soflabasser

There are shoal bass in some parts of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. The Alabama population is small so not many people catch shoal bass in Alabama.

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

There are plenty of young people who are very good at bass fishing and it is because they put the time on the water and do the best to improve their fishing skill. I know plenty of guys in South Florida that have never caught a 8 pound or better bass and they have fished longer than I have been alive. These guys mostly bass fish while I mostly do multi species fishing and I have lost count of the 8 pound or better bass I have caught. I have said this several times on this forum, find the best fishing partner you can and fish with them, it will challenge you and help you much more than reading and watching videos. Same here

I have caught some very nice bass when I fished 1-2 days before a big coldfront.

I agree. Knowing how to cast accurately is very useful and it is a skill you develop while fishing on the water. This skill is very useful in the Everglades where you often have to fish in thick aquatic vegetation. Knowing bass biology is very useful, especially if your goal is to catch bigger than average sized bass. Anyone can catch the 95% average size bass of a body of water, but it takes hard work to consistently catch the 5% biggest bass of a body of water you are fishing in.

If your goal is to take underwater pictures and videos then scuba diving is a fun way to do it but you still have to rely on scuba tanks and a bunch of excess gear you really do not need since you can see plenty of wildlife in less than 50 feet of water. There are spots I dive in that are less than 25 feet deep and loaded with corals, fish, lobster, and even +100 year old shipwrecks. For most people in good health it does not take much training to comfortably freedive in 25 feet of water or less, especially if you are fortunate and find a dive buddy that is willing to train you.

A lot of predatory fish are high in methylmercury and other chemicals. It is best to research what fish are safe to eat in your area and avoid eating fish that are not deemed safe. Some fish are ok to eat in small portions and you should do your best to not eat more than the recommended amount of those fish.

Scuba diving is fun but I prefer freediving. With freediving you are not weighed down by so much equipment and limited in the amount you can dive in 1 day. For example I have had many +8 hour spearfishing trips where I spent a good amount of that time freediving, with tanks you can usually only safety do 1 tank dive per trip. At one point I was able to hold my breath for over 3 minutes and was very comfortable doing dozens of 1-2 minute breathhold dives while spearfishing. Another thing is you are more of a Sportsman when you freedive when spearfishing, you give a fish a decent chance to evade you unlike scuba diving where you can easily lay motionless on the bottom and wait for the fish to come to you (try holding your breath for at least 60 seconds while you are 50 or more feet underwater and you will understand). With freediving you do not have to worry about nitrogen narcosis (unless you are an elite level freediver which is a small percentage of freedivers) and other problems associated with tank diving. You do have to be in very good shape to be a freediver which is one of the reasons people are intimated by freediving. With that said make sure to get your Doctors approval before you try scuba diving or freediving.

Thank you for posting the video. Rapala makes great lures that are effective for both freshwater and saltwater fishing.

There is a big difference between someone who gets lucky every once in a while and a person who is consistently successful in bass fishing and the main difference is successful bass fishermen tend to plan in advance their fishing trips and do the best they can to learn from every fishing trip. You cannot expect to catch quality bass often if you do not put in the work needed, same applies for anything in life. The internet has made learning about bass fishing much easier but it will never substitute knowledge gained while bass fishing.

I have several hand written journals of my favorite places I fish, productive patterns that work in specific areas, weather information, and other information I find important.

Welcome to the forum

What has helped me the most in bass fishing is putting time on the water.

I have caught bass on cutbait, chicken liver, bread, and other baits I used when targeting catfish. Some of those bass where lunker sized.

Do not fight the wind, use it to your advantage. Have caught some very nice bass on windy days.

For those who have not caught a Coosa redeye bass you can go to the Conasauga River in Tennessee since it is a good place to fish for them. Should be an easy fish to catch if you live in Tennessee. You can also catch Coosa redeye bass in Georgia and Alabama.

Welcome to the forum

I caught a couple of them since I my made my last post in this subject, they are one of my favorite black bass species to fish for. At this point in time I have caught most black bass species that have been identified and I would say the Suwannee bass has some of the reddest eyes I have seen on a black bass. They fight hard for their size and live in beautiful places so they are a fish worth catching if you enjoy bass fishing.

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That is how I feel about fishing as well. I will gladly fish for bluegills just like I will go saltwater fishing for big gamefish. I just love being on the water fishing and enjoying the outdoors.

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum

The golden gate canal is close so you can go there to fish for peacock bass, largemouth bass, various exotics, and other fish. Snook are one of my favorite fish to catch. They will hit the same lures a bass will hit and you can catch snook both in freshwater and saltwater.

There are places I fish that are walking distance from my house and others places that are in different states. Most of the time I fish places 1-4 hours away from my house.

Welcome to the forum