soflabasser

There are a couple places I fish that are next to busy roads. It is not very peaceful but on a good day I can catch over 100 fish all on artificials. To me that is much better than staying at home.

I rather go fishing than stay home and I am sure most of us here feel that way.

I have seen more people fishing now than I have seen in the +20 years I have fished. Many of those people are very rude and like to follow the ''bent rod pattern'' if they see you catch a fish. Let's hope fishing is a fad for those people and things return to normal next year.

Plenty of northern rivers remain open during the Winter so you should be able to fish. Powerplant lakes are another place to fish.

I have known fishermen that fish with Cuban Yo-Yo reels and they catch better fish than most people. A skilled fisherman tends to do well with almost any gear they use while unskilled fisherman tend to struggle even with expensive gear.

A reel is more important especially when targeting large fish.

Make sure to use very sharp hooks.

20 or more muskies in a season is good amount for any muskie fisherman. It is impressive that Mr. Sommerfeld caught 200 muskies in a season. I have seen several videos of people catching multiple muskies in a day both from land and on a boat.

I grew up in South Florida and have seen thousands of alligators, crocodiles, and caimans in the places I have fished. In that time I have seen alligators over 14 feet and crocodiles up to 16 feet. Have dived next to alligators and crocodiles along other animals. With that said a legit 12 foot or bigger alligator is not a common sight and it is something I stop fishing to watch to appreciate. They are impressive animals and I am glad to see them when I go fishing.

Alligators over 12 feet in length are rare animals to see in the wild and most people overestimate the size of the alligators they see. Any alligator over 10 feet is a very large one and average size alligator I see is around 4-10 feet. One way to estimate the length of alligators is to see the distance between the midpoint of the eyes to the midpoint of the nostrils. For example if there is 12 or more inches between the eyes and nostrils of alligator then there is a good chance the alligator you saw is over 12 feet in length.

Earlier this week I saw one of the biggest alligators I have seen while fishing. It was easily over 12 feet and very healthy. I respect them and enjoy seeing them since I know they are an important part of the ecosystem.

Have caught walleye, they are fun to catch and taste good. Ugly Stiks are well known for being abuse resistant and long lasting rods. I got several of them that are +20 years old and I still fish with them, especially for saltwater fishing.

I have been fishing for over 20 years, caught over 200 species of fish and I find Ugly Stiks to be very good. I do own expensive gear but there are times I prefer fishing with Ugly Stik rods and similar priced reels. Besides it is more important how you fish than what gear you own.

I fish for bass mostly on the shore with spinning reels. Both braid and monofilament lines have times they do best. For example braid is best when fishing near heavy aquatic vegetation and monofilament is best when fishing near abrasive structure such as rocks, bridge pillings, and other structure that monofilament can handle better than braid. Light monofilament can sometimes help when fishing in very clear bodies of water with lots of fishing pressure.

I prefer a Rebel Pop-R or similar popper over a Hula popper. Using light line may help in pressured bodies of water.

Pound for pound a peacock bass is a much better fighter than any black bass.

Lots of fishermen have caught muskies and other large fish on a Shimano Calcutta 200B. If you want you can fish with a larger size if you feel more comfortable with it.

The current plays a bigger role but there is a limit how much current can help. On average a 8 pound or bigger bass in a calm lake is going to fight harder than a 4 pound or smaller bass caught in a river, this I know from experience.

I remember that as well. This has been the most active year of hurricanes in recorded history and hurricane season does not end until at least November 30. At this moment in time it appears that Hurricane Delta might hit Texas and Louisiana. The path can always change and let's hope the hurricane gets weaker. The mountains usually do a good job at weakening any storm so you guys might just get a lot of rain. It is better than having to deal with +100 mph winds.

Luxilus chrysocephalus

I have fished ponds less than 1 acre that where loaded with bass up to 8 pounds or so. Average size bass in these ponds is 1-3 pounds. What is most important is how much bait fish are in the pond for the bass to eat and if people release the big bass so they can continue growing.

Fish that live in current tend to be stronger for their size but they still use the current to their advantage. For example a snook fights harder in a inlet with a strong current than a equal sized snook in a canal with little to no current. Same can be said for other species of fish in similar situations.

Hurricane Delta shares many similarities to Hurricane Wilma which I lived though in 2005. It rained so much that in many places you could not tell where the canals where since the water flooded over the roads. Both hurricanes grew rapidly and both where very powerful hurricanes. Hopefully Hurricane Delta decreases in strength and we don't have any more hurricanes this year. I know California is having massive wildfires (first ''gigafire'' in modern history in Northern California) at this moment in time so there is bad weather on both sides of the coast.

Sounds like a fun fishing trip.

Smallmouth bass in a river use the current to their advantage which makes them fight harder compared to a equal sized smallmouth in calm water.