soflabasser

It is extremely easy for someone to become a guide in Florida. Other states have different regulations so it is best to contact the appropriate parties to learn more on how to become a guide in those states. With that said New York has some of the best salmon and trout fishing on the East Coast.

Congratulations on your new personal best bass.

You mean New York? That state has very good fishing for several species of fish, especially salmon and trout.

Accept the fact that you are fishing for the biggest bass which tend to be the hardest to catch. Catching sub 5 pounders is easy, you will have to work much harder if your goal is to catch a 8 pound or bigger bass. Use proven big bass techniques and understand you are going to catch less bass but the ones you get will be worth the effort involved.

I bet catching big burbot beats catching bluegills while ice fishing. I have seen Youtube videos of people catching big muskie, pike, bass, and other species of fish. Maybe it is in a different part of country where they allow fishing for muskie during hardwater season. Some of the ice fisherman have very nice portable ice fishing shelters with a bed, TV, and even a place to cook.

I have caught big bass on Cuban Yo-Yo reels and 2 foot ice rods, it is fun but when I am serious about catching a big bass I use a heavy action rod. Maybe it is different where you live but where I live the big bass love to live in or near heavy aquatic vegetation. Open water is different and you can land big bass on much lighter tackle in these conditions.

Lol! I am amazed at the amount of people that cannot simply measure the length and the girth of the bass to get a weight estimate. Beats asking people online how much a bass weighs but I am sure they will continue to make post like these.

What about the ''guess the weight of my bass'' post? Some of them can be entertaining to read.

For me ice fishing is the polar opposite of the type of fishing I usually do which is why I would like to give it a try. Have you seen the Youtube videos of people ice fishing for burbot in Minnesota? They can grow to over 10 pounds.

That sounds fun, maybe one day I will give ice fishing a try. From what I have seen on YouTube people catch muskie, walleye, pike, trout, bass, and many other species of fish while ice fishing.

Welcome to the forum

Anyone can be a guide but not everyone can be a good teacher and consistently put people on fish.

I agree. I have several medium action rods, they are good for jerkbait fishing but not the best choice when fishing for big largemouth bass in heavy aquatic vegetation. This I know from experience and it is why I use a heavy action rod when I am specifically targeting bass 8 pounds and over. You can catch a big bass on ultralight tackle in open water but where I live you need to know how to fish in heavy aquatic vegetation if your goal is to be consistent at catching big bass.

I have caught bass when the air temperature was in the 30's all the way up to high 90's-low 100's temperatures. Have caught bass in strong cold fronts, tropical storms, and other less than ideal conditions. I go fishing whenever I am able to go and do the best I can.

Hard to pick only 1 rod and reel combo if you enjoy fishing for bass in very different areas. I have combos I use for fishing small mountain rivers for redeye bass, combos for trophy largemouth bass fishing, etc.

Georgia is the best place in the world when it comes to variety of black bass species. It is one of my favorite states to fish for bass and I will not be surprised if a future world record bass gets caught in Georgia or Florida. With that said Florida is well known as ''The Fishing Capital of The World'' and it earned that title since it has the best overall fishing opportunities.

You can tell it is Winter when people post on old threads like this one.

It is hard to beat someone who has decades of successful experience fishing a particular body of water. That is why it is best to listen to these types of fishermen if you plan on fishing the same place.

From what I researched Iowa has good fishing opportunities. Lots of hybrid striped bass can be caught in areas with current. Would like to try ice fishing on one of my vacations since it seems fun.

Lol! That is some quality sarcasm right there! Have caught several sharks over 200 pounds and can fish for them whenever I want so I guess I will have to settle for this now. Sounds good, I hope he catches a bunch of them. It is a small lake with very good access. Tell him to bring some hollow belly frogs, spinnerbaits, and trick worms.

LOL! You can keep the gloomy skies, frozen water, snow, leafless trees, and other aspects of northern winters. Only thing I like about northern winters is ice fishing and even then I much rather continue catching bass on topwaters this winter. Did your father fish the Florida lake I recommended you earlier this month? It is a good place to fish.

There is a reason why the Florida highways are packed with northerners at this moment in time. Some might like snow but most people do not enjoy miserably cold temperatures, frozen water, gloomy skies, and leafless trees. Hurricanes rarely do direct hits where I live and even when they do it only takes a couple days for things to be back to normal unlike northern winters which seem to last for 4-6 months every single year. Big northern winter storms often have 50 mph or stronger winds which causes the power to go out, not a good thing when the temperature is below freezing. Besides I like topwater fishing and that is hard to do when the water is frozen.

It would be best to find other fish to put in your pond. Muskie and pike grow large and will require a large amount of food to keep healthy. The water temperature might get too warm in the Summer which is not good for these northern fish.

This thread reminds me how fortunate I am living in South Florida where I can fish any month I want and not worry about snow or frozen water.

I have caught lots of trout on inline spinners and 6 pound test line. Live worms is another good choice.