soflabasser

Live Target Frog

Nice invention, but I rather go diving and see the fish in their natural habitat.

Congratulations to Mr.Williams,that bass is a beauty.The bass is thick all along its length, which shows this bass was extremely healthy when it was caught.

Less is more when it comes to bank fishing. Carrying more than you really need will weigh you down,especially if you plan on fishing for +10 hours.A Plano box filled with proven lures, a couple meal replacement bars, couple water bottles and a can of bug spray is usually more than enough items for a backpack . As for rods,you only really need 1 rod/reel combo and more than 3 combos is really not needed for a successful day of bass fishing.

Bass fishing in ponds isn't as easy as some might think,especially if your targeting trophy bass in a highly pressured public pond. In these ponds, you need to know what your doing very well and even then you will have to put in more time to catch a big bass than fishing a low pressured big body of water known for big bass.For example, I find lake Okeechobee to be far easier to fish that most small bodies of water I fish and have noticed this for other big bodies of water I have fished as well.With that said,private ponds are significantly easier to fish for big bass than public bodies of water and its no coincidence many people's PB's come from farm ponds or other private ponds that are not accessible to the general public.

Thank you.I learned a long time ago that expensive rods/reels wasn't what I needed to succeed in bass fishing ,what I really needed was to put my time on the water and apply what I learned to improve my bass fishing. There is a man from Georgia who is known for catching over 1,100 bass over 10 pounds each and his biggest bass was well over 18 pounds,with 6 bass over 15 pounds each. His favorite rod/reel combo was a Ugly Stik/Ambassador 5500C, which he mostly fished buzzbaits with.

Knowing how to bass fish well is much more important than how much your gear is worth,nothing will change this fact.I have a custom bass rod (was given to me as a gift over decade ago) which is very light and strong,but it hasn't caught me as many bass as my rods that cost me less than $50 each. In fact, almost every bass I have caught over 8 pounds has been on fishing rods under $50 each.I do spend more money on saltwater rods/reels, since saltwater fish put more stress on my fishing gear and saltwater is much more corrosive than freshwater.

Ugly Stiks are great rods,plain and simple. They come in a wide variety of sizes,for big saltwater game fish to fish well under a pound . I have well over 10 Ugly Stiks,many of them are over 20 years old,and these rods have caught me thousands of fish.Not one of them has ever broken,even with the abuse I put them through.They are not the most sensitive rod in the market, but a highly skilled bass fisherman with a decent Ugly Stik will often out fish a decent fisherman with a professional custom bass rod.

For me, nothing beats seeing a big bucketmouth basss jump out of the water to destroy my topwater like it was a great white shark after a seal.

My hookup ratio is good without a trailer hook when using spinnerbaits/buzzbaits.

It never gets old for me seeing alligators when I am bass fishing.This weekend I had a +10 footer get less than 15 feet away from me,so I stopped fishing for a while and just admired the sheer size and beauty of this alligator.Such a impressive animal,I highly recommend anyone who have not seen a alligator to make a trip down here and see them with your own eyes.

A person with a large amount of patience is often a successful person in most aspects of their life.Having patience has allowed me to excel in every form of fishing I have given my best effort in,my professional life,my personal life,and other aspects of my life.Patience is something that cannot be given to someone, it is something that has to be earned,the old fashioned way.I am grateful for my family raising me the way they did,since they taught me that life rarely gives you freebies and you will have to work very hard to reach your goals.

A couple pairs of shoes,a nice shirt, and 2 awesome fishing trips this past weekend.

Congratulations to the man who caught that huge Muskie!

The following lures are my some of my favorite lures to catch large numbers of bass in a day; Rebel Pop-R Hollow body frog Spinnerbait Rapala X-Rap Zoom Super Fluke Senko

That's one of the main reasons why I fish for bass.There are so many different ways to catch a bass and that makes it fun to catch them with new techniques. One can spend a entire lifetime bass fishing and never use every single lure known for catching bass.

Sounds like a fun challenge. I enjoy multi species fishing and can't get enough of it.Down here in South Florida you can easily catch 10 species of fish in a couple hours, even +20 species in one day if you wanted do.

It's shocking how heavy the Montana state bass was at only 22.5 inches in length.What was the girth on that bass, 20 inches? Reminds me of the current Texas state record bass which only measured 25.5 inches yet it weighed 18.18 pounds.These are some truly thick bass.

The amount of rods I carry when bank fishing for bass depends on many factors. On long fishing trips(over 10 hours of fishing) I tend to only bring 1-2 rods.Normal trips I bring anywhere from 1 maybe 3 rods,and sometimes I bring more.With that said,you only need 1 rod/reel combo to have a successful day of bass fishing from the bank.

Bass get huge in farm ponds,that's for sure.Many guys in South Florida catch double digit bass out of farm ponds,even bass in the +13 pound range. Welcome. Keep fishing your top water frogs since it's a lure that is currently working. Consider fishing at nighttime/low light conditions for having a good chance at catching one of the bigger bass of the pond.You can also try swimbaits.

The bass in South Florida get plenty of sun and none of the bass I have caught have as many dark spots like the one pictured above. Probably a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Same here.

Interesting catch.I have caught bass with some extra dark spots but never as many dark spots as the bass you caught.

I will remember the year 2016 as one of the best years I have had bass fishing in a long time since I was able to catch 6 bass over 8lbs (with one less than a ounce away from being a +10) and numerous bass over 6 pounds,all caught from land.The year is not over,so I will continue fishing to the best of my ability and hopefully catch more big bass in the few days left in the year.Also met one of my bass fishing goals to make 1,000 post on this forum to share some my knowledge of bass fishing and hopefully help a couple people in the process. For 2017 I would be very happy if I can convince my better half to join me fishing more often since it seems I catch more big fish when she joins me.Another fishing goal I have for 2017 is to catch species of fish that I have not caught before.Looking towards to what the year 2017 has to offer and hope everyone reaches their goals in bass fishing. Added info: December 2016 ended up being one of the best months of bass fishing I have had in several years. My top 5 bass of December 2016 measured a combined total of 119'' inches and a total weigh of +38 pounds. Most bass I caught in 1 day this year was 65 bass(have had several +100 bass days in previous years).Best 5 bass total in terms of length for the year 2016 was 125'' inches. My goal for 2017 remains the same.

Like most things in fishing, rod/reel selection is mostly a matter of personal preference. Fish with whatever frog setup makes you happy,since you will be fishing this setup and not someone else. With that said ,I only use spinning setups for my frog fishing and it works very well for me (I have caught many bass over 8 pounds with these spinning setups).Fish with the setup you truly feel comfortable with and you will be happier than fishing with a setup you don't like. I agree with you 100%.All my frogging setups are stout heavy action rods,I have absolutely no problems whatsoever reeling in a big bass from heavy aquatic vegetation.