Zcoker

Those are some grand catches for Main! Congratulations! Your enthusiasm is inspiring. Must be kinda depressing to have to go dormant for a season. We have no clue what a season is down this way. A cold day here is a hot day for you. Can always come down to south Florida for some winter sunshine!

Getting old is the accumulation of what you have been, what you are now, and what you are going to be!

Just the other day (for the fun of it) I measured and recorded the length of all fish caught as well as the conditions, just to see the size differences throughout my morning session. All fish were caught on either a jig or a weightless worm. Water temps were stable with no major fluctuations, which is normal for south Florida this time of year, mostly mid to upper 70's. Most of the fish were smallish in the early morning hours, 15 inches and up. But as soon as mid morning came around, or, more specifically, as soon as the wind kicked up, I caught five 19 inchers and then three 22 inchers with a 24in kicker tossed into the mix....wind was the name of the game! Total inches of all fish caught throughout the entire morning was 330 inches, which gave me a great data-set to go by. What all this told me was that the physical effects like wind/time had more to do with getting those bigger bites, not so much the water temperature. Also gave me a better idea on when to go out fishing for them.

From what I understand, the tiny teeth are hard to see unless you are specifically looking for them. I haven't ran into any teeth issues where I fish, more like rough sandpaper issues. If I don't wear fishing gloves, I'll eventually get bass rash because of the sheer number of fish caught.

I went with the smaller 10.6ft powered boat by Old Town, the 106 Sportsman and glad I did! It's similar to the Autopilot but without the spot lock feature. The motor is hand throttle controlled like a boat, which suits me just fine. I mainly fish solo and the 106 is a breeze to load/unload and I can launch it practically anywhere! It fits very well in my little Ford Ranger pickup. The motor in the 106 is nice and compact, same thrust at the AutoPilot. I get about 5mph wide open, not bad at all. It revs up and seems to plane out when nailed lol. I can take the boat in mere inches of water. The AutoPilot, on the other hand, the motor sticks down about twice the distance to accommodate the spot lock feature. This wouldn't work for me for shallow water fishing, places that are topped out with hydrilla or loaded with rocks, pennywort mats, heavy vegetation, which is about all I fish. I have no problem taking my 106 in the thickest cover imaginable. So it's mainly up to you and the intended usage of the craft which should determine what you ultimately get. Plowing through the thick stuff Launching into the marshlands easy peasy

I'm not aware of any universal laws, either. Goes to show it's an adult thing. Up to adults to pick and choose the armor for their battles. Too bad others might suffer the wrath, passengers, family and so forth.

Can only speak for Florida.....passengers 6 years and under are required to wear a coast guard approved PFD in crafts 26ft and under while underway.

Yea, bad decisions, no doubt. This freedom thing wind in the hair movement can have bad outcomes. Only reason I say that is because I've hit the street a few times-- hard! Can only imagine if I wasn't wearing a helmet. Not to mention being in the healthcare business, I've taken care of my fair share of young brain dead kids directly resulting from motorcycle accidents without helmets, some of them small and meaningless, like 5mph through an intersection bumper sort of wrecks. Only 18 states require motorcycle helmets at all times. All other states are age restricted, under 21 years of age.

Accidents. I've seen boats flat-out wide open down here in south Florida in places that are only a few feet deep. One stump or rock and that's it--boom! Everyone tossed out. Life jackets are akin to motorcycle helmets, everyone knows what they can do to save lives and prevent bad outcomes yet it's up to the operator to make that choice. Something about choice here that resonates above all else.

Always worth a peek when at Walmart. I find their braided line deals outstanding. Hard to beat $13 for 150yd 50lb Power Pro. For saltwater, no better place to get the Bomber Windcheater hard lures for $7. Some of their soft plastics are also half price of what other stores charge for the same brand. I also found a new place to buy my tungsten punch weights lol. Yep, always worth a look.

Sometimes I think back about those days when I first started bass fishing and it was bank only, no boat, no kayak, nothing fancy but two feet, a fishing rod, and a pocket full of cheap lures. Down here in south Florida, one can pull off the road, get out of the car, and fish into oblivion. I recall those days well, the exhilaration, the adventure and, most of all, the complete and utter simplicity! Age may be upon us but age is only a word, a number. Life is more than age. Life is simply simple. Life can be just as exciting at 80 years as it was at 20 years!

Black is the blade color at night but I've caught them on gold as well. This is my custom night spinnerbait, blacked out with blue skirt and large blue trailer. Trialer hook is a must on all my baits, especially the chatterbaits. This spinnerbait usually hooks big fish. So when it gets a good thump, its always good fish!

That's great! Glad you made a combo that worked for you! That's my whole point. Sometimes ya just gotta make your own stuff. When I first started fooling around with spinnerbaits, I wasn't getting the results that I wanted. I mean, sure, I was catching a lot of fish on them just not the quality fish that I was after. So the fooling around and experimenting began until I made a combo that worked for me in the environment that I fished (which I think is another important point). The bigger fish liked the big single Colorado blade, the almost hypnotic thump that it makes which draws them in. The bigger trailer swims freely right in front of their face, and they can't resist--boom! I don't think I've had a hit yet that didn't hook a fish under 7lbs. This particular spinnerbait is for shallow water running with lighter wire. I have another of the same variant but with heavy gauge wire that I use for deeper water. I may have to spend a bit of time working the spinnerbait but time it is, sooner or later, she'll be coming lol

I tend to agree. My particular combo seems to work well in the environment that I fish, which is probably a good point because one has to tailor their baits relative to the body of water fished, imho. I've tried store bought combinations but tossed them all out in favor of just making my own spinnerbaits. Nothing out there could give me what I wanted. This particular spinnerbait is for very shallow running, using lighter wire. I use another of the same variant but with much thicker wire for deeper water. My whole focus is the largest fish possible and these combos seem to do the trick!

Sounds like a good explanation. Those bigger thumps do get the bigger bites, which is what I want.

I usually catch my larger fish using a single #5 Hildebrant Colorado blade. Granted, the spinnerbait needs to be built or modified in order to do this. I use the bait mainly at night but it has done well during daylight hours, especially when it's overcast out. This bait usually sees a fish 7lbs and up. Can't say why the smaller fish ignore it. That slow roiling thump thump seems to entice the bigger bites.

Whenever I hear about age and fishing my thoughts immediately go to guys like Roland Martin, mid 80's and full steam ahead! As long as that passion is alive, there's no end in site. One will find a way, a will, a driving force to venture out and make things happen. Heck, I'm mid 60's and still tagging sharks for NOAA. Most young guys can't keep up with the costal craziness that I deal with. My health is pretty good and even if it wasn't I'd still be out there fishing. I remember when I got Covid. First thing I did was load up and hit the glades for an all nighter lol All those aches and pains seemed to have vanished once I got on the water. Fishing in itself is the cure, I truly believe, a great healing force which has cured me of many ills. Maybe because I refuse to let ANYTHING get in the way and stop me from doing it, including our old friend called age!

Just because these guys catch bigger fish doesn’t necessarily mean that they fish exclusively in private managed ponds. Probably need to watch a few of Roland Martian’s videos. He fishes public waters and catches 8-9 pounders rather frequently. Sometimes out of a canoe. I know a lot of his fishing spots. I’ve bumped into him from time to time. He has the same chances as anyone else. Yet he pulls in absolute giants. Amazing skills all these guys have!

Best shallow water fishing in the country is hands down the Florida everglades, 4000 square miles of it. It’s the epitome of shallow water fishing if there is one. There’s literally thousands of miles of shallow water fishing that has some of the best fishing that I’ve ever experienced. There’s never a day with the word “skunk” in it. You can be in one spot and have a zillion different fishing opportunities. It’s almost overwhelming. There’s no such thing as the word “boring”. Always a new world around every single corner!!

They’re also very good at subjecting the lure to just about every possible angle by jumping and thrashing and swimming all over the water. I once had a big 8 pounder press and shake it’s face against the side of my kayak, almost as if trying to use the hard surface to dislodge the lure! Now that was a first lol

No kidding, smarty fishies. I think their mouths are just so massive, all that massive space for lures to detach easily. Bucket mouth is very fitting!

It can also be the exact opposite, meaning to be in the right place at the right time for those big bites and miss every darn one of them! Just the other day, three fish in the 7-8 pound class, one on a jig, two on a punch rig, all three of them won lol

Lightening, yes, I totally agree, no playing around with that! Here in south Florida it can get crazy with lightening storms. I fish mainly at night and rarely if ever run into lightening.

Dang, that's a lot of hardware lost. Were you fishing from the bank or on the water? If on the water, might want to look into getting some kind of lure retrieval tool.

Old thread but I'll play. I'm only as good as the day I go fishing. No rating. No label. Sometimes pro city, slam and dunk everything that swims. Other days it's funk and skunk no matter what's tossed at them. I recall one night catching (3) 7lb bass back to back. Was I excited? Sure was! But I knew what it was: it was about me, sure it was, but it was about me being in the right place at the right time with Jupiter aligning with Mars, everything jived to make that happen. When I started realizing that, to except defeat yet learn from it or to except great conquest yet still learn from it, I became at once comfortable with any outcome, no matter what it was. The days or nights suddenly become unified into one quest: to go fishing and make the very best of it!