soflabasser

You can invite her to join you fishing and offer to make a picnic so both of you can enjoy the outdoors.

I usually bring a couple protein bars,whole wheat sandwiches,and a couple water bottles with me when I plan to fish for several hours.

Same here!Flukes work very good down here for bass.Have caught many +5 pound bass on flukes,they are great lures for both numbers and quality sized bass.

Good post Tom,I agree with you that trophy bass can suffer from post release mortality,regardless if the bass was caught on a live bait or lure.I read some post that you said you used crawfish and waterdogs with good success to get bass, but the biggest bass you caught was on a lure.

I have noticed that those who do well in saltwater fishing(both bait and lures) tend to be more accepting of using livebait in freshwater,at least here in Florida.Many of these saltwater fishermen also use lures and bait in freshwater and tend to do very well.What matters most in fishing is what you catch,not how you catch it.Ask someone who doesn't fish and they will tell you that a successful fishing trip is one where you catch lots of fish, especially big ones.

In the end what matters most is that you are having a good time catching bass. Live bait fishing is an art in itself and I have had several trips where lures out fished live bait for me since the bass were swiping the bait,yet getting hooked on the lure.

Thank you for posting this!

I do the same thing in the places I fish.If the bass are not biting you can change the presentation until you find what makes them bite.

Good deal man,glad you let her go! Good luck!

I don't mind giving a good general area to fish to someone , but you can't expect someone to give the exact spot and lure they used to get a +8 pound bass from a highly pressured lake.It was over a decade ago anyways so there's no guarantee anyone will get another +8 pounder from that park.Still a great place to fish and a great place to take your family to spend time in a beautiful park. I posted a couple reports when I joined this forum,I believe you where the first one to respond to the first one to it since you wanted to know where I was fishing. Looks like we both like to fish the same park!

I throw hard body swimbaits with success down here.They are expensive, but it's all worth it when you land a big bass.

Less than a month ago.Its common to catch 2-4 pounders there, and my biggest from that park is +8lbs. As for pictures I won't post any from that park,that will give the exact spot away.As you already know there's lots of "meat hunters" as you call them there already,so I won't give that info up in open forum buddy! Amelia is a still a great park to fish regardless what others say.Its true it's become a little more difficult compared to a decade ago,but it still holds nice fish.Just got to think outside the box when fishing a highly pressured lake.

I think you are fishing the park wrong since I still catch nice ones there almost every time I go!I release all the bass so they should still be there.

Well said Dwight! A good bass fisherman learns how to adapt to any situation they are faced with.I fish a lot of highly pressured lakes where hundreds of people fish every month,yet I still do very well since I put in my time in to learn how to catch these finicky bass.

South Florida is fishing paradise!There are few places in the world where you can catch as much variety of freshwater fish like we do down here.We also have awesome saltwater fishing which makes the fishing even better for us.

First person I would choose to fish with is my better half.My second choice would be family members.

How about studying to become a Fisheries Biologist? You can work for the state and help manage fish populations in places where people enjoy fishing.

Thank you for posting your report.Its always good to find new spots and be successful at catching fish in these places.

I bet the Arrowana was a nice surprise!I also fish for exotic fish, my favorite are the Pacu. Probably the strongest pound for pound 100 % freshwater fish we have.

The big ez's work good down here,I use them in the lakes and canals with good success.

I have over 10 spinnerbaits.They are among my favorite lures to use since they are great for covering water and catching decent sized bass.

I have been fishing Amelia for +2 decades,and in that time I have caught lots of nice sized bass there. It's gotten a little harder to fish compared to a decade ago,but I still catch nice ones often there.

Yes I have used it down here with success. I like to use it around Lily pads.

I also prefer lipping a bass when landing them and rarely use a net.

Thank you for posting you report. There's some big peacock bass in that canal.