soflabasser

My favorite reels for bass fishing are Shimano and Penn spinning reels.

Navy SEALS, Marathon runners, and other athletes wear shorts since it makes it easier to run, swim, and do other workouts. Basketball players also wear shorts, since it is an extremely athletic sport were you need to be able to move fast, long pants will not help in this sport. You do not need to wear shorts while bass fishing on a boat, since you are barely moving. If your goal is to get a good workout while bass fishing, then bank fishing is the best option. You can easily walk several miles while bank fishing, that is a good workout for anyone. If bank fishing becomes too easy, you can always run a full marathon if you are up to the challenge.

People are still catching big bass at Lake Biwa, and will continue to do so since the lake has excellent conditions for growing big bass.

I agree. Catching fish outside the mouth with jerkbaits is common since these lures usually have 6 or more hooks on them, unlike bass fishing jigs which usually only have 1 hook.

You make a good point. Running shorts are great for running and swimming, but it is better to wear long shorts or long pants to protect your skin from the sun.

Anyone who has well developed thighs and calves can pull off wearing shorts. Those with chicken legs or cottage cheese thighs should stick to wearing long pants. Bank fishing for hours is a good workout, unlike sitting on a boat and drinking beer, that is a great way to get a Hank Hill physique. lol

Coffee has caffeine, which has diuretic properties, it is one of the worst beverages you can drink while fishing in hot weather. Alcoholic beverages need to be avoided while fishing in hot weather as well. It is best to drink plenty of water and eat nutritious meals with salt while fishing if your goal is to stay well hydrated and to avoid hyponatremia. The movie Idiocracy is one of my favorite movies, since it describes how many people have behaved in the past 2.5 years. Yes, night fishing is a great time to catch big bass. I mentioned eating nutritious meals with salt and drinking water while fishing in hot weather several times in this thread. Some people will listen, others will not, let them learn from experience, since experience is the best teacher.

Well said @Tennessee Boy.

I am very familiar with night fishing, and have caught lots of big bass that way. With that said even the nights are hot and humid in South Florida during the Summer, so you still have to drink lots of water and eat nutritious meals with salt.

Hyponatremia is something that can happen to anyone that drinks too much water and not consuming enough salt. That is why I always bring nutritious meals with plenty of salt on my fishing trips. So far this has worked great, and I have caught lots of nice fish on days the temperature was over 90 degrees with +80 percent humidity.

I always make sure to bring plenty of water when I am fishing. The heat and humidity in South Florida is hard on everyone, no matter how tough you think you are, so it is best to drink lots of water. Another thing I do is I fish under trees whenever possible, since it is cooler under trees. By doing this I am able to fish several hours in high heat and humidity.

It is best to think outside the box, especially if your goal is to catch big bass in highly pressured public bodies of water.

From what I researched Bonds said he ''did not know'' the cream he used had a performance enhancing drug in it, only a fool would believe this lame excuse. Well said @BigAngus752.

You will be surprised how big bass can get in a small pond. I have caught bass over 7 pounds in ponds less than 1 acre, this happens often in many ponds in Florida. Have caught big bass in little canals as well that people drive by all the time. That is why you should never underestimate any body of water in Florida, since any decent body of freshwater in Florida has potential to have big bass. When it comes to bass fishing nothing beats catching a big bass on a topwater lure.

A largemouth bass bigger than the current world record has probably already been caught in the past by someone who did not care about world records. There are many trophy bass fishermen in Florida that have caught bigger bass than the current state record, yet they did not submit their catches to the state since they rather keep their catches private so nobody bothers them fishing. To count as a world record a bass has to be caught in the mouth, not snagged like Dottie was. Might as well count records made by performance enhancing drug abusers if you want to count a bass that was snagged. That is why Dottie will forever have a asterisk since it was snagged, just like those who break records with the help of performance enhancing drugs have a asterisk with their records. With that said, I give the angler credit for admitting he snagged the fish by mistake, it takes a honest man to admit that unlike others that snag bass or use live rainbow trout for bait, and then claim they caught big bass on a swimbait, or whatever lure they say.

BPS makes good soft plastic lures that are not overpriced like other companies. The fish do not care how much you spend, they care how you work the lure.

The rod I fish with topwaters depends on what topwater I am fishing with. I like fishing with a heavy action rod when I am fishing a large topwater, or somewhere with heavy aquatic vegetation. For smaller topwaters I like fishing with a medium heavy action rod.

Hope you have a good weekend and catch some nice fish.

I googled Rick Clunn and a saw a picture of him wearing shorts, since you mentioned it. You need to have muscular thighs to be able to wear these shorts, not chicken legs, or cottage cheese thighs, if that is the case then it is best to wear long pants...lol Well said @Basser2021. I often hike while fishing and enjoy wade fishing in the ocean, it is a good workout.

I will never forget the biggest pacu I caught either, pound for pound it fought harder than any freshwater fish I have caught, and fought harder than many saltwater fish of equal size I caught as well. Pacu are built for power, speed, and maneuverability, they are a awesome gamefish to say the least!

The best way to know how much a largemouth bass weighs is by weighing it on a accurate scale. After that you can use this formula for a close estimate of the weight of a largemouth bass; Length X Length X Girth / 1200 = Estimated weight of bass in pounds I find this formula to be accurate when I compare weighing the same bass and seeing the difference. There are other online bass weight formulas that overestimate the weight of a bass, I do not recommend those formulas.

Welcome to the forum

I am an extremely good swimmer, and I will never fish with a person that speeds on a boat. Speeding in a boat in a small body of water, or a place with a lot of boaters is one of the dumbest things anyone can do. The best of the best swimmers can easily drown if a boat flips, sadly there seems to be a percentage of boaters that think they are invincible. For example, there are clowns that speed in the narrow canals of the Everglades, these canals often have sudden depth changes with a rocky bottom, and these canals are often loaded with boaters, yet these clowns still speed. People will do whatever they want, regardless of the good advice you give them.

Your diet is by far the most important thing you need to improve on if your goal is to get lean, exercise is second. I lost a considerable amount of weight in the past 2 years, and I now have visible abs and visible veins along my arms, forearms, chest, thighs, and calves. I exercise, but most of my results came from eating a healthy diet. When it comes to fishing, I fish from the shore in freshwater, and wade fish in ocean, this type of fishing is a good workout, unlike bass fishing on a boat sitting on a chair drinking beers and eating junk food. Understand that the first couple of months of eating healthy is the hardest time, after that you get used to it, and your body will thank you for it in the long run. The typical American diet is extremely unhealthy, loaded with fat, sugar, and highly processed foods, you need to eat very little of these foods, and focus on highly nutritious foods that are good for you. Stay away from fast food, sugar, highly processed foods, eat healthy, and exercise often, and with time you will achieve your goals.

You can catch a fish on a jig on almost any body of water, so it would be wise to bring an assortment of different size jigs in any new place you plan on fishing on vacation. I prefer catching fish on topwaters above all else, so I always bring lots of topwaters when I am fishing in a new place. For the third lure I would add a lure that will work well mid water level or a couple feet below the surface. I hope you catch the fish you are after, and have a fun fishing trip.