soflabasser

Meh. Material possessions means nothing if you are old, with serious health problems, and never satisfied with what you have.The ones who really win in the end are the ones who live a long, healthy live that help others and feel satisfied with their accomplishments. What matters most is that you are happy with what fishing gear you own and that the hobby of fishing brings true happiness in your life. You can donate your excess gear to family members or those in need and maybe teach them how to fish.

I find it much more difficult to catch bass under 3" like the one in this photo than catch a bass over 20", mostly because I only see bass this small a couple months after bass spawn. I have caught bass that small and even smaller with a size 16 hook baited with a very small piece of bait.

Those are some goods ones. Here's 2 more; 1. The false belief that big bass are "too strong" for spinning reels. This has to be one of the biggest fallacies in bass fishing. I can tell you from my experience that a quality size 4000 spinning reel can handle trophy sized bass and land fish much more powerful than any largemouth bass alive( big snook, muskie over 40", juvenile tarpon in the 10-30 pound class,jack crevalle,etc). 2. Jet skiers, fishermen on boats, and pleasure boaters than get too close to land based fishermen.

I have caught several bass over 4 pounds and some over 5 pounds as bycatch while fishing for channel catfish with hotdogs. With cutbait I have caught bass close to 8 pounds. This does not happen often and you will be better off using lures for bass if you are specially fishing for bass.

I use a bookbag from Wal-Mart with 2 Plano containers and do well with this as a tackle bag for shore fishing.

Yes it's worth trying topwater fishing at night. You should try topwater fishing for big snook at night the next time you visit Florida. They make bass look like a little bluegill hitting a fly.

The bass is so big that us mere mortals cannot see it even though the picture was posted.

Congratulations on your first rainbow trout.

Looks like a wolf dog hybrid

Looks like a wolf dog hybrid.

Nice common carp.

Seems like the owner of the pond does a good job at keeping his bass well fed. Won't be surprised if you catch a +10 out of that pond. Congratulations on catching a nice bass, I would say it could be over 24 inches long and maybe in the high 7 pound range and possibly over 8 pounds. Next time bring a scale or a tape measure to measure its length and girth to get a more accurate weight.

Good advice. Shimano makes excellent spinning reels in various prices and these reels can take a beating for many years when other spinning reels break down easily. I own several that are over a decade old and they still work fine. Penn is another company that makes good spinning reels. I prefer using size 4000 spinning reels since they tend to be more powerful and have more line capacity, which is needed for me since I use these reels for both freshwater and saltwater fishing.

Been fishing in Florida for over 23 years now and never been biten by a snake. I always watch where I step and give the snake space when I am fishing. I do enjoy catching snakes and have caught many snake species in Florida from a tiny little southern ringneck snake to a big python I caught a couple months ago. We also have lots of alligators, crocodiles, lizards,turtles, and other reptiles so South Florida is a paradise for those who like reptiles.

I tend to catch some of my largest numbers of +5 pound bass in high water conditions so its definitely a good time to fish for bass now if you are willing to change the way you normally fish. Lots of rain means the spillways are open in many locations, and these areas are loaded with quality sized fish that most people do not catch since they don't put the effort to fish these locations.

Nice catches.

Did you catch this bass from private or public waters?

Congratulations on your new personal best smallmouth bass.

I prefer catching a bass on a lure but will glady use live bait if needed, especially if it means I will catch something nice compared to catching nothing. Good advice. One must be very quiet when bass fishing from the bank, especially if they are trying to catch a big bass from a highly pressured body of water. Bluegills are good bait but there are many times the big bass won't go for them so its best to try different techniques and consider fishing at night which is something many bass fisherman do not do( with lures few people use in the area you are fishing in).

Didn't know today was World Turtle Day but its nice knowing a day exist for them. Turtles are among my favorite animals with the sea turtle being my favorite animal to see when I am diving. They are very majestic creatures and videos of them do not compare to seeing them in person when diving.

I use the uni knot for lures, hooks, other terminal tackle and uni to uni knot for leaders.

A good topwater popper is a Rebel Pop-R and they can be found for less than $10 each.

I have wade fished in waters with alligators as well. Also dived in lakes, canals, and Northern Florida springs with alligators and not once has one caused me problems. I make sure to give them their space and not swim if I see one over 5 feet. They are beautiful animals and feel fortunate to live in Florida where I can see alligators any day I want.

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum