BassinLou

Follow the advice RW gave you. Read the articles, and apply a couple of techniques one step at a time. As you become more proficient your fishing will improve. Welcome to the sport!!

That's pretty creative George, I would have never thought of that..

After the big freeze in '09 for us in South Fl, the exotic fish were really affected. Many were killed off. The glades back then had a healthy population of pea's, oscars, and mayan cichlids. They are slowly starting to rebound. I have not caught a peacock or heard of anyone catching peacock out there for a very long time. However, on my last trip to the glades I did see a juvenile pea swimming around. As far as eating, there has been a bulletin out for a while now, cautioning people on the amount of fish caught in the glades due to high mercury levels. You will have better luck fishing for pea's in your local canals than out in the glades.

I rarely overhead cast. Since I bank fish around obstacles the majority of the time, I avoid overhead cast to protect my equipment, and avoid really bad backlashes!!

Very nice. Good luck on your performances.

If bluegill are spawning, don't worry nice bass are in the vicinity. They also know bluegills are spawning and payback is a ..... rhymes with twitch. lol....

Google is your friend. Once you bring up Lox on google, you will see exactly what Geo g is talking about.

That's awesome, you figured them out, kept it simple and caught nice fish. Sleep well...

That's a nice boat Gar-tracker, it has nice smooth lines to it.

Congrats... its awesome when the topwater bite is on fire.

I don't tournament fish. But if I did, i know for a fact my conscious would get the better of me, and I would release that big fish. Even if it wasn't a tournament I would always say I foul hooked a big one once, and I wouldn't be proud of it. It has to be hooked in the mouth and it has to be going after my lure for me to count it.

Yeah, I hate it when a fish dies. But you know what? It happens. You didn't do anything malicious towards the fish. Who knows why it died. Overly exhausted? hmmm maybe, but I doubt it. Did a gill get pricked and you missed seeing it? Maybe? Who knows why the fish died. Trust me, it will not be the last time unfortunately.

Sounds like you caught a really big pig. Any pics?

Interesting I do the complete opposite and my frogs still get slammed. huh.....

You may have to take a short road trip to the glades. Several people I know on here have been doing great.

Lol... minus the spook comment.

I agree, there is record out there. Question is, where?

That's true, the OP, didn't mention vegetation so I assumed the area was clear.

You identified they were hitting topwater moving baits, maybe switch up the bait a bit. Instead of a buzzing frog try a Zoom u-vibe worm. Spook, and fluke also come to mind. Or also slow it down and try a hollow body frof that stay in the strike zone a lot longer than a buzzing frog. Just my.02

Over 15lbs, means that you caught close to the FL State record which is 17.27lbr caught in 1986!! That cheap scale was either way off its mark, or your excitement of the moment skewed your perspective. What part of FL did you tangle with this pig?

7'6" H rod for sure. Many enjoy the Lews superduty, I personally went the TT pro route for those exact applications minus the frogging and I am really enjoying this reel for those techniques.

I use a 2500 on a 7ft rod it works great. I have 20lb braid on it and I have had zero issues since I made that transition several years ago.

Remember to include your PB on your avatar!!

Congrats BBD!! That's a beauty right there!!

I have the same reel, and I went with the 7:1. I use mine for a different application but remember you can always slow down, and if you need to reel in quickly you know the speed is there.