Consider This Situation...

[Weld's Largemouth]

Hello,

I've come up with a cool scenario and I'd like to see how you all would adapt and decide.

 

The Location

Somewhere in the South Florida Everglades, a shallow swamp littered with mangrove trees and brush piles.

 

The Time

Mid-July, sun is high in the sky

 

The body of water

Overall very shallow swamp with some few deeper holes. The water tends to be very warm during the heat of the day and the mangrove trees provide sparse shade. The only real escape from the heat is under a mangrove in deeper holes. The bottom is very muddy with some sawgrass scattered in shallower sections. The swamp experiences essentially zero fishing pressure.

 

The animals

-Largemouth Bass

-Bluegill

-Mayan Cichlid 

-Various species of Tilapia

-Various species of Killifish 

-Florida Gar

-Spotted Gar

-Northern Snakehead

-Bowfin

-Shiners

-Various small baitfish

 

-Various species of frogs

-Various species of lizards and newts

-Turtles

-Various types of birds

-Small alligators

 

The challenge

 

You are lost in the Everglades with your fishing rod and ONE LURE, you must fish to eat. You must pick ONE lure that you can use to catch various species to survive. The species distribution is fairly equal, you will need an all-around lure that can catch and withstand the fish in the swamp. State your lure, reasoning and how you will tackle the swamp and survive.

 

Tips-

-Remember the toothy critters

-Max depth is 4ft, while most of the swamp is 1-2ft deep.

-Be strategic 

 

RULES-

-You do not have a net

-Lures only 

-If you choose a soft plastic you can also pick ONE hook to use with it and you have FIVE of these plastics to use.

-You can catch live bait on lures and use them to your advantage (you CANNOT have a lure and a bait hook together, you have to choose ONE).

-All lures come in stock condition (no swapping out hooks)

-Lures with plastics as trailers come with TWO plastic trailers

-You have a small jon boat with a paddle

-You conveniently have a large cooler, anything you catch will be preserved in it.

 

Here is a map of I made of "The Swamp" 

 

 

This should be interesting!

GOOD LUCK! CHOOSE WISELY AND BE CREATIVE!  

[bassguytom]

I think I would be okay with a bare hook in a survival situation. I could find something to bait it with all those critters around to catch some fish. I looked for snakes in caves in another part of the world for a couple of years so a little swamp I'd be fine. Is it really that cold in NY already?

[Weld's Largemouth]

I think I would be okay with a bare hook in a survival situation. I could find something to bait it with all those critters around to catch some fish. I looked for snakes in caves in another part of the world for a couple of years so a little swamp I'd be fine. Is it really that cold in NY already?

Yup, the winter is hanging over my head

[BasshunterJGH]

I'd probably take a 7 ft heavy rod with 80 lb fx2 braid and a frog. You could probably catch a ton of fish and not lose the lure.

[Weld's Largemouth]

I'd probably take a 7 ft heavy rod with 80 lb fx2 braid and a frog. You could probably catch a ton of fish and not lose the lure.

You ever fish with snakeheads and gar in the water before?  especially with braid, it'll rip right away

[BasshunterJGH]

You ever fish with snakeheads and gar in the water before?  especially with braid, it'll rip right away

No, don't have snakeheads where I fish guess I didn't think about that lol. What kind of line would u use?

[Weld's Largemouth]

No, don't have snakeheads where I fish guess I didn't think about that lol. What kind of line would u use?

Depending on the lure my line would vary, but with a topwater frog I would use heavy braid with a thick fluorocarbon leader, and i wouldn't even want to use a frog, it would probably lose its skirt/legs pretty quickly and get punctured by teeth and sink. I might use Zman frog plastics on a single hook, as they are much more durable but maybe they would still be ripped up. Possibly a buzzbait with a good weed guard would work. Or even just a popper would work depending on how much surface muck there is.

[Catch and Grease]

Squarebill crankbait because squarebill crankbaits.

[F14A-B]

Gonna use my cold steel srk carbon v and wrestle a gator to death, I guess...

[BasshunterJGH]

I guess a weedless hardbait (if there is such a thing) would be ideal. Squarebill or lipless crankbait would be a good choice.

[Tony L.]

I think I would be okay with a bare hook in a survival situation. I could find something to bait it with all those critters around to catch some fish. I looked for snakes in caves in another part of the world for a couple of years so a little swamp I'd be fine. Is it really that cold in NY already?

I agree with this one. If I am fishing to survive, I would be wanting just a bare hook of medium size. Probably something slightly too large for a bluegill and too small for a bass under ideal conditions, but would still be able to hook both species. I'd start by finding a bug or a worm and haul in a bunch of panfish, maybe use one of them as bait for something bigger.

Playing the odds and the numbers game, there is a lot more biomass towards the bottom of the food chain and therefore more nourishment. You stand a better chance surviving on a large number of small to medium sized fish as opposed to a few large ones.

[Senko lover]

You put a lot of thought into this!

A 1/2 spinnerbait in chartreuse/white. Jig would be second choice.

Although, if you're going the survival route, I'd get a frog. A snakehead would crush it. I could get a really nice meal from the snakehead, and then use it's organs to catch bluegill. (btw, you can catch gills on guts, I've done it). Once you have a small bluegill, you can hook it through the head and catch a bass. Once you have a bass, you turn to gators........

[HoosierHawgs]

Pike/Musky Gear w/a wire leader and a big Pike Spinnerbait. Throw it everywhere.

[HoosierHawgs]

Ie.. The Booyah Pikee Spinnerbait

[BasshunterJGH]

You put a lot of thought into this!

A 1/2 spinnerbait in chartreuse/white. Jig would be second choice.

Although, if you're going the survival route, I'd get a frog. A snakehead would crush it. I could get a really nice meal from the snakehead, and then use it's organs to catch bluegill. (btw, you can catch gills on guts, I've done it). Once you have a small bluegill, you can hook it through the head and catch a bass. Once you have a bass, you turn to gators........

Good idea. I've caught bluegill on cow spleen. I'm sure snakehead guts would work.

[Senko lover]

Oh. But wait a minute.....you wouldn't have a hook for the guts. Okay, here's my answer:

a Yum Money Frog (toughest soft plastic frog on the market) with a 2/0 EWG hook. You could catch bluegill with guts on the tip of it, although it would have to be a big bluegill to use the whole hook. I have done it, though.

[BasshunterJGH]

Oh. But wait a minute.....you wouldn't have a hook for the guts. Okay, here's my answer:

a Yum Money Frog (toughest soft plastic frog on the market) with a 2/0 EWG hook. You could catch bluegill with guts on the tip of it, although it would have to be a big bluegill to use the whole hook. I have done it, though.

Sounds like a good solution. I forgot about the hook part too!

[fisherrw]

id probably use a hook cuze you could find bait probably and probably like 100 pound braid and a xxxh rod lol!!

[sprint61]

Squarebill crankbait because squarebill crankbaits.

My choice also Norman fatboy in black back chartuse to be exact.

[BasshunterJGH]

My choice also Norman fatboy in black back chartuse to be exact.

I have that same crankbait. Never did catch anything on it.

[BasshunterJGH]

As far as squarebills are concerned, I'd go with a spro little John. They're the most durable on the market IMO.

[BassinLou]

Cool scenario Welds!! I' ll play. For me I would choose my frogging outfit. I would throw a hollow body frog. Why? very versatile for the stage you presented. That time of year, in the glades the fishing can be challenging if you don't know what to look for. I would hit the vegetation areas of the deeper pools. 4 ft in the glades isn't much, but like you illustrated their can be vast areas that can be that shallow. For example the flats at LOX. Anyways.... coming back to my point, i would work the vegetation in the deeper pools, and look for areas that might have some current to it. That time of year,the glades is beginning its high water stage. That means afternoon storms. So water is going to be  flowing somewhere. Find vegetation with flowing water and you will have some good success. Especially frogging.

[BassinLou]

Oh..... BTW.... I have caught the majority of the species listed with a frog. In the glades, at least the South Fl area,  your primary fish species in those pools would be: Gar, Mudfish (bowfin) Oscar, Mayan cichlid, Blue Gill, Warmouth perch, spotted sunfish, catfish, and of course LMB. 6 of the species I listed will hit the frog. 

[Weld's Largemouth]

Oh..... BTW.... I have caught the majority of the species listed with a frog. In the glades, at least the South Fl area,  your primary fish species in those pools would be: Gar, Mudfish (bowfin) Oscar, Mayan cichlid, Blue Gill, Warmouth perch, spotted sunfish, catfish, and of course LMB. 6 of the species I listed will hit the frog. 

but will the gar and snakeheads rip the frog?

[BassinLou]

but will the gar and snakeheads rip the frog?

 

There is a strong possibility. However you fish out there long enough, you can ID the fish before the strike. Gar is easy to ID. Mudfish sometimes. There has been no documented cases of snakeheads out in the glades yet, but if they catch your frog, you probably can kiss it goodbye.