soflabasser

Almost any neighborhood pond,lake,river,canal, etc in Florida has big bass in it. Make sure to find one that is on public water and you should have good time.

Good subject. I have done a good amount of traveling in my state for fishing as well as other states. My best recommendation is to research good fishing spots and good techniques for the area you want to fish in for at least 1 month so you will know the area very well. I cannot emphasize this enough and doing the research I mentioned has helped me catch quality fish that most locals in the area I fished in have not caught. Camping in a state park is a good idea, make sure to have a good tent and bring only what you need to make your trip a success.

A 45.5'' northern pike is a very nice catch, especially from the ice. Thats fish alone is easily worth a long day of ice fishing. Spearfishing on the ice sounds fun as well, but I prefer to do freedive spearfishing which is my favorite form of fishing(even more than bass fishing). Would still consider doing spearfishing above water since it looks fun.

Try using spinnerbaits,buzzbaits,lipless crankbaits,propbaits, and bright colored soft plastics in waters that have low water visibility.

You might want to do some research before you comment about what grass carp do in the state of Florida.Grass carp might be a big problem in states with less than ideal fisheries, but not in Florida.Florida purposely stocks grass carp(triploid grass carp) in our waters to control the aquatic vegetation in the canals and lakes.These grass carp are thriving in our waters, as well as our bass.Every state is different, so you have take this in consideration.I am in South Florida, and we have a amazing fishery that people from all across the USA come to visit to fish our waters. It is quite common to find bodies of water down here that loaded with +5 pound bass and +20 pound grass carp.Thats nothing out of the ordinary for us, and many Florida fishermen have +10 pound largemouth PB's. We also have well over 20 species of exotic freshwater fish in South Florida, yet we still have a very healthy population of bass.

Welcome to the forum

I tend to travel often for fishing trips and have gone up north several times in the past year. Have caught muskies, smallmouth bass, northern strain largemouth bass,rainbow trout, palomino trout, and white bass to name a few types of fish I caught up north. I am not a typical Floridian, I can handle the cold better than most Floridians and even better than many Northerners who have lived their whole life in the land of hard water. One of these winters I will travel up north for ice fishing, that is for sure. I am open to new fishing experiences and ice fishing is one of them. Would like to target some muskies,northern pike, lake trout, and other big freshwater gamefish through the ice.

I agree with you @flyfisher that Florida strain largemouth bass are much more difficult to catch than northern strain largemouth bass and that might be why so many Florida fishermen think there are no big bass in a body of water with grass carp. I fish many public waters with big grass carp and still catch big bass on a consistent basis.Most people that fish these same waters think there are no big bass in those places and find something to blame their failure in catching big bass on with no credible evidence to do so.

I use 10-30 pound braid on some of my spinning reels, depending on what technique I am using and where I am fishing. Shimano and Penn are the spinning reels I tend to use most since they are reliable and have a proven history.

Good subject. Ice fishing is on my bucket list of things to do.

Interesting subject. I fish many bodies of water that are stocked with triploid carp(grass carp) and these carp do not seem to be affecting the bass fishing. I catch plenty of big bass in these waters, as well as big triploid carp. Seems like these fish are coexisting well with each other in South Florida.

I cast my spinnerbait, reel it in,and let the bass set the hook themselves.

We got some rain and wind as well but it was mostly during the day. It rained very little where I was fishing at night and I used the wind to my advantage instead of fighting against it. I figured the fishing was going to be decent and I was right. Going to do some bass fishing this weekend.

Welcome to the forum.

I have caught several bass over 10 pounds in my home state of Florida, all weighed on a scale, all from land in public waters, all caught by myself with no guide putting me on fish. I feel its much more rewarding to catch your own trophy bass , but thats just me.

I am in South Florida and the weather was very nice this past weekend( low 50's). Went out on Saturday night when the coldfront was pushing in and did quite well. Caught over a dozen bass with the biggest one over 22 inches. I was the only one where I was fishing, and I was fishing in a highly pressured area. Good thing most Floridians can't take the cold!

Well done

1/3rd of the line's breaking strength is usually the most I will tighten my drag any many times I use less drag than that. Seems to work out just fine, both in freshwater and saltwater.

I agree with everyone that says you are fishing for the wrong species if you are targeting bass specifically for the fight they give. Bass don't fight much, but they make up for in other ways, such as providing a challenge to catch(big bass), the fact that they will hit a wide variety of lures, and that bass are a extremely common gamefish that can be targeted almost anywhere in the U.S.A. With that said, the heaviest line I fish for bass is 20-30 pound braid or 8-20 pound mono, which is overkill most of the time.

84 degrees today in my part of the state. Forecast calls for a little cold front this weekend and then back to normal in a couple days.

Going out this weekend to target some bass, lets see what happens.

The Everglades and surrounding areas is where I catch most of my bowfin so you where in a very good location to fish for them. They love to hit a spinnerbait that is slow rolled on the bottom, jerk baits, flukes, and topwaters worked over or near lily pads. They provide lots of action when at times the bass might not be as active, and in the end of the day I rather have a day filled with catching lots of fish than not catching anything at all.

Why would anyone kill a bowfin? Bowfin are a native species to many of the places they live in and fight harder than a bass of equal size. I actually enjoy fishing for bowfin( my PB bowfin is over 13 pounds) and I have spots where you can catch +50 of them in a day, with several in the +6 pound class. Send them bowfin down here to South Florida if you don't like them, I will gladly fish for them. Well said @UPSmallie. Bowfin are a important part of the environment they live in and I also recommend releasing them. They are a prehistoric species that existed before bass did and will most likely exist longer than many species.

I make several types of wooden lures for my personal use. Hard to beat the feeling of catching a big bass on a lure you made with your bare hands.

I have a couple old nostalgic lures that I keep for memories that I caught some trophy bass on them. I am going to get a replica of these bass and put the lure in the replicas mouth for memories.