soflabasser

Fishing the Everglades is one of my favorite experiences I have had bass fishing. Make sure to bring a headlight, bring a friend, stay 15 feet or so away from the shoreline, and be very careful where you step. Would also reccomend you give land based shark fishing a try when you visit Florida if you haven't done it already.

I do a lot light tackle fishing with 8-12 pound test line in the ocean since its very fun fighting a fish this way. I do put a short leader to protect the line from cutting off from the sharp teeth many saltwater fish tend to have. Have caught some very nice bass on 4 pound test line with small lures, but I only do it in areas I have plenty of open water and few obstructions.

Nice selection of crankbaits.

That's why it's crucial to get a good education to have a profession that pays well...that or have a very successful business. Besides a little extra money can help feed the bait monkey and I am sure the bait monkey does not mind.

LOL! I am sure you noticed how packed its getting down here and it's most likely going to get more packed. Don't worry a couple decent hurricanes will scare many of them back to the west,north, and northeast where most of them come from. I don't blame them for coming here though since Florida is a paradise for much more than fishing.

Yes South Florida has a extremely healthy population of bass and probably the best place in the nation to catch +100 bass in a single day. Northern/Central Florida is better for trophy bass and 100's of trophy bass are caught every single year in Florida. We probably have the best DNR of all the states and there's a reason why so many people from other states come here to live and not many want to leave.

My favorite big topwaters are the ones I make myself and its worth all the trouble hand making lures when you catch a good sized fish.

I use spoons mostly for saltwater fishing and rarely for freshwater fishing.They do have a place and time that they work very well, that is for sure.

I have caught bass with several holes in the mouth like you mentioned, mostly from highly pressured bodies of water.

Topwater

Hopefully that same bass is not filled with soft plastics that it has eaten from discarded soft plastics thrown in the water. This is a big problem in waters that have high pressure and these soft plastics inside the bass intestines can cause the bass to slowy starve.

South Florida is a very different place to bass fish compared to Texas and California so what works in Texas and California might not work the same in South Florida. There are many public bodies of water down here that you do not have permission to enter with a boat,so that changes giving boat advice and using electronic fish finders to find the bass. In these places you have to be very good at reading the water and understand what the current conditions will do to your fishing since you cannot use a electronic fish finder and a boat to help you in these places. Many of these places have 8-12 pound bass, but most of these places are not easy to fish ( lots of vegetation both on land and water, alligators, snakes,etc). Its not easy catching a +10 pound bass in South Florida and the percentage of South Florida bassers that have caught double digits down here is much smaller than those in Central/Northern Florida. I have been very fortunate to have caught a couple double digit bass in South Florida, but each one made me work very hard and fishing for 8,9,+10 bass in South Florida is not something for somebody that wants a easy fish.You really have to earn a double digit bass in South Florida and most people will probably never catch a double digit bass in public waters of South Florida and they will be better off going to Central Northern/Florida if they don't have the patience to fish for DD bass in South Florida( maybe even go to Mexico or a private ranch in Texas that has plenty of pet trophy bass to catch).

I store most of my crankbaits in a couple of size 3700 Plano Tackle boxes.

Looks like a typical South Florida post spawn bass. We do have areas down here where the bass are very thick with a potbelly year round but not like the bass in the West where they stock dumb farm raised trout to feed the bass.

Fishing next to alligators is definitely not for the faint of heart but there can be some very good fishing in a area with lots of alligators.

There's a member from this forum from Texas that's caught plenty of big bass on swimbaits. Haven't seem him post here in a while but he does post in the swimbait forum we are both members of. Fishermen tend to stay quiet on what exactly they catch their big bass on and you will never truly know what they use unless you see them catch the bass in front of your eyes. The Texas state +18 pound record largemouth bass was caught by a crappie fisherman with a small minnow so anything is possible. You never know 100% what a largemouth bass of a lifetime will hit , they might hit a crappie minnow, a small inline spinner, a beetle spin, a mimmic minnow, a chicken nugget,etc but that would be unlikely compared to fishing with a buzzbait, oversized Rat-L-Trap like you like using, or swimbaits and big topwaters I like to use. Bass fishing is something that even the best bass fishermen can not know 100% and its safe to say that I have a long life ahead of me to try to figure out what the big bass in my area like the most.

I have fished the Everglades many times by myself at nighttime and yes its not for the faint at heart. The Everglades becomes alive at night with many animals making sounds. Its best to bring a friend along, have a headlight, fish 15 feet or so away from the shoreline, and be very,very careful where you step. I usually do my night bass fishing in public parks and other public bodies of water. I enjoy it very much since they are less fishermen on the water, less boats,no jetskis since they seem to be terrified of the night, no sun to burn my skin, and peace and quiet while hearing the sounds of frogs and other animals.

Welcome to the forum

Congratulations on catching a big bass on a frog, that is worth more to me than catching a big bass on a jig or other bottom bait. Lol

Congratulations on catching your new personal best bass.

We have lots of anhingas, pelicans, ospreys and other predatory birds in freshwater bodies of water in South Florida yet the bass population is extremely healthy. These birds are part of a healthy ecosystem and I am glad to see them when I am fishing.

Sounds like you are in South Florida since you mentioned Mayan cichilds. Don't know of another state that has wild Mayan chichilds besides Florida but let me know if there is. Try fishing at night and be careful with the alligators, moccasins, and Burmese pythons that love to be close to the shore.

Hollow belly frogs are definitely a good lure for big bass, especially near aquatic vegetation. Fishing at night has worked well for me but you have to be careful fishing in South Florida since there's lots of alligators, moccasins, and even Burmese pythons near the shore. Buzzbaits are another good lure to use at night and they tend to produce some very nice bass if you are willing to give them a good try.

I caught 38 rainbow trout ( Including a palomino trout) and my better half caught 4 of them for a total of 42 rainbow trout in a couple hours while fishing on vacation a couple months ago. We used 6 pound test line and for lures we used mostly inline spinners and small crankbaits.

Try using a small crayfish on a size 4-6 hook for those big redear sunfish you see and don't be surprised if they become much easier to catch.