dsw1204

Yeah, I have thought about the "critters" to watch out for. Snakes scare me more than the gators, thus I have already bought some snake boots and I am feeling a little more confident about the bank fishing I will be doing. However, I probably should be more concerned of the alligators, although. So, the spawn will probably be over by mid-March? Is the fishing any better or worse after the spawn? Good to hear the weather will be air temps will be around 80*. Good to hear, especially now that current local morning temps are in the teens. I was pretty successful with topwater fishing last season. Really like seeing the blowups, even if I don't hook one up. The Whopper Plopper and the Teckel Sprinker Frog were my most successful baits. Late last year, in my first season, I started fishing with soft plastics and caught some decent largemouths, mostly on crawdads. Will the color of lures make a difference between Tampa and Ohio? If so, what colors do you recommend?

I am headed down south to Tampa to be visiting my mom and dad in mid-March. I plan on doing some freshwater fishing while I am there. I have no idea what to expect. Now, I am relatively new to fishing, this upcoming season being my second one. Last year was fun and it was NOT unsuccessful. But, bass spawn at a different time in Florida than they do in Ohio, or so I assume. Is mid-March a prime time to do some bass fishing? Does anyone have any recommendations on tactics, types of lures, color of lures, etc.? What temperatures should I expect at that time of year... 70's, 60's? Looking at Google Maps, it looks like there are ponds every 30 yards, there are tons of ponds. Around southern Ohio, almost every pond has a sign that says "No Trespassing". Is that the same down there? I'll still fish at these ponds, but not on someone's private property...corporate property, yes. Also, there's two golf courses (with some nice size ponds) that are walking distance away from where I will be staying. Do people fish on these ponds? There's also a small lake (Lake Dan) that is in the middle of nowhere...about 1/2 mile walk from where I will park the car. There are no building anywhere near it. I am betting it does not get a lot of pressure, there. I am super excited to do some fishing in Florida. I am told the bass are much larger down south than in Ohio. So, any recommendations to a relatively newbie?

Well, I bought a pair of Rocky S2V Waterproof Tactical Snake Boots, so I am not now "overly" afraid of the snakes when I hit the ponds of Tampa...well, the suburbs of Tampa. I will try to remember to keep myself aware of my surroundings and I think I will be fine. I don't have the fear of gators like I do of snakes, so I will be going in pretty much fear-free. Will just have to be a little careful when reaching down to my tackle bag laying on the ground.

Am planning to do a day of deep sea fishing. Have no idea how that is going to go, but do look forward to it. Should be fun!

Well, I decided not to worry too much about the snakes and alligators. I've been told I will probably see most alligators if I just keep aware. The snakes, however, are just a little different in that they can be pretty hard to see if the grass is just a little bit high. So, I just went a purchased a pair of snake boots and not worry (too much) about those critters and just enjoy the fishing when I am down there visiting. I think I've put way too much thought into the critters that might bite/eat me and instead, I will just enjoy the thoughts of hooking an eight to ten pound largemouth. Other than largemouth, what other kind of fish can I expect to catch in the small to medium size ponds in the suburbs of Tampa?

New Port Ritchie

Wow, the thought of me catching a 10-pounder is absolutely tantalizing!!! In Cincy, a 4-pounder is a big fish, a 10-pounder is practically unheard of...or, so I am told. This is what I should be thinking about, not gators or snakes!

I don't know this knife. What is it?

You are correct, I cannot take a knife aboard a plane. But, I can pack one in my luggage and check the luggage, according to what I read on the TSA site, and as long as it is sheathed and securely wrapped.

Yeah, I agree with you about the statistics. But, when I will be fishing at a secluded pond in the Tampa area, I doubt I will encounter a deer, bees, or dogs. I probably will not encounter a gator or a venomous snake, as well. But, probably more likely to encounter them than the former you mentioned. Of course, my paranoia is probably making this seem much worse than it really is.

Is that a Ka-Bar?

Croc, no. Alligator, probably not. But, I'd feel safer with something and the airlines won't let me bring an AR15 aboard.

I wish I would get notifications when someone posts to this thread, but I don't. There's been some good posts since I last viewed this thread. I never considered a snapping turtle to be something to be worried about. They don't actually attack people, do they?

I know I'll be getting a Shimano Ultegra (4000 series) spinning reel, a Cadence CR5 med/heavy rod, and a digital scale that has a built in tape measure. I have on my list a Chasebaits Mudbug lure, a River2Sea Whopper Plopper, a Teckel Sprinker Frog, and a fishing vest for my river fishing. I've used the Whopper Ploppers and the Sprinker Frogs and are two of my favorite baits. The Mudbug looks very interesting and can't wait to fish that lure. If I don't get that lure for Christmas, I will be purchasing a couple of them.

I live in Ohio and have just finished my first year of fishing. Didn't catch a plethora of fish, but what I did catch was of pretty good size. Fished mostly small ponds in my area and most of the fish caught were largemouth with a few bluegill, crappie, and a smallmouth. Of the largemouth, the largest was a 5 pounder. Caught a couple of 4 pounders, a few 3 pounders and numerous 2-3 pounders. Not very many under 2 pounds. I enjoyed myself immensely and look forward to year number 2. I am headed to Florida in late March/early April and am excited to do some fishing some of the ponds near my mom's house (where I'll be visiting). Looking at Google Maps, looks like there are ponds like every 20 feet!!! Some of these ponds are a little out of the way, which is fine because these are the type of ponds I like to fish back home. However, when I fish these ponds I don't have anything to worry about except somebody chasing me off of private property (corporate private property not an individual's private property). But, in Florida, I recently realized that I may have other things to worry about, such as snakes and alligators. I am much more scared of snakes, but I probably should be more concerned about alligators. So, I am thinking of picking up a fixed blade survival knife solely for my protection against those pesky gators. Now, I know I will probably not ever need to use the knife for self-protection, but you just never know, right? I've been researching fixed blade knives for a couple of weeks and now have information overload. There are all kinds of different steels the knives are made of. There are different shapes of the blades. Some come with extra features such as sharpening stones, fire starters, etc. There are sheaths to consider, also. Some are very expensive, some are very inexpensive with all of these having good to very good ratings on Amazon. Right now, I am at a loss so I thought I'd ask some of you anglers your opinions. Currently, I am looking at a few Schrades, a Gerber StrongArm, a Cold Steel SRK in SK5, an Elk Ridge Evolution, an MTech Evolution, an Ontario SP2, and a Milwaukee 5" Hardline AUS-8 Steel Fixed Blade knife. Again, the use is primarily for self-protection. I am sure I am overthinking this and I am sure I am being a little bit paranoid. So, with that in mind, what do you guys think what knife would be best for me?

Yes, a lot of that scares me...at least a little bit. A lot of good information. I've got your "rules" bookmarked on my computer so that I can easily call them up and review them quickly. Five months from now (when I will be in Florida), I might not be able to find this thread. Thanks for your reply. I will definitely review this in March before I head down.

You bring up a good point about the March weather. It probably won't be too hot. I've visited at that time of year before and it was, actually, chilly. So, I guess I won't fret over this as much as I have been. Imagination was getting the best of me.

Hi folks. This is my first season fishing and I would say I have done pretty well...not great, but pretty well. Haven't caught a lot of fish, but most of the ones I caught have been pretty good-sized ones. One five pounder, two four pounders, four three pounders (all largemouth) and a bunch of two pounders. Not a lot of fish under that. And the fishing this autumn has been tougher than fishing the hot summer days. That's weird, right? I've been fishing the Cincinnati area and have been hitting the local ponds and small lakes. That's where almost all of my success has been. The Great Miami River has beaten me up. Just one sauger. I will be headed to the Tampa area this coming March. Will be visiting family and will have some time to fish. There's all sorts of small ponds and a couple of small lakes in the immediate area of where I will be staying. Most of these look isolated. Now, being from the north, I don't have much to fear when traveling to these little ponds that are pretty much out-of-the-way. But, in Florida, where's there's all sorts of venomous snakes and alligators, I am thinking should I worry about going to these isolated ponds? Hell, even in Cincinnati I spotted a very rare Massasauga rattlesnake near the Great Miami River just a few days ago. Doing some research I found that they are a docile snake and I was in no danger. But, Florida is another story...or so I think. Snakes scare the heck out of me!!! But, if anything, I should probably be more concerned about alligators. Or, am I just overthinking this and not be worried at all. What do you Florida anglers say?

When you say regular maintenance, do you mean once a year...like after the season is over, meaning wintertime? Or, am I supposed to maintain my reel every couple months, or so? I was planning on lubing my Pflueger sometime this winter. I purchased it last winter and did not start using it until last April.

This is my first season of fishing in 40 years and I have been enjoying it immensely. I think I want to purchase a second spinning reel and after looking at several makes and models I notice some higher end models have sealed bearings and some do not. It is my understanding that having sealed bearings means that water will not get inside and cause corrosion. But, it is also my understanding that that is mainly for salt water, not necessarily fresh water. I currently am using a Pflueger Supreme XT and it has a sealed carbon drag. I do not know if that means the bearings are sealed or not. For my next reel, I am considering a Shimano Ultegra, a Diawa Tatula LT and a couple other top-of-the-line models from companies who are not so well known but offer high-end features without the high-end price (one sealed, not not sealed). I am concerned about water getting inside the reel and start corroding whatever can be corroded. I am leaning towards the Ultegra because of it being sealed and the Tatula is not sealed, to my understanding. Now, I am a bank fisherman that fishes only fresh water. Does having a sealed reel make a big difference in longevity of the reel? Or, am I making this "sealed vs not sealed" issue too big a thing?

Thanks, I will have to ask some other anglers when I see them. Thanks, if they are near that riffle or fast water, is it better to be upstream or downstream of that riffle or fast water?

Well, it looks like I will be doing some fishing in the winter. Wasn't planning on this. The water temperature seems to be very comfortable to me when I wade out into it with my shorts and crocs. Does this mean the smallmouths may not necessarily be around this spillway at this time of year? In these warmer months, should I be trying to find deeper pools or turbulent water (I am assuming turbulent water will be cooler)? Regardless, in the colder weather, I guess I will be using the waders and I wil try fishing around the spillway again.

But, not so good during this time of year where temperatures are about 90 degrees?

No, not usually. I guess that probably means I am NOT at an optimal spot? I usually go to where there is a spillway from a water treatment plant. I was told this was a good place to go, but I have yet to catch anything there and I've been there about 5-6 different days.

I forgot to mention that I have been wading the river. I do not know where the deep spots are located (I've heard you want to find the deep spots), so I've just been trying any spots that I can get to. I've gotten about 30' or so out into the river at a couple of different locations. I've also heard you want to find turbulent water because there is more oxygen in turbulent water and that is where you'll find smallies. I don't know. I've also heard you want to find deep water, but that is hard to do in this size of river, I think. Easier to find deep spots in small creeks, but the Great Miami River is fairly big and not easy to see the deep spots.