Aaron_H

Nice one! Big ol' head on her. Love when they smash it so close to the bank, always gets my heart racing.

It's Tool Time!

They're pretty deadly on the panfish if you're on a budget. I prefer the size 04 Rattlin' Rapala (the 3/16) or the Bill Lewis Tiny Trap, but the Creme is effective. For only $5 for a 5 pack you can't go wrong.

I figure if I soremouth all the dinks, I'm bound to catch a big one!

I was fortunate this past year, fished 110 days with only 2 skunks. One of which was a new spot that receives a lot of pressure so I went into it figuring I wasn't going to figure them out that quickly, but the second was at one of my favorite spots so the skunk was a bit more frustrating. I look at a skunk as a learning opportunity. What piece of the puzzle did I miss? It can be frustrating when the bite isn't what I expected, but I just try my best to reframe it in a positive light. It helps to not get angry about it. What hurts is losing a big fish. Had a couple over the past year that I just had to sit down after they came off. Gotta have a second to grieve lol. Happened a few weeks ago, lost a biiig girl on the jerkbait but I was trying to get a hang of the technique and must've flubbed something and she came unpinned. Those are a little harder to let go of than the skunks IMO. But I don't throw a tantrum or throw my rod, just a quick little heartbreak and then back to casting. At least I know I'm fishing the right areas and triggering big bites, gotta keep that positive spin in mind. Not saying I don't feel angry sometimes, I just try my best to manage it quickly.

Went out for a few hours yesterday evening, bite was a little better. Weather is back on a cooling trend, about 10 degrees cooler than the past few days (and down another 10 degrees today), nice cloud cover and decent breeze for the first couple of hours. Ended up with 10 and a crappie. Most of the bass and the crappie were on the jerkbait, but biggest fish came in at 4lb 5oz on the Thunderhawk Sergeant lipless in gold/black. Muuuch healthier fish than the last one I got, decent belly and shoulders. 12.75" crappie was a nice surprise. Also found a nice fresh antler shed on the bank. Still haven't broken 5lb this year, which is unusual. Most of the smaller fish in the 2lb range look like they're pretty heavily gravid and gearing up to spawn, none of the bigger ones look like they're ready yet. Tilapia are on beds now so hopefully here soon. My "goal" fish for this spawn is a big girl that I caught in June 2020. Over 26" long and a massive head and shoulders on her, but itty bitty summer belly. Went 8lb 9oz when I got her, but I think this year she'd be 12-13 if I can get her when she's gravid.

How long is the handle on the Dobyns? IIRC mostly they're 14-15", like most other manufacturers. I was going to suggest the Victory 7'4" Heavy/fast, seemed to be right up your alley for the techniques you plan to throw on it, but it's a standard 15" handle.

If you already have another MH and a crankbait rod, why not move up to a Heavy for the frogging/flipping/punching?

Can't speak for @A-Jay, but of the 18 different models/colors of lipless currently in my tackle box, I throw every one of them. Some definitely see more action than others, but all get used.

Looks like an old Pico Perch to me.

My first foray into casting reels was a Pro Max that I got on sale for $51. Had it a little over 3 years now and it's mostly held up aside from the thumb bar cracking in half but that's a cheap fix. It is sorely outclassed by reels like the SLX and Fuego, but a fine reel if you get it on sale. I would never pay MSRP for it since you can get the Fuego or SLX for a negligible price increase. My brother has a Silver Max he's had for almost 5 years and it's still trucking. I believe the Black/Silver/Pro Max series has been replaced with a newer Max series, however. If I wanted to stick to $80 MSRP I would get the Shimano Caius.

Can't add much that hasn't been said, I use extra fast for jigs and T-rigs. Don't get a ton of distance on the lighter end since the rod won't load up as deep but I'm usually making shorter casts to specific targets anyway so it's never bothered me. Can still bomb the heavier jigs out there if I need to.

Not a very healthy looking fish, but got my PB jerkbait fish late in the evening yesterday with this 4lb 8oz one. Very long, but very skinny. She came up a few times and shook her head out of the water and I thought she was going to be much bigger, a little disappointing when I saw how skinny she was since she was pushing 21-22".

Got my first combo in 1993 ("Rhino Tough" Zebco 33) when I was 5 years old, but grew up solely fishing saltwater for snapper and grouper. I didn't get into bass fishing until somewhat recently, picked it up in May 2016 and have been hooked since. As much as I love being on the ocean, bass fishing has become my primary passion. So I've been fishing for ~29 years, but only seriously bass fishing for ~6.

I have the SLX DC on my 705CB for throwing cranks in that 0-6ft range. The SLX MGL would be great if you're throwing lighter cranks. Fuego is also a great option, as others said.

1. Dobyns Fury 705CB, Shimano SLX DC 151HG, 30lb braid to 15lb mono leader. 2. Strike King Red-Eyed Shad, Rattlin' Rapala, Booyah One Knocker, Thunderhawk Sergeant, Berkley Warpig are the ones I throw the most often. I keep colors relatively simple: Shad pattern, bluegill pattern, gold, red. 3. Typically either an aggressive yo yo retrieve, or a steady retrieve interspersed with pops and pauses. I mix it up from there depending on what the bite is like, from jigging it slowly off the bottom, to straight burning it if need be. 4. Pay attention to the sound profile. Some will be very subdued and some will be obnoxiously loud; I usually switch to quieter or silent ones if the bite is tough, and louder ones when they are fired up.

Anything 3/8oz or heavier I throw on a 6'10" M/XF SLX rod paired with a SLX 151HG spooled with 30lb braid to 12-15lb mono leader. Eventually I'll swap the reel with the SLX MGL for handling lighter jerkbaits better.

Happened last week. Drag click pin on an SLX I was cleaning fell off the spring and onto the carpet. That took ~5 minutes crawling around with a headlamp to find.

That spinning rod sounds good to go. ?

Essentially, yeah. Some of the canals are saltwater IIRC so be wary of that. A saltwater/freshwater combo license isn't much more and could be worth it just for the peace of mind. Not to say that you can't still get kicked out, you might end up on private property that just lacks signage. If you get approached to leave, just apologize, let them know you didn't see any signage and that you'll leave right away, and just head on to your next spot on the list. There are a massive amount of ponds and canals in the Miami area since so much drainage is needed, if one is private or doesn't allow fishing, you will have no shortage of other spots to try your luck at. The FishBrain app might be useful for you here. I've never used it personally, but it has a large number of users that log their catches for specific bodies of water. Should give you an idea of what spots allow fishing and what species you can target there. If you want to stay lighter, a 7' medium/fast will be more than enough for most of what you might be throwing. A 7' medium-heavy/fast might give you more options and is what I'd go with if I could only take one.

You will for sure need a license. If you stick to ponds and canals then you should be fine with a freshwater license, you can get it online from FWC (Go Outdoors Florida is the site they use for licensing). Just hop on Google maps around where you are going to be staying and look for ponds/canals you can walk to. Lots of largemouth bass, peacock bass, mayan cichlid, etc. to be found in freshwater. Even the occasional snook, redfish, and tarpon are tolerant of freshwater and sometimes get landlocked in ponds, and clown knifefish are in a few bodies for something super exotic. Just be sure to observe any no trespassing/no fishing signs.

My Dad's favorite trap combo is a Shimano Bantam BassOneMag (carbon/plastic frame and components) on a 5'6" Silstar BX-Lite (which touted a 98% graphite blank), both of which were advertised as being very light weight for the time. Still 1-2 ounces heavier than my 7-7'6" combos with all aluminum frames.

Beautiful collection, but my god! ?

Broke off one of those H2O Xpress jerk shads two days after I bought it. Hopefully it makes its way back to the bank since it's not sinking. Thank goodness I only had ~9 bucks into it. Stinks since the backup one I purchased is a slow riser instead of suspending. Now that I'm really putting in the work to get better with the technique, it's fast becoming a favorite for bank fishing. The eats are super addicting like with crankbait fishing.

You misspelled braid to leader, but I forgive you. That's a cool autumn day in Florida ? Thankfully, I don't get cabin fever since we don't get iced out down here and I've managed to get out 17 days so far this month. I can't handle the cold that great, though. No idea how you northern guys do it.