soflabasser

I prefer using Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps and Cotton Cordel Super spots when fishing with lipless crankbaits.

Lipless crankbaits are very effective lures for bass but there are many times another lure will do a better job.

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Channel catfish are often stocked in ponds and small lakes since they have a hard time reproducing in a small enclosed body of water.Keeping channel catfish lowers the numbers of them in these places since there might not be much natural reproduction of channel catfish in the lake you fish. You can contact the state and see if it is time to stock the lake with channel catfish.

1. I prefer using 12 pound big game mono for my spinnerbait fishing and use heavier line when needed. 2. Experiment with different blade shapes, sizes,colors,etc until you find the one that works best in the areas you are fishing in.

Congratulations on your new personal best bass.

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Congratulations on your new personal best bass.

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum

I am sure any decent bass fisherman will do just fine with a yoyo reel and some live bait they catch themselves if they wanted to.That form of fishing is very cheap and more effective than you might think but it gets boring quickly if you like catching bass on a wide variety of lures .One of the best things about bass fishing is that bass hit a variety of lures, which means we get to choose many types of lures to catch bass. For me this means I will continue buying lures online if the small bait and tackle stores does not sell them or if they are selling them for more than what I can get them online (with free shipping on a lot of lures).

Girth should be at least 15-16 inches to weigh 8.5 pounds at 26 inches long. They start looking very thick when the girth passes 18 inches.

Yes girth makes a big difference in how much a bass weighs.Did you measure the girth of this bass? Most 26 inch bass weigh somewhere around 9 to 12 pounds, depending on how thick they are. We are in the pre spawn now so I will not be surprised if you break your pb again.

The official word record smallmouth bass is only 11 pounds,15 ounces which means a 6 pound smallmouth bass is at least 50% of the current world record smallmouth bass. I am sure the vast majority of smallmouth bass fishermen consider a 6 pound smallmouth bass a trophy, just like most consider a 10 pound largemouth bass a trophy or a 5 pound butterfly peacock bass a trophy fish.

^This^ The vast majority of the little bait and tackle stores I have visited do not have the exact lures I use so I often buy them online or in Bass Pro Shops,Walmart,etc. These bait and tackle stores tend to charge you more money for the same lure,pack of hooks,other fishing gear you can get for less in bigger stores or on online. I often get hard to find lures with free shipping online and it saves me time which is important for me.

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Yes that article is about Pat Cullen, who is one of the best trophy bass fisherman that has lived. He has caught at least 1,100 largemouth bass over 10 pounds each, all on Ugly Stiks and Abu Garcia baitcasters. He mastered a couple techniques and we can learn a lot from Mr.Cullen.I also fish mostly with Ugly Stiks (with Penn and Shimano reels) and do well in South Florida, enough that people offer me money for guiding but I turn them down since I am not a guide. I do take my better half, family, and close friends fishing and make sure to put them on fish to keep them happy.

Both hard and soft lures have their place and time they do best.

One of my buddies gave me one of his custom topwater rods. This rod is worth hundreds of dollars but I prefer using my Ugly Sticks for most of my bass fishing. I still have this custom topwater rod but rarely use it. It is my preference and I have caught a couple double digit bass and lost count of 8 pound or better bass. With that said no amount of money wasted on a fishing rod,reel,boat,etc will make you a much better fisherman so its best to put your time on the water wisely and you will end up doing better than most bass fishermen.

Well said. I don't give much attention when I see some professional fisherman, pro staffer, guide, etc saying something is great when I know they are getting paid by that company. I do pay attention to honest reviews from people who have nothing to gain and instead want to help people.

Impressive amount of tackle you have. I have at least 14 Plano tackle boxes filled to capacity and a old,big plastic tackle box completely filled to capacity as well. Hoping to get more lures to add to my collection as time passes.

Nice lures I am sure smallmouth bass will hit them.

Yes Hurricane Micheal was impressive. I lived through Hurricane Andrew and still remember all the damage it caused. I read Hurricane Micheal did lots of destruction in many cities in the Panhandle such as Mexico Beach, Panama City,Marianna,etc. Those people where not prepared for a hurricane and it was the first time those cities saw the raw power of a Category 4 Hurricane. Many are saying Hurricane Micheal hit the panhandle worse than Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida. It will be several months if not years before the panhandle is 100% again that is for sure.

The lake I freedived in that had freshwater jellyfish was very healthy. Caught lots of big largemouth bass, peacock bass, channel catfish, and other species of fish.

It is a common misconception to think Florida bass fishing is only bass fishing in heavy cover such as aquatic vegetation.There is more than just cover in Florida. You also need to know how to fish structure. The structure down here might not be exactly the same compared to what you find up north but we have structure and there are always bass next to some of that structure. Every bass fisherman needs to know how to fish both cover and structure and that can make the difference between catching ordinary bass and bass that are memorable on a consistent basis.