Captain Phil

My wife and I have been married 56 years. We went bank fishing together when we were in high school. Our parents weren't rich and we started our family when we were both 19 years old. When our son was a baby, we put him in a portable play pen on the side of the canal so he could see what was going on. He is 56 now and has fished his whole life. My wife has been the love of my life, my business partner and my best friend. She supports and encourages me to be better than I ever could by myself. To do the things I did, you need a good paying job. Better yet, stop making someone else rich and start a business of your own. It's hard work, but you can make all your dreams come true. ☺️

Lifetime or in one purchase? Just on tackle or everything? If it's everything, mine has been in the millions. My first new fishing reel was a Pflueger Akron. My second was a Mitchel 300. Paid for them both out of my paper route profits. I built my first boat out of a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood with planks for the sides. My first new bass boat was a Terry Bass 15 footer with stick steering and a 55 Johnson outboard. I had three Terry Bass boats after that followed by Rangers, Hydro Sports, a Gambler and one Storm. I've had dozens of boats in my life to a 40 foot sport fish. I sold our home and moved to Key Largo once for two years so I could fish. We moved to where I am now for the bass fishing. Traveling to fish? How about Mexico, South and Central America, Canada, Australia even Papua New Guinea. Come to think about it, I've spent my whole life chasing fish. It's all been good. ☺️

The "toughest" most "heavy duty" casting reels" made are Shimano Calcuttas. I have an old Calcutta 200 that I have owned for years. I've caught everything on it from bass to 30 pound snook and 150 pound tarpon. You could winch your boat on the trailer with that thing. I never use a drag when bass fishing. I hammer it down and free spool if I need to. Drags are for serious pulling fish.

In 2001, I was at the weigh in when Dean Rojas brought his 45 pound 2 ounce 5 fish bag to the scales. He autographed my hat which I still have. These fish were caught in Kissimmee on West Lake Toho. Very nice person and a great angler.

Great article and lots of fun to read through. Thanks for posting it. It is very easy to overestimate the weight of a bass. I can't tell you how many 10 pound Florida bass I have seen that actually weighed 7-8 pounds. It is never a good idea to dispute these weights as the angler is convinced he/she has caught a 10 pound fish and I am not going to burst their bubble. As they repeat their story a few times, the fish grows with each telling. To someone who is not used to big fish, an 8 pound bass is gigantic. Any large bass is a wonder to see. It's interesting to talk about extra long fish. One of the longest fish in this article weighed about 14 pounds. I caught a bass in Banana Cove on Big Lake Harris that wouldn't fit in a 18.5 foot skeeter live well. I was going to take it home, weigh it and release it at my dock, but I couldn't get the fish to bend enough to fit without hurting it. I have no clue as to it's actual weight, but it wasn't near a record fish. Eight pound bass are caught all the time in my back yard on Lake Eustis. Many grow ten pounds on the drive home. ?

One thing that I find curious, why don't we find giant dead bass floating when they die? I know alligators and birds clean up the water, but if a world record exists you would think someone would find one floating.

Apopka is an interesting subject. Back in the 40s and 50s, Apopka was one of the greatest bass fisheries in the world. The 17 pound bass pictured on Heddon lure boxes of the time came from Lake Apopka. There is much on the Internet about it's demise, so I won't discuss that here. For a long time, Apopka was the secret honey hole of some of our local tournament fishermen who would make the long run to the lake. At that time, the fish were concentrated around one spring on the southwest side of the lake. If you got there first, you were almost guaranteed a check. Otherwise, you could fish Apopka for a week without a strike. If you got a strike, it was a monster. Apopka went without fishing pressure for many years. This started to change when it was stocked with a million bass fry. The water is still dingy and the bottom is muddy, but there are fish to be caught. We fished it as an experiment a few years back and caught some very nice fish. There were a number of bass caught out of Apopka in the last major TV tournament. Due to a lack of fishing pressure and all the nutrients and food, I wouldn't be surprised if a State record bass is swimming in that lake.

Rodman or Lake Apopka...

Back in the seventies, people started selling fiberglass replicas of George Perry's world record bass. I bought one and used to keep it in my boat to pull out at tournaments. It was ridiculously huge and not that lifelike. It always got a lot of laughs and quite a few comments from people who didn't know better. I don't remember what I did with it, but you may see one of these on EBay. I also have a mounted 11 1/4 pound bass done by Archie Phillips from back around that time. Archie's bass were some of the best skin mounts ever done. Rumors of giant Florida bass are common. The largest real bass I have seen myself was reported to be 17 pounds and it came from a private orange grove pond. Two bass this size have been caught in the last few years, one from Rodman and one from Lake Rousseau. The current certified Florida State record bass was 17.27 pounds caught by Billy O'Berry. Since I was a kid in the fifties, there were tales of a thirty pound bass being displayed at one of the World's Fairs. No one has ever found a photo of that fish. Multiple claims have been made, but none certified. George Perry's fish was witnessed and weighed on a postal scale. Still, there are those who doubt it's actual weight. The current Texas record bass is 18.8 pounds. California bass were artificially engineered by transplanting Florida strain bass and feeding them hatchery trout. There is nothing wrong with this as Florida fish have been transplanted all around the world. A world record largemouth bass will never be caught in Florida public waters. Far too much fishing pressure and habitat loss. However, if your goal is to catch a bass over ten pounds, you could not do better than fish in my neighborhood. This bass was caught three blocks from my home.

I bought my first Motorguide in the early seventies and they served me well for nearly thirty years. I fished tournaments constantly and guided professionally for much of those years. As trolling motors transitioned from mechanical to electronic, my Motorguides started breaking down constantly. It got so bad I had to buy backup motors just to keep me on the water. I eventually switched to Minn Kota and I will never go back. They are hands down the best bass fishing trolling motors on the market period. I had a Terrova on my last boat and it worked great. You can use a remote foot pedal if you wish. The spot lock was wonderful. My current boat, a Ranger RT178, has a 24 volt Minn Kota foot control motor. It cuts through heavy hydrilla like no body's business. Trust me, you want a 24 volt motor on your boat. I haven't had a chance to use all the new motors on the market, but why would you want to take a chance when the perfect motor has already been made and proven?

When fishing for offshore salt water species, we often run into toothy critters. King fish and barracuda have a nasty habit of dining on our live baits. The Albright Special (Alberto) has been used for years to connect metal wire to the end of mono leaders. It's easy to tie and never fails.

When you allow dead bass to be entered in a tournament, you open the door to cheating. Our club ran a big bass tournament for some years. Two guys attempted to win it with a dead bass full of lead sinkers. We denied their win and had them arrested. Three years later a judge banned them from all tournaments. Back in the seventies a B.A.S.S. rival ran a big tournament on the Clermont Chain in Central Florida. The winning bass turned out not to come from the lakes we were fishing. After that, tournaments started penalizing or disallowing dead bass. No one I know would fish a tournament that allows dead bass to be entered.

Ambassador round reels are heavy compared to modern reels. That said, they were the standard bass reel for a very long time. Early reels were 3/1. The cheapest were the red reels. The black reels were somewhat nicer. Back in the day we bought "speed gears" to increase the ratio. When the gray "High Speed" 5/1 5500 and 6500 reels came out, they were the ultimate Ambassador reel. I still have one that I used to catch an unverified world record Pacific sailfish on 8 pound mono (see below). Pre 2000 Ambassador reels are as tough as them come. They are very simple to disassemble and clean. The difference in the models has to do with the number of bearings, spool width and retrieve ratio. Assuming you are bass fishing, the best of these reels was a pre 2000 5500C. Later reels were cheapened up so much that I wouldn't own one. You may have to pay up for a nice early model 5500C as they do have some collector value.

Do yourself a favor and get an MRI. In my forties, I started suffering from similar issues. By the time I was sixty five, I couldn't stand for longer than ten minutes without pain. Last year at seventy four I had major surgery to correct spinal stenosis (arthritis in my spine). There is a good chance you can avoid surgery if you find the problem early. Don't guess, find the problem. If anyone says they can fix you with a laser, leave immediately.

No, he was a Rattle Trap specialist. He liked both the 1/2 oz and 3/4 oz. Traps. He is gone now. I am sure he fished the Spot as it came out much earlier than the Trap. I fished them myself back then. The Rattle Trap is lighter and it seems to vibrate more than the Spot. I imagine it's a good bait to use when everyone else is throwing the same thing. There are times here on the chain if you aren't fishing a Trap you aren't fishing. Lots of old baits are having a resurgence for that reason.

I don't believe you will find much difference between a 6/1 and 7/1 reel ratio. I would carry two, a 5/1 and 7/1. Spinnerbaits are not designed to be pulled fast. Cadence is very important with these lures and 5/1 is what you want. Some lures like Rattle Traps and Buzz baits work better with a faster retrieve. For those, you need a faster reel.

In all the years I have been using Big Game mono, I have never once had a fish break me off or have I ever had a knot slip. When braid first came out, I lost a 25 pound snook when the knot came undone. After that experience, I was done with braid unless I was fishing where I had no choice. Anglers overthink fishing line. A great angler can catch fish on the cheapest line you can find in Big Lots. A lousy angler can't catch fish with the most expensive line on the planet. I once had a chance to fish with one of the greatest Rattle Trap anglers I have ever seen. He had a couple of old red Ambassador 5000 reels and some rods with broken guides. His line looked like it hadn't been changed in 20 years. He was so good I sat down in the boat just to watch him catch fish. The new guys in our club always thought he cheated. He didn't need to.

Been using Big Game Mono for years. I use 20 pound for Rattle Traps and Spinnerbaits. 25 pound for flipping. It's inexpensive, readily available, easy to cast, hold knots and it works. Here in Florida, we rarely fish clear water. Fluorocarbon is not that helpful. Braid is expensive and is like fishing with cable. Our bass are bigger and often buried up in cover. Big Game checks all the boxes.

Been there, done that. I was once fishing in Pelican Bay when I laid my rod down to pee off the end of the boat. The line was still out with a plastic worm tied on it. As I was taking care of business, a bass pulled my rod and reel into the water. A big thunderstorm was coming which can be nasty on Okeechobee. I anchored the boat and waited out the storm, then proceeded to drag the bottom with a crankbait attempting to snag my tackle. After about 30 minutes, I was able to catch the line and retrieve my rig and the three pound bass that had pulled it over. I have lost a number of combos running across big lakes here in Florida when the deck strap came undone or I failed to secure them properly. I once had a guide trip where a customer cast one of my combos in the water. I charged the guy $100, which was only about half what it cost me. ?

The original Rapala minnow is one of the best bass lures of all time. I dare you to throw one all day without a strike, unless you are fishing in your bathtub or backyard swimming pool. I have been fishing them since they came out in the sixties. Most anglers fish this lure with the traditional stop and twitch retrieve. What many don't know is it's an excellent jerk bait. When you fish it that way, you frequently don't feel the strike. The rod just loads up. These baits are killers on schooling fish. I only use two colors, silver with a black back and gold with a black back. Sometimes, adding a little white paint to the belly is beneficial. Always fish this lure on light mono. I use 8 pound mono and it works well. Anything heavier and you will kill the action.

I have been using AT&T cell phone service for years without problems. Last fall they upgraded me to a Galaxy A12. This phone is the biggest piece of junk I have ever seen. Half the time the touch screen doesn't work. When I use it next to my desktop computer, it drops or garbles calls. It's so bad I have to make calls outside my house. I tried talking to tech support and it was like trying to call Putin. I spoke with so many robots, I started modifying my voice to sound like them. I am stuck in AT&T prison and can't get out!! ?

Some time ago we had a local bass tournament tour that was put on by a tire business. Their tournament rules allowed fishing with live bait as well as artificial lures. I was hesitant to enter at first as I thought the shiner fishermen would have an advantage. That did not prove to be the case as the winners always won fishing artificials. When fishing with lures, you have the advantage of greater mobility and the option to change your presentation. That is not the case when soaking live bait.

Large organized bass tournaments are generally more aware of the problem. Our bass club ran a tournament on the Harris Chain for years. We worked with the State game officials who provided us with special tanks filled with chemicals designed to help the bass recover from being handled. These were big bass tournaments with only one fish weighed per angler. All dead bass were disqualified. Later, we went to an hourly weigh in format to further reduce time in the live wells. I ran the stage in a few of these tournaments and they were very popular. The biggest problem is small local club or community tournaments where preventing injury to bass is not a priority. In the spring, the Chain has 3-6 of these every weekend. Last year, I launched my boat the day after one of these tournaments and found dead bloated bass all over the marina. This needs to be stopped. Back in the day, tournaments needed to display bass on a stage in front of an audience. That is no longer necessary. When they pull bass out and hold them up, I think about the bass not the winner. I have entered many offshore fishing tournaments. We don't drag sailfish or tarpon up on stage, why bass? Why do we have tournaments where an angler wins with a limit of dinks? If that's the definition of a champion angler, I think we have our priorities wrong. Switch all bass tournaments to catch, photo and release. Implement closed seasons on a rotating basis. Reduce tournament bag limits to switch the emphasis on catching bigger bass. 1,000 weekend anglers can not hurt the fishery because they don't catch that many fish. 200 professional anglers with today's methods and technology can. In my opinion, bed fishing is the worst thing you can do to a bass population. If you are going to stoop that low, at least put her back on the bed where she came from.

I have been participating in bass tournaments since the late sixties. Back then, Florida had a ten bass per angler daily limit with no size limit. Our bass club had a fish fry after every tournament. I can remember cleaning piles of bass over a foot high. Crazy as it seems, I once won an Okeechobee buddy tournament with a 67 pound stringer. Later, Florida reduced the daily limit to five 15" fish per angler. The State started issuing "tournament exemptions" which allowed them to override the limits. Getting an exemption is as easy as finding someone to sell you an extended car warranty. On TV you can watch live bass being caught, so why drag potentially dead bass up on stage? In the summer, if you visit the marina the day after a bass tournament, you will see dead bass floating around the docks. This doesn't have to happen. Everyone in America has a cell phone. Catch a bass, take a photo and let it go where it was caught. It works in salt water tournaments, why not bass? Some Florida lakes have slot limits. Florida is trying to increase the average size of bass caught. 10,000 people a day are moving here. Many are dragging their boats behind them. If this sounds like the grumblings of an old man, it's not. Florida bass fishing can not stand the pressure of all these anglers. I don't fish bedding bass. I consider it unsportsmanlike and severely detrimental to the sport. If our great grand kids are going to have a chance at a big bass, we should make ALL Florida bass fishing catch photo and immediate release where caught.

There was a time when Florida bass guides used live shiners exclusively. Catching bass with live shiners completely removes the angler from the equation. You could program a robot to set the hook and crank the reel when the float takes off. The problem is novice anglers wait until the bass swallows the shiner to set the hook. This kills fish. When you remove big bedding females, the whole fishery suffers. The cost and availability of wild shiners has changed that. If you wish to catch a trophy bass in Florida today, you must fish where fishing pressure is low. There are private pits in Florida where giant bass are common. Rodman grows giant bass because the hydrilla is so thick most bass never feel a hook. Bass in our larger lakes don't have a chance to grow large. I hate to say it, but Florida bass fishing should have tighter limits, closed seasons, no exemptions and catch photo and release. If it works for snook and redfish, it would work for bass.