soflabasser

Nice 7 pounder. It is refreshing to see a picture of a bass properly measured on a measuring board like the 23 incher above. I prefer seeing pictures like these versus pictures of long arm bass inches away from the camera lens or wide angle lenses which will make a 5 pound bass look like its +10 pounds. No need for long arming, wide angle lenses, or other deceptive photo tricks when a bass is a decent size of 5 pounds or bigger. Looks like you need to get a longer measuring board which is a good thing.

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Looks like the same black bass regulation that in effect for the South Florida region. ''Meat hunters'' tend to prefer small to medium sized bass since they taste better than big bass which tend to have a muddy or grassy taste. ''Trophy hunters'' are the ones that might keep trophy bass to mount on the wall. Sounds like those 2 bodies of water are very popular and are highly pressured. As for 100 fish days I have done that in the Everglades and lots of people keep bass from those waters so keeping a legal limit of bass does not seem to have much effect in bass populations in the Everglades. Let's see what happens in the long run.

I agree chicken liver is a good bait for catfish.

The ''catch and fillet'' and ''catch and mount to the wall'' crowds can present a problem to any trophy bass fishery in our state. You can talk to the state to voice your opinion if you want. That is one of the downsides of living in the Fishing Capital of the World but I still prefer living here than living in northern states with bitter cold winters. Does the regulations allow harvesting bass over 18 inches and how many of them over 18 inches does the law allow to harvest? I understand harvesting small bass might help a trophy bass fishery but do not see any good from harvesting bass bass over 18 inches, especially bass over 24 inches which should all be released in my opinion.

I am not surprised you saw 40 boats since it is peak season for snowbirds as well as a good time in the year to catch a big bass. Not much you can do but adapt to the overcrowding conditions which is something we have to deal with during snowbird season. I agree with you with releasing bass, especially big bass which should be protected. What is the current bass harvesting regulations in these places at this moment? Do they let people harvest bass over 18 inches? There should be a law that all largemouth bass over 18 inches should be released, similar to the snook regulations where all snook over 32 inches on the east coast have to be released.

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Most of the waters I fish in South Florida are very clear compared to some northern state waters I have fished. It is nice to be able to see fish swimming around like it is a aquarium. Some places in Florida have dark water but those seem to be more common in Central/Northern Florida.

Big northern strain largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are known to hit muskie lures so you should be ok with the lures you mentioned. Might want to put a wire leader to avoid cutoffs if you fishing in waters muskie and pike are present.

It depends on the person. If it is somebody that is humble and seems to want to learn how to fish then I will go out of my way and teach them how to fish. If it is somebody that acts like a wannabe pro then I will most likely not help them or change the subject to something that will make them want to leave. Couple weekends ago I had to pick up a large amount of fishing line that some careless fisherman threw on the floor. Maybe he caught no fish that day and decided to throw the line out but that is no excuse for what he did since it makes all fishermen look bad to other non fishermen.

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I agree peacock bass are much more powerful and more fun to catch than a largemouth bass. Would be nice if the state would restock speckled peacock bass since they grow much bigger than the butterfly peacock bass we have. Clown knife fish and bullseye snakehead are other exotics that are pound for pound more powerful than a largemouth bass. That must be one of the many reasons why so many snowbirds hire guides to fish for exotics and why so many snowbirds move down here. You can be very successful in bank fishing you just have to put in your time like anything else in life. Yes its a great feeling knowing you can catch trophy bass from the shore. There are people who spend money on hiring a guide and still have a largemouth bass PB under 8 pounds, even some tournament bass fishermen that have never caught a 8 pound bass in their lifetime so it would be wise to not underestimate bank fishing. Snook and tarpon are one of my favorite fish to catch from the bank in South Florida, along with shark fishing.

You do not need expensive spinning reels to do well in land based saltwater fishing. I have 2 size 8000 Penn Fierce spinning reels that are over 6 years old each and have caught lots of powerful fish, including sharks that weigh several hundred pounds. Also have a size 6000 Penn Battle that has done very well. For small/medium artificial lure inshore fishing I use a size 4000 Shimano Stradic. I also use that size 4000 Shimano Stradic for bass fishing and does a great job.

Couple months ago I went on vacation up north and caught a bunch of smallmouth bass on the ned rig with a medium heavy action rod. Seemed to work well and I plan on using that exact rod the next time I fish for smallmouth bass.

^ This ^ Seems like many tournament fishermen are more interested in the paycheck and fame and not care so much about the fun aspect of catching bass. For me bass fishing is a fun hobby and I plan on keeping it that way.

Well said. People put too much emphasis on the money they can potentially make in a tournament and these people should be putting more emphasis on morals. It is not right to be a jerk and harass someone off a spot, tournament fishermen need to understand this and move somewhere else or fish the same public water spot with recreational fishermen without complaining so much. These ''pros'' are supposedly very talented in bass fishing so they should have no problem finding a new spot and catching lots of fish.

Spinnerbaits are very effective for small waters and often a overlooked lure. Buzzbaits are good in small waters, especially at night.

Plenty of people do not care about fishing tournaments and many of those people have lost count of the 8 pound or better bass they have caught. Fishing tournaments does not mean you are good at trophy bass fishing, multi species fishing, or deep sea fishing. Not everyone is going to enjoy the same type of fishing and for sure not everyone is going to leave a spot they are on for some ''pro'' or wannabe pro that feels its ok to steal a spot from them. Good thing its illegal to harass a fisherman in Florida which helps keep in check these type of behaviors. Well said. Nobody owns a spot in public water and it does not matter who you think you are. Whoever is there first gets to fish the spot and if that person leaves that spot then someone else can go fish that spot.

A couple months ago I caught my first walleye while on vacation and kept it for dinner. It tasted much better than any black bass I have eaten and I would eat walleye if I lived up north. Plenty of other freshwater fish taste better than bass that is for sure. I agree that bass are a dime a dozen, especially the sub 5 pounders and that it is best to let go big bass.

Let's see how this affects the trophy bass fishing in those waters in the long run. This might increase the amount of people that fish those lakes since some people enjoy eating bass or enjoy keeping bass to have mounted for their wall.

Go for it. I do not care much for ordinary dink bass. Too many big bass and other species of fish in South Florida to settle for less. I fish for bass that weigh 6 pounds and up or I fish for saltwater fish, freshwater exotic fish, or any species I have not caught yet. Caught a trophy bass earlier this year along with other big bass so I am doing ok from the bank. No need to invite those who will slow me down and prefer to fish with my better half, family, and close friends.

Plano 3700 tackle boxes are good for most bass lures and I use them for storing saltwater lures as well.

Not surprised that happens in Minnesota, and it seems to happen more often these days with the increasing population. Trout are fun to catch and I also enjoy fishing for panfish, especially big bluegills on light tackle. Those little fish are pound for pound much stronger than a bass of equal size.

Try fishing with a spinnerbait.

You are entitled to your opinion about bank fishing. My opinion is that it is lame, a waste of time, and gas to catch a bunch of dinks on a boat but many people seem to enjoy doing it. I rather continue catching big bass from the bank (which is common for me) than waste my time on a boat with some random online fisherman catching ordinary dink bass that I can easily catch from the bank in any canal system near me. I also think its lame to only fish for bass and that is why I enjoy fishing for snook, grouper, sharks, and other fish from land and those saltwater fish put all black bass to shame. Good luck and looking towards to hearing a report of you catching a double digit bass, should be very easy with your fisheries degree.