SFL BassHunter

Thanks for the report! Wish I could have fished sounds like a pretty good day even though there weren't any giant fish. Last year I was fishing off the boat ramp tossed a sticko to the outskirts of the pads, felt a tick, set the hook and it was like setting on a brick wall. The line moved into the pads and I fought the fish for a moment before he wrapped around the pads and popped my hook loose. That was before I had learned a few tricks, and before I was using braid out in the glades. I am sure that fish was solid.

Well I got out there and had motor issues again so I was unable to fish...story of my life.

Thanks for the advice dalde ! I have never fished that far west. When I went the grass was pretty high out there and the area next to the canal was very muddy there were even some big ditches made by a car or truck that may have been stuck so I didn't want to get my mustang in there. The dirt road goes a long way. I drove down it for a while till I got tired lol. I'll probably be out there tomorrow on the boat. Maybe give that canal a try.

Thanks for the report! 11 fish in 3 hours, not too bad.

Give us a report when you get a chance! Would love to hear how it is going out on sawgrass!

But look at that view! Beautiful picture!

True you could look at it that way. I guess I am thinking the lakes in my area are small. So I could see how fishing pressure could affect them. Not sure about BareHook's lake.

I don't think it is a matter of intelligence. It is all instinct. The bass sees a bait with a hook, he eats it, gets pulled out of the water. A week later does the same thing, and maybe a third time, maybe it takes a fish 15 times, who knows. I think eventually that bass instinctively correlates your line, hook, and maybe the bait. Says hmmm, I've seen this trick before a few times and goes on it's merry way. The fishing pressure also depends on how many of those people are practicing catch and release and who isn't. There are only so many fish in that lake. You take 10, 15, 20 out per day and that is 10,15, 20 fish that could have gone for your fake lure. Extend that out 10 days straight, that is a significant number of fish. This is all theoretical of course but still makes some sense at least to me lol.

That is good advice. I have been working the 4 inch senko again after a long hiatus. I also work the uvibe slow from time to time.

December was brutal for me as a bank fisherman. I am not off to a great start this month either. Nothing but a few dinks.

Yeah George I hadn't been there in a while and with no boat I just needed some bank to fish. I have been going to a couple of Weston ponds but haven't really been getting anything worth bragging about.

That is how I work mine too.

Those are some nice ones guys! Weston my best guess on yours is probably what you said. Somewhere between 5 and 6. Certainly has a big head but without knowing the girth it is real tough to determine on a picture. Heck sometimes even when holding them we tend to over estimate. I purchased a cheap scale on Ebay (Chinese Made). No name brand just to have a better idea of the fish weights. I expected it to be junk but when I got it I was very impressed. I've had it for 2 years and it still works. Now as far as accurately weighing I would say it isn't perfect but it is close enough. I have been doing some swimbait fishing lately cause I pour my own and I've caught some pretty decent fish on them. James the KVD Squarebills you use what depth do you find is best. I own 3 of them in 3 different colors and they run pretty shallow. I've really wanted to catch fish on cranks for a while but I always tend to go back to soft plastics because the cranks just aren't getting the job done.

The first few months of this year I had success at the lake by miller. 3 to 4 fish per outing in the 1-4 pound range. That quickly turned into 0 fish per outing. I was having success at the Equestrian Center area as well but that also died down. The last time I caught fish at TP was over by the Equestrian Center and they were dinks. I honestly haven't been able to figure them out there in months. Stick baits generally worked and even those aren't doing the trick any more. I wish there was better places around there for LMB. Now Peacocks, there are plenty at TP in the Miller Lake. But that isn't my target species.

Went out to Holey Land Water Management Area to the lake there on Monday. It was a nice day early then it got windy from the SE which made it difficult to fish and had me driving around a bit to find areas that had the wind to my back. Unfortunately I was land locked and though there is plenty of bank to fish out there the grass was very high in many places. Pictures of my preparations: Morning: Water clarity...extra clear: Oh that's right I have a sunfish. my bps finally had a few. So I got one. First fish came on the spinner bait after throwing the sunfish for a while and not getting a bite. It was a little guy but it broke my skunking. Then I tied on a *** jig in a bluegill color and threw that around after a while of catching nothing on the spinner bait. I got a hit on the jig swimming it but failed to set the hook properly. At this point I was switching rods after working an area with the jig I would work it with the spinner bait. Eventually my send fish came in the spinner bait again after pumping some pads and reeling over a pad as soon as it hit the water I got the hit but I wasn't sure if it was the pad or a fish. I swept the Rod anyways and it was a fish. My third fish was also small and was in the canal instead of the lake. Also on the spinnerbait My back was hurting and I ran out of area to fish that wasn't facing the wind so I called it quits.

Don't feed the friendly animals! lol

Went out to Tropical Park yesterday after work. It wasn't windy but by the time I got there it was almost dark. I took only my black and red, and black and blue baits. Stick Baits, Big Worms, and Swimbaits. I fished about 260 yards with a black and blue swimbait, burning it across the top with very low expectations because none of my bass except one in these lakes has come on top water. But I figured my swimbaits move a lot of water and with the dark it could attract a bass to strike it. I was wrong. Not one bite or even a wake. I fished the 260 yards back to the car with a combo of a stick bait and a big fat max worm. The fat max got me a tick, but I set the hook and ended up with a scrunched up worm on my hook. I then went over to the other side of the lake and fished one of the more productive areas for me but didn't get a bite. I finished up at around 8:15pm.

Hey all, I was wondering if anyone had any recent reports on Holey Land Water Management. It's been a while since I last went (on boat) and got skunked. I am considering going on foot tomorrow. Maybe fish the lake. Anyone have info on it? Water levels? Thanks

I've considered that rim canal a few times, but its a bit of a drive for me just to go fish a canal. I can do that down here in Miami lol. But I would imagine that rim canal can produce at certain points.

Sadly Jonny I have been out to Tamiami Trail several weekends in a row now and have been skunked every time. The water levels are extremely high, and I'm not even seeing any bass. Water is very clear right now. Very little signs of life other than mullet. Tamiami has produced in the past for me but not recently.

For the most part its just for the mental sense of security. The chances of actually needing to use it are slim to none.

They will both stalk. I find shallow water to be safer than deep ponds. It is a mental thing. If I can see my surroundings then I am fine. It's when that water is dark and you are looking down into an abyss that freaks me out with the gators. I still haven't gotten over the fear of putting my hand in the water to pull a bass out when on a boat. I do what I can to swing them into the boat lol. With a bass that is big enough though swinging is not a good idea.

I am sure with 2 pages of responses you have gotten your answer lol. But I figured I would chime in since the majority of my fishing comes from the banks in the glades. Snakes are more of a threat in tall grass than gators in my opinion. But the truth is both can be a threat. When I first started bass fishing out there I would grab a few rocks and put them in my pocket (thanks to a few of Captain Shane's fishing videos which seem to be more of Gator Defense videos lol). One of the first times going out there I was completely afraid. I had a gator jump into the water out of the high grass into the retention pond which is really deep and very dark. So here I thought this gator was going to ambush me at any given moment. It didn't, it probably just swam away. I also encountered a few others that were half on land and half in the water. One being a big ol 10 footer at least. I came pretty close to it without noticing, that gator didn't move an inch. Didn't growl, didn't run and didn't attack. I just backed up and walked around it, kept fishing with no problem. I have only needed to toss rocks at one gator which was extremely curious after a boy about 13 years old with his mother were bass fishing and he pulled a near 4 lb bass out on some light tackle which took a while to get out of the water. So the gator saw food and figured it would make a move. I used the Captain Shane self defense course to keep the gator from getting closer. The gator wasn't big enough to ignore me. Eventually it backed off and the kid continued to fish as I continued along the bank. On boat I have seen them chase top water baits, or fish that are caught. You just troll away from them. Like I said those retention ponds are scary because it is nearly an instant drop off into darkness. One thing you could do is carry a weapon with you for some sense of security and just keep your eyes open at all times. I never turn my back to the water. If I am changing baits or changing a rig I grab my gear and keep myself at a distance from the water so that I can see anything that decides to come out and attack. Also I try to do that stuff in low grass. For example one of the canals i fish has tall grass mostly sparse but it does have a rocky area at a safe distance from the water that has little to no grass or vegetation. This is where I put my gear then I walk up to the bank with just my rod. I don't want to have clutter all around me in case I do need to make a sudden movement, run for it or whatever. Tripping up on your gear would be bad. There are snakes out in that area too. I wear high steel toed boots, tall thick socks and pants. The shoes may be the only thing that could help but either way...they also sell snake guards. Kind of like shin guards for snakes. Probably worth getting. lol I was fishing that same canal and standing in one place for a good 2 or 3 minutes when all of the sudden right in front of me a snake slithers and slides into the canal. There was maybe a foot between me and the drop off so god knows how long it was in front of my feet. Lucky for me it didn't attack me and I am certain it was a corn snake. BUT I have come across a couple of rattle snakes curled up on that rocky path. Gotta keep your eyes open at all times. A long stick might be a good idea to have with you, maybe some rocks in your pocket, a decent sized knife or machete.

Yeah out where I fish on the trail lots of people use live bait. While I am standing there not catching anything most people with shiners are pulling out nice sized bass. Live bait will defiantly get you some big fish. No doubt about that.

Hey Miami lakes Basser. I fish Tropical Park often it is close to my house. There are some ok sized fish in there. Zooms work well, they are a good bait to have in your arsenal for sure. I prefer the 5 inch versions. Ive caught a bunch of fish at Tropical on the flukes in Baby Bass color.