soflabasser

Try fishing with a paddle tail swimbait near the bottom and around structure.

Welcome to the forum

It came out good!

Fish with the gear that makes you happy. For some that means expensive gear, for others they do very well with gear that cost less.

You can have a replica made based on the photo you provided if you want or make an enlarged photo of your PB bass and put it on your wall.

Weightless soft plastics can be very effective in pressured waters.

Welcome to the forum

I fish the ned rig like a jig and have done well with that technique.

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum

Try fishing on the bottom with a trick worm or other bottom lure and see if the bass will bite it more than the chain pickerel.

I think the jerkbait is one of the best lures you can use for bass and you can catch fish on them during all seasons with open water. Have caught bass on jerkbaits on cold windy days just like I have caught them on calm sunny days.

Nice walleye. I caught a walleye in a river that gave a decent fight for its size but I would not consider it a strong fighting fish. Have caught bass of more or less equal size that fought much harder. Most people fish for walleye for food so what matters most is that they taste good.

That man was very kind to give you that reel for your birthday. I hope you have fun fishing with that reel and catch lots of nice fish with it.

When fishing with braid I mostly use 30 pound test and use 50 pound test if needed.

Congratulations on your new personal best bass.

Spinnerbaits are one of my favorite lures to use since there is so many ways to fish with it. The bass bite spinnerbaits year round in Florida so I always have a couple spinnerbaits in my tacklebox.

Nice snakehead @hawgenvy. Bullseye snakehead are one of my favorite fish to catch in South Florida. They fight hard, hit the same lures a bass hits, and can grow to over 10 pounds. The big ones fight like a snook trying to get into cover and snook is another fish I enjoy catching. I catch snakeheads on frog lures but they will also hit spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, jerkbaits, and other lures.

The uni knot is a very easy knot to tie and it is very reliable.

Fish with the type of reel you enjoy fishing with the most. I prefer using spinning reels for most of the fishing I do. It is a common misconception to think spinning reels cannot catch big bass or other big fish. I have caught +8 pound bass, +40 inch snook, +40 inch muskie, sharks, and other big fish on spinning reels I use for bass fishing.

Welcome to the forum

Make sure your hooks are sharp and sharpen or throw away any hooks that are not sharp. The hooks you are using have to be the appropriate size for the soft plastic you are using. Using smaller size soft plastics can increase the hookup ratio if the bass are small or very picky.

Welcome to the forum

Try catching a big fish on a jig in running water. When the fish hits it often feels like you got stuck on the bottom then the fish starts moving and the drag starts screaming.

I have enough experience to know that a good landing net is worth it's weight in gold. Have landed several ''fish of a lifetime'' with my landing nets and will continue using them.