soflabasser

Soft stickbaits are good lures for small to medium sized bass. You can also catch large bass with these lures. Other choices are inline spinners, small crankbaits, and other small lures.

I am a strong swimmer and I will not go swimming after a lure. There are other ways to retrieve a lure that are safer.

All the Northern largemouth bass I caught seem to have a much duller coloration compared to the Florida largemouth bass I catch, especially when compared to some Florida largemouth bass I caught in deep clear lakes of South Florida. I have caught Florida largemouth bass that where golden colored, with very light bellies and the patterns on the sides that where much more vibrant on these bass than bass from low visibility waters. There are pictures online of Florida largemouth bass from deep clear waters of South Florida but those pictures do not compare to seeing how truly beautiful these bass are in person.

A lot of places I fish has hydrilla and I do well fishing topwaters over it.

Florida largemouth bass grow larger and have a more beautiful coloration than a Northern largemouth bass. You can count the lateral line scales but it might not be accurate. Best way to know is to send a fin tissue sample to a Fishery Biologist of the state you caught the bass in.

During the Fall and Winter I see American bald eagles in some of the places I fish in Florida. This past November I saw an American bald eagle swoop down to a river and catch a bass. They are beautiful birds and they are a sign of a healthy ecosystem.

Welcome to the forum

Have caught bass on topwaters in water that was over 20 feet deep.

Welcome to the forum

I have over 20 rod and reel combos and usually bring 1 to 4 combos when bass fishing. Have had great fishing trips when fishing with only 1 rod for the day.

I have caught lots of nice bass on Booyah spinnerbaits.

Fishing from land is much harder than fishing from a boat so take that into consideration when deciding what tackle to use. In a boat you can get away with using 15 pound test braid but that might not be the best line choice when you are fishing from land in an area with lots of rocks and other obstacles that can break your line. A lot of guys that use 15 pound test braid get break offs often and leave fish with hooks in their mouth, you want to avoid doing that. You also stress the fish too much when you catch them on light line which is another reason you should use at least 30-50 pound test braid when fishing from the shore. With that said I like using 30-50 pound test braid with a heavy mono leader and will use strait mono line in areas with lots of snags. I have caught dozens of +40'' snook, redfish over 45'', tarpon, jacks, barracudas, sharks, and many other big fish while fishing inshore.

I have caught common carp in the mouth with crankbaits. Most people think common carp are a native species but they are not, they are originally from Europe.

Well said @whitwolf. Time on the water is the best teacher but you can learn a lot from members in this forum.

I have over 20 rods but I usually only bring 1 to 4 rods with me when I go fishing. Have had some great bass fishing trips fishing with 1 rod and focusing on 1 technique that works well in the area I was fishing in.

Hold out the fish as far from your body as possible with one hand and hold the camera close to your body with the other hand. Have taken many pictures of big bass being weighed this way and the pictures come out good.

Welcome to the forum

Have caught lots of bass in areas with large populations of gar and carp.

Live Target and Booyah are my favorite types of hollow belly frogs.

Nice catches.

I have caught many carp on bread balls.

I once caught the same bass on at least 4 different occasions and have caught other bass multiple times.

I have caught lots of nice fish fishing in places with clear water with braid. If the fish are very picky I sometimes use 6-8 pound test mono and that works very well for me.

I have caught wahoo, yellowtail snapper, tripletail, dolphin, and many other saltwater fish. They are delicious but for me the best tasting fish I have eaten are hogfish that I caught spearfishing and ate the same day.

8 pounds is big enough to be on TrophyCatch so I would call that a trophy bass, especially if caught from land in public waters in South Florida. Any bass over 18 inches or 3 pounds is a quality bass anywhere in the nation.