Sp33dSnake

Spinnerbaits. Not only now, but a legacy of not catching. I've caught three fish lifetime with a spinnerbait. Three! I've done it fast, I've done it slow, I do medium retrieval, I yo-yo, I change colors, I change blades. Nothing, nada. Kinda ticks me off to hear people all the time talk about how great they are; what am I doing wrong? I've got plenty of them, but mostly they are really good at splashing the water.

When casting into the wind, I just sidearm cast to keep the lure low, and just deal with not being able to cast as far. Heavier lures seem to bump the wind better.

This one is easy. Happened a couple of months ago. Was fishing with my stepfather, a buddy, and we were in the Kissimmee River. Had thrown t rig magnum worms and swim jigs most of the day, big fat zero. Meanwhile, stepdad was on fish #5, my buddy caught his first ever bass, and I was having a big fat zero day. We were fishing near one of the locks, and I decide to go with a watermelon bladed jig with a super salt fluke. Can see plenty of fish feeding. Was using my 8.3 Shimano SLX XT with my 6'6" BPS Tourney Rod. After about five minutes, and just as about I was going to curse under my breath, something struck my lure and it felt like lightning shooting down my rod. Instantly, I snapped up, set the hook, and immediately knew it was something on the large side. I could feel the struggle in my wrists. A moment later, it broke the surface, and it looked to be about a 10-15lb catfish. When it went back in the water, I felt it struggling hard. ...and thats the moment the reel came off the rod. "Oh $&@!", I exclaimed, and then the line went slack. Fish off. My buddy groaned. My stepfather, as usual, was noncommittal. Got to keep my reel and lure, though the fluke trailer was gone. Now, even if I could do it over and lock down that reel like a vise, I'd still fail because a random tsunami would capsize the three of us in the water just as I was getting the fish in the boat.

Not really a sale, but snagged some whopper ploppers, spinners, crankbaits and rattletraps off of Temu for $1 per lure. The hooks remind me of Eagle Claw treble hooks...from the 1990's. xD Probably will get better hooks, tbh, but I tested them in the pool and they seem to do the job.

Boat ramp fishin'. Went with a t-rigged Senko worm. Probably about 1.5 pounds or so. Sometimes you just gotta get back to basics to reel 'em in.

Some small creeks, canals and ponds in and around Lake Okeechobee can give you some decent fishing. Especially during the season when everyone and their fat sister in law is out on the lake. This is a little connected pond that I typically breakout the ultralight on.

Walked to Taylor Creek, there are a lot of little waterways that go in and out of Lake Okeechobee. Since it's always Rattletrap season, I started throwing in a colorful one with a 8.2 Shimano SLX XT and my trusty BPS Tourney 6'6" medium fast rod. Within 15 minutes, I caught a fish, and was in Mudfish city. Catching something, is better than nothing....I guess. Now that I think about it, I've caught Nile Perch, Catfish, and Mudfish with this rattletrap...but no bass. Like, none. My lure looks like it survived the Ardennes in World War One now, but it still rattles..and still catches anything other than bass, lmao.

Like cowboying, fishing is an art without an audience. Sure, I have a smartphone, I have a go pro to show off a little when I catch something, but ultimately, it's you, your gear, and the fish. I ultimately enjoy it more than hunting nowadays.

Old school zoom finesse worms on a T-Rig. My PB was on a lousy 6" finesse black zoom worm on a Zebco 202, which struggled mightily to haul that 5.5lb bass out of the water. I thought I had a world record on that thing when I was 12. Honestly, finesse worms are still great, I don't mind throwing a skirted jig now and then. Catch mostly smaller panfish with it, but a bass still occasionally chomps down on 'em. I also have started running some shakyhead rigs on smaller worms as well. Mini rattletraps and baby spinners seem to attract more bites than full size lures when there is a lot of pressure.

I use my chevrolegs to keep my feet anchored on the bank.

Crackers, gatorade or water, sometimes soft mints to assuage my sweet tooth. I go light.

1-2 Rods/Reels, a small backpack with one Plano 3600, one BPS with terminal tackle. Ice cooler strapped to the luggage area of the KLR 650.

Welcome to the forum. There is a typically a lull after a major fishing tournament. My home lake, Okeechobee, just had a major bass tournament. There are a zillion boats going 90mph all over the lake, putting a lot of pressure on the fish. Sure they release em alive, but the fish are rightly spooked a bit after. I am not a bass expert, but my typical spots with typical lures have dried up. Have to resort to old school finesse worms to pluck a few out. Don't be too hard on yourself. We had a cold snap here as well, and that's gonna make em a bit sluggish. I've changed things up too, utilizing a tail spinner more, with mixed results. Sometimes experimenting with new lures is a great way to break a skunk streak. I'll tell you, I know a spinnerbait is considered a great lure, but I've only caught a handful of fish on them over the years, but with a bladed jig I slay them. (Which makes absolutely no sense).

Well..far be it from me to question religious beliefs, but are you sure there isn't a, "If there is a chance to catch a lunker you can be excused from bible study once a month" clause, is there? I mean, if there isn't that sort of rule, there should be. I have a small canal/pond area where I live. If I have less than an hour, it takes me five minutes to walk there and toss a lure it. There are some lilypads in there and the water is relatively shallow, so sometimes I can catch a fish with a topwater frog in the middle of the day. Then, I just go back, put my poles back in the shed and take care of whatever business I need to take care of.

In my childhood, we only had antenna. We typically had 3-4 local channels, depending on the wind. There was a guy out of WPB name Tom Twiford, his show was called, "Tight Lines". You had to get up at the crack of dawn to watch him. That was pretty much the only fishing show availible, and it was saltwater, not freshwater fishing. Much later (I think I was 16 or so), we lived in a house that had satellite TV. The one I would watch would typically be Bill Dance for fishing, or Ted Nugent for hunting. Watching Bill improved my worm technique and was good for a laugh.