soflabasser

Weather has been beautiful this whole week and looks good for this weekend where I live.

I have seen alligators, crocodiles, Florida panthers, Burmese pythons, cottonmouths, otters, and other animals in the places I fish in.

People can spend their money on whatever lures makes them happy. I personally rather invest in lures I know work well in the places I fish.

People will most likely buy it just to say they own it.

I have caught many big bass while fishing for other species.

My favorite reels are Penn and Shimano.

I enjoy weight lifting, running, spearfishing, gardening, and other hobbies.

I use heavy action rods for bullseye snakehead fishing and recommend the same to anyone who wants to fish for them in South Florida. Big snakeheads fight like a snook going to the mangroves so you need to have strong tackle.

Most of the 8 pound or bigger Florida largemouth bass I caught gave a decent fight for their size but nothing compared to an equal sized saltwater fish which are far more powerful. Bigger bass fight harder than smaller bass but any size bass is capable of jumping out of the water.

A true budget lure is a lure you can catch a lot of fish on. For example a Rebel Pop-R can catch dozens of fish. Most soft plastics are not the best budget lures since they usually tear by the time you catch a couple of fish.

There are young men who are mature and old men who have mid life crisis who try too hard to act young so it is best not to criticize someone just because they are young. If you do that then you are no better than an old man who screams ''get off my lawn'' to someone who is not even on the lawn. Any person fishing private private property and bragging about it is setting a bad example.

There are places I fish that I catch big gizzard shad on lures while fishing for other species of fish.

A lot of Youtubers are fake people once you get to know them in person. That is why it is best to not take many of them serious. There are good fishing Youtubers which I am subscribed to so not all of them are clowns like the ones mentioned earlier in this thread.

My favorite lures are topwaters.

@jimmyjoe I fish large saltwater lures on my spinning rods with powepro and catch lots of nice fish that way. It does help to workout your arms since it makes fishing easier.

I agree it is best to make sure the spool is not overfilled.

What size spinning reels do you use? I use powerpro on my size 4000 spinning reels and it works great.

Congratulations on your new personal best bass.

Bass fishing is just like other hobbies where people have different opinions on what is ''the best gear''. It is ok to have different opinions since the world would be a boring place if everyone liked the same things. I have done well enough in bass fishing were I have no need to hire a guide or have the need for custom bass fishing rods. I do have 1 custom bass rod that was given to me as a gift. It is nice rod but I prefer my other rods. With that said a person can buy as many custom rods as they want if it makes them happy. Saltwater fishing is different since the fish are much more powerful so a custom rod can make a big difference. For example you will need to buy a custom rod if you want a 10 foot rod that can handle a 12/0 Penn Senator or bigger reel for land based shark fishing.

When it comes to bass fishing there are many mass produced rods than are better for the money than a custom rod. For saltwater fishing a custom rod might be better. For example many shark fishermen like to fish with a custom 10 foot rod made specifically for land based fishing.

Megabass jerkbaits are very good and lots of people catch nice fish on these jerkbaits. For those people these jerkbaits are worth it. With that said I do extremely well with jerkbaits that cost less than half the price of a Megabass so I will continue fishing the ones I have. I do buy +$20 lures for saltwater fishing since those lures are larger and built stronger.

One of my favorite lures to fish in running water is a jig with a soft plastic. Fish it slow enough that you are bumping the bottom. You will lose a couple jigs but it is worth it since you will have a very good chance at catching nice fish.

Nice redfish. They are one of my favorite inshore fish to catch.

Best time of day to fish is whenever you have time to fish.

Trucks or SUV with bright headlights seem to be very popular for those with a mid life crisis just like a sport car or jeep with a bright color.