINALLY going to change the minimum size for harvest to 12 inches. Personally I think thats long over due. That , combined with max size limits for harvesting should improve the overall quality of fishing. Too many bass = small bass.

It's a little more expensive than $ 7 but I found the videos " Big Mouth " and " Big Mouth Forever " by Glenn Lau fascinating. Google him and take a look at some sample clips.

There is. It's called " The Bass Masters " !

Many years ago the wife wanted some fish for a family fish fry. I brought home some small bass and as I was cleaning them I found the "point" half of a worm hook in the fish's stomach. Mind you this bass wasn't much more than 13 inches. Have often thought about the guy that broke that hook. Will probably be telling the story for the rest of his life of a monster fish that was so big he broke the hook ! And to think the fish was only 13 inches. After all these years I still get a kick out of that.

Interesting that you ask for input from Florida guys but seem to ignore it and go with Wikipedia. We, myself and several other guys that live here that responded to your question, have been around them for decades but obviously we don't have a clue as to what we are talking about. I'm sure that learning it out of a book beats living it ! Stay afraid, stay very afraid.

When I was a kid we would swim at them, at least ones under 7 feet or so. In my twenties a close friend would catch them, again up to about 7 feet, by jumping out of a little john boat right on top of em like a cowboy wrestling a steer. Just had to wrap your legs around their middle and grab the snout, which you can hold closed with one hand. Somehow somebody above was looking out for us and we never even got a scratch. Point is, they are more afraid of you than you are of them.

Oh, and by the way, don't ever take a dog with you on or near the water. Dogs are to gators like ice cream is to fat women, just can't resist.

Lived in Florida my entire life, almost 65 years. Only 2 times a gator will mess with you: 1 - those that have been fed by people. 2 - mamas that have babies. They will warn you though. Have NEVER had a problem. It is exciting in the early summer during the mating season. Nothing quite like a 13 footer growling at the height of the season, but even then I have never been scared or frightened. They are just big lizards !

Florida has only 4 species of poisonus snakes, only 3 in the peninsula. Unless they have been fed by people, gators will not mess with you. Suggest you choose the path less taken.

I'm happy for ya, but think I'll stay here and suffer through our brutal Florida summers. Don't get me wrong, I like some cool weather but fishing thru the ice ? I'll stick with the bug spray and fish at night during the hot summers, then enjoy our "winters" down here ! Carry on ! Dave

Nice fish, but I gotta ask, why don't you catch them when the air and water temp are lower ? Is it too cold for them to bite or just too cold to mess with it ? Really not trying to be a smart a$$ here but I'm in central Florida and while the chamber of commerce and tourist officials won't admit to it, it gets colder than that on occasion down here. Not very often mind you but it does happen. Some of my best catches have been when the temperature was in the twenties, my line guides and level wind were icing up and I looked like the Michellin Man I had so many clothes on ! It doesn't take much but this puzzles me. Dave

It got down to seventy here. Just sayin.

Check out a website called "the online fisherman". Lots of info and good guys/gals willing to help out. It is primarily weat central Florida but some guys from over on the east coast.

Have not fished the bypass canal in decades but was told by a reliable source that earlier this summer when we had all that rain that things were on fire where the water comes in out of the river. Several 10's, a few 12's, and one over 13. All caught as close to the roiling water as you could get.

I don't use live bait either but if I could get my hands on some I sure would use live eels. It's been over 40 years ago (dating myself here) but there used to be a small tackle shop locally that sold live eels from time to time. They were unbelieveable !!!!! We would hook them thru the upper and lower sides of their snouts using a weedless worm hook and cast them out just like a plastic worm, just work them to the boat real slow. They squirmed around like crazy. Best size was about 12 to 14 inches. They were pretty skinny, kind of like a little black snake. If there was a bass in tbe area it simply couldn't resist. You could catch a dozen or so fish on one before he met his demise. Kept in a small bucket and they would stay alive for days if you put damp spanish moss in the bucket. Hardest part was grabbing hold of the things. Had to take a towel with you to get any type of grip on em. Better than wild shiners !,!

As far as electro shocking, I see some FWC biologists on a regular basis in a river I fish (know them now on a first name basis). They are targeting snook and snook get a LOT bigger than bass (they do inadvertantly shock up some bass from time to time) and they seem to have no problems with big fish. They sometimes shock up snook as big as 48 inches. Their biggest problem is salinity. The saltier the water, the less the electroshocking works. Their boat doesen't float as shallow as mine so I actually catch more large snook than they shock. Based on this I am puzzled about the statement that shocking doesn't work as well on larger fish. Perhaps it has something to do with the species.

Eric my friend, I'm one county over in Hillsborough. I know what you are talking about. If you fish the right places with the right techniques it is very possible. You just have to forget about targeting anything under about 7. Most folks will think you are feeding them bs, so I usually don't talk about it. I fish primarily for snook nowadays but concentrate on big bass during the spawn. Once you let go of the "limit" mentality it becomes a lot easier. Be prepared, a lot of guys on this site and others are going to call you out on your post but not me. Been there, done that. We are blessed with where we live.

I notice you're in Clearwater. Whatever you do, DO NOT, I repeat , DO NOT use those things for snook. Could end your bass fishing.

It's amazing how rewarding it is to catch fish on ultralight. Makes you wonder why you don't use it all the time. If you lose a few so what ? They're just fish and you were probably going to release it anyway. Good job and carry on !

I despise Walmart ! In my area when they first opened Walmart had a huge fishing section, remarkable selection of top lures, well stocked and replenished, all at really good prices. They literally ran the majority of the small tackle shops out of business. Once the small independants went out of business Walmart reduced the size of their fishing section, minimized the selection, never have "new" products in their line, and don't replenish their inventory very often. With most of the smaller shops now gone you had to order online. Fortunately a BPS opened a couple of months ago in our area. Do they have anything and everything you could possibly want ? Of course they don't, but think about it, with all the products, sizes, colors, models, etc that is virtually impossible ! After watching what Walmart did locally they could rot for all I care.

I have several St Croix's and love all of them. I fish mostly for snook using small size 6 and 8 rapalas (matches the size of the baitfish). Use a 3000 Shimano Symmetre with 15 lb power pro. The Legend in 7', ml is by far and away my favorite. Have caught bluegills, redfish to 33 inches, snook to 39 inches, bass to 9lbs, tarpon to 50 pounds all on the same outfit. The Avid is a little more sensitive in my opinion but simply does not cast as comfortably as the less expensive Legend. Plus, using the no-stretch braid compensates for some of the reduced sensitivity in the Legend. I know the next one I buy will probably be another Legend.

Interesting topic. I'm in central Florida and fish for bass mostly during the spawn, otherwise I'm snook fishing. My most dependable lure for bass is a 12 inch worm. I use this lure 90 % of the time with excellent results. It also catches the little bucks as well. Long story short, was fishing my favorite lake a few years ago and a cold front came through. Mid morning with no bites I just for the heck of it started throwing a four inch worm. Within 20 minutes I caught a 4.5, 5, and 5.5. Not what I was targeting as for this lake those are not by any stretch of the imagination BIG, but they saved the day. Those little worms worked great as "back-ups" all winter/spring. The 12 inchers were and are the standard fare. Weird part is that those 4 inchers have never been anywhere near as good since. Guess thats what makes it so much fun. Just about the time you think you've got it figured out it all changes.