Zcoker

Dunno about this, seems like it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when. These bass boats can tote 300hp and do upwards of 75mph. With no lanes, it's like the blind leading the blind out there, bound to happen. I've seen it myself so many times out on Headwaters Lake here in central Florida, like a drag race only not in a strait line. It's unfortunate and sad, what happened to this young man. My condolences to his family and friends.

Nice day in the glades! These big Everglades bass are nasty, mean and nasty. They literally annihilate the lures. I've broken so many high end rods in the Everglades battling these fish. This one was no exception, as if she had a score to settle lol

Everything in my kayak is setup and ready to go, as it should be, pliers, measuring board, scale, and so fourth. First thing I do, naturally, is to remove the lure. Then I place the fish on the measuring board to measure it--but only if I am in tournament mode. Next would be weighing--but only if it's a very large fish. I would only do measuring or weighing if absolutely necessary. Other than that, I am a get the fish back in the water as fast as possible kinda guy. I would only use my net off the side of the kayak to hold the fish stationary underwater if I need more time for photos, etc. I have a big enough net with a big enough mesh to hold a large fish. Works well. I'd never use a leash or my hands because here in South Florida in the Everglades it's not uncommon to have many alligators hanging around, especially at night. And some of these gators can push over 10 feet. And, like sharks, they will come after a leashed fish or a dangling hand. Something to bare in mind, depending on location, or course.

I've been busted by the FWC here in Florida for not having a freshwater fishing license, but that was years ago when I should've known better lol. They wrote me out a ticket, like a traffic ticket, and I had to pay the fine. From then on, I have had a license proper ever since and have been carded in the most remote places. Though not freshwater related, the following still holds true to what they can do to anyone, fresh or salt: I was down in the Keys shark fishing off a bridge and an FWC officer came up and carded me. He then proceeded to "dig around" in my bait cooler. And he kept digging and digging, pulling out pieces of a cuda that I was using as bait. He kept on digging around in the ice and took each chunk of cuda out and put them on the concrete. After he got all the chunks out, he then proceeded to put each of them together, like a jigsaw puzzle, until it was a whole fish. And then he measured it! Said the fish was legal but if I needed to cut it up anymore, I'd have to leave the bridge to do it! What? He said it was illegal to cut the bait on the fishing bridge lol Whatever. He gave me a written warning. Keys are weird, what can I say. Goes to show that one never knows from a simple license check what crazy thing they'll do next, or try to find next, or even try to event next lol So be prepared for anything, is all I can say!

Congrats! Always nice to swing into these bigger fish. Makes fishing for them all the more exciting. Just never know what's gonna be down there!

Maybe the guy is on another forum, telling everyone about the nice guy he met on the lake who shared knowledge about senkos and showed him the ropes!

That's probably going to depend on just how many bass are in the area that you are fishing at that particular moment, which is the definition of being in the right place at the right time. So if one bass is in the area and you catch it, then that's most likely your answer until you either move on or wait around for the next feeding cycle.

This info right here is a key point to understand and get a grip on. Even as it pertains to these so called feeding windows. I've tried to express this point to a few people with zero understanding. Some folks just don't get it. But bass behave differently in each location. Bass in one lake or pond can act the complete opposite as bass in another lake or pond. Like in the Everglades, for example, I find the bass quite aggressive, like psycho aggressive to the point of pure brutality. They have one single pen pointed goal and that is to totally annihilate that friggin lure!! Yet in other places, I've had bass swipe at my lure, maybe a gentle pull, then a few tugs, no jump to speak of yet when I get the fish finally out of the water, it's a 8-9 pounder! Weird how that works but it's so true. Learning a new place, tossing out all that accumulated knowledge from that old place can be hard to do, yes it can. Adjusting or adapting to something new is never easy but it sure is necessary in the bass fishing scene to get a grip on these fish...literally to get a grip on their bodies lol

All good points you mention here but predatory fish don't necessarily feed when they have the best opportunities or the best chance. Case in point: I can drop a live mullet or a live pinfish or a big jumbo shrimp right in the face of a big snook giving the best chance or opportunity in the world to eat but it won't so much as sniff it. Same thing with tarpon, I've given them the greatest of opportunity to eat but they only feed when they want to, or when those feeding periods hit. I've seen so many situations were predatory fish don't feed when given the opportunity or the chance. But they sure do feed when all the rest of the heard feeds, or when those feeding bells go off---bam! They all feed in a frenzy, all of them, for a short time and then all stops as if nothing had ever happened. I've seen this kind of behavior in both the freshwater and saltwater world so many times that it's certainly worth mentioning.

Few interesting observations that I feel inclined to add to this conversation, at least for my neck of the woods, is the fact that bass at night are usually much bigger but still follow about the same bite windows as their daytime counterparts. I've also noticed that many of my bigger fish have whole bass stuffed down their throats with the tail sticking out. Yet even with a whole fish jammed pack down their throat and full to the hilt bulging out their belly, when that feeding bell again rings, they still eat! Goes to show that this so called bite window or feeding bell or flurry - whatever one wishes to call it - goes to show just how strong this impulse is, regardless if they are full or not.

This has been a very interesting subject that I've always been trying to get a grip on. Having fished the Everglades all day and all night, I don't find much difference in either of the bite windows. I mean, deep into the night the bite windows are like their daylight counterpart, all coming on in blocks of time. And being in the right place at the right time is a matter if indifference, in my opinion, because it appears that these bite windows go off like an atomic bomb, blasting the entire body of water...the fish flash-off all over the place. It's as if a single telepathic message is sent throughout the waterways. Point A gets just as many bites as point B or point C. And sometimes, even, I don't think it really matters what lure is in the water, the fish will hit just about anything during their feed. Having said all of this, the biggest advantage that I can think of is to NEVER EVER let that guard down!

Well, as it pertains to this thread, getting into a newer vehicle with great mileage is certainly a way to curve these higher gas prices. In my case, I went with the Ranger because of fishing, I simply got tired of living at the pump. I do a ton of traveling to fish, so along with work and general use, it just made sense to get into something a bit more versatile. And the Ranger is the best of both worlds, in my opinion, great on gas without sacrificing big truck performance.

As far as Florida goes, especially in the Everglades, I would not consider overdoing much of anything lol In fact, I would consider going big or going home, plain and simple. These fish down here have literally stomped me. I've learned the HARD way with them. They are mean, nasty, and unpredictably looney!

I came out of a F150 and into the Ranger. It has a 18gal tank. I couldn't tell you what the mileage would be towing because I haven't towed anything with it yet. But it can tow about 7500 pounds and I'm quite sure the mileage would suffer towing that much.

Just a short time ago...those were the days!

There's no doubt about it, gas prices will effect everyone. And the more it climbs, the more people will turn to other alternatives. Last weekend I did about 300miles for fishing and must say that it didn't feel good at all filling my tank. Thank goodness I have a newer Ford Ranger that gets about 27 mpg. Regardless, I have been looking into those electric trucks but the waiting list and dealer markup is just insane. I was going to pre-order a Ford Lightening but Ford just recently cutoff all orders on its first 200k. So looks like next year is when they might start taking orders again, hopefully. Gas will probably be $10 gal by then lol

The general consensus when frog fishing is for the heavier braided lines. Here in Florida I would not even think of going with anything under 50lb braid, which is equivalent to about 15lb mono line diameter. Casting is decent with the heavier lines. Add in the confidence factor and you have a very potent weapon!

I always seem to be cursing into the air every time I go to some nice lake or quiet pond or even out into the glades, the trash and garbage tossed around is just ridiculous. It almost seems ordained or habitual or even expected....how people feel inclined to waste a pristine area is beyond reasoning. Weird.

If you've never fished the Everglades, then it's always a good idea to go out with someone who has. I just don't know about doing it in one of those cheap roadside rental yaks unless it's a higher quality boat. I'd never take out some of the rentals that I have seen around here LoL. Regardless, I have no idea about the rental scene, so there may be other more viable options.

Everglades continues to impress, day or night. Topwater bite has been my main bait of choice. The night explosions are quite viscous, like totally insane...Boom!

That's how most loose a big fish, they panic else fight it like a baby. It appears in your situation that you panicked, horsed it onto shore rather green, which broke the line, and the fish pounced around and then slipped back into the water. Seems like that fish had all the advantages. Have to put things in your court, give yourself the best advantage without overdoing things, would be my best advice. Try to look at situations like this as a teachable moment to make yourself a better fisherman.

Well, it's not just the Everglades in Florida, there's a ton of lakes and ponds to jump with most being pretty decent to launch from. Launching from the glades can be dicey in certain areas, especially at night! For the most, you'll have golden opportunities at every corner here, both salt and fresh!

Everglades is about 8,000 square miles! That's a lotta swamp to cover. And all areas are unique and TOTALLY different, which makes fishing so darn exciting and adventurous and so vast! Vast like the ocean. But it's not salt water, either. The further south one goes, or the further east/west one goes, the water turns more brackish and that's were the snook and redfish and baby tarpon start heating up. Like on Tamiami Trail, for example, one would go west to get into the poons or go east to get into the peacocks and bass. The canal systems and the levee systems are the only means to get around, other than by airboat LOL. So it really depends on where one lives, how far they wanna travel, or what they want to fish for. For me, I like the waterways with the big open lakes and lagoons and sawgrass islands, or places like the Stick Marsh and Headwaters, which is more marsh lands. Anyhow, to answer your question about lake Okeechobee, it is considered the heart of the Everglades.

I have one of those Tatula casting rods, 7.3 MH, which I just got to replace one of the three that I had recently broke. I have a like/hate relationship with them lol Anyhow, the guides are super duper tiny on mine and I can certainly see any knot used hanging up no matter how they are tied. Can't say anything about dropping down in line size, either, but it would depend on the area fished, or the structure fished. Here in S. Florida I fish the Everglades, so 50 is my minimum. Anyhow, I've just recently switched to using strait braid on all my rods and see no difference in the amount of fish I catch, day or night.

My two cents, it's like anything else in life: you get what you pay for. You get back what you put into it, whatever it be. Tight lines!