Dwight Hottle

Made it out to the golf course honey hole last evening with South Fla, aka Robert. I had just got a new st croix jig rod and wanted to break it in. Usually frogs are the bait of choice on this water. Naturally Robert was throwing a frog, duh. Stubborn me was casting a jig until I got bit & landed my first fish on the new rod. Robert had three bass on the frog before I finally got a bite. Anyhow the jig rod felt great. Naturally the best fish of the outing hit the frog.

Sounds like you guys had a great time. I have fished that venue in February before and it was cold, cold & more cold. Looks like you had plenty of ice & slush to deal with. The ride up to devils hole in that current & winter weather always got my attention.

Great story & a great program.

Nice video.

Vmc was bought out by Rapala a few years back. All current Rapala baits use vmc hooks. Better than average in my opinion. I don't replace them until worn.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/slam_500_greatest.html When it's all said & done I think LeBron might sneak to the top of that list.

Welcome aboard senior by about a year+. Your just hitting your prime.

Wayne I think you enjoyed that more than your wife did. Congrats to both of you.

Outstanding build. You are outdoing yourself.

If you had been using a st croix rod with a diawa reel you would have landed that beast. Time for an equipment change.

Those camo pants make you look like the Big O of smallie fishing. Nice Feb smallie.

Most guys go 2 /3 on the reel & 1/3 on the rod. On better combos I like to go 50/50. A good reel deserves a good rod.

The XD 78 pointers are only 3" long & weigh 1/3 oz. The pointer 100 dd is 4" long & weigh 5/8 oz. I prefer the bigger bait unless your trying to mimic some 3" bait.

Congratulations to you both.

I can help with that missing smallie picture. Great fish.

Artificial bait pb's 32lb pike 34lb musky 38lb lake trout 26lb Chinook salmon 12.2lb walleye 7.6lb smallie 9.2lb largemouth 12.25lb steelhead 7.5lb brown trout 16.5lb channel cat 33lb permit 9.5lb sea trout

I talked to Steve Daniel who guides on Okeechobee and he was telling me he had two customers on board using the UV plastics. Two used regular baits & one used UV baits. The UV baits caught more fish than the regulars. Based on his experiment they are worth a try.

Great story with a happy ending. You & your wife should be very proud.

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/50899/old+men+and+the+sea+four+seniors+team+to+land+987-pound+blue+marlin/

Very nice bass. Welcome to THE resource. Since the criteria is 8lbs or 22" I would not submit it if it didn't measure at 22"

My favorite for smallies is a custom Otterod built on a st croix legend extreme blank SCV 5C72MHM. I use it for all treble baits. My favorite for single hook baits is a st croix legend extreme LXC74HF. I just ordered it today for 1oz jigs, texas rigs & big EZ's. I even shipped it to Robert's house to keep it on the down low.

Palm Beach Gardens.

Out of body experience, could be. Just because I call Erie PA my home doesn't mean I can't have a home in Fl too. Best of both worlds if your wife hates the cold & snow.

Could be. Sent you a pm.