OK, I concede but don�t surrender the concept of �sport fishing� vs. meat fishing, but totally agree with Jake on using live bait (BG) on �hard to catch� Florida LMB, but have followed his posts long enough to know that he is capable of catching his trophy LMB whatever his method.
Plugs, lures, flies only adds to the versatility of catching these wily creatures.
My preferred method for FL LMB fishing down south when using live bait is the balloon rig method. Using large GSH, you can work pockets in the weed cover of your pond or lake. Depend on water depth, I like the GSH about half way off the bottom. So tie the blown up balloon with a slip knot. just below that, I tie the braided line to a swivel. To the other end of the swivel I tie to leader of florocarbon. I then tie on a 2/0 to 4/0 circle hook. I then hook the GSH just behind the dorsal fin. Pretty simple set up... Toss the large GSH into the pocket and hang on!
CJBS2003, if you got caught using that balloon rig with live bait on Lake Fork or some of our other big bass lakes around here � you would get lynched ...
