soflabasser

Like others have said,you have to put in your time if you want to consistently do well with a particular type of lure.Spend as much time as possible with a new technique and you will eventually do well with it for sure.

I fished earlier this month close to this area and did extremely well.The bass are there,you just have to travel along the canals to find a good bite.

There are many reasons why a bass might be underweight. The bass could be sick, might not have enough fish to eat for various reasons,etc. One reason some bass are underweight is that some bass swallow soft plastics often and this causes bass problems digesting it's regular prey. There's many pictures online showing underweight bass cut open revealing many soft plastic lures inside of them.

5.91 pounds is a giant for any species of bullhead, would like catching a bullhead that big.Talking about catfish is making me want to do a night trip for catfish,it's been a while since I have specially targeted catfish.Might fish for channel catfish this weekend.

How big was the yellow bullhead caught in Jacksonville?I read about a 6 pound, 6 ounce yellow bullhead that was caught in Missouri.That one was a monster for its species,since the average size is around a pound or so.

I agree with those that say the scratch marks on that lure was caused by the treble hooks(hook rash) and teeth marks from catching lots of fish on the lure. I got lures that are missing most of the paint and are among the most productive lures for me.

Congratulations on winning first place!

It means that a certain body of water is fished hard by many fishermen.Lakes in public parks are a good example .You can catch big bass in public parks by thinking outside the box and using tactics most fishermen don't use.No guarantees though since catching big bass from the shore in public parks is significantly much more challenging than catching a big bass from a boat.

Congratulations on your new PB!

Very nice

If people see you catching fish they will fish your same spot and tell others,happens all the time.Small bodies of water show signs of highly pressured water much sooner than big bodies of water.I would still fish those ponds if I where you,but try to fish times where other people are not there.

^ This is the best advice you can get here.

Having expensive gear is nice, but it is not needed for bass fishing and most forms of fishing.You can catch plenty of bass (including big ones) on medium priced gear.With the money you save you can buy plenty of lures.Like they say,it's the fisherman,not the gear.

Thank you for posting this.

The Rat-L-Trap is definitely one of my go to lures when bass are schooling and actively feeding . The 2 retrieves that work best for me is a steady retrieve at various speeds and a stop and go retrieve. Spinnerbaits and small (3-5") swimbaits also work very well for schooling bass.

You can try using a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap. They are great lures for schooling bass.

Shimano makes great spinning reels for less than $150.You can also look for deals and get the more expensive ones for less than regular price.I got a Stradic that is over 10 years old and I have caught everything from small fish to big sharks on it.

Awesome,wahoo are a blast to catch!

Yes it's a great way to catch catfish. They also like chicken liver,hotdogs,and bread.

Your welcome. Try casting out bluegill as cutbait on a 2/0-3/0 hook .There are probably channel catfish in that lake and they can exceed 20 pounds down here.

Yellow Bullhead

I agree with you 100%! I understand many people hate snakes because they fear them,but snakes shouldn't be hated.Snakes are a important part of the ecosystem. They eat rodents,insects, and other critters.I might be part of a small group of fishermen by saying this,but I enjoy seeing snakes where I fish.

It's a good idea for all bass fishermen to know how to identify snake species,especially native species of snakes.

I keep old lures and add them to my tackle collection, but throw away old line or anything else that is broken.

I have given many people my catch, especially freshwater fish since I don't eat them anymore(rather eat saltwater fish).People have even asked me for bowfin and gar in the everglades,which I gave them,so this proves to me some people would eat almost anything given the opportunity.