buzzed bait Posted September 21, 2021 Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 On 9/16/2021 at 7:48 PM, trav said: Having lived in both states in the last 4 years, I’d say a 1 pound handicap would be fair. I've fished both places and would definitely agree with everything you've said! On 9/17/2021 at 4:39 PM, bassbass said: For all the swimbaiters that think it's so easy to catch fish in CA, TX, AZ, and FL I think you should all travel and try it. Yea there are some that make one cast and catch a pig but that is not always the case no matter where you are. Also we are throwing a different bait, down here soft plastics and live bait are king for big fish. too many people are going to gloss right over this, but my dude is speaking the truth! i've fish in florida A LOT of times and frankly i've sucked it up with the big baits. I've caught numbers of fish with frogs and worms, but mostly ALL dinks! I fished in AZ for a few days and saw a couple bigs in Saguaro, but the water was so clear and those fish were so smart it wasn't in my favor! And I'll just say that GA is a big state and has some wildly diverse waters in the North, Middle and Southern regions! I've lived and fished here pretty hard for about 8 years now, A LOT of miles on the truck/kayak, and only this year have I hit a new PB of 7.42 lbs and that place is about 1.5 hours from my house. There are a couple or few lakes that get any trout throughout the year and they're all about 2+ hours north of me. Many of those lakes though are transitioning from largemouth lakes to very heavy spotted bass populations and increased populations of herring. Here in middle-ish/north-ish GA i'm very much surrounded by lakes that are overwhelmingly spotted bass populations feeding on herring and small threadfin shad or gizzard shad in some. Then south GA has some much healthier populations of largemouth and they seem to thrive in the climate in some lakes, especially where they're better managed than the ones locally! Many of the areas limit access to county residents or permit holders which often require you to own some property in the county of something and even at that many of them have very odd hours/days that they open or allow fishing. One of the more notable public areas is still about 3 hours from my house... I'm not saying all that to make any excuses or to defend the handicap here in GA or any of the like... saying all that to say that each and every state is different and within that state there can often be a lot of diversity of the waterways!! Just like Brian said, you've got to put in the time and learn the waters/areas and opportunities that they provide and then put in the work! This is just a super cool opportunity that the SU crew provides, it's totally free to enter and it couldn't be easier to sign-up and post your entries... And there's some awesome stuff up for grabs at that!! Honestly, I think it's a great thing to promote the spirit of more fishing/catching and less mail calls/bait drops!! trav, StriperAddict, bassbass and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trav Posted September 21, 2021 Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 If I may, I’d also like to add that the handicap, that’s somewhat based on the current state record, may be slightly outdated. Arizona, which has a state record and Colorado River record, is 16-7 (state record) caught in 1997, and 16-14 (Colorado River record) caught in 1996 Florida State Record is 17.25lb caught in 1986 Georgia State record and WR is 22-4, caught in 1932…. The most recent record for those states is over 20 years old. Loudsplashbassn_ and buzzed bait 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ipleadthefish2 Posted September 21, 2021 Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 What Brian said... You're like the wise Swimbait Father we all need. I have spent the past 2 Decembers in Florida chucking big baits with MLF pro's for guides, and have yet to break 5lbs. (My wife did stick a big 7 but we're not here to talk about that. Lol...) There are TONs of big fish in the south. I spent around 3 years fishing everyday around South Carolina, and saw well over 100 fish that I would guess were in that 8-10lb class... I currently only have 2 over 10 and 2 more in that 8-10lb range. It's not as easy as just going out and doing it. To follow up on what Jesse says too... I won a monthly sub with a big 5 a few years back. I grinded all week long and came out on top. Its about the time, not about the place as much. 1 lb IMO for FL. No idea for AZ. CG_Fishes and bassbass 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azsouth Posted September 22, 2021 Report Share Posted September 22, 2021 Born and raised in California ( Bay area ) and moved to Arizona, There is no comparison from California to Az. there are thousands of lakes in California and just a few in Arizona... and what lakes we have get fished 24/7/365 hard!! And as previously stated in the salt chain we have had the golden algae kill off....Basically killed one of our lakes (Apache) Not whining, just stating the facts. buzzed bait 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroutPikeBass Posted May 10 Report Share Posted May 10 What about doing something like the Strike master competition last month where they split states in different (regions) where states that had small bass could compete with each other, and the big 3 in their own region. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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