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I often bank fish in south Florida and have seen many snakes over the years with cotton mouths a small percentage. I was fishing one day in an area with ample shore coverage and pad fields extending out 20 yards from shore. Concentrating on my line far from the bank I saw some movement between my legs. I look down and there a five foot black water snake moving from some weeds behind me and into the water right between my feet. I could have dropped a log right there on the spot! I'm just glad it wasn't poisonous.

Everyone has experienced a skunk once in a while. It’s all part of the game. That’s why the call it fishing, and not catching. Just keep going, your luck will change.

When fishing all plastics. I always set the hook the same way, and don’t actually think about it. I’m in auto mode once I detect a bite. I would consider it a strong set and never know what’s on the line until I’m actually fighting the fish. I have on times sent a one pound bass sailing completely over the boat and on the other side. He earns his flying wings that day. On a double digit it can feel like you set the hook on a large rock. You just never know!

Bass are not a fragile organisms or they would not be as prevalent as they are from Canada to the Everglades and from Jersey to California. They live in a violent environment always bumping into thick vegetation and structure and avoiding bigger stronger predators. Many believe they are fragile, they are far from that! I never mishandle them, but over they years I have found many thriving after some vicious injuries' they received during their life. They will survive!

You can come down to south Florida we are still in the middle of Hurricane season, and lots of water. I cant wait for late November to get here!

I can sum it up quickly. Patience and concentration are my best strengths. I am a slow fisherman, and will pick apart cover, and structure in a methodical approach. I look for difficult targets and work them extra slow. I often catch bass on tough days, when others come back skunked. Also if it’s really tough for a long time, I make the fishing into a game of darts. I look for really tough places to hit and throw to the long nearly impossible places It becomes a game of placement and the goal is to make that cast. I stop thinking about catching and rather testing my casting ability. This often produces an occasional bite, even if getting them to the boat is near impossible even with 65 lb braid. To me it’s just fun!

I spent my entire adult life competing in complétive sports as a player, and then a coach for 45 years. Fishing is my form of relaxation mentally and physically, the last thing I ever want to do is compete on the water. I now fish 300 days a year since retiring and as soon as I cast that line I am totally relleved of any pressure life has handed me. There could not be a better past time for a guy like me. I love this sport!

They are also plentiful in South Florida! I have caught over 500 here in the last 20 years since the state of Florida released them in our waters.

Sounds like a knot problem if your using braid!

I see you live in Maine so what I’m going to say is absolutely impossible, but it sounds like a big peacock bass. They often take long runs and then reverse direction, and of course a few big jumps along the way. Lol

Thé on line vids explain it all.

I have removed deep hooks with line attached. These bass were not hurt and doing quite well even with the hook. Knowing how to get a deep hook out is very important. Lots of vids on this! I Once caught a fish I had broke off an hour earlier in the day. Still had my #3 Gama hook and my fluke attached. What are those odds?????

Me too!

Glen, I think we have a few arrogant members, that think that they are as good, if not better then a pro level fisherman. A guy that has spent his life fishing all over this country, in all kinds of water, under all the conditions. After listening to some of these comments, I don't think the pro would stay around very long. I do appreciate your efforts just asking for input, and I for one never get tired of listening to them, and watching these guys work. Respect is earned, and just making it to their level is enough.

Phil, I agree with you that the further north you go the better your chances of catching a big DD bass. Although I caught an 11.4 bass at Loxahatchee in the late 80's, and a DD at Okeechobee, and at a road pond along I 75, I chalk that up to fishing 300 days a year and just being in the right spot at the right time. There is a good reason for the lack of DD down here. An old timer told me 50 years ago, every years our waters flood, big bass move out into the miles of shallow grass to feast on everything that lives there. Then we always have the dry season, and a high percentage of big bass get caught up in the shallows and don't make it back to deeper water. They become Bird, Turtle, and Gator food. This culls the population and keeps them from reaching there max size. Although some do make it in time, many do not. The Everglades are unique with tens of thousands of square miles of shallow grasses with only a small percentage of deep sanctuaries, the man made canals, and gator holes! I never forgot this insightful conclusion from a guy that grew up on a ranch in Eastern Naples, hunting and fishing. The glades just lose big fish every year during the drought. Still the numbers of normal fish caught are just off the charts.

Would love to see some retirees, old time pros, just add some comments to the discussions. That would be so great for the discussions. I have so much respect for these guys and the experiences they have gained along the way.

I was watching a show about Alaska Wilderness Living and the Native American woman was using the spinnerbait rod the exact same way as the women in your pic. She had no problem either!

I have been hooked pretty good at least 5 times over the years. Everyone of those times involved snagging a treble hook bait on weeds and wood, and trying to power it out with the rod putting a big bow in the rod. Once free it shot back at me like a bullet, twice deep in the belly with a deep heavy crankbait, in the hand and arm with jerkbaits. The ones in the hand and arm were easy to get out, just push all the way through and cut off the barb. The two in the belly were a different story, took two trips to the ER. This is over a 40 year period. Lesson learned finally, I now keep the rod in direct line with the snag and let the trolling motor pull it out. This is much safer and no blow back.

Since I live in South Florida we have no shortage of turtles, gators, exotic fish, big lizards, big snakes, and a few crocs. I have caught big turtles on bottom plastics, and they put up a hell of a fight. Before trying to get the hook out, turn them on their back. It makes the job so much easier. They have little effect on the fishing, at least on our waters. Just don't want to go swimming naked!

I have caught a few double digits in my time, and I have lost a few that could have been double digits. The few I lost, I had seen, and usually lost in the final stage of the fight right at the boat. Most were do to stupidity on my part, for not retying, or allowing it to run under the boat hull and roughed up the line, one got tied up on the trolling motor. All things I could have avoided with a little care and thought. The ones I caught were all hand lipped since I just don't bother using a net. I know some will say that's stupid, but it's just the way I roll for the last 50 years. It really didn't bother me that much since it's all part of the game. I always feel fortunate to have had the battle with a monster, and she won this one. If I was fishing for money or competition my feelings would be different! Since I don't, I could care less, I'm going to put her back as soon as I weight her, and take a few pics. I just love the search, and the fight!

NOT, never, the weak link 100% floro for my plastics, and crank baits 65 lb Braid flipping heavy cover, and frogs in the thick stuff. 15 lb Mono for all my top water baits. Keep it simple, easy to retie often!

It's been over 50 years, 5 days a week, I'm still trying to get it all together in my mind. As soon as I feel I have figured it out, they throw me a curve ball! Lol, it is a life long process! I learn something different every trip.

I'm just like the original poster. 80% of the time I'm throwing comfort baits I have confidence in. I know these baits will catch them anywhere, any season. The reason I know that, I've been doing this 5 days a week, for over 50 years. My comfort baits are a variety of plastics, rigged several different ways, and presented various ways. The other 20% of the time I will throw a top water, crankbait, or jig. These baits I find fun to throw and work, but I would not consider any of these my comfort baits. My catch rate with these baits, is not at the level of my comfort baits. I am for the most part, a methodical fisherman, targeting spots hard to hit, and overlooked by many. It has become a game of darts for me most of the day!

You were fishing his dead water. If you kept a safe distance, you did everything right and nothing wrong. It’s hard to fix stupid, and he fits the bill.

We may know as much as a pro on our home waters, or waters that resemble the water we usually fish. Pros on the other hand, must fish all types of waters, from shallow weedy bowl lakes, to deep reservoirs, to rivers with running water, and big northern smallmouth lakes. So much respect for the guys that have some success under all these conditions and always in contention to succeed! These guys are in the zone, and in another level then your local weekend guy! The cream always rises to the top!