soflabasser

The rage tail menace looks like it will do good in the places I fish for smallies. Might get a couple packs of them and give them a try on my next trip up north.

I have caught suckers while fishing on the bottom for catfish. I used light mono, size 4 hook, a split shot 3 feet away from the hook, and a live worm.

Congratulations on catching your first rainbow trout.

I have read about that and even seen a video on YouTube of some clown that killed a muskie because "its eating all the walleye". That video was sent to DNR and he was punished for what he did.

You are correct that you can catch big bass on regular lures, but your success has probably more to do with the location you fish and your several decades experience fishing trophy bass in your waters. It still doesn't change the fact that swimbaits and other big bass lures( this includes large spinnerbaits, buzzbaits,big crankbaits, big lipless crankbaits, jigs with trailers,etc) tend to attract bigger bass than a small lure. There are exceptions of course, just like the +18 pound Texas state record was caught by a crappie fisherman with a small minnow and other people who catch +15 pounders on very small lures like the woman in this article; http://www.gameandfishmag.com/fishing/bass/largemouth-bass/10-biggest-largemouth-bass-world-records-ever/ She caught that 15-pound, 12-ounce bass on a little Strobe spinner and that bass is bigger than most bass people will catch in Florida.

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum

Funny you should say that. I caught a big football shaped northern strain largemouth bass while muskie fishing a little over a year ago. It was nice to catch this bass but I saw this bass as bycatch and would of preferred to catch another muskie. I read that the walleye fishermen in Minnesota do not like muskies and that they want to stop stocking muskies/ remove all muskies from the "walleye lakes". That to me is nonsense since muskies are a much better game fish than a walleye in many ways.

Here's another good piece of advice for a new bass fisherman; Find someone who is a much better bass fisherman than yourself and become a good friend to them. Make sure to always join them when they invite you and help them out if they ask you for help. You will learn much more when fishing with someone who is a much better fisherman than yourself than fishing with someone who is at your level or less. I know this sounds very blunt but it is my honest advise and its what I did in my first couple years of bass fishing.Its like the saying " You can't soar like an eagle when you surround yourself with turkeys" so make sure to surround yourself with eagles and not turkeys and you will become a much better fisherman in a much shorter amount of time.

No one is immune to losing lures and I have lost plenty of lures while fishing. Big bass tend to live in or near some nasty structure so every big bass fisherman has to accept that they will lose plenty of lures while fishing.

A trophy bass fisherman and muskie fisherman are very similar to each other. Both fish with larger than normal lures. Both target very difficult to catch fish. Both spend more days fishing than catching but they tend to catch several "fish of a lifetime" when most fishermen are lucky to get 1-2 of these fish in a lifetime. These type of fisherman are a different breed than most fishermen...they are so persistent and determined than many see them as obsessed and stubborn in the way they fish. I am one of those fishermen and all the hard fishing trips I have endured and will continue to endure are all worth it when I land my next trophy bass and my next muskie. Yes a glide bait is a good lure for big bass. The little bass will hit it too but the average bass will be bigger. You will have to be very patient to fish these types of lures.

Welcome to the forum

Yes South Florida is a fisherman's paradise but fishing for muskie is also fun and worth traveling for. Sounds like a bass pattern swimbait might be a good lure to use there.

Sounds like the state of Nebraska is doing the right thing for those who enjoy catching muskies and those who want to catch a sportfish over 10 pounds on a regular basis. I enjoy bass fishing but would much rather catch another muskie over 40" than catch another bass over 8 pounds.

There are many ways to catch a big bass but this way looks more fun than most;

Nothing compares to having a big fish blow up on a topwater lure, whether its a bass,snook, muskie, or a big saltwater game fish.

Welcome to the forum

Well said @scaleface. Down here we have several tournaments in the Everglades where most of the competitors have never caught a 10 pound or better largemouth bass in their entire life, even though they bass fish in the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, Lake Istokpoga, Lake Weohyakapka, and other well known trophy bass lakes from a boat.These are people who live and breathe bass fishing and rarely fish for other fish.Makes me appreciate all the big bass I have caught from land in public waters to say the least!

Good subject.I recently caught a nice sized smallmouth bass on a squarebill crankbait while fishing in a river and have caught many species of fish on squarebills.

This has been a very long,hard winter for many Northern states and the Southwest states hasn't had it easy either with several years of long droughts,having to paint the grass green since its all nasty brown from not enough rain, and other unfavorable living conditions. Makes me appreciate where I live in South Florida, the fishing capital of the world!

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new personal best bass.

Tube lures are good for river smallmouth bass. You can use weighted tube hooks to keep it closer to the bottom and hook the tube weedless.

Topwater

Seems like more and more people are leaving northern States and coming down to live in Florida. I don't blame them one bit for it since we are the fishing capital of the world, have warm weather, and other aspects that make life so much better here.