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We often give too much credit to the bait we use. Regardless of what anyone says bass are not the brightest critters on earth. Bottom line is if you can put it in front of their face, they will often bite it. When things get tough, go too the bait you have confidence in, and enjoy throwing, and work the crap out of it. My go to bait is the 4" senko. I can fish it deep, fish it shallow, I can fish it fast, or I can fish it real slow. I can throw it weightless, or with different size weights depending on the wind. I can throw it the thickest stuff, or in open water. I can wacky rig it, Texas rig it, or Carolina rig it. I can flip it or pitch it using a spinning rod. It will catch fish of ALL sizes. If you throw it in front of a ten pounder, she will slam it just like a 12 inch worm. The key factor is placement, and targeting spots. There just is not one magic bait, there are just better fisherman that get it done with what they like to use. I used to be a top water guy and then turned to plastics. As a Devil Horse, Rapala guy, I enjoyed the top water explosions but was neglecting a vast amount of the water column. I turned to plastics and never regretted the change.

I agree, way too much weight for a Senko. 1/32 or weightless is all you need.

You can catch fish almost anywhere if you Texas Rig a 4 inch senko, with a 1/32 bullet weight. Jubebug color for heavy stained water. Let it free fall to the bottom and sit for a while. Just shake it and let it sit again. If that doesn't work just pull it slowly then let it sit. Then snap it off the bottom and let it sit again. Something is going to find it and bite. Experiment with the retrieve until you find what they want. Fish it slow and be a line watcher for any movement. Good luck!

Years ago I was fishing the Monkey Box on Lake Okeechobee in summer, and we saw two guys walking in waste deep water with their Bow Line tied around their waist.. We went over to help them and they were fishing and dragging the boat behind.. Just trying to stay cool!!! Other tips. 1). Take a clean sponge soaked in ice water and put it under your hat. Refresh every once in a while. 2). Keep some shammy towels in the ice cooler and rotate putting them around your neck. 3). take 3 times more cold water then you think you need. If you don't drink it, wet your hat. 4).Fish early, take a siesta, and fish late.

Lots of good advice in the previous posts. I will add one more piece to the puzzle. Never pass up Cypress trees with Osprey nests in them. The birds are notorious sloppy eaters. Its like chumming the waters below. This draws baitfish, and crawfish, and the big bass follow. Always spend some extra time around these trees!!!!!

Move to Florida, the season never closes!!!!!!! I fish between 250 to 300 days a year.

If you fish a lot, it has happened to everyone. Don't waste time worrying about it, just keep doing the same thing and you may find another one. Several weeks ago I broke off a three pounder and two hours later in the same spot I caught it again with my hook still in her jaw. On the way home I stopped and bought some Lotto Tickets. I never waste time worrying about things you can't control.

You are making memories that she will never forget. Congrats to you, the world would be a better place, if everyone spent more time with their children.

Right now the Alley bite is tough. There is plenty of water at Lox. Its still better then the Alley right now.

Sunday 6/5/16, 7:00-11:30, heavy cloud cover, winds 5-10 ESE, water temps 86*, water stained. Went out today with Steve Johnson. Ran west to the first cut and started fishing a frog, Gambler Cane Toad. Picked up two fish early on the frog. Steve was throwing a Zoom Horney Toad with several swirls and no takers. After a half hour we switched to a senko type bait and caught some tight to the sawgrass stems. You had to be tight to cover to get them to bite. The bite was slow but steady. As the wind picked up we continued to drift west, and we began switching off on different baits. We threw U-vibes, trick worms, ribbon tails, flukes, beavers, and centipedes. The Zoom Fluke was definitely the most consistent with several back to back catches. The thick weeds are becoming more dense, but you can still move around on the flat pretty well. File your trolling motor blades to cut up the thick stuff better. The catching was a little slow at times, but steady. After a few hours on the flat we ran several miles to the north canal. Steve was catching them pretty well on the fluke. I caught the big fish of the day, a 3.5 lber. With storms rolling in from the south east we called it quits at 11:30, and headed for the ramps. We finished the day with 26 bass caught. There were a lot of 1.5 chunks, several big Bowfin, and several gar harassing our baits. It was a fun day, cool with heavy cloud cover, and the best part is we dodged the storms.

Over the years I have founded three vehicles dumped in canals along Alligator Alley. One was when the Alley was a two lane road, and it was at one of the bridge cuts where people used to camp out on weekends. It was a S 10 pickup. I caught it on a crankbait. Then years later when the Alley was improved to a four lane road, a car was dumped at the MM41 ramp and you could see oil floating to the surface. It was dumped during the night. Another was with my new Lorrance depth finder, and you could see the outline of an old van, dumped at the MM39 ramp. It seems years ago dumping vehicles was a common occurrence in south Florida. FHP had them removed.

That looks like the L28 canal off of US 41. It had the 7 weirs going north west toward the interceptor canal. I have fished it many times in my buddies tracker. You could defiantly get away from the crowds out there. That's a shame they have totally blocked the canal.

An awfully expensive toy to be harassing fisherman with!!!!!!!!

Under ten and its easy, ten to twenty you have to concentrate, over twenty its a estimate, over thirty its a guesstimate! I have fished with guys with counters, but if the bite is really on, I would forget to push the button.

A lot cheaper to leave them on the deck and just be careful.

Over the years I have caught them on 4" senkos and flukes but you have to keep them moving. A spinnerbait is a good choice that will draw a bite. Inline spinners with a weed guard can be effective. In thick cover your choices are numbered.

In south Florida I deal with snakes almost every night. While bank fishing neighborhood lakes our waters a full of weeds from the bank to the deep drop-offs. This area can be 10 to 25 yards wide and full of all types of vegetation. Snakes are found throughout the weeds. Most are non poisonous but their are some cottonmouths also. I wear boots while fishing the banks and always watch where I am walking. Never go the flip-flop route. Over the years I have had several close calls while walking the bank. One time I had a six foot water snake go between my feet while standing casting. I never knew it was there. I've seen one big water snake capture a fish I just released in the shallows, and slowly swallow the 14 " bass. I'm used to them now, but I always look for plants moving along the bank, that's usually the first sign of a snake. A cottonmouth is a reluctant mover, and will hold it's ground if harassed. If I see one I will move to a new location. Water snakes will usually just move off on their own.

If you wade in south Florida you may have a visit from a toothy critter!

I bank fish almost every evening. My house is surrounded by a number of man made lakes. 1). I would say be quiet at the bank, and move around slowly. No fast moves. 2). Look for different types of vegetation in close proximity together. Two or three different types of plants are always better then just one type. 3). Isolated clumps of veggies is always better then one massive clump. Fish will gather at the isolated clump, from the surrounding open areas, especially on clear sunny days. 4). Figure out where the deep drop-offs are located, and fish them slow with contact at the deepest point. I have caught more fish at deep drop-offs, then any other spot at the lakes. Big bass love these drop-offs close to shallow flats. 5}. Fish parallel to the outside edge of a weed line, if you can. 6). When things get real tough, slow down, with Texas Rigged plastics. 7). Hard to beat watermelon red, June bug, and black 4" inch Texas Rigged Plastics. They will catch all size bass. 8).If you catch one fish, go back again, sometimes they stack up in one location. 9). Be a constant line watcher at the furthest distance from the rod, the line will jump, way before you will feel it. 10). Constantly look for birds, pads moving, grass separating, swirls at the surface, and baitfish fleeing. The birds know where the bait fish are, and so do the big bass. Constantly monitoring you surroundings. You can learn a lot by being observant. I forgot one important thing. If you live in snake country wear leather boots. I see snakes almost every night. Don't move unless your being observant.

There is a web site that gives the water levels and whether they have gone up or down. It is South Florida Water Management site. It has an endless amount of information amd a variety of choices of different readings. There are hundreds of reading stations all throughout the state and you can see how much water levels went up or down yesterday at each site. They give a map of all the reading site locations. Like Lou said, its not easy to figure out, but loaded with information. It could be beneficial to find out the areas they are pumping water into from the lake. From the home page there are loads of informational pages to open. The Army Corp of Engineers site will give you information on the Lake.

If they were bass, it shows they were chasing shallow bait fish and in a feeding mode. If your not sure of the species they were probably carp eating the veggies.

Everyone that fishes a lot has lost a big fish that just became unbuttoned, or broke off. A couple of weeks ago I had a real unusual thing happen on a break off. I was working a shallow flat at the Loxahatchee National Preserve in West Palm Beach Florida. I hooked into a nice 3 pounder on the flat and fought it almost to the boat and it broke off in the heavy vegetation. I watched as the fish went airborne 3 times trying to get rid of the hook. About two hours later, I fished through the same area and hooked a fish in the same spot as the break-off. Once landed, I noticed my #4 Gama WGH, with my senko still attached to its jaw. It was like hitting the Lotto! The chance of me catching that same fish, in a vast body of water, at the same spot, with my hook in its mouth, and still wanting to eat, was astronomical. It wasn't that big a fish, but I will never forget that one.

If your cranking the swim bait they will hit a reaction bite, especially under low light conditions. Color really doesn't matter, the bass is reacting to the vibration. The bait can be magical at certain times. My favorite is the Gambler E-Z Swimmer, just keep it moving. Use a weighted swim bait hook.

Boy that really makes me want to eat something else!

It does not happen very often, but if it does I change locations. I have faith and confidence in what I'm doing, so it has to the bass have change location, or just went dormant. Next trip will be to a new location and I'll always try to find some current. Current will position the fish in a strike zone where they can ambush easy prey. Finding current points often turns a slow day into a super day. Current can come from run off spots, wind driven funnel points between grass islands, or man made structures, and feeder streams or merging creeks. If things are tough, these spots can be game changers quickly.