soflabasser

Well said. It is very easy to tell the difference on how many species of fish fight. For example, I know immediately if I hooked a snook or a bass depending on how it fights. A snook will give faster, stronger runs, with more endurance than a bass. A bass will pull ok for the first couple seconds, maybe do a couple jumps, and quickly give up. A tarpon is even easier to tell since it will most likely hit like a pile of bricks, do strong runs, and jump multiple times in a fight.

Good thing we do not have many ticks in South Florida since ticks can transmit lyme disease. At least gators can be easily avoided.

Well said! It's disgusting how people take advantage of others in a tough situation like this and price gouge items that are desperately needed. Sadly there are vultures in this society that will gladly take advantage of people in need and sell needed items at ridiculous prices to make a quick buck. It is not right for someone to sell a loaf of bread for $15 or water for $100 a case.

Congratulations on your new pb northern pike.

Very nice. I have done skydiving before its very fun but I am not sure if I would do it again anytime soon. And I agree if you sit you rust.

Yes I have caught many big bass while wade fishing.

Welcome to the forum

Good subject. Here's a couple of my other hobbies; biggame fishing multi species fishing spearfishing lobstering freediving underwater videography/photography powerlifting calisthenics long distance running/swimming/cycling gardening reading I got other hobbies but these are the main ones.

Bass will eat almost anything that fits in their mouths, and frogs are definitely on the menu. My grandfather use to tell me stories of all animals he found in bass and he did mention frogs to me as well as baby turtles.He was raised on a farm and fished for food, so he's probably prepared more bass to eat than most modern day bass fishermen. I haven't found anything inside a bass that can compare to baby turtles or frogs, but I am sure other bass fishermen have stories of even stranger animals found inside the stomachs of bass.

Welcome to the forum

It is very unlikely you are catching spawning largemouth bass in South Florida when it is August (earliest I seen them spawning down here is early November) and you are most likely catching very healthy bass. I have a couple spots like yours where I catch thick pot belly bass year round, and these bass seem to have that frame even if they are small bass under 20''. I won't be surprised one bit if the area you fish have a healthy population of baitfish that the bass gorge on.

Yes I have hiked to some backwood ponds in South Florida and many of these ponds provide very good fishing.

Its official 50-0

One of my favorite topwaters is a Rebel Pop-R.

Well said @padon. Every bass fisherman needs to adapt to the fishing conditions,there is no way around it! I often fish extremely pressured public waters and I consistently catch big bass from the shore since I put in the time needed to learn the bodies of water I fish. One of my best land based catches was a 10.3 pound bass that I caught from land in a highly pressured park from a body of water that gets hit by hundreds if not thousands of fishermen every year and I caught that bass by studying the body of water, knowing bass biology in my local waters, fishing the right lure at the right time, and a whole lot of patience fishing in conditions that most would not like to fish in. I still fish that park every once in a while and release 100% of the bass I catch and treat each bass with respect. I don't throw the bass in the water like so many bass fishermen do, I squat down to the waters level and gently put the bass in the water to make sure the bass swims away strong and I often get in the water if needed to release the bass I catch.

Welcome to the forum @SummertimeCarl. I have fished for bass for well over 2 decades now and feel that the ''Good ole' days'' of bass fishing is right now at this time and it will only get better as time passes. There are more strict regulations on bass fishing now in most parts of the country and people tend to release most bass they catch since most bass fishermen see bass more as a sport fish than a food fish. Most states are actively stocking bass in local waters and studying the bass population in order to improve the fishery. And yes you should not use the excuse of fishing pressure to justify less than ideal catches since many of us fish extremely pressured waters but we often catch quality bass( including trophy bass) since we put in our time fishing and do our best improve our ability to be consistent at catching quality sized bass.

Topwaters will catch fish on windy days, on clam days, and on days in between as long as you use the right topwater for the conditions you are fishing.

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You can catch some nice bass very close to the shore when the water in the river is running fast. Look for current breaks, ambush spots, etc...

The bass are still biting very good in South Florida if your willing to fish early in the morning, late in the afternoon, at night, cloudy days,etc. As for lures, I have been catching quality sized bass this summer on topwater frogs and poppers even on the hottest, most humid days.

I have a large collection of old fishing books from the 80's and 90's that I cherish for the timeless information they have. I got the first couple books as gifts from my grandparents when I was a child and recently bought the rest of the books to complete the collection. These books are worth every penny! I bough books about muskie and smallmouth fishing, read the books, and used the information I learned to catch my first couple muskies, smallmouths, and other northern fish in recent vacations.

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum

Well said @scaleface. Internet forums did not exist when I learned the most about bass fishing. Back then I learned by putting my time on the water, learning from each fishing trip, and reading books about fishing. Honestly I haven't learned much that I didn't already know while reading forums compared to what I learn while actually fishing( besides a couple fishing spots I got from internet forums,youtube videos, google earth, etc).

LOL