Captain Phil

The main reason I didn't troll much was trolling was not allowed in tournaments. Trolling for bass is very effective but there are many variables. Trolling is a great way to locate bass, especially in the summer when bass seem to disappear from the shallows. Trolling covers a lot of water. Effective trolling for bass requires some speed. Offshore cranking accomplishes the same thing, but it's limited to young people with the strength and endurance to keep it up. The most effective bass trolling lure I have found is a deep diving crankbait. You need a boat and motor to troll fast enough to trigger a strike. When you get a strike, immediately mark the spot on your GPS or throw over a floating marker. I have found some great spots that way. Go back over the spot with your electronics trying to discover why the bass are holding there. If you find something, work it over with a worm or Carolina rig. If you need convincing, read about a man named Buck Perry and you will discover why he had so many followers. If the water you are fishing is weedy or you want to troll shallow, try trolling a Rattle Trap, it's especially deadly fished that way.

I have written a number of articles and posts on Lake Apopka in the past. Lake Apopka currently has a good number of bass. It's shallow, murky and not the most beautiful lake in Florida. There is a large spring on the south western shore that pumps out clear water, but the rest of the lake's water is deeply stained. Many local tournaments have been won there for those who were willing to make the long run. The best lures we have found are spinnerbaits, Rattle Traps and anything that makes vibration. The fish will be holding close to cover. Top water lures are a waste of time, unless you find clear water which is doubtful. You will have to cover water to find fish. The bass tend to run large and healthy. Keep moving, stay confident and you will catch bass.

Are you familiar with the term "Search Bait"? Before the advent of electronics, that's how we found fish. What you need is a confidence presentation that you can use to cover a lot of water. You won't spend your days trying to view fish on a computer screen. You will learn what works where you fish. This is more valuable than any pixel bass.

I would fish a Zoom Ultravibe speed worm in JuneBug/Red. I would fish it on 30 pound brad with a 15 pound fluorocarbon leader. Use the lightest weight you can throw and fish it on the bottom. If the water is clearer, watermelon/red is a good choice too. There has never been a bass in Florida that could resist that bait. Good Luck!

I happened across this post and thought I would add my two cents. Doug Hannon was fishing at a time when big bass were much more common in Florida than they are now. This does not minimize his achievements or make his books or teachings obsolete. He limited his bass fishing to small clear natural lakes deep in the Ocala National Forest, not far from my home. At that time, those lakes saw very few anglers. Since then, most have silted in or gone dry multiple times. This was before Rodman was created and the Ocalawaha river ran free. Florida still has some of these, many are on private land. That said, there are still plenty of large bass still in Florida, but few anglers ever catch them. The reason is fishing pressure. On any given weekend, the parking lot at the ramp near my house is overflowing with cars and trailers on both sides of the street. With this much pressure, bass develop the ability to ignore the most common fishing presentations. If the water is murky this gets much worse. It gets to a point where bass fishing becomes real work, not pleasure. Many new anglers give up on big bass fishing, thinking the water is fished out. If you are seriously committed to targeting only double digit Florida bass, you should master flipping heavy cover. It's hard work, but if you have enough patience, it produces results.

Thanks for the well wishes. I had no idea anyone would miss my posts? You guys should know there will come a time when you can no longer fish by yourself. As you grow older, your balance goes first, followed by your stamina, then those little aches and pains you have now make even sitting in a boat painful. I have been bass fishing for nearly 70 years. I enjoyed every minute of it. I fished some of the first tournaments in the late 60s. Some of the things I could tell you would make you laugh for hours. I met and fished against thousands of great anglers, some famous some regular guys. Bass fishing has changed a lot, people haven't. If I see something on this forum that I can contribute, I will be happy to comment. If anyone has a question, this would be the best place to ask it. I do my fishing these days from my keyboard.

"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated!" Seriously, I have had a few medical issues in the past year that has slowed me down quite a bit. I'm in pretty decent shape for an old man near 80, but the list of things I can no longer do is growing. After my back operation, my stamina is just not there. I also had a cancer scare that Jesus chose to save me from. I never thought anyone here would miss my posts. Thanks for asking about me... I'll try to hang out here more.

There have been times on the Harris Chain when if you weren't fishing a Rattle Trap you weren't fishing. Most of these times were back when the water was murky. Since the water has cleared, the Rattle Trap bite has diminished significantly. Almost all of my double digit bass came flipping heavy cover.

Communication is key! Before you book a guide, make your desires and expectations clear. Do not assume all guides are the same. Boating as many fish as possible is a different goal than targeting large fish. Live bait fishing is easier than bass fishing with artificial lures. Some guides are entertainers, others are not. Some guides are teachers, others are not. What is important is that you and your guide are on the same page. Do your discovery before the boat leaves the dock.

Being a bass fishing guide is the worst way you can ever make a living. The hours are long and the pay is little. Many people show up with no skill, no common sense and unrealistic expectations. The only way to be successful is to hang live shiners on a hook and wait for a fish to appear, then hope the angler can hook and land a fish. Truth be known, more money is made selling live bait to customers than fishing. Bass fishing with artificial lures takes skill and experience. Unless the fish are jumping in the boat (not often), it is rare to have a great day. My best customers were out of town tournament anglers who wanted to know how and where I fish. They always wanted me to fish. They were not looking for spots or advice, they wanted to see what I did and then make their own decisions. I met some great people this way, some of them you would know. My second best customers were avid weekend anglers with skill and experience. It was always a pleasure when they booked me and I enjoyed them all. Again, they wanted me to fish. This man came to me from Minnesota in the dead of winter. He told me in Minnesota bass are considered rough fish and trout are the sport fish. I found this odd. He wanted to catch a big Florida bass, so I gave him my favorite Rattle Trap. This was the result.

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.