davecon

I prefer lighter action rods than most. Favorites are St Croix 7' ML Premier or Avid coupled with a 2500 series spinning reel and 15 to 20 lb Power Pro. I know this sounds too light but I fish for Snook more than bass and believe me, this set up handles bass, Snook, reds, and tarpon up to at least 60 lbs. Setup works great on senkos while bass fishing. Can really skip it back under docks and other obstructions. Very rarely do I get broken off. The fish I usually target feed primarily on small baitfish. Use a large lure and the bites are infrequent. Downsize to a 4 inch lure - bingo. Biggest problem is the smaller hooks on these lures pulling free. I guess that's just the price of admission !

Bass ? While in Port St. Lucie you gotta go Snook fishing ! Google "Snook Fishing 101" and other videos by the same guy. He has at least one video fishing Port St. Luce. Note that he is using bass tackle. Then again, that may be a bad idea as after Snook, bass will never be the same.

Not sure where you are so availability could be an issue, but check out a Gheenoe. They are made in Florida. Not sure how extensive their dealer network is. I have one and after fishing in it for a year or so sold my bass boat because I never used it anymore. A friend did the same thing in selling his 26 foot twin engined bay boat. Initial glance at one and you think "Naw, no way will this work !". Then you actually try one and you are sold. They have several different models and are customizable limited only by your budget and imagination. Are they for every situation ? No - but no boat is. If you are fishing canals - sounds made to order. Check out their website - "Customgheenoe.com".

Don't know if you have them in your area, but here in Central Florida the best live bait, hands down, is a grass shrimp. It is a small shrimp a little bigger than your fingernail. Here, at least, they are caught with a small mesh net on the end of a pole in and around hydrilla. It's a pain to catch them but nothing comes close to their effectiveness.

The Rainbow and the Ocklawaha are my favorites. Health issues have prevented a visit the last couple of years but hopefully this fall when the weather cools. Keep posting - I can at least fish the Rainbow vicariously thru you.

My bad. Mistakenly was thinking wind knots. Have NEVER had the remotest problem with line twist. Using Power Pro 10/15/20 pound. Use it on both spinning and baitcasting.

I will respectfully disagree with you on this one. Have been using braid on spinning reels for over 15 years. Casting a heavier lure, not much difference, but on flukes it has been my personal experience that closing the bail by hand makes a tremendous difference. When fishing for Snook and reds have gone thru as many as four packs of flukes in one morning. Turning the reel handle to close the bail and you have MANY problems. As soon as I started closing the bail by hand the problem virtually disappeared. Take it as you will, just relaying first hand experience.

Good start with not filling the spool too much. Should be a little less than with mono. Also, always close the bail with your hand, not by turning the reel handle. I learned this the hard way - believe me on this one.

The amount of mono backing will depend on the size reel and what you are fishing for. For bass you can use a lot of mono and save on the braid. I fish fresh and brackish and with snook and tarpon learned the hard way - no mono backing as those critters are capable of spooling a 3000 series reel. Not sure of your circumstances but just food for thought.

Just don't fill the spool quite as far as you would with mono and ALWAYS close the bail with your hand, NOT by turning the reel handle.

Power Pro original.

Since you're looking for more stories, here goes. Caught my first fish at age 4. Can vaguely remember it. Was with my grandfather fishing from shore where 2 small ponds were connected by a very small creek. Cane pole and worms. Bluegill. When I was 6 went to a small pond of about 5 acres with my grandfather and father in an old wooden row boat. I picked up a Shakespeare push button rod on a 5.5 ft Wonder Rod and cast out a black plastic eel with red fins, 3 hooks, a spinner and beads attached to the front. Somehow managed to catch a 6 pound bass. Can remember every detail about it - can still see the fish, the pond, boat, dad and grandfathers expressions, clothes we were wearing etc. and that was 60 years ago. Today can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning but can remember all those minute details from so long ago. Crazy isn't it ? Needless to say I have been hooked ever since. Only thing more important than fishing for the rest of my life has been my family. Have had several life threatening surgeries over the years - the kind that you were not sure you were gonna live through it with some very tough recovery periods. I mean rough. One of the main things that I truly believe got me through that were prayers from family and friends and a burning desire to catch more fish ! I must be off my rocker but I am to a point in life where I'm happy with that. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Use the el cheapo Rapala ones. They work well until you drop them on the garage floor a few times.

Latitude makes a difference. Here in Florida I catch the larger ones in December, January, and February. After that it's numbers so I switch over to Snook.

As a "general" rule I start perpendicular. If I can determine that most of the fish are a certain distance from shore/cover and it is consistent then I switch to parallel.

For years fished tournaments, 3 or so per month. Full sized boat, 80 + miles per hour, all the bells and whistles. Did quite well at it too.Downsized to a Gheenoe, switched to small waters, carry 1/10th the tackle I used to (still use the best rod and reel combos I can afford). Am catching more bass and larger bass than ever. Won't post results because I would be called a braggart or liar or both. Over the decades I have learned what lures to use when, where, and how. So I truly believe knowledge of lures is as important as knowledge of how to catch fish. It all goes hand in hand. Have also become addicted to snook. Same thing applies - what lures to use on what tides complicates it even further. It all comes down to your overall knowledge, including boat handling, something not previously mentioned. The list goes on. Takes a lifetime to learn this stuff and all of a sudden you are an old man and health prevents you from going as much as you used to. Life can be a bi**** but you learn to make the best of it.

At the end of the original post was a question "Bait or bass knowledge, what do you depend upon to catch your bass ? " My point was and is that tackle/bait selection is part of the knowledge, not just how to use it. If that weren't the case why would an experienced fisherman have more than one bait/rod/reel ?

That's why God invented snook ! They don't mind the heat.

Since when is choosing the right tackle not considered knowledge ? Go ahead and make it harder on yourself if you want to but experience should tell you what to use when and where ! If you don't believe that, good luck with your fishing cause you are going to need a lot of it !

With the weight removed throw it in a swimming pool or clear water. It gyrates unbelievably. Most of my strikes with senkos come on the fall, at least 85 %. No strike, move it a few feet then let it fall again. I know some guys have brand preferences and I have tried many, but unless the fish are especially aggressive a senko works best for me, and I hate that as they seem to be the most expensive on the market. Not professing to be an expert, just personal experiences I'm relating.

Use a larger senko. Will still catch the dinks but the odds of a larger fish go up dramatically. Have caught 1 lb bass on 9 inch senkos. Usually use the 5 + inch model. Also, shed the slip sinker. Don't need it and it kills the action.

I'm in Florida so "deep" to me is anything over 8 feet. I always fished the same areas that I normally fish during the day. Perhaps a little shallower but not much. Always preferred Musky Jitterbug and 12 inch worms. Both in black. Didn't catch quantities but the quality was usually there. Sure beats the heat of the day in sunny Florida !

Use a Spook for Snook often. Little bit different than bass but I change them out to usually Owners before I ever use them.

The guy that made the films Big Mouth and Big Mouth Forever, Glen Lau, addresses this issue. Watch those two videos and you should learn a lot in short order. Try a google search. You'll be glad you did.

As far as Tarpon go, I just want 6 or so jumps out of em. I fish in a small boat (Gheenoe) and usually by myself. Last thing I wan't is to tangle with one of those crazed beasts boatside by myself. Like I said, give me 6 or 8 jumps and be gone. We will both be better off.