Category: Tips & Tactics

Florida publishes the locations of underwater fish attractors, including brush and artificial structures in public lakes. Those points can help catfish anglers choose somewhere specific to investigate instead of drifting across featureless water. But a marked attractor is a habitat … Read the rest

An alligator approaching your catfish bait is a reason to stop fishing, not a challenge to land the fish first. If you can retrieve your line without getting closer to the animal, do so and move away. If the alligator … Read the rest

The dangerous part of a catfish is not its whiskers. For Florida anglers, the immediate handling hazard is a set of stiff fin spines that can puncture skin when a fish twists in a hand or landing net. Knowing where … Read the rest

Better striped bass release habits start before the fish ever hits the net. The latest official guidance points anglers toward a simple pattern: shorten the fight, keep the fish wet, reduce air exposure, handle it with support, and rethink the … Read the rest

Rick Clunn’s topwater strategy tips are a useful reminder that surface fishing is not just a shallow-bank trick. For bass anglers, the real lesson is control: control the pause, control the sound, control the angle, and control your confidence when … Read the rest

A fishing-line recycling tube at a Florida boat ramp is not a general tackle trash can. It can accept clean monofilament and fluorocarbon line, but not braided line, wire leaders, hooks, or sinkers. For catfish anglers who regularly fish around … Read the rest

A whiskered fish from a Florida lake or river is not automatically a channel catfish. The quickest useful check is the tail: a deep fork suggests channel or blue catfish; a more modest fork can point toward a white catfish; … Read the rest

Before launching for catfish on a Florida river, particularly after heavy rain, check two different things: what the water is doing and what boats are allowed to do on your exact stretch of river. A gauge can show a rise … Read the rest

Low Oxygen Fishing gets serious fast when heat stacks on top of poor dissolved oxygen. Fish may still bite, but the water column can shrink into a narrow band where temperature and oxygen are both tolerable. Your job is not … Read the rest

Striped bass conservation starts before a fish ever comes tight. The right release plan is not a guilt trip; it is a practical fishing skill, just like reading current seams or setting drag. If you want more stripers around for … Read the rest