Captain Phil

One would think with all the options of colors, shapes, textures and materials an angler could find a plastic trailer that would do the same thing without the negatives? The only pork I want comes on a plate. (joke) ?

Tipping a fishing guide is different than tipping a waitress or a service worker. Those folks are generally working for minimum wage and count on tips to make a living. In most cases, a fishing guide is an independent businessperson. They set their own rates and control who they choose as customers. I appreciated tips, but did not expect them. Salt water fishing is a different animal when there are mates involved. I have been a mate on a charter boat and it's tough dealing with customers who may hurt themselves, get in the way or worse. Most of the time you are working in the sun, rigging baits, untangling lines and dealing with flying hooks and gaffs. Often you are the only person the customers talk to. If you are going to tip, tip the person who helps you the most.

Just curious, why would anyone want to use a pork frog these days? They smell, the bottle can leak making a mess and plastic is so much better. I used them for years, but that was back when my reel handles turned on the cast. ☺️

Join the best bass club you can find. Fish as a non boater. Keep your mouth shut and watch what others do. Don't talk about yourself. Be kind and friendly, but don't tell others how or where to fish. The worse thing you can do is think you know it all.

Tipping is a reward for doing your job better than the customer expects. I based my fees on what I thought my time was worth. I never expected to get a tip. I received many. I gave back a few if I felt I didn't perform as I expected.

The price of everything is based on supply and demand. If you have less supply than you have demand, you have higher prices. Econ 101.

A deadly but not often seen worm presentation is to fish a straight tail worm with a swivel twelve inches above the worm. Looks like a Carolina rig without the sinker. Fished on light line, this becomes a weedless wacky rig. The swivel is just enough weight to slowly sink the worm. Some people kink the worm so it spins.

After 60 years of bass fishing, I can say with confidence that a straight worm is the best bass catching bait ever created. Back when Creme worms first came out before bullet weights and the Texas rig, we fished them weightless. The Mitchell 300 spinning reel made this possible. This bait works everywhere. It works year round. There are a million ways to rig it... Wacky, Carolina, Mojo, Swimming and Dead Sticking. There are many ways to catch bass, nothing works better. The reason angers don't use it more than they do is they have to fish slow.

Roland Martin also tried to sell Helicopter lures. ☺️

Tournament fishermen fish differently. Their goal is to catch as many fish as possible in as short of time as possible. Far be it for me to critique KVD, he's got to be one of the greatest bass fishermen of all time. The key is to know what your bass want. I would never pull a spinnerbait fast. Here in Florida clear water is very rare. When I do, there are lures that work much better than a spinnerbait. One of the reasons blade baits are so popular is they allow an angler to catch fish on a faster retrieve than a spinnerbait which covers more water. Weekend anglers who have worked all week want to catch fish NOW. Most of them would explode if they had to fish a spinnerbait as slow as I do. The only time I fish fast is when throwing a Rattle Trap in the dead of winter. Sometimes that's the only way to get bit.

The round Ambassador reels were some of the best casting reels ever made. They were smooth, tough as nails and anyone could take them apart and put them back together. To prove my point, look at this photo. I have posted it before, so if you have seen it I'm sorry for the repeat. I landed this 120 pound Pacific sailfish with 8 pound Ande mono using an Ambassador 6500C. I've landed snook up to 30 pounds on this same reel. Try this with a modern bass reel and see what happens... The only issue with these old reels is weight. Modern reels are much lighter. Modern reels also have all kinds of gadgets to keep people who don't or can't learn to cast from getting backlashes. I don't use my Ambassador reels these days, but I still have a lot of respect for them.

OK, it's 50 pounds. Heck the photo weighs 20!! ?

My wife and I do a lot of traveling. We always stay at Hamptons and have never been disappointed.

Catching a ray is fairly common in Florida. They pull hard and give a great fight. In my opinion, your ray most likely weighed about 20 pounds. Lots of fun on light tackle.

You should stay in better hotels? I have to admit hotels that cater to bass fisherman aren't the best. The worst I ever slept in was on the Kissimmee River. It cost $8 a night and I wouldn't use the bathroom it was so bad. ?

Who doesn't want to catch numbers of big bass? Unfortunately, not everyone has the same opportunities. There are forest lakes here in Florida where a 3 pound bass is the largest bass in the lake. To catch numbers of big bass, you must fish where they are plentiful enough to encounter them. Your point is well taken. Big bass act different than yearling bass. Their food is different too. That doesn't mean they won't do something you don't expect. I once saw a 10 pound bass in a bucket that was caught with a crappie jig on a cane pole. If you want to catch numbers of big bass, you must be dedicated to the task. It's going to take time. It's going to take patience and you may go some time between fish. Not everyone wants to go down that road.

Thankfully no. This rarely happens where I fish and when it does it's a temporary situation. If I do, I leave and run to another pad field.

To target larger bass, you need big fish bait. Many trophy fish are caught on finesse lures, but using larger baits will up your chances. Pads are prime big bass habitat. Not all pads are the same. Slooooow rolling a spinnerbait in pads is a good way to catch big fish. Start at the outside edge and work back in. Look for places where you can cast back into the pads and bring the lure back to you. Be prepared to make multiple casts to the same target. Direct overhead sun at mid day is the best time. Bass will position under the pads and attack your bait if you can get close enough. How close? You can't get too close. Obviously, you will need heavy tackle. You also need patience. If it was easy, anyone could do it.

Before purchasing a new fishing rod, I compared the Poison Adrenas side by side with the Zodias. Both are extremely light high quality rods. I chose the Zodias for the lower cost. I liked it so much I bought another. I own a 6' 10" MH and a 7' 2" MH. The 6' 10 is much lighter than the 7' 2" MH. It is great for lighter lures and plastics. I think it's the best Senko rod there is. The 7' 2" is a work horse. I use it for large crankbaits and spinnerbaits. I occasionally use it for flipping and pitching as well.

My PB was just shy of 12 pounds. I was flipping with 25 pound Big Game and a locked down drag. That fish ran under the boat and broke an 8' flipping stick in half on the side of the boat, The locked down drag cost me a rod. I bought a new rod. I may not ever see another bass like that.

If you fish with a locked down drag, you must be prepared to give line some other way. Before reel drags, this was commonplace. You can use your thumb as a drag by putting the reel in free spool or back reel if you are using a spinning reel. Fresh water fish normally don't make long runs, so this works if you are prepared for it. I only remember one fish in my lifetime that made a fool out of me when I did this. I hooked a monster bedding bass with 8 pound mono and a spinning reel. It was out in the open and the fish ran so fast I couldn't catch the backward spinning reel handle because it was turning too fast. Never saw that fish, but it must have been huge. It still haunts my dreams....

Years ago we carried dipping pots of anise oil in our boats. Whether it actually attracted bass is debatable, but we thought it did and that was what mattered. Since then I have seen all manner of fish attractants come and go. One guy I knew swore the best fish attractant was WD-40. When salt impregnated lures came out, they were all the rage. There is no doubt smell is one factor in attracting fish to a bait. If anyone here has ever fished in salt water with a jig, they know the effect of adding a small piece of shrimp to the jig. I like to use oily fish attractant because I believe it makes the bait look shiny in the water and makes it easier to fish in cover. The brand doesn't matter to me.

If you are waiting for the real estate market to crash before you buy a house in Florida, you are out of luck. This is not 2008 when homes were financed by anyone who could fog up a mirror. Those buyers had no skin in the game, so they walked away flooding the market with repossessions. Today's home prices are raising because labor and materials prices are rising. Unless they start giving land, labor and materials away, this will continue. When a home comes on the market in Central Florida today, there are multiple offers before the ink is dry on the listing contract and most are cash buyers.

Think about this. Since the Great Ression of 2008, the Fed's target for inflation was 2% annually. They never got close. If they did, what would prices be now? All that is happening is we are catching up for lost time. Some people think a 5% mortgage rate is bad? We bought our first house in 1966 and it had a 6% mortgage. In the eighties we had an 18% reverse mortgage where we owed more on the house each year! When you have an adjustable rate mortgage, you are at risk of having your rate increased. Our current mortgage rate is less than 4% and it will stay that way until we sell. Florida limits homestead tax increases to no more than 3% annually. We also have no State income tax. Our State constitution does not allow deficit spending. Florida currently has a budget surplus.