soflabasser

The Beetle spin is a good lure for beginners to use and even a seasoned bass fisherman can have lots of fun catching fish on this lure.

We had major cold fronts kill a large percentage of the exotics in 2010,but it was not enough to kill all of them.The exotics are here to stay and I am glad we have such variety of fish to choose from in South Florida.Have not fished the Hillsboro canal is some time,but there is a canal that I fish in the snakehead area of the state where I have caught largemouth bass,peacock bass, and bullseye snakehead all in the same day,so peacock bass are definitely spreading to the west and to the north.

Doesn't surprise me one bit that you noticed more people coin hunting after you showed your friend the place.It seems that the type of people that get angry about others not giving spots are usually the type of people who are not willing to put in the time needed for them to find their own locations.

If you can fish hard conditions well you can easily fish most conditions. So true.There is more satisfaction in catching a big hard to catch fish that catching a big easy to catch fish.

My guess is that your friend invited lots of people to your old coin location and it's now hard to find old coins?I won't be surprised either if your friend gave you his word he wasn't going to share the location but did it anyways.

I have been using PowerPro braid for years and it's a very good line to use for both freshwater and saltwater applications.

I have seen this video before,the main guy in the video is known for catching lots of big bass with this style of fishing.

I agree with you 100% that topwaters are a excellent lure to use for beginners.Topwaters are very easy to use and as everyone knows a topwater strike can't be beat, especially the explosive ones.A 5 pound bass in Florida is relatively common and usually measures 20-22" in length with the occasional skinny bass barely weighing 5 pounds at 24".A 8-10 pound bass is considered a trophy bass in Florida and usually measures 24-28" in length and looks more like a freshwater grouper than a regular bass.The state of Florida awards anglers who release trophy bass that are 8 pounds and bigger(all these bass have to be approved by biologist to deserve the recognition from the state).And yes the specific lure used and how it's fished is far more important than the color of the lure.

^^This^^

Learning all this fishing terminology from different regions seems more of a challenge than bass fishing itself.

I also feel safer eating ocean fish and acknowledge that there is precautions in eating certain species of ocean fish. Larger,older predatory fishes such as kingfish are more likely to be high in mercury compared to dolphin (mahi mahi). Ciguatera poisoning is very rare in Florida, but has been documented in the consumption of some species of fish (barracuda, grouper, cubera snapper, yellowjacks,etc).

So true. Knowing how to fish well in a wide range of conditions is far more important than the price of one's fishing gear.I know plenty of guys down here that love to brag about their custom rods and $$$ reels,but their catches simply don't add up to what some bassers catch on "cheap" gear.These bassers that catch these big bass are more interested in having fun and catching big bass than showing off $$$ gear to their fishing buddies.

Good choice. Another good choice is the Zoom horny toad.

Yes Mr. Wolfgram is well known for catching big bass on spinning reels and he proves that these types of reels are more than adequate enough for bass fishing. Your grandson looks like he is having a lot of fun catching these big bass and at the end of the day that's what matters most in all types of fishing.

I personally love this time of year for both freshwater and saltwater fishing.Lots of big fish opportunities in South Florida to those who know how to fish this time of year well.

I agree with you 100% on everything you wrote,especially the part on having fun when bass fishing.Some say that spinning reels don't have strong enough components to effectively fish bigger lures such as heavy spinnerbaits,but that's not 100% true with all spinning reels.There are many people that enjoy casting big saltwater plugs with size 4000 spinning reels and these people have no problems catching big powerful saltwater gamefish.

Good story that proves catch and release fishing works well on big bass.I have also noticed that many big bass tend to have a home range,especially in small bodies of water down here.If you can find the exact location where a big bass lives you have a chance at catching her sooner or later if you are presenting the right lure at the right time in front of her.

Thank you for posting this video.

Interesting how some think you are limited in bass fishing when using a spinning reel.I use all the lures mentioned above with spinning reels and have a high success rate with spinning tackle.I even throw big spinnerbaits and buzzbaits on spinning gear which is supposedly "incorrect" to do as well(yet I somehow manage to catch bass this way).It all boils down to personal preference and there are plenty of fishermen that do well with spinning reels just like fishermen do well with baitcaster reels for bass.

Looks like a 2.5-3 pound bass.

These $1 spinnerbaits are one of the best value lures in the market today.Got a whole bunch of them in different colors and they all catch fish for me.

I agree with you 100% on this.I don't bend the hooks on any of my frogs and have a excellent hookup percentage.

I have been using Shimano Spirex Spinning reels for over 20 years now and these are great reels for bass fishing. I caught my biggest bass to date on one of these reels,as well as my 2nd and 3rd biggest bass.The Spirex might not be a expensive reel,but it's a great reel for the price and can handle fish much more powerful than a bass.

Fishery Biologist

These $1 spinnerbaits are much better than most people give them credit.I tend to use them in places I might lose my more expensive spinnerbaits and there has been times these $1 spinnerbaits actually outfish the better quality ones.