SirSnookalot

Nice looking fish...........

I tried to come up with a good answer using heavier gear than a ml rod and 2500. It's difficult to explain if one has little experience in this venue, short answer just as easy to catch a 45" barracuda as a 1# blue runner. One aspect that never gets discussed is having respect for the fish if the intent is C & R. It's common practice to land a bass real fast as not to stress it, should these fish be treated differently. My answer is no, an overslot snook or tarpon should be handled with care, if the fight is too long those fish should be broke off IMO. Being illegal to keep them there is no reason a responsible fisherman would risk those fish dying from exhaustion. Just like wanting to catch a big bass again by treating it with care, I want to catch these fish again too. Just a little bit of rant...........I dislike when people come to Florida and abuse our resources, you don't mishandle your bass, don't mishandle my tarpon and snook.

If I were casting lures from the beach I would not use a m/l, even for smaller fish. Having only 1 outfit with me I'd be using a mh rod with 20# braid, preferable a 4000 reel. Especially if this kind of fishing and the species are new to you. You never know what you can run into down there.

I do a lot of beach fishing. This is very easy fishing, either the fish are there or they aren't, you're either catching or you're not. I would be using a spoon, no one is really better than another, I do like Kastmaster for the distance. Bucktail jigs are a staple, as is a plastic fluke style bait on a jig head. Can never go to the beach without a topwater lure, Poppa Dogs and bottle poppers are my choice. Don't really need anything else.

Use the charter or guides equipment, they carry the right gear. Fishing by yourself from shore, I do not recommend using your bass outfit unless you have no other alternative.

Water treatment plants, there are lots of them. Like this one. https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=26.4859,-80.164533&spn=0.008643,0.015278&t=h&z=16

Can't say I've used a Rapala knot, I use an ordinary loopkknot with no failures.

Nice peas, still in hiding up here.

SoFlaBassAddict is absolutely right. HOA's don't care about fishing or even aware of maintaining a healthy ecosystem. I've dealt with the spraying for years, IMO it curtailed the bite for a few days, in time I caught fish. Our problem here is reclaimed water being pumped in, that has killed the bite. I called the FWC just to get it off my chest, highly doubtful they have the man power to check out small community ponds and lakes.

If a log works for some people by all means use one, I don't think it makes one a better fisherman. A good fisherman is able to adapt on the spot. So many factors involved that can affect the conditions day to day and certainly year to year. Luckily where I fish for bass my main concern is water depth, vegetation and cold fronts, all I have to do is walk over to the canal or pond to visually see what's going on. Not only does the weather control water depth it's also controlled by man, gates are opened and closed based on rain as well as getting ready for a big storm. We have sea lettuce down here, today a canal can be totally clean and tomorrow that lettuce is thick making fishing very difficult. Many people fish for multiple species, quite often those fish come into areas certain times of the year. Those fish follow bait, bait is controlled by water temperature and weather, bad storms bring snapper in for example. I've had years where I've caught bluefish left and right, the following year hardly any, the water and weather isn't the same. I've seen fish delayed as much as 2 months behind their anticipated schedule. Huge difference between a wave and a groundswell, there is no consistency. A good fisherman knows their species and the nuances of each, don't find too much difficulty in being able to keep that info in my personal computer, that being my head. A log is just a guideline, which is not always accurate. Not everyone experiences this scenario which happens all the time here. I've caught some really nice fish, just taking the time to take quick a photo can cost me a cast to catch another 15 or 20# fish.

I've caught more bass on a roostertail than anything else I've used this year, 2nd place is a chug a bug. Pretty much the only 2 lures I'm using. Would I have caught as many on other lures, probably. It isn't the lure, it's where I'm it casting to.

I don't think swimbait users are far out, that's the genre they prefer and many seem to enjoy it. I'm not against it all, but for me there is no interest. The waters I fish are not the most conducive for those kinds of lures, I don't care to use a heavy needed rod to cast them. I've got my niche, when it comes to bass fishing a $10 xrap is about my limit.

This is the time of the year for larger jacks, I think the ICW is the best place to catch them now. I must caution you about jack fishing, it is very difficult to target them. We don't always know what time of the day they show up, daybreak is usually good but not always. We also don't know the location, they can be 500 yards away and you never know it, yesterday no fish showed up. Sometimes they bust for a few seconds, you have 1 cast and they're gone. The key is to cast where you think they are moving to and not where they are at, before the lure hits the water they're gone. I have driven an hour for that 1 cast, getting a hookup from a 10 or 20# is well worth it. There isn't much out there better than catching a good jack on light tackle, except catching a bigger jack.

Nothing fancy as I say, this is exactly how I tie it whether I'm fishing salt or fresh. I don't give the knot much of a thought except to make sure it's right. Not that the strength of a knot is over rated, as long as it's strong enough that's good enough for me. Fish like the ones in my avatar are caught with 15# braid and 20# leader, catch tarpon twice the size on the same set up. These fish pull to a level that is unbelievable and indescribable to people that have never caught them. It isn't the knot that lands the fish (it is paramount to tie the knot correctly), it's trusting your drag and expertise. These fish aren't landed in 60 seconds or less. If one is snapping lines, having knots fail, hooks bending or losing a 6 or 8# bass with 50# braided line, personally I think that person is doing some wrong.

In a landlocked area if both small and larger snook and tarpon are there, they have to be reproducing. For years I've heard they don't reproduce in fresh, I'm guessing that they do. With all the fishing I do in freshwater canals in Palm Beach County, if snook were here I would have thought I'd have caught one by now.

Not only that but breaking off a snag. I will break off fish too large to land or too long a fight. Better to break off to avoid killing a fish that you might be throwing back anyway. I use only 4 very simple knots for every species I catch. Braid to leader, (1) Albright 7 wraps up and 0 down Leader to lure, jigs (2) ordinary clinch 5 or 6 wraps, hard lures a (3) loopknot Braid to swivel,(4) improved clinch with 7 wraps and the final step gets 2 wraps not 1. Haven't found a need for any other knots. What ever knot one is comfortable with that's the go to knot, just tie it right.

Not a silly thought but not needed, same goes for using super glue on the knot for added strength. I catch many 20 pound and up ocean fish, I use 15 or 20# braid with 20 or 30# leader. I keep things about as simple as can be using an Albright with 7 wraps up and 0 down, very slim knot. Lure attachment is just as simple, jigs with an ordinary clinch 5 wraps and a loopknot for lures and spoons. If those knots hold larger jacks and tarpon, they will hold anything else. No reason to improve what's already working perfect. A perfectly tied knot is essential, as good as that knot is it won't hold a big fish with too tight a drag.

There is no right or wrong way, just preference. I only use spinning gear and I don't use backing, I do use braid and leader always. I like some shock on heavy strikes like on a top water but jigs or plastic worms not so much. A leader can break a too large to handle fish off, or breaking off a snagged lure easier than straight braid. Getting braid tangled in a treble hook can be time consuming unraveling it, much faster with a leader.

Down here in South Florida I've caught some of these sunshine bass, the excitement was the fact that the fish is more unusual here. As far as fun and fight no more no less than a LMB.

Not the heart but the set up isn't that rare. I have seen numerous times plastic worms being used for snook, pretty good bait for them too, I'll trail a white worm on an old beatup bucktail head. The Walmart snap swivel with that not very impressive looking knot is also common place, don't see either component really failing. I make my connections "neater" in appearance, I'm not convinced I'm out fishing the unsophisticated fishermen.

I can only address Palm Beach County, not many snook are being caught on artificial lures, I've caught only about 10 since the first of the year. The catalysts to catching snook is both baitfish and water temperature, there is a lack of both now. IMO the best shot to catch one now is the ICW on the outgoing tide, snook start getting more active usually some time in May or June. Whether fishing the ICW or the beach here is a few tips, productive areas are inches from sea walls and on the beach in the first trough called the swash, I cast parallel to the shoreline or wall. They do like structure too, casting next to pier pylons and bridges are excellent spots. Bass and snook have a lot in common but here is a major difference, snook like fast current, a big reason why so many of them are caught at inlets, I may add the rougher the water the better the bite.

Near Lantana

The question does arise are hard lures cheaper or more expensive. The definitive answer doesn't exist, true a hard lure can last for years but it can be lost on the very first outing or even first cast. Plastics are constantly being replaced, what ever is used is going cost money in both the short and long term.

I agree. I don't often watching fishing shows but over the last couple of weeks I watched 2 while I was surfing. The first show was nothing but an infomercial for a new lure, watching it dart back forth under water and listening to the accolades of this new lure, was a total bore. When they weren't talking about this lure it was their brand of rods and reels, I could have caught those fish on a snoopy rod. After all this the host's epilogue was an attempt at proselytization, thanks but I'll seek spiritual guidance elsewhere. The second show was hosted by an obnoxious young man with a Cohiba dangling from his mouth for most of the telecast. The show was actually interesting as they were catching some really nice fish in Panama but the host was almost unbearable to watch. I will say this, he appeared to be eating great food and having lot fun, and probably making a nice buck out of it, so good for him.

Only caught 1 this morning smashing a Poppa Dog. After a lengthy battle I was able to walk the fish down a sea wall about 150 yards to an area where I could beach it. By this time a small audience had gathered so a photo op was possible.