C'mon, there's gotta be some fishing freaks stowed away on BYC somewhere! Whether it be bass, catfish, perch, bluegill, crappie, trout, or inshore/offshore fishing this is the place to talk about it! Living in Florida, there's a bass over 5 pounds in every retention pound. So that's my fish of choice, the largemouth bass! When I get the chance, channel catfish are a blast to catch, same for large panfish. Honestly, that's all there really is for freshwater in my area. But when I head to the coast, (New Smyrna beach) redfish, bluefish, pompano, flounder, trout, whiting, and big snook is pretty much what I fish for. For freshwater, my favorite rig is typically a 5 to 7 foot medium action rod (uglystick, or shakespeare) with a penn spinning reel spooled with a decent amount of 10 lb Berkley Trilene monofilament. I typically don't use leaders, most places here are overfished and the bass spook extremely easily. My bait of choice? Golden shiners are big bass magnets, I use those whenever the shiner population down at a certain lake explodes. Most of the time, I'm using lures. Soft swim baits, creature baits, occasionally worms, and jerkbaits (Super flukes!) being my favorite softie. Hard baits? Spinners prevail in the fall, and shallow diving crankbaits still work well in the heat.
My best bass? I catch 5 pounders often but my biggest was a 24" 9.3 pound bass, caught off a 5" topwater crankbait. Here it is, and yes, I released. I don't eat trophies.
My best bass? I catch 5 pounders often but my biggest was a 24" 9.3 pound bass, caught off a 5" topwater crankbait. Here it is, and yes, I released. I don't eat trophies.


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