The Most Florida Tackle Box Possible?
Those of you living in the far north are likely under a layer of snow right now – and either spending time in the woods, on the slopes, making babies or dreaming of your next soft water bass. Meanwhile, our Florida friends are confronting the spawn and gearing up for the start of the 2024 tournament season. Why not join them down there, either hauling your own boat or flying down and hiring a guide. Fisheries including the Kissimmee Chain, Okeechobee, Headwaters and a wealth of others are open for business.
I’m wishing I had a Florida trip on my near-term agenda, but in lieu of that, I decided to make up the most quintessential Sunshine State tackle box ever. Whether they’re the best choices is subject to debate, but they live at the intersection of effectiveness, usefulness across Florida’s waters, and (in some cases) a bit of Florida history.
You may have forgotten about this Florida-based company, but we all used this lure successfully at some point
More bass get caught on this than just about any lure, and the percentage is likely higher in Florida
The ultimate Florida plastics company and a bait made for slithering through the heaviest grass
Two sizes, lots of colors
Covers water, provokes amazing surface strikes around and over anything
Still the toughest and most universal punching bait
Try the Copperfield or Florida Five-O colors
Bryan Thrift spilled the beans at Okeechobee and it’s still the gold standard
Try the gold/black shiner imitator
Marty Stone once told me at Toho it crushes them there, but he can’t get bit on it elsewhere
The OG Florida topwater
Obviously this list is heavy on soft plastics, but that category seems to play even more in Florida than anyplace else outside of smallmouth country.
When in doubt, go with junebug.
Slower is almost always better with Florida strain bass, especially during and after a cold front
What do you think of my choices? What other lures did I miss that should make the initial cut?
