soflabasser

Congratulations on reeling in a nice combo!The rod can be easily cleaned with a wet towel and you can also clean the reel by opening it carefully and lubricating the parts needed.I have found lots of nice combos in saltwater when diving, so your reel should be ok since it came from a freshwater location.

Have caught plenty of largemouth bass with orange-red eyes in South Florida.Peacock bass often have eyes with a bright red color(peacock are not a true bass,but largemouth bass are not true bass either).

He dropped it in less than 10 feet of water so it's possible he found his phone.Let's hope his phone is not damaged so he get the picture of his PB bass.

^this^ Seems to be overkill to use a +8 foot rod for bass.I have caught all my double digit bass on 6'0"-6'6" rods, and hundreds of bass 6 pounds or better on rods under 7'0".I understand that many swimbaiters like 8'0"-9'0" rods since many of them are throwing +5 ounce lures, but there's plenty of swimbaiters who catch double digit bass on swimbait rods under 8'0". Yes and they are going to sell alot of these +8 foot bass rods since bass fishermen will buy anything their favorite pro tells them to get.

Funny how some people are telling others they need +8 foot rods for bass fishing and +20 years ago people where doing just fine with 5'6"-6'0" rods.

The reel is more important than the rod,especially if your targeting fish that can peel a decent amount of line off the reel.

Strange looking hook

Deep diving crankbaits work,but they are easy to lose since the trebles get hooked on rocks,logs,and other stuff in the bottom of the canals.Slow rolling a spinnerbait,punching heavy aquatic vegetation,texas rigged soft plastics,swimbaits, and hollow body frogs are known to catch quality bass in the Glades,you just have to go through the big bowfin, gars, and various exotics that hit these lures as much as bass do.

Nice bass thank you for posting it.Hard to tell from a picture,but it looks to be in the high 6/low 7 pound range,which makes it a lunker anywhere you fish.

I agree with you,we must fish the way we find most effective.For me a medium heavy 6'0"-6'6" rod works great for medium to large jerkbaits that I use for bass and various saltwater gamefish (snook,tarpon,jacks,etc).

A good jerkbait rod is usually 6'0"-6'6" long and medium heavy.Choose whatever brand you like best.

Yes I sometimes fish for bowfin and bullseye snakehead.They are very fun to catch and both species of fish fight harder pound for pound than a largemouth bass.

I would dive for free to help a friend get back his lost phone,especially if it's one of my fishing buddies.Besides OP said he dropped his phone in less than 10 feet of water,which can easily be done freediving.

Yes it's a good time to go to the Glades now,should be a good time to catch good numbers of bass(+50 bass in a day per angler is common when the water level is low), but most of the bass are very small.The bass fishing in the Glades will be even better if the water level keeps dropping.

Welcome

Ugly Stik with a Penn or Shimano

Nice Monongahela River Muskies.They sure are fun to catch.

A good wetsuit will keep you warm in 40 degree water. I will galdy jump in if I dropped one of my combos in the water,especially if it's a expensive combo!

Wow $150 to retrieve a combo? That diver must of dived deep or dived in a dangerous area to charge that much.

A mask and a good pair of freediving fins will be very useful in this situation or know someone who will dive and get the phone for you. Same here.I have found hundreds of dollars worth of rods,reels,lures,etc while diving.

Good subject.I often fish extremely clear bodies of water(+20 foot water visibility at times) and there are days a leader makes a difference and other days it doesn't.For example,I have had days that bass did not bite unless I used 8lb mono or less and other times I have caught bass with a lure attached to 50 pound braid.

That's strange how those jerkbaits broke,maybe they where made bad? I got jerkbaits(different brand than ones shown) that are several years old that have caught me plenty of decent fish and these jerkbaits have never broken.

Doesnt matter how many rods someone fishes with if they don't know how to bass fish well,plain and simple.Have had plenty of successful days fishing with 1 rod from land,and the most rods I fish with on a boat is 5(2 rods are usually enough).

Try fishing at night time.

I often drive far distances to fish so I can enjoy being in the outdoors and be away from the city.