Zcoker

This is just the way it is in a lot of places. Here in Florida we have the Everglades, thank goodness! Thousands of square miles where no human or no boat has ever touched, which makes fishing it so nice. Any other lake down here can be a zoo city. The only management they have in a lot of these lakes is the home owners associations. Pollution from run-off is also killing off a lot of our lakes. Then there's the areas created for bass fishing and stocked with millions of fish. This concept is rather new and the outcomes are next to spectacular. At least they are doing things like that, which is the main point. I would hope other states jump on the same ban wagon.

Pics can be an integral part of the fishing experience, in my opinion, especially with the newer phones that we have today. Not necessarily every single fish but note worthy fish or fish that did something very unique, or first time fish on a particular lure or presentation.....it's all about going back in time and reliving those special moments. Pics can also help with location data, time of year data, weather data, etc. One can always research a particular moment in time that produced spectacular fish. Without pics, you have nothing but a hazy bag of memories, nothing very specific and no proof for those fish stories that no one ever seems to believe lol

I was of the same opinion as most with regards to these lakes getting blasted on the weekends by boaters and swimmers and so forth, killing the fishing. Not even worth it, I always thought. Total futility. And I pretty much never fished any of these places. That is, until I was shown otherwise lol. One weekend right in the middle of the busy day on a walkway surrounding the lake, and right near the ski lane jump, I was taking a little stroll with my wife, casting as I went along. She sat down on a nearby bench while I was casting out into the narrow ski lane near the jump. As I was retrieving the white spinner bait with not a thought in the world along with a total carefree and altogether bored attitude....KABOOM!! A friggin 8 pounder! I was in total shock! I could not believe my eyes. I thought it a dream lol. Every since then, I've changed my attitude. I focus hard. I stay sharp. I take things seriously. With that mindset on the same body of water, I've caught a lot of nice fish on the busy weekends. So I guess the moral of this little story is, at least in my mind, is to never ever underestimate any body of water, weekends or not!

You might need to re-word this post to "How do you northern boys do it?" Because you seem to have done very well, considering you used a whopper plopper at night in a weedy area to get most of your fish. All in all, where there's weeds, there be bass. And fishing a whopper plopper around any kind of weeds is going to need to be picked apart with every cast, especially in the dark! In any case, you seem to have done very well, aimed well, retrieved well enough to get into some decent fish. So spread the word on how you northern boys do it! lol

I usually take along a plastic garbage bag. And, yes, after loading my yak up I sometimes have to walk around the launch area and pick up all the garbage tossed around by nasty people who could care less. I'm tired, I'm hot, I just fished all night...but I cannot stand to see piles of crap, empty bottles and cans tossed around. Shaking my head

They say that big bass are solitary creatures….in fact, they say a lot of things lol These two everglades giants caught in the same confined area back to back 10 minutes apart. Not so solitary as far as I can tell!

Can also be the actual line---only a possibility because I don't know where you buy your line from but there's a lot of knock-offs out there, complete garbage that appears legit but turns out to be like sewing thread. I've fallen into that trap as well, going for the cheap only to loose nice fish on the "pop".

Everglades Giants. When that sun goes down, and day fades slowly into night, the big'uns come out to play!

I maneuver through the water all my bank fish up to the shallows and then lip them, so there isn't any lifting out of the water. As for line, I used to use 20 braid but now use 50 on everything, no matter where I fish. I put as many things as I possible can to my advantage, line, knots, landing tactics, etc. If anything, learn by the mistakes you make and don't beat yourself up them. Mistakes can be the impetus for that golden catch later on!

I look at it this way: there's always a specific reason why bass do what they do, or stay where they stay, or hit when they hit....it's not some kind of random event. Bass also turn on in flurries, which means it can be dead quiet in a certain areas and then, later on, boom! Bass are also responsive to wind changes, cloud cover, temperature changes....many of these changes or factors can have a specific effect on how bass behave. Of course, being in the right place at the right time with the right cast under the right condition(s) is what it's all about. This is were time and motion comes into play. If an area is not doing so well, I move around, coming back to the spot later on, hoping to hit into that flurry of feeding or under any other favorable condition. Just the other night, for example, I hit a favorable area and it was dead calm with nothing going on. I literally nailed the place. Came back about an hour later with a light wind in the mix and caught an 8 pounder. Later on I hit another area, same thing, dead quite. Came back a little later on and Wham-O! Caught a bunch of 5-6 pounders. This has happened to me many, many times and has solidified itself into my fishing routine. In that regard, I like to fish more dynamically as opposed to statically. Lure selection for me is secondary, believe it or not. I like top-water so I mainly fish top-water lures. In that regard, I have perfected my technique with top-water lures which gives me the best advantage. Fish in a way that works best for you, would be my best response.

Down here in south Florida we get smacked with big storms, big black things that dump a ton of water. Rain is always a winner in my book: run-off, flowing water, overcast and windy....many different sub-conditions that can rev things up before, during, and after a nice rain storm. Anything that's "different" seems to be what the bass are waiting for, anyway, whether it be rain, wind, or storm, the bass get moving when change occurs.

So you sold out and hit the high road for bass? Interesting. You rolling in a camper? I'm here in South Florida and we certainly have a nice bass fishery down this way. I've had days where back to back 9's are not uncommon. Multiple 6-7's abundantly all day long. 10 plus is caught all the time in places like Headwaters Lake--and that's not years ago but currently and up-to-date. I'd suggest finding out where the big bass are being caught "today" and focus on those areas. Rolling around and guessing where they are might be ok for some but I wouldn't bank on it, personally. One thing I've learned with bass fishing is to always put thyself in an advantageous situation, whether it be gear, tackle, or location, having the advantage is what it's all about to get the big girls.

If the fish is bleeding badly from a gut hook or gill hook, put back into the water for a few seconds to get the blood gelled up before the handy work begins. Fish blood coagulates much faster in the water. I've actually seen the bleeding stop altogether after a few seconds submerged. Out in the open air, the fish will bleed like an open facet.

I've heard about these reward deals all over but no one that I know of in my circle takes advantage of them, including myself! It was only recently that I went for it. Greatly impressed so far. Every little bit helps!

Exactly. It's more of an irony than anything else. We certainly don't want folks getting comfortable with $4 gallon fuel. Yet even with these current prices, there's still ways to go about a discount, at least here in S. Florida. Local 7/11's have this discount using just a phone number. I never paid it no mind but decided one day, what the heck. Saves me .11 cents per gallon every time. So there are still alternatives to reduce even more, I guess.

Kinda funny to see gas come down to about $4.30 a gallon here in South Florida and hear folks clap and cheer, "look how cheap gas is getting!"

A big bass will bust on ya least expected, like Wham-O! It's not always where one thinks they are, either. Because I've caught them in the most untraditional places and conditions imaginable. Think big, go out and fish big, and start catching big is all I can say.

Sometimes it has more to do with luck, just can't stick them all. The big ones, especially, have that extra edge with strength, weight, and a whole lotta smarts from living so long.

That's great to hear and respected. I do a lot of land based shark fishing here in S. Florida, tagging sharks for NOAA and sometimes it can be dead quiet without a tick. Glad you appreciate the hard work that goes into setting up a land based sharking gig, yaking baits out at night and so forth. Lotta work!

I agree with the GO BIG OR GO HOME motto, we use that same thought process in land based shark fishing, probably even invented it! As for bass fishing, it wasn't so much a matter of going big but changing my thought process to BIG. Once I started "thinking" big bass is when I started catching big bass. Now it's the norm, each trip, my whole being is finely tuned towards catching big fish automatically. I don't even have to think about it, which I think is where all the exhaustion comes from. Every single cast, all lures and tackle, every single aspect of my hunt is subconsciously targeting big fish....period! With that mindset firmly in place, I can still enjoy the little things, best of both worlds, so to speak.

RIP sorry for your loss. Let the good memories of your brother be your guiding light!

Daytime in the glades. I usually go out only at night but the daylight sure impresses! Day or night, plenty of big bass action. All on top…BOOM!

In my experience, any time is a good time with fishing. You see, what matters more than anything with fishing is having a bait in the water, no matter what, when, or where, no matter time of day or time of night, having a bait in the water is about as real as it gets.

When I go fishing, the last thing on my mind is where the moon is at. I mean, I know it’s up there somewhere and not going anywhere lol Comes in handy when casting at night, or navigating in general. To be honest, the bass in the Everglades are slamming my lures regardless of what the moon is doing.

Gator grabbed a lure, so I reeled it in and got my lure back lol. And, yes, the bass can get big in the glades!