soflabasser

Welcome to the forum. The fish you are holding is a warmouth.

My main goal for fishing is to have fun every time I go fishing.

When frog fishing I set the hook when I see the frog disappear. So far it has worked well for me and I catch most lunker sized bass that hit my frogs. Make sure to have a rod with a good backbone so you can give a good hookset.

Welcome to the forum

Congratulations on catching your new personal best walleye.

I have bass fished for well over 20 years now. In that time I have been fortunate to catch many bass. There are times I focus on other hobbies and do not fish for bass much and other times I fish for bass very often. Have had +100 bass days and other days I do not catch as many. With that said any bass I catch is a nice one for me and bass fishing is a hobby I enjoy very much.

When bass fishing with jerkbaits I like using a medium heavy action spinning rod. The line I use is 8-15 pound test depending on where I am fishing.

I use Big Game mono for leader and it does a good job.

I agree. I have caught some very nice fish on 2 piece rods and other multiple piece rods so many of these rods are more than good enough for bass fishing.

If I were to only fish with 1 type of line it would be Berkley Big Game mono since this line has very good abrasion resistance, very good knot strength, and reasonably priced.

My cousin likes to use yellow braid and he has caught some very nice bass.

You can put 2 piece rods in the trunk of your car.

I live in South Florida but have fished up north on several occasions. I have done well using a uni knot for tying a lure and done well using a uni to uni knot for tying leaders.

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum

I have caught many chain pickerel on spinnerbaits in the Everglades which is a place with lots of aquatic vegetation.

Rapala makes lots of good jerkbaits from small versions used for panfish to large versions for big saltwater gamefish.

For me Berkley Big Game mono is one of the best fishing lines since it is reasonably priced, has very good knot strength, and very good abrasion resistance.

Nice smallmouth bass and welcome to the forum.

A 18 inch or bigger smallmouth bass is awesome catch for many states. We do not have smallmouth bass in Florida but we do have largemouth bass and peacock bass. A largemouth bass has to weigh at least 8 pounds to qualify for TrophyCatch. For BigCatch a largemouth bass has to measure at least 24 inches or weigh 8 pounds or more. A peacock bass has to measure 18 inches or better or weigh at least 4 pounds for BigCatch. A channel catfish has to measure at least 25 inches or weight at least 12 pounds to quality for BigCatch. You get an Elite Angler award if you submit at least 10 different species that each qualify for a BigCatch Award.

Welcome to the forum

I have caught some nice bass on $1 spinnerbaits from Walmart and met a man who caught a +9 pound bass on one of these spinnerbaits. Booyah makes lots of good spinnerbaits for under $10.

Florida has the TrophyCatch Program for trophy bass and the BigCatch program for over 30 species of freshwater fish.

Good advice. I have regular pliers and I am thinking of getting pliers similar to the one on the right. Nice muskies, pike, and trout. On one of my fishing trips up north I used a jaw spreader on a muskie I caught and it made removing the hook much easier. Snakehead is another freshwater fish you do not want to lip. You can add clown knifefish to the list as well.