soflabasser

Good selection of lures for river fishing.

More people travel to fish for big Florida largemouth bass than they do for traveling for smallmouth bass. For example many Northerners spend thousands of dollars every year to travel to Florida, Texas, California, Mexico, and other places to catch big Florida largemouth bass. Many bass fishermen have caught +30 pound 5 fish limits of largemouth bass but not many have caught +30 pound 5 fish limits of only smallmouth bass.

Shimano and Penn

Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass have been introduced in many places outside their natural range and most members on this forum would agree that they like catching these fish, even if these fish are not living in their natural range. I have caught tarpon they are fun but I rather fish for big sharks if my only goal is to catch a hard fighting fish. If you could only pick 1, largemouth bass or smallmouth bass which one would you choose? I would choose largemouth bass since they grow larger than smallmouth bass. In South Florida you have a good chance at catching a 20 inch or bigger peacock bass in almost any freshwater canal or lake and the average size is around 12-17 inches.

Black bass do not fight much compared to other freshwater fish. A average peacock bass will give a much better fight pound for pound than any black bass species. Peacock bass are a species of cichlid and black bass are sunfish so both are not true bass (striped bass, white bass, white perch, yellow bass). One of the hardest fighting sunfish is the bluegill, they fight harder than any equal sized black bass.

Largemouth bass grow larger and can be caught in more places.

Topwaters, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, various soft plastics, and jigs.

The easiest way to catch a peacock bass is when they are on a nest. It is way too easy. In fact you can catch them on a bare hook when they are nesting. What I find hilarious is that some fly fishermen I have met have bragged to me about how they catch peacock bass on a fly and they admit these where peacock bass that where on a nest. There are times live bait works best and other times lures work best. You have to give both styles of fishing an equal amount of effort to truly know which style will work best on any day.

I mostly use a medium heavy rod when fishing with jerkbaits.

The best bass fishermen I have known focus on mastering a couple techniques well and they put in the time on the water needed to succeed. They rarely purchase tackle that is ''trendy'' or tackle that some sponsored fisherman tells them to buy, instead they purchase tackle that has proven itself to them or they know will work in the places they fish. Experience is far more valuable than any rod, reel, lure, or other tackle you can buy.

Is this one of those magazines with top 10 best bass fishing locations and those list are incorrect? You have a better chance at catching a 8 pound or bigger bass in any decent lake in Florida compared to a northern lake in New York, Nebraska, Indiana, or other Northern state where a 6-7 pound bass is considered a trophy bass. Florida, Georgia, Texas, and California have the best bass fishing in the USA and should dominate any top 10 list of best places to bass fish in the USA. There are so many ways you can learn about bass fishing for free that it makes no sense to pay for information that might be incorrect or biased.

I am 100% certain that the bass you showed is a northern largemouth bass. It is a nice fish but not a hybrid black bass, or any other type of black bass besides a northern largemouth bass. I have caught many northern largemouth bass with what appears to be proportionally smaller mouths but that is because these bass where well fed and had a larger than normal girth. You should see the mouth of a 26 inch or bigger Florida largemouth bass, you will be able to fit your whole fist and maybe 2 fist in its mouth.

Buzzbaits are a good lure for bass fishing but there are times another topwater lure will work better. Poppers, propbaits, wakebaits, hollow belly frogs, and other topwaters all have a time they work best in.

Looks like a good place to fish with jigs.

The fish you are holding in your hands is a northern largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides).

Booyah makes very good spinnerbaits. Choose one that is best for the place you are fishing in.

I agree with you. That is why there are so many problems in the world, too many greedy people taking advantage of others for a quick buck. People that overcharge in a situation like this are worth less than garbage.

I use medium heavy and heavy action rods for most of my bass fishing.

I could care less what lure is considered ''trendy'' or what some sponsored YouTuber tells me what to use. I have been fishing long enough and caught enough fish to know that it is best to fish with lures that have proven themselves to me. Trends come and go but old school techniques work as good today as they did many years ago.

This has been an extremely active year for hurricanes. Right now there are a couple storms that have potential to become hurricanes and it is currently the peak of hurricane season. Let's see what happens in the next couple months.

Smoking is disgusting. I will never invite someone that will smoke next to me while fishing.

topwater

I would put bucktail jigs and other types of jigs in a survival kit.

I have sky dived before and had a good time. I can see how someone who is very adventurous would like this hobby enough to spend thousands of dollars on the gear like one of my friends did. I am glad to have had the opportunity to have done it and still have the sky diving certificate they give when you complete your first jump.

I have done a lot of inshore fishing and enjoy fishing with a 7 foot rod with a size 4000 spinning reel. It would be a good idea to choose a reel that can handle being dunked into saltwater, has a good drag system, and is easy to clean.