Fishing Q&A - Help me catch these bass!?

Help me catch these bass!?

Hi, i am a saltwater fisherman and have very little experience with freshwater fishing. I live in southwest Florida so i guess its going to be largemouth bass? Im not going to crazy with the gear i am just going to use my penn spinner reel with my light action pole? I dont have a boat so im going to be standing on this little dock on the lake/pond. I need to know what lures or soft baits to use to catch tese things so please help me out. thanks hi ive really narrowed it down to a couple baits tell me what u think. Heddon Chrome Zara Spook, and YUM dingers? I like the look of those?

Public Comments

Using a dual purpose fishing system is very smart ( all mine serve as both fresh and saltwater systems) One quick suggestion, buy seperate spools. Saves alot of time switching back and forth from one line weight to the next. Another thing that you said ( being a sltwater fisherman) you may have some lures in your aresenal already. Small jigs, top water plugs, diving plugs and even a shrimp imitation will work. It's all just a case of switching out hooks and down sizing them a tad. I'm not talking about trolling lures or some monster 12 inch top water lures. The smaller stuff. You can also go to Walmart, they have a package set up with worms, weights and hooks for about 4 bucks. There's like 4 different color worms and by simply cutting the tail off and melting them back on to another worm, you can mix and match colors of the tail. You can even leave it off for an imitation minnow deal. What I have found to work best for me in my area (southeast Florida) I use lizards in pumpkinseed color, worms in black with pink tails or pumpkinseed and frogs in natural and black colors.I fish them on the bottom texas rigged or with no weight near the surface ( best in morning or at dusk) As for other lures, crank baits like rapalas in minnow/shad colors work. so will spinners and tube lures. Quick trick, fill the tube with an ear plug then insert the hook weedless. It'll float right under the surface and looks like a minnow when twitched. There's alot of stuff you can do, it's all pretty much like saltwater fishing except with lighter line and different baits.
I've been a freshwater fisher since I was a kid. Seems like you live close to me. I'm out west in Wellington. The best bait recommended for large or small bass are live shiners. I just hooked a 20 pound large mouth bass a few days ago using a simple pole and shiner. Seconds later I hooked two more small mouths. Every time I dropped my line I got hit. Careful, this guys like to swallow and run. You know you've been hit by a bass when they hit you fast and run. Lift up you're pole so that they can't swallow your bait. Instead they'll get hooked. They put up a nice fight...I think it's fun anyway, and I'm a girly-girl...lol. Don't know where you live, but I fish from the banks also. There's an awesome spot on Lion Country Safari Road, not more than 1/2 mile off Southern Blvd (aka State Rd. 80). It says "no fishing" but I met a homeowner who's property backs up to this canal and he's a sheriff. He said no problem, just watch for the gators cuz it's mating season! Have fun!
Some time,s fly fishing is good for that idea lake,s and pond you may have good luck on the idea and have fun too.
hey man, until you get comfortable with fresh water fishing there is no need to go out and buy alot of expensive gear that may or may not work in that pond. If i was in your shoes i would just go out and get a zebco reel and rod combo. they are pretty cheep in price, but zebco does make a pretty good line of reels and rods. just find one that might suit your personal need. i would recomend the zebco 33. great reel and have had a few myself and never had any problems out of any of them. the lures, start off simple. no need to go out and get a whole tackle box of lures if you really don't 100% know how to fish freshwater especially if that body of water you are wanting to fish is new to you. i would just get a few beetle spin lures and a 3" broke back crank bait. those two lures are fairly cheep, but effective. if you find that the fish are popin and want to turn up the heat alittle on them later on, step it up to a worm, top water plug, or even my favorite a frog. a frog is vereffective if there is alot of weeds, moss, or just any floating vegitation on the top of the water. just cfrank the frog on the top of the pads kinda jurking it left to right while you crank it in trying to make a good noise getting the fishes attention making them look up and seeing on of ther favorite meals jumping around on the pads, and then hold on for an explosion coming up from underneith. i hope that helps ya out a little bit. like i said earlier don't go out and buy a bunch of lures and expensive reels to start with. keep it simple and then work your way up. if yo hear people say that the beetle spin and broke back cranks don't work then ask them,,,,,why does the company keep making them. great all around lures. have fun good luck and good fishing
Hi, I live in IL and we have ponds / lakes with lilly pads and sometimes moss on the top of the water. I like to fish with rats / mice. These are a plastic bait and you just lightly tug these over the top of the moss/ lilly pads and the bass will come up to the top of the water to grab them. Good luck.
hi I love wacky worms! hook em right through the middle so that it hangs over equally on both sides toss it weightless into a shady spot under a dock or in some sea weed and let it sink to the bottom now give it small little pops(slightly flick your wrist) to get some curiosity stirring up in the bass down there ....this should help! nick mack
In today's world there are 1000's of different types of tackle (lures, line, etc.). So what do you need? Well, that depends on the specific type of fishing you will be doing. For first timers I would suggest you get some small hooks, several different sized split shots, some red/white bobbers (or if you are serious about fishing some slip bobbers), and your simple rod and reel combo (see Rods & Reels) spooled up with 10lb test line. For the first timer I would suggest you use live bait such as worms and minnows. With this equipment you will get mostly panfish and the occasional bass. After learning, through experience, how the fish live in their habitat you can make some decisions on what tackle you need to catch the bigger fish. I fully understand the price of lures nowadays so I will make it easy so the "budgeted" fisherman can still have a great time out on the water. First of all I want to tell you something straight out, lures are 90% of the time made to catch the eye of the fisherman, not the fish. Here is an example. Crankbaits are generally always painted like this; dark on top and light on bottom. Go ahead, check out your supply of crankbaits, the odds are they will all be like this. I do not understand why they are coloured like this because when a fish looks up toward a lure they see the light colour on the light surface, and when they look down on the lure they see dark lures on the dark bottom of the lake. I do not understand why they are like this. Maybe because the lure looks more pleasing to the angler because it looks like a real fish, but that does not mean it looks more pleasing to the fish. Do not just buy some fancy lure that is your favourite colour or has a fancy box. This is where you must refer to the lures section of this web page. Always remember that quality is what you want, not quantity. There are some lures that look similar at a quick glance, and one is only $5 while the other is almost twice as much. The cheaper lures seem like they do not have the same fish catching action as quality made lures. And do not go out and buy $100 worth of just lures the first time you go out (even though that would be extremely easy), unless you are loaded, but lets face it, most of us are not. Just buy a couple at a time that seem appropriate for the situation. That way it is easier on your wallet and the Mrs. will not notice the money being spent as much. As you learn more about fishing and the fish you can buy more and more lures nd before you know it your big tackle box will be full. If I only had one lure what would it be? A common question among new fisherman. And let me tell you that there is no one lure out there that is a type of super lure. I would describe lures to golf clubs. If you were golfing would you ever go out with just one club? I didn't think so. Different clubs are called for different situations. Just as different lures are called for different situations. But since this a largemouth bass fishing site I guess I can think of just one lure that is a good overall lure for largemouth bass. Not many people will be able to tell you that this particular lure is the super bass lure. And I am sure this will bring up much controversy. Well, let me tell you. The super lure is the one and only chartreuse skirted, pointed head, colarado blade spinnerbait. I have found that over the years this lure is good in practically any situation. And it can be fished with so many different types of retrieves. Well, there you have it, the super lure. But remember, this lure is a great overall lure, but there are many different lures that can beat it hands down in a specific condition. Experiment, and refer to the lures section of this page for more information.