Zcoker

Well, it's not just the Everglades in Florida, there's a ton of lakes and ponds to jump with most being pretty decent to launch from. Launching from the glades can be dicey in certain areas, especially at night! For the most, you'll have golden opportunities at every corner here, both salt and fresh!

Everglades is about 8,000 square miles! That's a lotta swamp to cover. And all areas are unique and TOTALLY different, which makes fishing so darn exciting and adventurous and so vast! Vast like the ocean. But it's not salt water, either. The further south one goes, or the further east/west one goes, the water turns more brackish and that's were the snook and redfish and baby tarpon start heating up. Like on Tamiami Trail, for example, one would go west to get into the poons or go east to get into the peacocks and bass. The canal systems and the levee systems are the only means to get around, other than by airboat LOL. So it really depends on where one lives, how far they wanna travel, or what they want to fish for. For me, I like the waterways with the big open lakes and lagoons and sawgrass islands, or places like the Stick Marsh and Headwaters, which is more marsh lands. Anyhow, to answer your question about lake Okeechobee, it is considered the heart of the Everglades.

I have one of those Tatula casting rods, 7.3 MH, which I just got to replace one of the three that I had recently broke. I have a like/hate relationship with them lol Anyhow, the guides are super duper tiny on mine and I can certainly see any knot used hanging up no matter how they are tied. Can't say anything about dropping down in line size, either, but it would depend on the area fished, or the structure fished. Here in S. Florida I fish the Everglades, so 50 is my minimum. Anyhow, I've just recently switched to using strait braid on all my rods and see no difference in the amount of fish I catch, day or night.

My two cents, it's like anything else in life: you get what you pay for. You get back what you put into it, whatever it be. Tight lines!

And it's not all about boats or kayaks, either. Fishing off the banks in the Everglades along any levee road can be utterly amazing. There's miles and miles and miles of these levee roads with plenty of elbow room, no boats to speak of, no one around for miles...except maybe for the wildlife lol Just a few examples here caught a few feet off the bank.

You about summed it all up right here. Not too many fish the glades or understand just how productive they can be! Not to many fish the glades at night, either. Hard to explain that level of fishing to anyone. Thanks for sharing!

Everglades continues to produce, especially with these lower water levels. Most all fish have been caught on topwater. Not uncommon to catch up to 100 a day and it's not uncommon to get back to back 7 pounders at that! The glades is truly a remarkable fishery! The hits are totally insane...BOOM!!

I wonder how Mike Iaconelli would've handled this one LoL.

It's not only points but many other factors to consider. Best advice that I can give you is to look at the "best of bass resource" articles in the General Fishing Forum. There's tons of articles in there that cover just about everything you might need. Arm yourself with the tools, then slowly acquire the knowledge, then go get 'em! Best of luck to ya!

Here in Florida the FWC just passed a law for Headwaters lake in Fellsmere: catch and release only, circle hooks only if using live bait. The general challenge for them during their deliberations was on how to protect trophy bass fisheries in Florida. And excluding catch and keep seemed to be a big part of that.

I never said that I had a problem with my hooksets, only that I missed a particular fish that hit a lure while I was untangling a wind knot. I brought up this idea of kayak convergence because I find it interesting, that’s all.

It's called Kayak Convergence. Not my creation nor is it my solution for anything or for anyone. I just find the concept interesting and have an open mind about it when I strike on a fish.

Now that’s some amazing and intelligent advice you got there lol Care to volunteer?

Speak for yourself on those terrible habits lol In a kayak, I get more fish in by giving it to them good as opposed to a pull and hold hookset or a babying it up hookset, especially the big ones 7lbs and up. And in most ALL instances I need to use pliers to get the hooks out. Like I said earlier up, a kayak moves when force is applied, so adjusting for that movement has worked out very well....for me, at least. The one I mentioned in my post, I simply wasn't ready for her.

Well, at least that's been my thinking. Makes sense when you really think about it though. I've been trying to be conscious of my yak position when fishing, usually wanting things to happen off the sides of the yak instead of up front to help with force. Lot harder to move a kayak sideways than from up front, relatively speaking. Regardless, I usually smack them double triple strikes to imbed those hooks. In the example that i posted, I simply wasn't ready for things to happen and didn't smack her that good.

Man, I feel your pain on losing these big fish. Just the other day I was tending to a wind knot while my plopper 130 floated 10 feet from my yak. Yes, floating there, just bobbing up and down. Next think I know the line shot off! Fish was 8-9lb class, too. She gave me hell for about 15 seconds and then the lure slipped out. Uggg that sinking hollow feeling and bad dreams to come lol Sometimes I think in a kayak things are a bit different, meaning that the force exerted is not the force seen on those hooks in the fish's mouth. Because, maybe so, the yak moves in or gives in to the hookset and hardly penetrates. That seemingly hard hookset translates into nothing but a lame swing.

I think the next Florida state record bass will come out of Headwaters Lake in Fellsmere, Florida, maybe even the world record! That place is producing some crazy numbers. About the only place that I know of that is producing double digit fish on a consistent bases. Like most great fisheries across the land that have produced record fish, Headwaters shares much the same in that it was specifically designed and sculptured for bass and then stocked with over a million of them. It was basically untouched for years. Now open, it's loaded with giants. It's loaded with shiners. It's a bass fishing paradise, literally. It has all the ingredients to produce true giants and one day a true record. Mark my words!

I got into bass fishing a few years ago. Was mostly kicking around on the surf, knocking around and doing very well. Ran into a lot of snot off the beaches, so I branched out else found other places to fish that suited my desires and taste. Same thing goes with bass fishing, if I want to be totally alone, for example, I hit the moon lit nights and enjoy total solitude with the glowing eyed gators and the burping bullfrogs. On the other hand, if I hit a popular lake on a beautiful perfect Saturday morning with perfect weather forecasted, then I am certainly “aware” of the mobs forthcoming. Up to me to live or die in the tangle of hate and resentment that so many feel and express when fronted with others doing the exact same thing.

Here in South Florida, the wind comes down with these fronts that we have almost weekly. And they all seem to come down on a Friday lol This passed weekend we saw 25-30mph with gust into the 40's. As it turns out, the wind plays a BIG factor in fishing, both in catching and in catching BIG. Look at the wind not as a nuisance but as a great opportunity!

Honesty is like a flower, it blossoms every once in a while to show everyone how good it looks.

I just tie about 20" or so of 25lb floro to my 50lb braid mainline, which is on all my reels. I use a simple uni-to-uni knot because it's very easy to tie while fishing. This leader setup never sees the guides, so there's never any casting issues. Super strong knot, too. I need the heavy braid for fishing in the Everglades. I use the floro for a bit of stretch on the top water lures. Hope this helps.

Nothing wrong with "just going fishing" and not considering much of anything. Heck, I've done that plenty of times lol Yet it wasn't' until I started planning subjects like this out thoroughly that I started to get way ahead in the game. Case in point about a week ago, this one particular spot has a golden hour at about 4:30am. No matter what, the bass ignite at that time in this one spot. Miss it and miss the fish. Well, I missed the golden hour one morning but made darn sure I got there the following morning and caught a fish pushing 8lbs plus a bunch of other nice ones. Sure enough, after about 15 minutes, the bite died, just like always. And every time thereafter that I make it on time, there's always some nice ones waiting!

Rick Clunn suggested the same thing a very long time ago: throughout a day bass respond in "flurries" and how one handles these flurries, or how one is prepared for these flurries, can determine direct and positive outcomes. I certainly agree with this because I see this more and more, like clockwork, the fish turn on and are literally biting everywhere. Then, as suddenly, the bite stops until another dinner bell goes off few hours later. It's like a voice yelling underwater, saying "time to bite!" lol Being ready for these flurries, being staged, cocked, and ready to go can make a MASSIVE difference.

Lotta my buddie are like, what the heck lol My fortee is tagging sharks for NOAA, big sharks, like over 14 feet, absolute monsters. So when they see me now banging in the Everglades for lil 'ol bass, they are very, very confused. And I try to explain to them, all the preparation and the sheer magnitude of the 'hunt', all of the exploring in endless waterways filled with total serenity, yet they still don't get it. Even when I classify bass as the "sharks of freshwater" lol they still shrug up their shoulders. Nothing I can do or say can make them see what I am seeing now. Sometimes I can't even describe it myself. There's a secret sort of mystery with any fish, really.

I don't mind fishing with someone else if it's the right person, meaning someone who doesn't whine "I wanna go home" all the time. Or someone who doesn't blab about the fishing spots. I fish in crazy places like the Everglades in the black of darkness where no one would even dream about fishing lol Or in some of the craziest weather imaginable. So it's not easy convincing anyone to go fishing once I explain the routine lol Lot of my friends just can't hang or take the abuse or just aren't that into roughing it. When I focus on bass fishing, I can go hours and hours and hours without interruption and anything, even eating and drinking, can evade me until I'm finished. Some people just want to refrain from the all out down and dirty aspect of it, no problem at all. So I just go at it alone and have a total blast!!