soflabasser

I have caught some of my biggest bass during/after heavy rains but no longer fish during thunderstorms since I value my health and family far above fishing. Besides I have several decades of quality life ahead of me so I have plenty of time to catch more bass in better weather. Well said

I fish at night often and have caught plenty of big bass at nighttime.There are less fishermen on the water, less pleasure boaters, and less people bugging you so its one of my favorite times to fish for bass. It might make you a better fisherman during the day since it will teach you how to feel bites better and teach you how to focus more with less distractions.

Not waiting too long to set the hook is probably your best bet to not gut hook a bass with soft plastics ( especially a senko) and even then you will probably gut hook a bass every once in a a while.

I catch most of my carp on 8-12 pound test line, a size 2-6 hook, and for bait I use bread, ficus berries, or corn. It's a fun fight on light tackle and I sometimes use a little 2 foot ice rod to catch big carp for fun.

What knot did you use for your 25 pound test braid? I use a uni knot or Rapala knot and never had a bass break my 30 pound test braid when frog fishing.

Good advice. Knowing my limitations and not pushing it too hard is why I am still powerlifting for almost 2 decades and many people around my age are all messed up. I don't push myself very hard anymore and focus more on cardiovascular endurance above lifting weights.

It's always a good idea to be careful with your rods and not let them fall in the water. If they do fall then you better figure out how to retrieve them since oneday somebody might swim over the area you dropped the rod and will let your rod for themselves.

Reminds me of some bass fishermen in my area that swear you need a baitcaster for bass fishing yet I ignore what they say and continue to catch bigger bass than what they do on my spinning gear.

I caught 38 rainbow trout ( including a Palomino trout) in less than 6 hours of fishing one day with a bass rod so I would say what lure you are using is more important than if you are using a bass rod vs a trout rod.

There's not much you can do if he has a fishing license and is following the laws of the state. I say congratulations to that man for catching a 11.8 pound bass from land, that's bigger than what most people will catch in their whole lifetime of bass fishing.

Well said @Yeajray231. Many people said it was impossible for a fish bigger than the current black crappie record to be caught yet it looks like the record has been broken again. Other records will fall for sure as time passes and I hope the largemouth bass record gets broken by a young man or young woman who just fishes for fun.

It seems that chain pickerel are a nuisance fish in many northern states since they are so easy to catch but it's not like that here in South Florida. I know many dedicated freshwater fishermen that have never caught a chain pickerel in South Florida.Many are caught by accident when bass fishing which is how I caught my first chain pickerel over 2 decades ago. I still fish for chain pickerel and have a few places I can specifically target them.I don't catch chain pickerel on every trip but do catch them most of the time . I do catch bass every time I fish these locations so if anything the small/medium bass are the dumb fish in the locations I fish for chain pickerel.

What type of fish are you targeting on the pier? The size and type of reel you use on a pier depends on what you are fishing for. A size 4000 Penn Fierce and a decent rod should be plenty if you are fishing for mackerel, pompano, small fish, baitfish,etc. There are people that use these size 4000 spinning reels for pier snook but they lose a lot of them to the pillings. A size 8000 spinning reel should be enough for most pier fishing (unless you are fishing for big sharks) and you can always use a 4/0 Penn Senator or similar reel to pull out the big snook that live under the piers.

Yes I fish both freshwater and saltwater. Also do spearfishing, lobstering, and other hobbies involving the water. Bass fishing is fun but I rather be fishing for saltwater fish or diving if the conditions are good for that.

Do you fish saltwater or just freshwater? That Penn Fierce you have is a decent spinning reel for saltwater fishing. I have a couple size 8000 Penn Fierce that I use for land based shark fishing, reef fishing,etc and they still work great even after being abused for over 5 years now. You can upgrade to a Penn Battle,Spinfisher,etc if you want but the Penn Fierce is a great reel to start fishing with.

Bigfoot is as real as the +8 pound bass some internet fishermen claim to have caught yet they don't have any pictures of the bass being weighed on a scale,say they forgot to bring the scale that day, or that the phone was dead when they caught the bass.

Welcome to the forum

I don't ever cut the legs on my hollow belly frogs since I want a bigger profile bait but there are plenty of people in some of the areas I fish that cut the frog legs to catch the smaller bass that have a hard time taking in the frog.

Congratulations on your first rainbow trout.

Ugly stiks are very good rods for the money and more than enough to catch a bass. They are one of the most well known and respected rod manufacturer in the world for several decades now and its because these rods can take abuse when other rods fall short. The size 4000 Penn Fierce is also a very good reel for the price and can be used for saltwater fishing if you wanted to.

Welcome to the forum

Good subject. I often fish spillways and use the SFWMD website to know what spillways are open, the amount of water coming out of the gates, and speed of the water. Every location is different and it takes time to figure out when the fish bite best in these spillways but it tends to be very good fishing after a couple heavy storms.Its not easy fishing these spillways but you can be rewarded with some very nice fish if you fish these locations.

Congratulations to Jam Ferguson for catching a 5 pound, 4.6 ounce black crappie.

Welcome to the forum

Nice bullseye snakehead.