SoFl-native

Mike i would hit up Blue lagoon lake (airport lake) if i were you. I dont think you are far from there. If i lived there i would be hitting that place all the time. They eliminated all the hydrilla so the fish are pretty easy to find now. You could make a good day there catching peacocks, bass....and maybe a snook, jack, tarpon.

I was born and raised in Kendall and fished for peacocks almost exclusively after catching my first one in 1992. I have planning a trip down to Miami to fish for them and was able to do it on Saturday. I started off at Airport Lakes at sunrise. Caught a small peacock on a superspook right off the bat. I was stoked. As i am unhooking that fish a school of fish came up and started anihilating a bait pod right in front of the boat. Cast over there quickly and the spook got destroyed first twitch. Thought i had a good peacock.....then based on the speed i thought it was a small tarpon.......then i started feeling a familiar head pulse.....a jack? no cant be. Sure as hell was. They were busting bait everywhere all morning. Anyway....fight that little wretched for like 10 minutes and then start working the spook again. 5 casts later i get a nice blow up. He jumps. A snook! haha i was blown away. Caught a couple more peacocks and then a decent LM. Off the water by 11. Next i loaded up and made a move down to the c-101 which was my home canal back in the day. Used to fish it 3-4 days a week. Launched there at 12 had one in the boat by 12:30. Some fish were paired up on beds some were guarding fry. I caught one off a bed and then stopped that as it is so easy it isnt even fun. Ended up with 8 more peacocks one close to 3 and had a big one straighten the light wire hook on a swimming hornet underspin. All in all it was an awesome day. Long drive but worth it. I miss those fish! they are by far the strongest freshwater fish i have ever dealt with including smallmouths. Cant wait until they make it back up here again.

nice fish Mike!

nice bruce! 7.22 would have won by a pound last month. I was going to fish Sunday but was too smoked from saturday.

AM has been better for me too. The PM topwater bite hasnt come on until like 30 minutes before dark. Usually stays that way until we get some cold weather then afternoons get good.

great story

3/8 is my standard.

If you dont want a non-boater to get on your spots then dont fish team/draw tournaments. Fish solo. Problem solved. Sounds like some of you guys arent a pleasure to be in the boat with anyway.

Was it this past weekend? The wind was horrible. Lake must have been ugly.

Did you guys fish that classic Doug? I was fishing in Clark that day and thought i saw you running through. How did you do?

^that. Also if you are fun fishing wait until the afternoon. If it is a cold morning the bite gets better as the day goes on.

Wasnt nearly the rain maker they had forecast...and boy is it cool this morning. Cool for us anyway. 72 this AM at 6:15. I saw on the news that they werent even going to release water from the lake but St lucie canal is open it looks like.

Had another good day. Caught 18 i think total. Several 3's. One close to 5 and a 6.1! My biggest yet from Lox. good frog bite early. Pictured below are one frog fish from early and the two biggest.

arkansas shiner fluke. others came on top water. water is up and rising.

Went out yesterday evening. managed to dodge a couple of t-storms. Water is up a good 18 inches from 2 weeks ago. Only caught 9 or so but the quality was good. 4 in the 4 pound range plus a couple of 3's. biggest below was 4.12.

i feel you on the lighter weights. I start with 1 oz now and go up as needed. 1 oz seems to do it 85% of the time. Bobber stop seems to help it get through and beaver baits penetrate the best imo.

A 24v trolling motor and a power pole are a big help.

The trouble with the EWG is that the bend that holds the bait in place also catches on things as it falls through cover. Try a flipping hook....a straight shank with a keeper of some sort. Trokar and Gambler have worked for me. Also use a bobber stop in front of the weight.

I have lost too many spinnerbaits to count from those things. One big one will twist it beyond repair or just straight snap the wire. Those things are lure destroyers.

baby turtles? wow. those things eat anything.

two states have them: Florida and Hawaii

Look for shade. every decent fish i have caught recently has been in a mat or closely related to it.

Curado is a proven performer. I have an e7 sitting right next to my two 12 year old curado 200's. All of them performing flawlessly.

adicting? really?

used to love fishing those lakes. I can see the ledge from your pic. You need to get a boat in there and drag that ledge.