Captain Phil

Here in Florida, fishing pressure is something we deal with on a daily basis. I live on the Harris Chain where the fishing pressure is relentless. There are numerous club tournaments every weekend. It's getting where you can't find a ramp parking spot on a Saturday or Sunday. Add a 200 boat tournament or two into this mix and you have some tough fishing. From my experience, this has the effect of shrinking the strike zone. It also makes the fish more aware of the sounds of boats and fishermen. If you can find active fish in open water, traditional methods can be effective. Unfortunately, with 50,000 acres of water, the fish have a nasty habit of relocating. There are always some fish in shallow water. When they are pressured, they go deep in cover, go almost totally inactive and the strike zone shrinks to almost nothing. This makes flipping the only real option outside of live bait. Stealth becomes important as well as sounds and shadows on the water. It's not an enjoyable way to fish for most people, but it works. Years ago you could run to some place where the fishing pressure was light. Those days are gone. If I am going to fish for fun, I prefer smaller waters like private lakes and golf course ponds. This is the same type of fishing I did as a boy and it's still the same as it was back then.

Spinnerbait

Some years ago I fished with a man who showed me a sunken dock on the Harris Chain. This dock was completely underwater even during droughts. I would often stop by this dock when fishing the area. This dock turned out to be the territory of a large bass with some unique markings. The first time I caught her, she weight 6 1/2 pounds. Over the years I caught her five more times and she gained length and weight each time. The last time, she was a little under nine. That bass is probably dead by now.

I suggest you come back as young Captain Phil. The current one is pretty worn out. ☺️

Years ago the Miami Herald Newspaper ran an annual fishing contest. The contest had many categories, some you would expect and some a little odd. One of the categories was total number of bass released. One angler always won that category. The number of bass he claimed to have caught and released was in the hundreds a day. It got so crazy, some locals complained and sought to have disqualified for cheating. The newspaper sent out an observer to verify his claims and they gave him the prize. This man only fished the Everglades. The Everglades is 60 miles wide and over 100 miles long. Part of the year, the area is a flooded swamp only a few feet deep. In the spring dry season, the flats dry up and all the fish concentrate in the flood control canals which are about 15 feet deep. When the water is high, the fish are scattered and difficult to find. When the water is low, the fishing is incredible. It is nothing to catch over 100 bass a day during a drought. In June, the rain starts and the water rises. The small fish are first to leave the canals. This leaves only large fish left in the canals. Some are double digit fish. Bass fishing in the Everglades is nothing like anything I have ever seen. Often there are so many bass in those canals, the wildlife people remove the limits. I once won a night tournament during one of those times with over 100 pounds of bass. You have to see it to believe it.

Your post brought a smile to my face. The Ole Monster is a finesse worm compared to the worms we threw back in the 70s and 80s. Back when Rodman first opened, we had a worm called the Hawg Hunter. That worm was 15" long, 3/4" of an inch wide with two molded in hooks. It was so heavy you didn't need a weight and it sounded like a whip on the cast. I haven't seen one in years and I have been trying to find one for my collection. I caught dozens of giant bass on that worm. I know of one 17 pound Florida bass caught on it. Big bass eat big food. This isn't always true, but it's true often enough. Big black plastic worms are great night lures. Bring your net!!

Finesse fishing means downsizing. Downsizing works because smaller lines and lures look more natural to fish. From my experience, it works best in clear water. It can also get more bites in highly pressured waters or when fish are inactive. When I was tournament fishing, along with my regular tackle I always carried a spinning outfit loaded with 8 pound line. Close to 30% of the tournaments I won were won finesse fishing when everyone else was throwing big stuff. Except for flipping, it's probably the most all around effective way to catch bass. Two lures come to my mind when I think about my days of finesse fishing, Zoom 4 inch worms and 4 inch lizards. If you really want to get good at finesse fishing, Google Mojo Rig. It's a downsized Carolina Rig and it's deadly on bass.

Not much I can add to this post. All I can say is stay safe. Minor issues during the day can turn into a tragedy at night. Don't ever night fish alone. I did it in my 20s when I was stupid. Here in the deep south, the biggest night fishing issue is bugs. If you are up to the challenge, night fishing can be great. Good Luck!

I was not aware that sunscreen was so controversial? All I know is this. If I wear sunscreen I don't burn. If I don't, I do. That said, sunscreen is a mess. I hate the stuff. My hoodie was just delivered and I can't wait to try it out. Thanks for the all the great feedback!

I am sorry to hear about your father. This photo was taken some time ago. I have completely healed and my cancer has not returned. The spot on my head was about the size of a pencil eraser. The surgeon had to make a large circle cut so the hole would heal. It looked and hurt like hell, but now you can't tell I had surgery. Skin cancer is no joke. My wife is very fair and they are always cutting her up. Back when we were kids, we never used sunscreen and now we are paying the price.

Thanks for the input. I am not allergic to any materials that I know of. As I got older, the heat seems to bother me more. It sucks the energy right out of me. I had a cancer removed from the top of my head a few years ago and it wasn't pleasant (see below). This what happens when you fish for 60 years. Now, I am completely bald and have been coating myself with sun screen. I do have a big floppy hat. I have been wearing my old light weight long sleeve guide shirts, but they don't seem to be as cool as these new shirts. I am definitely going to try these new shirts.

Summer temperatures here in Central Florida are running in the mid to high 90s. I see TV anglers fishing in long sleeve hoodies that I assume are protection against UV rays? I have have heard these shirts are not hot and some are designed to keep you cool. Most seem to be made of polyester, which doesn't sound that cool to me. Any feedback?

Years ago I lived in South Florida during a number of severe droughts where the flats were completely dry. The rough fish in the canals were so thick you could destroy an aluminum prop in a 1/4 mile. To thin out the fish, State Game officials remove all the fishing limits in the everglades. They once held a night time bass tournament out of Holiday park. I entered the tournament and we fished from 8 PM until dawn. It took over 100 pounds of bass to win that tournament. There were prizes for the most gars and mudfish. The pile of dead rough fish was enormous. Low water like that is tough on fish, but they recover quickly. The Everglades is a special place.

Here's mine. These reels changed everything. They came out just about the time plastic worms did. Back then, we didn't know about worm weights and these reels allowed light weightless worms to be fished. Those old Creme worms were dynamite on bass. Still are!

Major bass fishing game changing innovations in no particular order. 1. Level wind, free spool casting reel 2. Mitchel 300 type spinning reel 3. Electric trolling motor 4. Purpose built bass boat 5. Graphite fishing rod 6. Sonar fish finder 7. Plastic worm 8. Mono fishing line What's your list?