Bouncer Smith is one of the true legends of South Florida fishing — a charter captain, author, conservationist, and storyteller with over six decades on the water. He's written five books, guided thousands of anglers, and pioneered techniques that changed the way we rig lures and release fish. And now, in retirement, he's catching some of the best fish of his life.

In this conversation, we get into Bouncer's recent adventures — from bass fishing in the headwaters to landing two 100-pound tarpon in one afternoon on 80-pound braid in Biscayne Bay. We talk about the five biggest changes in fishing over the last 60 years, from depth finders to forward-facing sonar, from monofilament to braid, from J hooks to circle hooks. We get into his genius circle-hook-in-front-of-the-lure rigging method, solunar tables and how to use them, and Project CSafe — the massive conservation and fishing event happening April 17–26 in Grant, Florida, presented by Star Brite.

Some of the moments I found most meaningful in this conversation were:

Bouncer landing two tarpon over 100 pounds in retirement — and admitting he thought those days were behind him
His breakdown of the five biggest changes in fishing: electronics, GPS, bottom mapping, braid, and modern drags
The circle hook rigging trick that took his tarpon catch rate from 10% to over 90%
His commitment to solunar tables and how he's used moon rise timing to predict bite windows for decades
The power of listening to every angler — because a bass technique might solve a tarpon problem

00:00 Introduction & Project CSafe Overview 03:15 Bouncer's Retirement Fishing Life 06:30 Striped Bass at Lake Lanier & Trophy Trout in Helen, Georgia 11:00 Fishing the Indian River Lagoon — Redfish, Snook & Bass 16:45 Catching Two 100lb Tarpon in Biscayne Bay 21:00 The Five Biggest Changes in Fishing History 28:30 Chemically Sharpened Hooks & Circle Hook Revolution 32:00 Bouncer's Circle Hook Rigging Method — Lures & Live Bait 38:45 Solunar Tables — Predicting When Fish Bite 44:00 Social Media, Conservation & Catch-and-Release Photography 48:30 Project CSafe Details — Tournaments, Clam Restoration, Fish Fry 53:00 Supporting Conservation Organizations 55:30 Final Reflections

🔗 Learn More About Project CSafe – projectcsafe.com

🔗 Connect With Bouncer Smith: Books available on Amazon — search "Bouncer Smith fishing"

📘 Free Resources: 🎁 Saltwater Knot Guide → https://bit.ly/3UnAeIP 🎙️ Tom Rowland Podcast → https://bit.ly/3O4lgn0

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Bouncer Smith | Legendary Miami Guide and Author | Ep. 1009