soflabasser

84 degrees today in my part of the state. Forecast calls for a little cold front this weekend and then back to normal in a couple days.

Going out this weekend to target some bass, lets see what happens.

The Everglades and surrounding areas is where I catch most of my bowfin so you where in a very good location to fish for them. They love to hit a spinnerbait that is slow rolled on the bottom, jerk baits, flukes, and topwaters worked over or near lily pads. They provide lots of action when at times the bass might not be as active, and in the end of the day I rather have a day filled with catching lots of fish than not catching anything at all.

Why would anyone kill a bowfin? Bowfin are a native species to many of the places they live in and fight harder than a bass of equal size. I actually enjoy fishing for bowfin( my PB bowfin is over 13 pounds) and I have spots where you can catch +50 of them in a day, with several in the +6 pound class. Send them bowfin down here to South Florida if you don't like them, I will gladly fish for them. Well said @UPSmallie. Bowfin are a important part of the environment they live in and I also recommend releasing them. They are a prehistoric species that existed before bass did and will most likely exist longer than many species.

I make several types of wooden lures for my personal use. Hard to beat the feeling of catching a big bass on a lure you made with your bare hands.

I have a couple old nostalgic lures that I keep for memories that I caught some trophy bass on them. I am going to get a replica of these bass and put the lure in the replicas mouth for memories.

Welcome to the forum. That is a nice northern strain largemouth bass that appears to be around the 5 pound mark.

Hello @ShaneWheeler and welcome to the forum. Thank you for posting your video, fishing in Australia is in my bucket list of places to fish. Will check your channel out.

Well said @the reel ess. It is very rude to interfere with a bank fisherman, especially if you are on a boat and you are purposely throwing where the bank fisherman is fishing and the boater also causes a big boat wake( It is actually illegal here to interfere with a fisherman, a little known law to many in my state). You have more opportunities as a boater than a bank fishermen, so be a honorable man and give the bank fisherman some space. Also do not underestimate and look down on a bank fisherman with less expensive gear than yourself, he might be catching trophy bass from land often with his trusty beat up Ugly Stik while many with top of the line boats, rods,etc might be lucky to catch a 5 pounder once in a while. We can all learn from each other, regardless what experience we have.

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum

Hello @Isaiah Hoag and welcome to the forum. Many of the members gave you good recommendations but in the end it will be your choice to choose what path you will take. I suggest you consider becoming a Fisheries Biologist if you truly love studying fish or choose a profession that you will enjoy and pay you a salary well above the national average. Money is important when it comes to living comfortably, to save enough money for retirement, and for having the money needed to go on out of state fishing vacations. I would not recommend being a fishing guide, I know several who work very hard and barely make a living. The few guides that do well tend to guide as a side job and very few can make a comfortable long term living. Hard to retire comfortably as a fishing guide if you are working very hard but you barely have money for a comfortable retirement.

Fortunately I have not encountered too many airboats but the few I have encountered where annoying. There was a law passed a couple years ago that will limit the amount of air boaters in the Everglades in the long run, hopefully it will eliminate most of them. They still are not as bad as jet skiers since jet skiers drive much faster and will pass within 20 feet of you on purpose. A lot of these jet skiers do not know how to swim, and many do not wear life vest, at least in the areas I have seem them acting like fools.

We have lots of aquatic vegation in South Florida as well and I do just fine fishing with spinning gear. I do use larger than normal spinning reels so it makes it easier to muscle out the big bass out of the aquatic vegetation. My 2 favorite brands for spinning reels are Shimano and Penn.

We are fortunate to live in the fishing capital of the world where we can fish any day, week, or month we choose to. We can also dive year round if we wanted to since the water is so warm( went diving without a wet suit 2 weeks ago and the water was still warm).

Looks good

Swimbaits that I made myself.

I have to give credit to your friend for his creativity but I will stick to catching my own lobsters and eating them.

I would keep a walleye as well if I lived up north and it came from clean waters. I love eating fish, especially saltwater fish such as hogfish, yellow jack, cobia, mahi-mahi, etc.

1. Get approval from your Orthopedic or Neurosurgeon to workout and ask him/her what exercises to avoid. 2. Avoid all exercises that make your back pain worse. 3. Stay away from the leg press, its by far one of the worst exercises that can cause your back pain to increase. There are much better exercises for your lower body that does not put so much pressure on your lower back like the leg press does. 4. Never, ever push yourself to the max. Always train below your best if your goal is to be healthy and strong late in your life. 5. Understand that your health is #1 and that you have to train smart to avoid injury.

December-June is usually when I fish more for largemouth bass.

This weekend is looking good.

Bass are one of the weakest pound for pound fighters I have caught, especially here in South Florida where we have so much selection of hard fighting fish. I don't fish bass for the fight they offer, I fish for them since the big ones can be a challenge to catch on a consistent basis, they are everywhere where I live, and it is a relaxing hobby for me. If I want a real fight I fish for sharks bigger than myself while standing up( no sitting down and no fight belt for a real challenge) and I land the shark by myself without assistance.

Good subject. I have been making lures for several years now and feel that few things in fishing beat catching a big fish on your own handmade lure.

Welcome to the forum