soflabasser

Good report, thank you for posting it. I agree that topwater fishing is the best and most exiting way to catch a bass or any other species of fish.

Wait until you get into big game fishing for billfish, tuna, and sharks, freshwater bass fishing will never be the same.

Last year I caught a +26.5'' trophy bass from land on a topwater right after a nasty storm. It was raining heavily throughout that day, very gloomy, and windy. It was the type of weather that 99% of bass fishermen would of given up but I know better not to leave when I know theres a good chance at catching a bass thats worth the effort fishing for.

This weekend I fished a body of water where I can see bass swimming on the bottom of 15 feet of water from land. I would say that is considered clear water.

Come to South Florida if you want to see some of the clearest freshwater bodies of water in the USA. Most of the places I fish has +10 foot water visibility , with a couple places of +20 feet water visibility. The water is even more clear in natural springs such as the ones found in Central Florida where the water visibility can be +50 feet near the head of the spring. In these places bass can see every little mistake you make so you have to be more careful compared to fishing in water with less than 5 foot water visibility. I tend to well in low light conditions in these clear waters and prefer fishing during overcast, rainy , lowlight conditions over bright sunny conditions. When it gets real hot I tend to bass fish more at night and you will be surprised the size of the bass that bite at night that might not bite during the day.

You are welcome @YoTone , glad I was able to help you in your quest to catch your first peacock bass. Yes the waters down here are very clear for the most part and the bass tend to be much more difficult to catch than up north. On my most recent vacation up north I noticed that smallmouth are much easier to catch than peacock bass down here, but both species are very similar in what lures they bite. Did you try jerkbaits for peacock bass when you fished the areas that I mentioned ? Peacocks bass love jerk baits and there are plenty of days you can catch more peacock bass on jerk baits than most lures. Topwaters are a excellent choice as well as crank baits and prop baits such as the Heddon torpedo. As for line choice I tend to use 8-12 pound big game monofilament for peacock bass and haven't seem much of a difference in bites compared to fluorocarbon, even in bodies of water with +15 feet water visibility which we have several of.

I have fished a week in a row several times in my life but not much longer than that. As much as I love fishing it can be a bit too much if its all I do for fun. I have other hobbies and I like to give them time as well.

I fish for snakeheads as well in South Florida , but a different species called the bullseye snakehead and they hit a topwater so hard that they make bass look like tame puppies. The big ones fight with surprising strength for a freshwater fish and I can compare the initial power of a +8 pound snakehead to a decent snook heading to the mangroves.How was the peacock bass fishing on your vacation? Did you go to the places I mentioned in the response I gave to you in your PM and did you catch some nice ones? Looking towards to your report!

Well said @islandbass! Multi species fishing is far more fun than just sticking to 1 species of fish. I love to bass fish but there is no denying other species of fish fight harder and can be more of a challenge to catch than bass. I like to travel for fishing and have been doing it more often since it gives me the opportunity to catch new species of fish that I have only seen in pictures before. Last year I caught my first muskie, this year I caught more muskies, my first couple smallmouth bass, white bass, freshwater drum, and other new species, I could not do that if I didn't venture out of my comfort zone and just stick to bass fishing in South Florida. I plan on traveling to South America, Asia, and other parts of the world to catch exotic fish, both freshwater and saltwater. Got to enjoy life before I am too old to enjoy it!

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum

Try using the uni knot to attach the lure to the line and the uni to uni knot to attach a leader to the mainline. Always check the line for abrasions and cut off any line that is not in good condition.

I am more of a multi species fisherman than a bass fisherman so I would say I probably fish 80% or more for other species of fish. Have caught several double digit bass,hundreds of bass over 6 pounds,and plan on bass fishing for the rest of my life.

Hiking is one of my favorite outdoor sports and a good way to find good fishing spots.

Congratulations on a nice salmon.

Welcome to the forum

You know you are master angler when.... You are doing better than most of the local bass fishing guides in your area. You are consistently catching big bass in tough conditions when others are complaining about how bad the conditions are. You catch more state citation sized fish in 1 year of fishing than most catch in 10 years of fishing. You have people offering you free boat fishing trips so you can put them on fish. You go out of your way to teach children and good people how to fish and you do it for free since you enjoy seeing the smile on their face when they are catching fish.

Congratulations on your PB smallmouth bass.

30 pound test braid is more than enough for me to pull +8 pound bass out of heavy cover but you can use heavier braid if you want.

A hollow belly frog such as a Live Target Frog.

There was this guy I met fishing in the Everglades that swore he caught lots of smallmouth bass where we where fishing. I told him there was no smallmouth in South Florida and that he was most likely catching warmouths. Showed him a picture of a warmouth on my phone and he quickly realized he was not catching smallmouth bass in the Everglades.People need to study fish biology more since its a important part of being a well rounded fisherman.

Welcome back to the forum

I honestly feel hurricane Irma was overhyped and had a feeling it wasn't going to compare to hurricane Wilma, let alone Hurricane Andrew. The light only went out for 8 hours in my area and the damage it caused was typical of a low category 1 hurricane. The canal by my house didn't even flood to the street, with hurricane Wilma the canal was +2 feet of water over the road and you could not tell where the canal started or ended in many places. I give hurricane Irma a 3 out of 10, hurricane Wilma a 5 out of 10, and hurricane Andrew a 10 out of 10. We did get some +100mph gust in my area, which was interesting to see since it's been over 12 years since I have seen that.

Welcome to the forum

Couple months ago on vacation I caught a couple of smallmouth bass in a river that had low 40 degree water so high 60's/low 70's degree water should be more than good enough to catch fish in a river.