Zcoker

Pros probably do not share what they are really using in tournaments. They probably only share those things that they are sponsored to use. I've often thought of it that way. I watch them, sure, and support their quest. I just don't run down to the local Dick's after watching them to buy up what I saw them trying to promote as the end all lure or fishing rod setup.

This whole topic on time of day related to what can be caught or what hits is interesting and a lot of good points have already been made. With my 2 cents, I'll toss in another theory. I tend to think of it more as "opportunities" regardless of time of day. Huh? Let me try to explain lol Each day of fishing can be segmented into various opportune movements, or flurries, if you will, related to temperature, wind, light, etc. For example, it can be high noon with a stagnant-like water with zero bites and then, out of nowhere, a flurry of wind suddenly ****** the water into a myriad display of diamond like ripples. Suddenly, that big girl slams the lure! I've witnessed moments like this throughout a day which have nothing to do with time of day but more to do with the conditions at a particular moment during a day. It can be the wind, a sudden flurry that pops out of nowhere like I mentioned, or a big puffy cloud passing overhead, or a temperature flux, a front, a fog drift, a storm brewing in the distance, bait movement, birds diving...a host of things. A host of things, day or night, I've seen it like this all the way around. So I tend to look at each day--no matter the time of day--as having great fishing opportunities. The key is in being prepared and positioned to take advantage of those opportunities.

I agree with a lot of what is being said here on continually trying to improve oneself with fishing knowledge, skill, fishing products, etc. It does help move this sport forward. Personally, though, I find myself actually trying not to improve so much anymore lol I mean, literally, one can get completely and totally saturated in this bass fishing scene today, almost to the point of drowning in a sea of videos, lures, rods, presentation, sales pitches, spots, opinions, etc. It can actually take away the clarity of fishing altogether....IMHO. Because of this, I find myself actually reverting a little, going back to the basics and enjoying the success of catching and winning. Sure, I still read, listen, and observe places like this site. But I keep in check my original ideas and styles that got me here in the first place.

$20 to launch a kayak?? What the heck. I just can't imagine that. I mean, sure, I can see the parking/meter fee or the entrance fees in parks, places like that. But those fees usually include access to all launch areas. To specifically pay to use a launch site for a kayak sounds utterly ridiculous. Here in Florida (or at least SE & SW Florida) we can launch anywhere, anyplace, and anytime most lakes, beaches or whatever for free. Some smaller places do have sunrise to sunset gates but are still open for launching. The Everglades is wide open for hundreds of miles to do whatever, day or night. State parks we all know about. I've had no problems off the beaches, day or night, launching baits with a kayak when shark fishing for NOAA. I guess each area has its ups and downs.

Down here in South Florida, what's nice about bank fishing in the Everglades is that most of the levees go for miles and miles....it's a pull over park and fish kinda thing. You basically drive along the levee until you find a spot that looks decent and then pull over and fish it. When done, just move on down the levee a ways until another spot looks good. No walking necessary lol

These high end bass fishing rods are all over the place, just like the saltwater high end fishing rods. I have the high end Zenaq $1500 GT popping rods all the way down to the $700 St Croix Legend surf rods and these rods DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE in catching fish, a very big difference IMHO. The engineering and the components that goes into them is absolutely incredible. They go a long, long way in every single solitary detail to get the job done as perfectly as possible. Often times, one needs every single detail of the entire setup to perform flawlessly in order to get that nice fish landed. I agree, however, that most see this as purely subjective, thinking that a $50 Walmart setup will do the same thing. And just maybe it might. It all boils down to anything that will get that fish, expensive or not. Anything that instills pure confidence when trying to win something (like a nice fish) is usually the best way to win outright, in my opinion.

I think it's important to understand that most of these up and coming anglers today get most if not all of their initial information off social media. YouTube is wide open on the topic, as is various webpages and fishing sites, including this one. And I'm not saying that that's a bad thing, either. I'm saying it's just the way is nowadays in our modern times. Social media is certainly not the vast outdoors where the laws of nature imply a more robust learning curve on sportsmanship. We really need to look and understand our current information sources if we are trying to understand our current fishing behaviors.

It's of my opinion that we ALL have this "elbow room" mentality or "this is my spot" mentality, or at least those kinda thoughts might flow through the brain when faced with so called angler interference. I fish Headwaters Lake here in Florida, one of the most sought after places on planet earth for bass. It truly is a gem of a fishing hole, a place specifically designed and specifically sculpted for largemouth bass. It recently opened a boat ramp and, man, the earth shook, literally, with tons and tons of anglers from all over the world. Even with all the hype going on over that place, one can still find complete and utter solitude, even in the enhanced areas. I've spent many weekends out there in complete isolation. Sure, I hear the boats running the canal (Roland Martin wide open lol) else the hunters blasting but for the most it's pretty wide open and secluded with plenty of elbow room. We share and share alike with most anything with our natural resources. Just the way it is. Live with it or not. Deal with it or not. Make good choices and pick up an empty can if ya see one laying around.

I think the general point is to reduce all this tackle that most carry around, me included. I started out with a ton of stuff and it slowly seems to get bigger and bigger lol. When I really put things in perspective, though, I see that I am more a topwater fisherman all the way around. So it comes to reason that I should only haul the top stuff around. Yet I always have that "what if" in the back of my mind, what if a worm, or a chatterbait, or a spinner bait....Those lures certainly have their place. From what I can tell, bass turn on in flurries throughout the day and it seems like it doesn't matter what is tossed at them when those flurries come to light, it's game on. I've noticed this more and more, that timing these events throughout the day (or even night) seems to get me more fish as opposed to a specific lure selection. Being there at the right spot at the right time--bam!

I've never heard of anyone winning anything and that sure does not mean it never happens or that it's a scam. It's really simple to enter this stuff, just like the lotto, never know, nothing really to loose except for a bunch of emails. Heck, right now or very soon there's an event taking place for armatures only with a payout of 1 million dollars plus a truck and boat. It's happening in real time so I presume it's the real deal. No wonder bass fishing is a 60 billion dollar a year industry in the US lol Lotta money being casted around.

Man, all this flack about who owns the creek....try that on the friggin ocean! Here in Florida they tried (and still are trying) to implement such a law where the condos and home owners can put up fences and no trespassing signs blocking off ALL public access for large costal areas. There's ongoing political shuffle as to the fate of this law but it may someday become reality. There's also this funny clause about "high tide line" where below it is legal and above it is not legal. Crazy bizarre things gong on out there lol Pretty soon everything will be owned and off limits!

Whatever the reason behind the increase, it is what it is and not much anyone can do about it other than to either fish with them or find new horizons...or just adapt to new conditions. We have some of the same problems here in south Florida in lakes or reservoirs that have gotten plenty of attention, places like Headwaters Lake. That place was specifically designed for bass, stocked with over a million of them, and just recently opened a new boat ramp (was yak only for a long time). Not uncommon to catch double digits there daily.....that place is plastered all over YouTube and has gotten tons of attention. So folks jam pack the place. Even still, if one goes there on certain days, say, a windy day or even on an overcast drizzly day, it's not that full with plenty of elbow room. That's what I mean by adapting to new conditions. And sometimes those conditions which many avoid turn out to be the absolute best!

Lotta good adivce here. I bank fish only out in the everglades and do relatively well. We all have our days, good or bad. One thing that I can add to this post is to just go out and enjoy yourself and have fun regardless of fish or no fish. Sometimes when choked up with all this bass fishing chatter, can suffocate to death and loose interest all together else become completely miserable. Often times when I just go out to enjoy myself and have fun while fishing I end up catching an absolute monster, that or tons of fish. Other times when I am so totally focused and concerned and bogged down about doing this or that correctly, I end up wearing the skunk coat all day. Balance and versatility, a state of mind.....arm yourself with the knowledge, sure, but never be afraid to use your own instincts and/or tactics, no matter how out of kilter they may be to the commonplace knowledge base.

When I first started bass fishing years ago here in South Florida, I only used the smaller presentations, the lighter rods with the dinky lines because, well, that was the general take on things back then. Or at least it was for me. And most all my fish were smallish in size. Anything large was either not caught or broke off. Nowadays, I blast the water with the biggest baits and the heaviest line and the craziest combos imaginable lol. No matter the season. And most all my fish are biggins! My last outing, for example, saw two 7's and one 8 with a few 5-6's in the mix. I've had days with 10's or 11's. Mind you, all these fish are from the bank! No boat, no yak, no paddle board lol, just two feet and a good truck. So my presentations have to be brutally big with big nasty hooks and my combos have to be absurdly strong to fight these gals in, these everglades giants.

Agree with most here. Wind has its place during an outing. For example, first light is the usual dead calm and serene....with some hot coffee in the mix lol....and then later a faint ripple appears on the water and then around mid morning into noon those afternoon gust kick up....The whole day is broken into meteorological elements, or parts that make up the whole. The secret sauce is in how one positons for each event, what bait used, etc. For the most, I prefer a moderate wind blowing from mid-morning onward. I just can't handle those dead calm, sticky-hot days without the slightest breeze....in Florida, that can be pure torture!

Unknown water is always a learning curve, both for natural structure and junk. I'd say first hand that it's quite admiral of you to even be posting this, to care so much about the fate of that fish to the point of questioning yourself if there was something you could've done. And I'm quite sure that there was "something" that could've been done, either wading out there or even swimming out there to free that fish. I really can't say. Sounds to me like the situation was inevitable. You'd be surprised how some fish can get out of a seemingly impossible situation.

Can't say this statement holds much water because I've caught plenty of fish from the side, or head butted, as you say. In fact, won my last tournament from a fish head-butting the lure. When I set the hook, the hook grabbed just under the gill plate. Nice 8 pounder.

I've ran into all kinds of crazy stuff night fishing on the ocean for sharks but if we are speaking about bass fishing, I haven't really ran into anything that crazy out in the Everglades at night except for curious gators. They come up close when they hear the lure hittin the water. They sometimes grab a lure. The fight can be brutal until the break-off! The gators are actually easier to deal with at night (in my opinion) because any light makes their eyes glow bright red. One quick scan with the flashlight or headlight will expose all of them, which can be all over the place lol.

Yeah, don't knock yourself out. I've lost some nice fish, those kinda fish that stick with ya for a long, long while and never seem to let go LoL. Just like with any fish, the heavier and bulkier baits tend to be at a higher risk of coming loose, especially on those wild head shakes and jumps. Seems like you did all things right, and that's all you can do, given the situation. Sometimes, even, doing all the wrong things can be all the right things...in a sense, so to speak. Each moment plays out differently.

A big tarpon will show anyone VERY QUICKLY what it's like to have a lure tossed back at them lol

Dude, if you are getting annoyed so much then your are most likely in the wrong place asking the wrong questions.

What he said about fishing being unpredictable despite conditions is very true. Can't understand why it would annoy you, either. Fish will surprise anyone ALL THE TIME> even you! Even under the worst possible conditions or even under the best possible conditions.

Yeah, it's out there: this works for this or that, the end all lure or presentation or whatever...gotta pick and choose else read between the lines, just like with anything else in life. As for fishing, the best advice is usually your own LoL. Being out there and having a bait in the water, whether dead or alive or fake, having a bait in the water counts the most.

No, have not been there yet. Will get there someday.

I actually started bass fishing (again) in Nov 2020 after a twenty or so year hiatus and have since had a great year. I can honestly say that my fishing only got better once I established a solid mind-set: Go big or go home, lol. Once I started thinking big bass, I started catching big bass, once I started using stout tackle and heavy rigs, I started landing most all of my fish with almost zero loses. Summer flew into June, July, and August with the fishing in the Everglades a friggin whirlwind, some days producing 11 pounders followed by a stack of 7-8 pounders, like none stop mega bass action, as if a school of 7-8 pounders were hanging out. It was crazy. The fishing was like that daily into early August and then September came along with higher water levels which seemed to practically wipe out the fishing, like day and night! Hasn't been the same since, and I can only hope that it all comes around again. This November 2021 will be a full yearly cycle for me in the bass fishing scene, which should give me an overall workable pattern for the months to come....hopefully....or at least in theory lol