soflabasser

Today it was 96 degrees Fahrenheit with +85 percent humidity where I was fishing. I made sure to drink plenty of water and fished mostly in the shade. I had a great time fishing and watching an alligator, several species of birds, and fireworks in front of me with the sunset.

Lake Okeechobee is a great lake to bass fish but there are many other lakes in Florida that are much better. There are several lakes in Central/Northern Florida where 10 pound and bigger bass are caught every week. From what I read the Clear Lake hitch is one of the fish bass eat in Clear Lake. That is why lots of people that fish in Clear Lake fish with lures with similar colors to a Clear Lake hitch.

What is the biggest bass they caught out of Clear Lake this year? This year in Florida a man caught a 15 pound, 14 ounce bass out of Orange Lake, Florida. There has been at least 15 bass that where 13 pounds or bigger that where submitted this year to Florida's TrophyCatch program and today it is only July 1st. Several hundreds of 8-13 pound bass have been submitted this year as well. Many people do not submit their catches so the real number of trophy bass caught in Florida is much higher. If you like catching large numbers of bass the Everglades is hard to beat.

I do not use line conditioner either and do just fine without it.

Usually with age comes experience but there are exceptions. I know many young fisherman that are very talented and others that have bass fished for +40 years and rarely catch big bass. It really depends on the individual and how much they are willing to work to improve themselves in bass fishing.

I agree with you and Catt. It seems that a lot of beginner fishermen get into tournament fishing too early before they able to catch a 5 bass limit on a consistent basis. It is best to know how to fish a couple lures very well than to fish dozens of lures and not fish them well.

Thank you for your response. I will do more research on the shirt you recommended along with other shirts.

Good video. Thinking of getting long sleeve fishing shirts and sun gloves. Thank you for posting this. Do you feel this uv blocking shirt will keep you cool in +90 degree heat and +85 percent humidity?

I have caught bluefish on thick mono leader but prefer using tieable wire leader.

It is best to ignore these types of problematic people and not speak to them. They are very inconsiderate and do not care for anyone but themselves. I rather fish in places I can fish in peace than deal with people that cause unnecessary problems since they have boring lives. Like anywhere in the country there are good people and bad people. Some will let you fish behind their house as long as you are respectful. Others are not so nice and unreasonable to say the least. Best thing to do is be respectful, clean any mess you make, and leave if they cause problems. You need to show them fishermen are good people so they let responsible fishermen fish in peace. If not they will put more no fishing signs in areas that allowed fishing before and you will not be allowed to fish these places again.

Congratulations on your new personal best bass.

Congratulations on your 56th anniversary. A man's wife should always be his best friend and #1 fishing partner.

Sounds like you encountered a Karen. They have nasty attitudes and many of them think their pet dog is more important than a person. Best thing you can do is not talk to them and ignore them.

I have wade fished for bass in many states and have done well. What helped me was being as quiet as possible and moving slowly while casting lures in areas the bass where waiting.

The fish you are holding in your hands is a largemouth bass.

It is better to know how to fish a couple lures well than fish dozens of types of lures and not fish them well.

In my experience I catch more bass per trip when I am using medium to fast presentations. Have had days I have caught over 100 bass and lost count of +50 bass days. Have caught +30 pound 5 bass limits and bass over 10 pounds. When it comes to big bass I have caught them with slow presentations to very fast presentations. A reaction style presentation can be very effective for big bass in highly pressured waters.

Florida has great white sharks, tiger sharks, bull sharks, hammerhead sharks, Goliath groupers, barracudas, and other saltwater fish that can be very dangerous. Bull sharks are caught in freshwater canals in Florida so you have to be careful when canal fishing, especially if you are fishing a canal close to the ocean. There is a healthy population of alligators, crocodiles, Burmese pythons, and other animals you need to look out for when fishing.

The last 2 bass you posted are also smallmouth bass.

I caught a 7.5 foot lemon shark on a size 4000 spinning reel and medium action bass rod from land. In freshwater I caught a big pacu on a size 1000 spinning reel from land. Have caught other big fish on light tackle but these 2 catches are some of the most memorable light tackle catches for me so far.

Well said. I have taught many people how to fish since I enjoy helping others. Some of those people took advantage of my generosity which is no surprise since there are many greedy people in this world. These are the people I do not invite fishing with me again even if they payed me. Others are grateful for my help, contribute back equally, and respect the environment, those are the type of people I invite again. Those with no morals do not care for anyone but themselves. They will do anything to make a quick buck. They will take advantage of someone's generosity if it means it gives them even the smallest advantage. It is best to associate yourself with honorable people and weed out the greedy ones.

You should see the spawning colors of a big Copperhead bluegill from a clear body of water in South Florida. These fish have the most beautiful coloration of any bluegill variety I have seen. There are other species of sunfish that have beautiful colors such as the redbreast sunfish, longear sunfish, dollar sunfish, and other highly colorful species of sunfish.

With the current situation lots of people that barely used to fish are now fishing often. A lot of those fishermen do not seem to care for the environment and they leave trash behind. These people are not real Outdoorsmen, they are just people who fish to have something to do. A real Outdoorsman respects the environment and makes sure to pick up any trash he has.

Throughout the years I have noticed that Summer is a better time for topwater fishing for me than April-May in the places I fish in South Florida. I am familiar with Ocala and the northern part of Florida since I have fished across the state for bass and many other species of fish. Have caught several species of bass in Florida in my fishing vacations.

In South Florida I catch bass on topwaters in every single month of the year. Throughout the years Summer has been a great time for topwater fishing for me. The largemouth bass where I fish in South Florida are 100% Florida largemouth bass. I have fished cold mountain rivers and I have caught lots of nice bass with small lures and light line. Fishing under trees with topwaters is a good technique to use during the Summer.