uhhhmike

Will do! Thanks for the input

Lake kennedy in cape coral. Staging at bmx boat ramp

Hey all! I am looking for a co-angler to fish a tournament with me on November 19th. It is an open tournament, $100 per boat, biggest 5 we can catch together. $2000 garunteed for 1st, plus there is a big bass pot I plan on practicing on the lake at least once a week until the tournament. We will split all of the costs for practice and tournament 50/50, and split any winnings(including big bass) 50/50 Feel free to PM me or reply on this thread for any more info, or if you are interested in fishing the tournament with me

For the most part this is true. If you are looking to get something less expensive, a regular backpack is definitely the way to go. I used a normal pack for two years before getting a fishing specific one, and it worked just fine. That being said, it is much easier for me to arrange my tackle and keep everything in order in my fishing pack. Instead of having one large compartment it has a seperate compartment on the bottom that holds three trays and opens from the side of the pack. This makes it much easier to access my trays without having to root around through the rest of my tackle. Fishing packs are designed to hold your trays securely so they are not bouncing around while you are walking. A normal backpack will be less expensive, and will definitely get the job done, but overall I enjoy my fishing pack much more

This was my original train of thought as well, but from what I have read it seems that if you throw shiners into an area that they dont live they get eaten rather quickly. I'm not 100% sure that this is the case, but multiple posts I have read have suggested that this is true. I'm also not sure that the places I fish don't have shiners, I'm just not sure that they do have them. I don't really know how to tell, which is my main issue :/

Not a bad idea, but my problem is locating a body of water that holds shiners. I will probably get a trap once i figure out where the shiners are! Thanks

I'm using oatmeal and bread, but I've read that hog feed works really well too

Thanks Dwight I considered doing this, but I figured they wouldn't want to give up the info without getting something out of it, but I suppose the answer is no until you ask! I'm going to give it a try today

Also look for transitions in the cover as well. Like if the bank changes from riprap to weeds. Bass like to use the transitions as ambush spots

"Here we go.... GOT EEM!!!" or if it's a big one "YEAHHHHH BUDDY!!" haha

I have the cabela's advanced anglers backpack and absolutely love it!! I forget what the price was, but it's a solid backpack. They also have an advanced anglers sling pack if you are looking for something a little smaller. It also integrates with the backpack and is really handy. I have them both, and use them both regularly

Hey all! I've always used artificial baits and have caught hundreds of bass on them. I fish almost every day, sometimes two or three times a day (have a 1-year-old, so i dont get many opportunitiea to stay out for extended periods of time). I'm not exactly bored throwing artificials, in fact I love throwing them, but I just decided I would like to try something different for a couple weeks and decided to try and catch some bass on shiners. It definitely helps that I've read around 90% of the bass over ten pounds caught in Florida have been caught using shiners! Anyways, I've done a decent amount of research on shiners, i think i know how to catch them and use them for bait, but I am having trouble locating any. I know I can buy them from a marina not too far away from me, but I don't want to. I want to catch them myself. Anybody have any tips on locating shiners? Such as what to look for in the water to spot them, or signs that they could be in a pond or lake? I've been chumming some spots close to my house and going back later to fish, but all I am catching is bluegill and other sunfish. I live in Cape Coral, but don't mind driving to find some. Anybody know of a place close to my area that holds shiners? Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks for all of the replies!! Looks like trial and error it is!

Good to know!! My buddy and I are planning on going out to Okeechobee next weekend!

Hey TedderX! You are running into the exact same problem I did when I first started fishing for bass. My buddy's were lighting them up right next to me and I could't catch anything!! BassinLou is right, there is definitely a learning curve when you first get started! It took some time to realize it, but my biggest mistake when I first started was I was fishing too fast. I would cast out, crank back in, repeat. Sometimes it helps a lot to slow down your presentation. What types of lures are you throwing currently? What kind of pole do you have? What type of line are you using? This is my second year being serious about catching bass, and I am doing MUCH better than when I first started. Some days are slower than others, but I barely ever get skunked anymore. My favorite rig to use is a med/heavy baitcaster with 20 lb flourocarbon line. I texas-rig soft plastics with a 1/4 or 1/2 ounce bullet weight and a 5/0 gamakatsu offset shank extra wide gap worm hook. I couldnt even tell you how many bass I have caught on this rig! It is extremely versatile and can be used anywhere. Try getting a couple bags of soft plastics and give it a try! My favorites are the KVD Game Hawg, KVD Rodent, and Gary Yamamoto Senko's. I like darker colors like Junebug for dirty water or low-light conditions and more natural colors like watermelon red for clearer water and when it is sunny. There is a TON that you will be learning as you go, but just remember to be patient. Youtube and bass resource will definitely be your best friends. Check out Glenn's youtube channel. He has a ton of very informative videos about a variety of different rigs Hope this helps!! and feel free to message me if you have any questions. Im pretty new to the sport as well, but ill try to help out as best i can

I base my line weight on a few different factors- the clarity of the water, the type of lure I am fishing, and the amount of cover in the area. I generally try to use the lightest line possible to reduce the possibility of my line spooking the fish. I believe that in dirtier water it doesn't matter as much in clearer water. In high vis water i typically fish 6-10 pound flouro for texas rigs or finesse baits. If I'm throwing jigs or spinners ill generally throw 20 lb flouro in high vis, or 30-50 lb braid in muddy water or around heavy cover. 14-20 pound flouro also works well when I'm throwing cranks as it helps bring my lure down deeper in the water column. Overall I try to keep multiple different setups with me at all times. I'm fairly new to the world of bass fishing, so I'm not sure if this is what you are "supposed" to do, but it has been pretty productive for me! Hope this helps!

I fish alone more often than I fish with a buddy, but that's mainly because my buddy doesn't like to get up at 5:30 am haha That being said, I definitely like fishing with a buddy more. Sharing the experience with other people is always enjoyable!!

Hey all!! I'm fairly new to bass fishing. This will be my second year being serious about the sport. I've definitely learned a TON over the past year, but one issue I'm having a little trouble nailing down is when to throw reflective baits, and when to go with matte. From my research it seems as if you want to throw matte baits in lower light conditions, and reflective baits more when it is bright and sunny. Is this true? And if so, why? All help is appreciated! I am a huge fan of being a student and learning more every day! Thanks!

I don't have a boat, so I'm always on the bank. Backpacks are definitely the way to go. I bought the Cabela's advanced angler backpack and it has plenty of storage for a variety of different baits. I also bought a browning bait binder to minimize the amount of space my plastics take up. I really like taking just one rod to stay mobile, but sometimes ill take up to three. I leave my pack on most of the time unless im planning on staying in one spot for a while, much easier to just pick up my extra rods and set them down when im ready to cast back in. I take two trays of terminal tackle, one tray of cranks/topwaters, and a tray of jigs/spinners. All of this fits nicely in the backpack along with a bottle of water and a couple snacks haha. Sometimes it's hard to decide exactly what to take in each tray, but if you know where you are going to fish and the what to expect for water clarity it generally helps to narrow down what type of bait and which color you'll be throwing

Thanks everybody, I'm happy to be here!

Hey everybody!! I've used this forum a lot to get information to help me catch more bass, and i decided it was about time to make a profile! I'm from Lexington, Ohio, but moved to Cape Coral, Florida earlier this year. This will be my third year fishing, and my second year of being serious about catching bass!