The Art of Landing Trophy Fish

(Blake Russell photo

Landing smaller fish happens to be quite a bit easier than getting larger fish into the boat. A trophy fish is larger, meaning they have more leverage to throw a hook or break your line. This all may seem like a no-brainer, but in the heat of the moment, it can be easy to forget what we've learned.
Quality Line/Quality Knot
You never know when that fish of a lifetime will come around. Every cast will require you to be prepared. To prevent line breakage while fighting a trophy, making sure you have new, high-quality line on your reel and a quality knot tied will help you elimination one area of potential weakness. Get in the habit of checking for line nicks, and retying often.
Have Your Drag Set Correctly
We've all been in the situation where we've lost a big fish because our drag was too tight. Make sure you have your drag set in such a way that it allows for a good hook set but also will allow for a bigger fish to take line when they go on a run.
Stay Calm; Don’t Get Too Excited
Trust me, I know a big fish on the end of your line gets you excited. Perhaps the most important thing to do is stay calm and let the fish do what it's going to do. If you have a quality knot, quality line, and your drag is set properly, the odds of landing the fish are good. Getting too excited often results in rushing things, which usually results in heartbreak.

Freshwater Fishing Tips

• Black Bass
• Panfish
• Striped Bass, Sunshine Bass and White Bass
• Catfish
• Butterfly Peacock Bass
• Safety tips for getting outdoors (PDF; 495KB)
• Catch and Release, and Fish Handling

Black Bass

The largemouth bass is the best known and most popular freshwater game fish in Florida. Found statewide, largemouth bass have excellent growth rates, particularly in the productive waters of central Florida. Historically known for huge bass, Florida remains an outstanding destination to catch a trophy.

Spring is the best time of year to catch bass, when fish move into shallow water to spawn. Spawning may occur as early as January in extreme south Florida and as late as May in the panhandle, but March and April are peak months. Most large bass are taken at this time; after spawning, many large females move to offshore areas.

The best live bait is a golden shiner, fished under a float or free-lined. Typically, the shiner is hooked through the lips or back with a large hook, 2/0 to 5/0. A medium to medium-heavy rod with 14- to 20-pound test line is preferred, particularly when fishing in areas with thick vegetation or cover.

The plastic worm is the most dependable artificial bait for largemouth bass. A weedless "Texas- or Carolina-rigged" worm is effective for fishing Florida lakes with heavy plant cover. Worms come in a variety of colors and scents, and bass may favor certain types depending on light conditions; be sure to have both light and dark colors available, as well as several sizes of tapered worm weights from ¹/₈ to ounce. Purple "metalflake" or "red shad" worms with twirly-tails are popular, and plastic lizards can be effective as well.

Most plastic worms are worked slowly along the bottom or through cover by raising the rod tip a few feet, then allowing the worm to sink. The line should be kept fairly tight to feel the strike. Typically an angler will feel the bass "tap" the worm once or twice lightly. By lowering the rod tip and waiting only until the slack is out of the line before setting the hook, anglers greatly lessen the chance of injury to the fish due to deep hooking.

With active bass and dense underwater vegetation, "jerk worms" are an excellent bait. Rigged without sinkers, these worms are jigged rapidly over vegetation, with brief pauses to let the worm sink slowly. Bass hit these baits hard, and an instant hookset is recommended.

Spinnerbaits are very good in the spring, usually fished slowly around drop-offs and cover. If a slow retrieve fails, try "buzzing", i.e., retrieving the spinnerbait rapidly so the blades ripple the surface.

Crankbaits typically imitate baitfish or crayfish, and a straight retrieve is usually effective. The design of the plastic lip determines how deep the lure dives, and anglers can adjust their choice of baits based on water depth. Popular colors are white, shad, firetiger (green striped with orange underside) and crayfish.

Topwater baits are exciting to fish because the angler can see the strike. Topwater plugs that imitate wounded baitfish may be twitched to entice bass. Others are designed to make noise, and a faster, erratic retrieve may antagonize a bass into striking. Topwater lures are most successful during early morning or late afternoon. Stay ready for a surprise strike and set the hook immediately.

Although the largemouth bass is by far our most common black bass, other species are found in Florida. The smaller Suwannee bass occurs in the Suwannee River and its tributaries, and in the Ochlockonee River. Favoring rock outcrops and moving water, Suwannee bass prefer crayfish to many prey items of largemouth. Crayfish-imitating crankbaits worked through deep-water bends will attract these hard fighting fish, as will plastic worms, plastic lizards or crayfish. The Santa Fe River is another good spot, and trophy-sized Suwannee bass up to three pounds can be found in the Ochlockonee River north of I-10.