Dwight Hottle

The FWC planted the invasive peacocks in Florida waters on purpose to provide additional fishing opportunities.

Alewife populations have been getting stronger because of warmer winters but this year could cause a dent in the population. They do better in the other great lakes than Erie because they are all deeper. Gizzard shad are always abundant in Erie but they too are killed off from cold water winter kill which should be prevalent this spring. My guess this year will see the perch, goby & emeralds get a lot more pressure from the bass as a consequence.

Major fish kill in Headwaters of tilapia. That's near Vero Beach. Also a fish kill in Okeechobee including snook, armored catfish & other species.

Welcome to BR Steven. Based on your introduction you will be bringing a wealth of knowledge to the forums. Thanks for sharing.

As a past runner I can tell you it is infectious.

Unfortunately the smelt population in Lake Erie is greatly diminished compared to previous years. Heavy concentrations of smelt cause the smallies to feed up as opposed to feeding down. And as @A-Jay mentioned the lure of choice is a smelt colored suspending jerk bait.

Hopefully it will only get better from here. Stay safe.

Try Erik Tilson’s Guide service. Artificials or live bait.

Well here is my report of fishing lake Marian , the Kissimmee river & lake Kissimmee. Me & a high school buddy fished shiners for the whole day while our boat Capt fished a 7’ senko Texas rigged. We fished from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm. The weather was mostly clear sunny skies with air temps from 60 degrees to 82 & the water temps went from 62 to 68 during the day. We were fishing post cold front about five days after with a continuing warming trend. The water on lake Marian was low visibility under a foot with algae present rather than brown tannic strain. Dirty green water. We fished until about noon. Then proceed to the river just below the locks with minimal current present. Lots of gar. Then went to south Kissimmee for the remainder of our day. We were totally skunked. One possible bass chasing a shiner into a rock bank at the lock & that was it. No other action for the day. Should have been a good day based on warming water temps prespawn. We covered water depths from 2’ to 6’ which is about all you can get from these bodies of water with low water conditions. Totally sucked. A true lesson in humility. Some days I get lucky but not today.

Tell the dealer your buying the boat from you need the actual length & width of the boat on a trailer including the motor . You will need a swing tongue on the trailer. Before going home with your new purchase go to a vacant parking lot or a boat ramp & pratice backing up. It helps to have a friend with you.

@ TnRiver46 Live bait fish catches don’t count, A-Jay said artificials only.

16 ounces to a pound. So divide 3oz by 16oz & you get 0.1875 so your total weight is 1.1875

Well I feel for you as I plan my long distance trips in advance. You always try to maximise your chances but Mother Nature had her own agenda. You have set aside the time frame, made reservations & often in my case have purchased airplane travel which you can’t really back out of because of logistics. You really have no choice but to proceed & hope for the best. It is humbling & expensive to boot. As a Florida resident I realise your situation with cold fronts like the last one stacked upon previous cold front’s unrelenting disruption to the spawn. Usually a bad arse kicking is followed by redemption so stay positive & get ready for a good trip in your future.

I voted yes. When a bait runs straight either straight out of the box or after adjustment/tuning it is more effective overall. The only exception is when you want a bait to run either left or right because your trying to keep contact with structure like a bluff wall or the side of a point. Cranks that run true achieve deeper depths & those that truly hunt like a Hot 'N Tot will kick left or right randomly triggering bites like crazy. You can also achieve faster running speeds with a straight runner than one out of tune.

Let’s go.

I am truly sorry for your loss. Your sentiment about life is well spoken.

Now your getting me excited & I haven't even been smallie fishing yet.

I sent you a PM.

They’re going to be dancing in the streets of Seattle. Glenn should be beaming.

My biggest smallie for 2025 at 7-6 caught on a an Omerta tackle jig with a Deps Sakamatashad. Biggest largemouth caught on a live shiner went 9.08

For what it is worth none of the authors on trophy bass fishing have ever experienced FFS or live scope technology before writing their books. Their success was based on learning & experience accumulated the old fashioned way while fishing big fish trophy waters. Adapting what you can learn from them to your use of new technology will require a lot of water time. Good luck with your quest.

I have both the 50 conquest & the 100. If you like the Calcutta lineup you will love the conquest. Best quality round reel made in my opinion. Very versatile.

I got to tell you every time I watch a fishing video with all the rods scattered on the front deck I cringe. Then I watch to see how many times the rods get stepped on.

The alternate derivative to contemplate in this equation is the influence line style can alter the dynamic outcome. Mono line slows the action of the rod down & makes any input to bait movement less crisp because of its inherent stretch. And the strechness of mono varies from brand to brand & lb test. Substituting flouro over mono adds less stretch and is closer to neutral regarding rod action. Using no stretch braid with a short mono or flouro leader increases rod action making for very crisp input to bait actions. I use jerk baits when ever I can depending on conditions. My favorite jerk baits rods are moderate action high quality blanks when using braid to leader setups. Occasionally I will use a fast or moderate fast action rod with mono or flouro. I also always use a lighter drag setting with jerk baits to prevent tearing hooks out.

My experience tells me that the longer rod gives you more casting distance, more flex to protect against losing fish when surging near the boat & quicker line pick up when needed.