Sp33dSnake

I bought my first new rod/reel in 10 years last week...a Lew's Mach Smash Medium/Fast 7' that was discounted. Paired it with a Shimano DC 70 (also discounted). Usually, I get my stuff second hand from pawn shops. I bought a BPS Carbonlite with a 7' BPS Pro Qualifier M/H Rod that was missing several guides. I bought the reel for $35 and got the rod for free. A months work of weekends and entirely too much time went to putting new guides (four missing), and I got proficient in putting guides on rods, lol. I might try to build a rod of my own one day. But I typically try to get the most out of my money. I still have a 6'6" Medium Fast BPS IM6 Tourney Special I got when I was 16 (22 years ago). I kind of prefer it over modern rods because all the modern rods I see have micro guides, whereas my rod has smallish guides that have plenty of room for leader knots. Unless it snaps in two, I doubt I'll ever get rid of it.

Was going to get some rod socks, but thinking about it, a lot of my rods don't have baitholders, and I don't like hooking lures on the reel itself. It's just a me thing, really. So instead of rod socks, I went and got some lure covers instead. Dirt cheap, and I really like 'em. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DMT3YSSM?th=1

You better take a picture of your first fish off the boat with the results, or we'll come to your house and kick your ass.

I bought 30 frog lures from Temu for $20. I also went and got some quality hooks, because I know the hooks are garbage. Swap them out. It's not going to be a $10 Booyah frog, but it's close enough for me.

After fishing for over thirty years; I have found this about Bass Fishing: New lures typically are that; new. New lures to me, are like new calibers in firearms. Sometimes I think they come up with new calibers for firearms to sell more firearms. Same with fishing lures. Generally, improvements on tried and true lures, are generally better, because you are taking a proven concept and making it better. New lures are generally the victim of the good idea fairy. They need some time to be in the water before I'm willing to pull out a wallet for one. I don't know who said it, but it rings true. "Change is weak. Mastery is strong." Be good on stuff you know that already works, and then become really good at it. When I was sixteen, I ditched live bait and have nearly fished with artificial lures the whole time since. Primarily because I liked the challenge. And over the years, the companies might change, the design of the lures might change, the way to rig them might change, but Plastic Lures, Chatterbaits, Rattletraps, Jerkbaits, Poppers, Spinnerbaits and Jigs have caught the lions share of what I've snatched out the water. Stuff that has been around for a long, LONG time. I'm not saying to avoid exotic/unusual lures (I'm still a big fan of tailspinners since I was turned on to them in the 90's), all I am saying is try not to reinvent the wheel. The fish certainly aren't.

If the water is that cold in Florida: My lures are: 1.) College football on TV 2.) Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips 3.) Yuengling Tan & Black Beer 4.) Johnny Walker Black if Yuengling doesn't make me forget about the cold. 5.) Buffalo Chicken Wings Those are my lures, because I'm probably not outside. 😆

Honestly for 5k; you're probably looking at something like a 90's bass boat with a 75hp Mercury 2-stroke. Now, you'll not hear me talk bad about 2-stroke engines; the vast amount of boat fishing I've done was on a 2-stroke. A well-taken care of, maintained two-stroke can run. But an old 2-stroke engine with plenty of hours on it can have a myriad of issues. Not to mention the fiberglass boat attached to it; which can have holes, transom issues. I'm not saying you can't find a sweetheart of a deal. But if you plan to spend 5k on a bass boat, be prepared to spend a lot more money on it that you didn't see coming. Now, you can get a new Bass Tracker Classic XL with a 5 year warranty, decked out with modern equipment and a 4-stroke engine that is easier to maintain and gets better gas mileage, a 16' that you can work in shallow water. Now it's around 15-17k new for one, and occassionally you can find them a couple years old on marketplaces in the 8-10k range. This being your first bass boat, lets be real; you're learning how to use your equipment. Aluminum boats can take a bit more punishment than fiberglass boats, and they don't cost a zillion dollars. They are light and can tow well. You'll be able to fish in places a 21' fiberglass bass boat dare not go to. I'm looking at a boat of my own. Personally, I'm going with a Tracker 175, which is a foot longer and a foot wider than the Classic XL. It's also got a bigger motor, and they go new for about 23k. Take your five grand, put it toward a Bass Tracker (New or gently used), finance the rest for a relatively low monthly payment, go fishing, and if you need something fixed, utilize the warranty and make it someone else's problem. Otherwise, if five is all you're gonna spend, take a guy that knows boats with you, pay him a c-note to check out the boat for you and have him tell you if it's worth buying or not. Hope this helps.

Where Brandon lost that fish on that video, my stepfather and I have fished at that lock for the past thirty years. That's on the River at one of the locks. It's nice to know that we have something in common with the pros; we can lose fish at the same body as water as they can. 🤣

Out of curiosity, what's the best place you get quality lures online for a good deal? If you guys get JDM lures, where do you get those?

Reaction Tackle is selling 8lb mono (3000 yards) for $12, or 10lb mono (1600 yards), for $12 as well. Different colors too. I use their braid and it's allright, guessing their mono is okay as well. Don't work for them, but I stumbled across it, and well hell, I don't use mono anymore but I bought some just to have.

My first baitcaster was a super budget level Lews Baitcaster from the 90's. Couldn't tell you what model it was, other than it having "LASER" emblazoned on the side. It nearly caused me to swear off baitcasters forever. It was the biggest piece of crap. Now, being a new baitcaster guy (I was sixteen), I'll contribute 30% of the experience to my inexperience. But the other 70% I put solely on the reel. The spool tension would hold its zero for 20 casts or so, and then have to be readjusted for it. Eventually, it was relegated as a backup reel, and I kept using open bell reels. I still have the rod from that combo (a BPS Tourney IM6, 6'6" Med/Hvy rod). Eventually, when I took a buddy of mine to BPS, he wanted to buy a new Rod/Reel combo. He eventually went with a BPS Johnny Morris Carbonlite 2.0 with a BPS Tourney Rod. I found out later that the Carbonlite 2.0 was based off a Lews Reel. If I had, I would've told my buddy not to buy Lews. BUT, I had the opportunity to try it out myself and it was working very well. WAY better than that budget reel I first started with. So, there is something to the axiom, "You get what you pay for." I've softened up on Lew's reels a bit. As for Abu Garcia, I wish my starting baitcaster would've been something like the Black Max for $30. Way, WAY better experience with that reel than that Lew's LASER.

On most of my poles, it's usually 20-50lb braid with 20-30lb flouro leader. I usually have to fish through a lot of hydrilla and lilies. I do have an ultralight rig I run 8lb mono on. For years and years I used 8-12lb mono, and it was just fine. When I switched to braid a few years, I had to relearn how to do knots, because clinch knots don't work on braid.

With the advent of social media, I think it's gonna be very hard to limit people telling other people where fish are. That being said, the rules are the rules and Scott did the right thing. That being said, the Martins have guides down in Clewiston and are staples of the community (my family met Roland in the Everglades in passing, my mom didn't know who he was and was telling him how to fish down there. xD). Point being, there's nothing that Scott does not already know about that lake. And with the advent of the lie detector rules, if he got in the money, he might've been put in a difficult position when answering questions. Better to self-report and be DQ'd rather than have a 'weights in fish' moment.

Bought a bunch of these on clearance at BPS for next to nothing. I was a fan of tailspinners as a kid, and they were a good lure in the 90's. Only problem with them is the single treble hook is a little hard to set.

There are some dirt road access points to get into the Kissimmee River. Some official, some not so official. But an enduro bike doesn't worry so much about that. Over the years, I really haven't had people tell me to get away from places or anything like that. Honestly in my car, I've had pretty good luck at places like Lakeport or boat ramps like Scott Driver. South Bay and Pahokee ain't too bad either. But again, ultimately, I'm going to end up getting something like a Tracker 175. Something I can fish the lake with, but also get in some shallow water and boldly go where no big bass boat has gone before.

I live fairly close by where they launch. There's about 9 zillion boats in the water, lol.

I have a bit. I fish around Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River mostly. Ultimately, I will get a boat one of these days; it's on the list.

Well, this one is a big can of worms. I've heard both arguments for and against it. A family member I knew made their own garlic scent and dipped the worms in it marinade style and swore by it. I've heard store bought stuff is hit and miss. I've heard it only lasts a couple of casts and is not worth the trouble. Somebody in the thread mentioned it was better to catch catfish and other larger fish. I believe it, because the times I've used it, that's what I would typically catch with it. BUT...my father caught his PB (a 7+lb bass), using a magnum worm that he just hit with some sort of garlic scent he bought at a store. I like to think of it like having a nice stereo in a car. Sure, it sounds better, but you can get by with a stock radio. It's not necessary, imo.

Stepfather told me he had to rewire his boat due to electrical issues. So I bought him a Lowrance Hook2 Reveal 7 Tripleshot. (It was his birthday..so...) Going on a 18' Polar Skiff.

Super power? Probably not any, to be honest. If there is one thing I'm decent at, it's dragging worms, texas rig style. It was the first artificial lure I learned about when I was eight years old, and usually, when all else fails, I can catch something, with something as simple as a black zoom worm on a texas rig. I'm no Bill Dance (he's the worm technique master), but I've caught my share. My PB was on a texas rig Tequila Sunrise finesse worm underneath a structure. On a Zebco 202, no less.

Here's my main stuff. Shimano SLX XT (8.3) on a 2000's BPS Pro Qualifer rod that I got for nothing and had to put 4 eyelets on it. Was way more trouble than it was worth, but that ol' 7' medium heavy can zing a swim jig out there. Shimano SLX DC 70 (6.3). (Yeah, I go into JDM Shimanos. Love 'em.), currently attached to a Lew's Mach Smash Medium Fast rod, and to this date, the only rod I ever bought for myself new. Run 1/2 oz and below. Currently has a red-eyed baby rattletrap. Johnny Morris BPS Carbonlite I (7.1). On a BPS Tourney Special Medium-Heavy I got for a birthday present when I was 16 years old. Probably my favorite rod out of all them, I kinda prefer 6'6". Run my weightless stuff. Currently run a Tequila Sunrise worm with a ribbontail. BPS Crappie Ultralyte Reel. It was cheap and it works. On a Berkeley 6' two piece lightning rod. Very light lures and jigging. 8 lb mono. All the other reels typically run 20lb-50lb braid with 20-30lb flouro leaders.

Hello everybody. Got on here to learn new stuff and meet new people who love the sport. I've been fishing for thirty years, I usually fish freshwater with artificial lures. Typically fish from the Central FL to the South Florida area. Currently have no boat (working on that), but I have a KLR 650 motorcycle that I will run a backpack and a 2 pc rod and reel and I can get to some pretty off the beaten path spots. Good to be on here.