soflabasser

I wrote this +10 months ago and will still write the same today, next year, or +10 years later. Saltwater jigs are excellent lures for snook and it is hard to beat a 8-12'' live mullet if your goal is to catch a 40'' or better snook. Have caught +40'' snook on lures but live bait is a better option. Make sure to use a thick mono leader since snook have a sharp gill plate that can easily cut though braid and light mono.

They could if you are using a small reel or do not have enough line capacity. A giant barracuda could spool a size 4000 reel and you would be better off using a size 6000 spinning reel if your goal is to target +50'' barracudas. Have caught muskies well over 40'' on 30 pound test line and they barely pulled more than 10-20 yards of line, an equal sized barracuda will pull much more than that.

Barracuda are far more powerful than any Esox species but all these fish are fun to catch. Yes barracuda are brave fish. They have very little fear and are known for following spearfishermen to steal the catch.

I grew up in South Florida and enjoy catching muskies when on vacation up north. They remind me of barracudas which are one of my favorite fish to catch.

Sounds like you learned how good Berkeley Trilene Big Game Mono is! It is my favorite mono for both freshwater and saltwater fishing since this line has great knot strength, abrasion resistance, and it is cheap.

Welcome back to the forum

Welcome to the forum

I have encountered several people like you described and the best thing you can do is ignore them and do not talk to them. These are sad, pathetic people who have nothing better to do than to bother a person fishing. All we can do is adapt since we will be seeing more negative behavior as the population keeps growing.

Welcome to the forum

Good advice. I find it funny how northerners think they can waltz on in to Florida and expect to catch a 8 pound or better bass on the first day of fishing in Florida. Even with a very good guide you are not guaranteed a big bass. Yes some get lucky but it is not common. You really have to earn a bass in Florida, especially from public waters during the Summer. Northern strain largemouth bass are definitely easier to catch compared to Florida strain bass at least based on my experience. Fishing at night can be a game changer, as well as learning how to fish heavy aquatic vegetation.

Fish at night

The fish that @dh1337 described does not sound like a plecostomus. He said the fish had long whiskers and smooth skin, those are 2 traits plecostomus and similar species do not have since plecostomus tend to have rough skin and short whiskers. I have caught vermiculated sailfin catfish, Orinoco sailfin catfish, brown hoplo, walking catfish, other species of exotic catfish, and none sound like what he is describing. With that said, the fish sounds like it is a very unique fish to catch.

Earlier this month I did a +800 mile long road trip to catch new species of fish to add to my fish lifelist. The trip was a success and I was able to catch several new species. I plan on doing more road trips in the future since I enjoy multi species fishing.

The catfish above is a vermiculated sailfin catfish. It does not fit the exact description you gave earlier in the thread. It would be best to take pictures of the catfish you saw and even better to catch it and take several pictures. Try fishing with fresh cut bait and see if it will bite. It might be a rare species of exotic catfish which would be a very nice fish to catch.

Sounds good. I might be able to identify the species for you if you take a good picture. Are the whiskers long or short? Does the skin appear to be smooth or does it appear to be armored skin? Need to see a good picture of this fish to help you identify it.

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Florida is full. On average we get +900 people a day moving to Florida. Go to Southern California, you can catch lots of big bass there. Texas is also a great place for big bass.

Welcome to the forum

A trophy hunter is a trophy hunter whether he is bass fishing, deer hunting, or some other form of hunting. The regular population of a certain animal is easy to catch but the most wary ones are not. A trophy buck in a highly pressured area is difficult to catch just like a trophy bass from public waters. Yes someone can get lucky and catch a trophy bass but not many bass fishermen are consistent at catching big bass and it shows just like the less stealthy deer hunters catch less big bucks.

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Are you suggesting that trophy bass are as easy to catch as a small to regular sized bass in Florida? If that is the case you are incorrect. I grew up in Florida and have +24 years experience fishing for bass. I have friends who have fished for +50 years and we all agree a 8 pound or better bass is not something you catch every day like sub 8 pounders that are a dime a dozen. It is common to catch several 4-6 pounders on a fishing trip but to say trophy bass are as common as regular sized bass is incorrect. Yes Florida is the ''Bass Fishing Capital Of The World'' but even then it is not guaranteed that every Florida bass angler has a PB bass of 8 pounds or better. There are even less people with 10 pound PB's and far fewer people with 13 pound or better PB's. Even in this forum there are several skilled Florida bass fishermen who do not have a 10 pound bass PB from Florida so it shows that Florida trophy bass are not as easy to catch as some might think. I release all the trophy bass I catch and most Florida bass fishermen do the same. All you need is a couple pictures of the bass showing the length and girth and a beautiful replica can be made so there is no need to harvest a bass to put it on the wall.

I enjoy multi species fishing more than just bass fishing. I do microfishing, biggame fishing, freedive spearfishing, and many other forms of fishing. Those redbreast sunfish are very fun to catch on light tackle.

Jerkbaits, crankbaits, and paddletail swimbaits will catch all the fish you mentioned and many more species of fish.

Well said

I hunt both on land and in the water and plan on hunting for the rest of my life. No tree hugger or vegan will convince me to stop hunting and eating meat.