Awesome approach. A 5# bass or a 5oz bluegill, all good. It’s about getting something on the line. If it tugs, it’s good.
Yes on the spinning rod (light/Med to medium) with appropriate line weight. Mepps spinners? Clear bobber and wet fly? Small jig heads and curly or paddle tails? Lots of options for trout, smallmouth, etc.
The old saying: “Don’t believe anything you hear and half of what you see.”
In the case of fishermen, don’t believe anything.
Chunk up a chicken breast into catfish bite size pieces(don’t have to be big). Put in a quart size freezer bag and add a generous amount of strawberry Koolaid and some powdered garlic and mix well. Let it sit in the fridge. That’s it. Catches catfish without fail. There are tons of variants and additions but this basic formula catches catfish here in SC and NC so it should catch them anywhere.
First time at Big O was with a guide and it was all about shiner fishing with circle hooks. Boring fishing but does produce (potentially) big fish. It was edges, clumps depending which way and how hard the wind was blowing then and days previous. Oh, the guide said: If you fall over don’t drown trying to swim. Just stand up! 😂
Good luck.
I agree with Lake George and St Johns or the Kissimmee chain. There are some good bass to be caught in the Silver River in and around Ocala. You are on a heavily fished lake in a heavily populated area. I think that’s why so many bass fishermen end up spending so much time fishing salt water after moving to southwest Florida. Yes, it’s different but there is sooo much to catch. Good luck and enjoy.
Think it through after fishing. Use that session to devise a plan for the next one. Reason it out, change things after consideration (time of year, water conditions, etc) and firm up the plan. Next time you go, stick to the plan. BUT, you must be ready to react to unusual situations, ones you couldn’t foresee when making your plan. Timing is important. Every spot has its time when it will or won’t produce bites. After trying different presentations thoroughly if no bites…….time to go, need to move to another spot. Planning is like hunting. It’s all in the prep. Good luck.
Went to the EWG years ago but still used the round bend on whacky worm and Texas rig occasionally. Still have some, a testament to how many I had before EWG. :)
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Two hardest things to find are a good fishing partner and a good wife.
I fished waaaaay downriver from Umbagog. After they finally cleaned up the Androscoggin from the mill in Rumford, we would catch nice rainbows and smallmouth in the river above Rumford.
When they talk about “God’s country” this place must be included. Beautiful even if the fish don’t cooperate. Nice catch!
No, I’m just trying to help without negative attitude. The guy (Frank) is the regular Joe fisherman and visitors best chance at success in the area. And he is apparently different from your typical bait/tackle shop experience. Did you consider that some cannot afford to “book a charter”? That’s kind of a condescending statement. It , of course, implies that you can. If you can’t help in the spirit intended you might not want to participate here. The quickest way to spoil a resource like this is to inject negativity.
This is about helping. Anyone from somewhere else going there might appreciate this help. It will make their visit much more enjoyable. I feel fortunate to be able to help.
Really, that may be true somewhere but a pretty damning statement unless you’ve been to EVERY bait and tackle store existing. Have you been to Frank’s? Check his web site. It’s made with great effort and detail for the fisherman, any fisherman. No lies, no deception, just hard won information given freely. In SW Florida there is so much opportunity that it can be bewildering without help. That’s what this is about, helping each other.
Go see Roger at the Bait store in North Port or go to Frank’s in Charlotte Harbor ( a few more miles down Rt41 from North Port). Go on https://fishinfranks.com/ and check out the information there.