soflabasser

Congratulations on your new personal best bass.

Well said @Mike L. Sometimes you have to put in the extra work to catch fish that other people may not catch since they don't want to put in the work for. Flipping is a great technique for quality sized bass and a game changer for many once they start using it correctly.

I don't care one bit what tournament fishermen do since I don't complete and I don't follow the crowd just because most people say to do something. I follow my own path and do what works for me and will continue to do so as long as it works. I have caught all my double digit bass and 100's of bass 5 pounds or better in the past +23 years on spinning reels and never had a hard time reeling in a bass. As I said before a bass is a fish that barely fights compared to most inshore gamefish and is absolutely nothing compared to a snook that is over 40 inches ( even less compared to a tarpon) and I have plenty of real life experience catching snook of this size with size 4000 spinning reels which is also my favorite reel for big bass. I catch these snooks near mangroves, concrete pillings, wooden structures, which is far harder to get fish out of compared to the typical aquatic vegetation bass live in. With that said no one will convince me that spinning gear is not enough to fish for bass in South Florida, especially since I been very successful at catching big bass for over 2 decades and will only catch more big bass as time passes with my spinning reels.

Congratulations on catching your first chain pickerel.

Welcome to the forum

The techniques you used 10-15 years ago are just as effective as they are today.Take your time to learn how to read the water and learn how to choose a particular technique based on the conditions you are fishing in. Don't rush yourself for nobody and make having fun your #1 priority when fishing.

A bad day of fishing is better than a day at home reading about fishing on the internet.

Just came back from the gym. Worked out my back and biceps. Got a good workout done and I am going to eat a big healthy meal now.

Buzzbaits are a great lure to use at night and a lure that I see few people use. I tend to catch less bass on them compared to other topwaters but the average size bass is bigger.

Steroid abusers think that having big muscles means they are in excellent health but they don't understand that big muscles is not a sign of being in good health or being in functionally good shape! Last year a couple of well known steroid abusers died a early death that was contributed to drug abuse, their fans where surprised but anyone with any medical knowledge is not surprised. The body can only handle so many drugs and abuse before it starts to give up. Cardiovascular health is #1 when it comes to fitness and I will gladly give up a big portion of my muscle size and strength if it means I will be in good cardiovascular health when I am a old man. Besides I rather be +80 years old and still be able to walk for several hours and fish, that to me is far more valuable. That's what matters to have fun with your close friends and loved ones. Catching fish is extra.

Welcome to Florida. There are plenty of bass over 8 pounds in Central Florida so you should have a good time fishing. Make sure to bring plenty of weedless lures since Central Florida's natural lakes and rivers tend to have lots of aquatic vegetation.

The guys that only fish for bass will tell you that spinning gear is not enough to catch a nice bass but those with enough saltwater experience know better. Even a big bass is absolutely no match for a big snook or juvenile tarpon that is over 10-15 pounds, yet plenty of fishermen catch big snook and juvenile tarpon in areas with lots of mangroves,pillings,etc with spinning gear. The second combo you mentioned is similar to one of the combos I use for both bass fishing and inshore fishing for many hard fighting saltwater fish. I do have saltwater baitcasting reels but they are for shark fishing, fishing wrecks, etc( Penn Senators from 4/0-12/0).

Welcome to the forum

Fishing can be a decent form of cardiovascular exercise if you are walking a lot during the day or kayaking for several hours. For some reason plenty of guys train upper body 5 days a week and don't train lower body, which explains why many guys have a big upper body and no legs. Plenty of guys in my gym are on steroids ( they openly discuss cycles) and think they are in great shape but can't even run a simple 10K run, or swim for 2 hours in the open sea. In fact many of them are quite weak for their size and get outlifted by natural athletes that weigh 30-60 pounds less than they do. You will be better off going to a park 3-5 times a week and focus on calisthenics/cardiovascular fitness than lifting weights like a bodybuilder who neglects his cardiovascular health and is in terrible cardiovascular health. Well said. I don't expect my all my friends and family to be good fishermen and honestly don't care. I just want to spend a good time with them and they catch fish it will be a plus. Life is too short to fish alone and not enjoy time with those that you care for you.

Well done

Fish at night

I rather take a humble newbie bass fishing with me (that's willing to listen,learn, and offer help) than a arrogant fisherman who thinks he's a great fisherman yet catches fish that are nothing out of the ordinary.

Have caught well over 100 bullseye snakehead in South Florida, with many over 5 pounds, one of them over 10 pounds and I caught all these snakeheads on hollow belly frogs and soft plastic frogs. Color seems to not matter as much as the action of the frog you use and what's most important is how you fish the frog. Extra sharp hooks are a must, especially if you are targeting snakeheads over 5 pounds since these fish have a very hard mouth and not as easy to hook compared to a largemouth bass.

One of my fishing buddies is a Ranger in one of the national parks down here. He tells me that Rangers and other conservation officers often dress up like fishermen and fish close to you to make sure you are following the law. He is very passionate about his job and I have his phone number to call if I see any poachers in the area I am fishing in. He loves his job and keeps one of the areas I fish safe so I am glad to see him when he patrols the area I fish.

I tend to mostly fish with my better half, alone, with close family, and close friends. I go out of my way to help other fishermen I see that ask me for help but rarely take anyone else fishing besides the ones I mentioned. Been doing freedive spearfishing, freedive lobstering, freedive wreck diving, freediving in natural freshwater springs, etc for close to 20 years now and agree that it is best to dive with a partner than dive alone. Have done many solo beach dives as well( have done more dives with a partner), but you have to be in excellent health to do these types of beach dives and even then I still would reccomend someone to dive with to be safe.

We are blessed to live in the fishing capital of the world and it is our best interest to protect our fisheries for us and the next generations to come. The bass fishing right now in South Florida is better overall than when I was a child and I see it getting better as time progresses. I am certain I will surpass all my largemouth bass fishing PB's as time passes and I won't have to leave Florida to do so!

You should be able to fish many canals with a boat of this size in the Everglades canals. I have fished in a 23 foot open fisherman boat with one of my friends in the Everglades and we probably did better that day than most people who fish with regular bass boats. Make sure to pay attention to the depth finder to see how deep you are,stay in the middle of the canal, avoid areas that are too shallow for your boat and you should have a good time on the water.

I have noticed this when I fish other states on vacation and have not been checked. Most states don't have enough DNR on the water to check most fishermen and this needs to be fixed. Florida has much better enforcement and I am asked to show my freshwater, saltwater, lobstering, snook stamp licenses several times a year while I am fishing in both freshwater and saltwater locations.

Today's multi peice rods are made so well that they can easily be fished like a decent quality 1 piece rod. One of these 2 piece rods should be more than enough for most types of bass fishing. I have several 2 piece rods that have caught me plenty of big bass and even have several 4 piece travel rods that have proven themselves to me to be just as good as a decent 1 piece rod.

A 6'0"-7'0" Heavy action rod with a reel that has reliable smooth drag when the drag is set at 10-15 pounds should be more than enough for most frog fishing. The reels I use are size 4000 Penn or Shimano spinning reels ( the same reels I use for inshore fishing for big snook, juvenile tarpon, and fish that are far more powerful than any largemouth bass). You can get a longer rod, a typical bass baitcaster reel,etc if it makes you feel more comfortable frog fishing with it. I will stick to my frog combo since I have ripped plenty of +8 pound bass out of heavy aquatic vegetation and will continue to do so with my spinning combos.