soflabasser

For me in bass fishing nothing compares to catching a +8 pound bass on a topwater.

Welcome to the forum

The best bass fishing rod is the one you have the most confidence in.

Congratulations on catching your first bass on a topwater, it is probably the most exciting way to catch a bass.

Welcome to the forum

topwater

Any decent bass fisherman can do well with the best electronics and spoon fed knowledge from the locals but not everyone can do consistently well on new bodies of water by themselves. Many do not care for tournament fishing since they rather fish for fun.

I agree with you and this is why I prefer fishing with monofilament over fluorocarbon. Abrasion resistance, knot strength, and shock strength is very important for me. My favorite monofilament line is Berkley Big Game monofilament line, have caught many PB fish on it.

It is best to use a lip gripper or a pair of gloves when you want to lip a big catfish. It is amazing how strong the jaws are of a bullhead.

Zoom makes some of the best soft plastics, easily found in most fishing stores, and can catch bass of all sizes.

Welcome to the forum

I remember one trip that I fished with a couple friends in 3-6 foot seas in a small Carolina Skiff. The boat owner was a master at riding the waves and had an amazing bilge pump which pumped the water quickly after the boat would take a wave. It was a bumpy ride but it was worth it since we caught lots of nice fish.

20 years ago I was in high school when the teacher put the news on that showed what happened. At that time it was the worst thing that happened in this country. Now there is a Pandemic that lasted for almost 2 years and has killed over 675,000 Americans.

I usually take 1-2 rods when I fish and that is enough for me to have a good day of fishing.

@A-Jay I use to fish in very rough seas since it often was the time I had available for fishing. I dived in rough seas as well which is far more difficult than fishing on a boat. It was a fun experience but now I prefer to fish and dive on calm days. I do fish rough weather on land since there can be very good fishing during these times. Hard to catch dolphin, wahoo, kingfish, and other pelagic fish while fishing near the mangroves. There were trips I had to go +20 miles out to sea to catch these fish and it was worth it.

Any day I get to go fishing is a good day for me.

Both braid and mono have times they do best. For example I prefer fishing with braid when I frog fish.

Those are some big waves for a lake but nothing compared to the ocean. I lost count of the days I fished in +6 foot seas in a 20 foot boat, some of the waves were over 8-10 feet. Not something I want to do again but it was a fun experience. I now prefer fishing on days that are calm.

Thank you @ATA for posting pictures of your diamondback terrapin.

It is possible. Would like to see a photo of your diamondback terrapin, they are one of the most beautiful turtle species in the USA.

It is possible that the weather can affect your turtles appetite just like it affects fishes appetite.

Good report thank you for posting it.

A fish that can swim backwards is the clown knife fish. Landing them is not as easy as landing a bass to say the least. I have caught several of them and it is always interesting to watch them swim backwards when you try landing them.

I am comfortable lipping a bass with either my left hand or right hand.

I am surrounded by bodies of water loaded with lunker bass and never saw the need to tag a bass. These places have self sustaining populations of bass and do just fine without people's help. With that said if you have permission to tag bass and it makes you happy then go for it.