soflabasser

Those little freshwater jellyfish can be found in many places throughout Florida. I remember seeing a couple of them many years ago when I was freediving in one of the lakes in South Florida.

I recently fished a flooded river up north and did well fishing the lures right next to flooded cover. The smallmouth seem to like the flooded cover or any area they can hide behind the current in these rivers.

I will pay more attention to the big fish experts than pay attention to the scientist when it comes to catching big fish.Knowing the biology of bass does help but it does not compare to someone who has lots of experience catching lots of big bass in a particular body of water. With that said I have noticed better than average bass fishing and saltwater fishing when the barometric pressure is dropping. Also noticed the bass biting better during certain moon phases in specific times in the year. But what do I know, I have only caught a couple double digit bass and lost count of the 8 pound or better largemouth bass I have caught in the +2 decades I have fished for bass.

Check the Florida TrophyCatch program, several people caught +14 pounders in Florida this year,many more caught +13 pounders just this year alone.Hundreds of +10 pound or better bass are caught every year in Florida, which makes sense since Florida strain bass are native to Florida and do great here without stocked trout to eat. Not everyone submits every trophy bass they catch so more people catch trophy bass in Florida than is reported.From my understanding you can use waterdogs, crayfish, and other well known live baits for bass in California.Texas is doing great with many +10 pounders caught every year as well. Texas has the sharelunker program which helps create more bass with trophy bass genetics.It is only a matter of time before the serious old school live bait bass fishermen start catching some trophies in Lake Casita with live bait. Yes the drought and other factors are big problems for many Southern California lakes but the lower water level might also make those trophy bass easier to catch for land based bass fishermen.

I have also realized that northern strain largemouth bass are much easier to catch than Florida strain largemouth bass. I caught a bunch of nice northern strain largemouth bass on wire leaders as bycatch while muskie fishing and these bass seem less picky on what they will hit. Florida largemouth bass seem to be more intelligent and you usually have to work harder to catch them. I am sure lots of northerners than move down to South Florida learn this lesson and realize it is a whole different level of bass fishing down here, especially from land without a guide giving you his spots and knowledge. I tend to focus more on low light conditions when bass fishing here in South Florida, especially for big bass.

It would be wise to never underestimate a person who fishes for food for they might be more skilled at catching bass than most bass fishermen. Those big bass become easier to catch if a person uses live bait such as waterdogs, crayfish, or anything else that those California largemouth bass like to eat. Most California bass fishermen only use lures so those who use live bait will have a advantage.Have read several reports of +10 pound bass caught while trout fishing so trout fishermen can definitely catch a +13 pound bass and take it home. It is 100% legal for them to keep the bass so there is nothing that can stop them. Lets see if Lake Casitas can come back to what it was way back then in the 1980's and 1990's. For now Florida beats Lake Casitas, and so does the state of Texas.

Nice catch.

I am not surprised one bit he found cars inside that canal. I know exactly where that canal is and most people fish it for crappie, bluegill, and other small fish. Have seen many cars deep inside lakes and canals, some of these cars are in some of my favorite fishing locations. There is a one lake I use to dive in that has a car in 25-30 feet of water and this car is right behind a house. That car must of been dumped in there before the houses where built since most of the lake is surrounded by houses.

Shimano and Penn are my favorite reel brands.

I have noticed that I have done better than average when the barometric pressure is dropping, both in freshwater and saltwater fishing.

It is a shame that a beautiful bass like this 14 pounder has no protection in California since bass are a introduced species there. Hopefully this bass does not attract the meat hunters to Lake Casita since they can harvest as much bass as they want.

Congratulations on your new personal best bass.

If I had to choose between a smallmouth bass vs largemouth bass I will choose a Florida strain largemouth bass since Florida strain largemouth bass have a larger average size compared to smallmouth bass. A 6 pound or better smallmouth bass is considered a trophy and a 6 pound Florida strain largemouth bass is common enough where you can expect to catch several of them in a month if you wanted to in many parts of Florida.

Welcome to the forum

Forgot to mention that I also caught muskie (''fish of 10,000 cast''), walleye, northern strain largemouth bass, and other species of northern fish. No guide needed just me and my better half fishing together. None of those northern fish could compare to how strong South Florida exotics and saltwater fish are. These northern fish where fun to catch and I still feel that every bass fisherman should add as many bass species to their species of fish caught. Yes smallies are very fun to catch in rivers but fighting a tarpon in running water will quickly change you mind on a smallies fighting ability. A 10 pound or better largemouth bass tends to fight better than a sub 5 pound smallie as well.

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum

Last week I was fishing up north and caught muskie,walleye,smallies, and other northern fish in a river. The sky was completely overcast and it rained on almost everyday I was there. The fish are feeding big time up north now, so now is the time to fish hard.

Good thing you are doing your research in advance, it will greatly help your chances at catching some nice fish. I have lived most of my life in South Florida but like to travel for fishing.Have caught lots of muskie, smallies,walleye,and other northern species of fish. You will be surprised how good the fishing can be from land and you do not need a guide if you do enough research on where to go and what to use.I personally prefer catching my own fish without a guide and see it more of a accomplishment. There are exceptions though like fishing the Amazon, for that you will need a guide to be safe.

Welcome to the forum

Saltwater jigs are good if you are fishing in areas with current. Live mullet is hard to beat if your goal is to catch a trophy snook over 40 inches in length.

I came back from a fishing vacation in the north. I caught lots of river smallmouth bass which was fun.These smallmouth bass fought good for their size but they do not compare to a peacock bass. Peacock bass are far more powerful with more endurance.

Good looking Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap. You should bring it with you if you plan on going to South Florida for Peacock bass.

The wire leader is a bit short for shark fishing, but you can always get lucky and land the shark with such a short wire leader. For my size 8000 spinning reels (combos that I cast the bait out from the shore, not ones I kayak by baits out) I prefer using a 3-4 foot wire leader rated at least 100 pounds for sharks in the 4-7 foot range. For sharks 7 feet or longer I prefer using +200 pound wire leader. I attach that wire leader to a heavy swivel. I then add 6-10 feet of 100 pound test mono top shot then do a uni to uni knot to the mainline. The topshot increases your chances of landing the shark since the sharks body is very abrasive and heavy top shot mono is harder to break by abrasion compared to braid or thin mono lines. By doing this I have landed many sharks in the 6-8 feet size, with a couple of them +8 feet. For kayaking my baits out I use a 12/0 Penn Senator filled to capacity with 100 pound mono leader and a 4-6 foot wire leader. I have fished with serious shark fishermen and they use unlimited class rods, reels bigger than my 12/0 Penn Senator,200 pound mono main line, and wire leader thicker than I use. They often catch sharks in the 8-10 foot range and a couple +10 footers every once in a while.

Looks good. Did you catch your personal best largemouth bass on a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap? I think I read you saying that a while ago.