soflabasser

Well said @flyfisher. I think most bass fishermen agree with what their state fisheries biologist does to improve the fisheries. Hydrilla is a invasive species and it can grow out of control, I have seen it several times in my home waters. The triploid grass carp in Florida help control the hydrilla, and these carp should help control the hydrilla in other bodies of water where they are stocked in. I much prefer having these sterile carp control the aquatic vegetation than having chemicals sprayed in the water to kill aquatic vegetation.

Good advice. I been buying hooks in bulk quantities for over 2 decades now and it helps you save money.

Big Game Mono

I agree it would probably be cheaper to just move to Florida than build a indoor pond.What license plates have you been seeing lately in your part of the state? I have been seeing lots of license plates from Texas, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Georgia.

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum.

Almost any neighborhood pond,lake,river,canal, etc in Florida has big bass in it. Make sure to find one that is on public water and you should have good time.

Good subject. I have done a good amount of traveling in my state for fishing as well as other states. My best recommendation is to research good fishing spots and good techniques for the area you want to fish in for at least 1 month so you will know the area very well. I cannot emphasize this enough and doing the research I mentioned has helped me catch quality fish that most locals in the area I fished in have not caught. Camping in a state park is a good idea, make sure to have a good tent and bring only what you need to make your trip a success.

A 45.5'' northern pike is a very nice catch, especially from the ice. Thats fish alone is easily worth a long day of ice fishing. Spearfishing on the ice sounds fun as well, but I prefer to do freedive spearfishing which is my favorite form of fishing(even more than bass fishing). Would still consider doing spearfishing above water since it looks fun.

Try using spinnerbaits,buzzbaits,lipless crankbaits,propbaits, and bright colored soft plastics in waters that have low water visibility.

You might want to do some research before you comment about what grass carp do in the state of Florida.Grass carp might be a big problem in states with less than ideal fisheries, but not in Florida.Florida purposely stocks grass carp(triploid grass carp) in our waters to control the aquatic vegetation in the canals and lakes.These grass carp are thriving in our waters, as well as our bass.Every state is different, so you have take this in consideration.I am in South Florida, and we have a amazing fishery that people from all across the USA come to visit to fish our waters. It is quite common to find bodies of water down here that loaded with +5 pound bass and +20 pound grass carp.Thats nothing out of the ordinary for us, and many Florida fishermen have +10 pound largemouth PB's. We also have well over 20 species of exotic freshwater fish in South Florida, yet we still have a very healthy population of bass.

Welcome to the forum

I tend to travel often for fishing trips and have gone up north several times in the past year. Have caught muskies, smallmouth bass, northern strain largemouth bass,rainbow trout, palomino trout, and white bass to name a few types of fish I caught up north. I am not a typical Floridian, I can handle the cold better than most Floridians and even better than many Northerners who have lived their whole life in the land of hard water. One of these winters I will travel up north for ice fishing, that is for sure. I am open to new fishing experiences and ice fishing is one of them. Would like to target some muskies,northern pike, lake trout, and other big freshwater gamefish through the ice.

I agree with you @flyfisher that Florida strain largemouth bass are much more difficult to catch than northern strain largemouth bass and that might be why so many Florida fishermen think there are no big bass in a body of water with grass carp. I fish many public waters with big grass carp and still catch big bass on a consistent basis.Most people that fish these same waters think there are no big bass in those places and find something to blame their failure in catching big bass on with no credible evidence to do so.

I use 10-30 pound braid on some of my spinning reels, depending on what technique I am using and where I am fishing. Shimano and Penn are the spinning reels I tend to use most since they are reliable and have a proven history.

Good subject. Ice fishing is on my bucket list of things to do.

Interesting subject. I fish many bodies of water that are stocked with triploid carp(grass carp) and these carp do not seem to be affecting the bass fishing. I catch plenty of big bass in these waters, as well as big triploid carp. Seems like these fish are coexisting well with each other in South Florida.

I cast my spinnerbait, reel it in,and let the bass set the hook themselves.

We got some rain and wind as well but it was mostly during the day. It rained very little where I was fishing at night and I used the wind to my advantage instead of fighting against it. I figured the fishing was going to be decent and I was right. Going to do some bass fishing this weekend.

Welcome to the forum.

I have caught several bass over 10 pounds in my home state of Florida, all weighed on a scale, all from land in public waters, all caught by myself with no guide putting me on fish. I feel its much more rewarding to catch your own trophy bass , but thats just me.

I am in South Florida and the weather was very nice this past weekend( low 50's). Went out on Saturday night when the coldfront was pushing in and did quite well. Caught over a dozen bass with the biggest one over 22 inches. I was the only one where I was fishing, and I was fishing in a highly pressured area. Good thing most Floridians can't take the cold!

Well done

1/3rd of the line's breaking strength is usually the most I will tighten my drag any many times I use less drag than that. Seems to work out just fine, both in freshwater and saltwater.

I agree with everyone that says you are fishing for the wrong species if you are targeting bass specifically for the fight they give. Bass don't fight much, but they make up for in other ways, such as providing a challenge to catch(big bass), the fact that they will hit a wide variety of lures, and that bass are a extremely common gamefish that can be targeted almost anywhere in the U.S.A. With that said, the heaviest line I fish for bass is 20-30 pound braid or 8-20 pound mono, which is overkill most of the time.