SirSnookalot

I have never seen a tarpon that was not a silver color. I had no idea there were sturgeon down here. Back in Michigan we caught a few in the St Mary's river. As far as I know they feed on or near the bottom. They get enormous.

I see no mention of bass. LC and I briefly discussed shore fishing for other species, that is what I thought he meant.

I have never seen a grass carp jump, but they kinda roll in deeper water sometimes. When one does others seem to be doing it all over the lake as well. They are vegatarians and maybe once in 50,000 casts you may catch one. I caught on a xrap last year. I still think that jumper could have been a freshwater tarpon, many of them in Broward canals.

Not likely of her getting intersted unless the boat didn't have a head but a "powder room" Fished for permit in islamorada but my attempts have failed. Very ilusive fish to catch from what I'm told.

Sure is wasn't grass carp, they roll. I only see the plecostamos (sailfin catfish , armored cat) lay on the bottom. I looked at the FWC list of freshwater native and non native species and see nothing to resemble that description, except a remote chance of a freshwater tarpon.

.ghoti. I appreciate the wealth of information from you, now if I can only leave my wife at home...............haha, fat chance of that.

NOPE. No science here, cast it out and reel it in fast, these cudas don't bite, they attack! Best to use a 4-5000 spinning reel with rod rating of 25# from the pier, off the beach you can go a tad lighter.

As I mentioned it has been poor latley and I haven't caught a snook in weeks. The last 2 days have been producing east winds between 20-30mph with swells up to 6' or more. This is a positive not a negative, the rougher the water the better the fishing, but this year there has been a lack of baitfish and the baitfish bring in the gamefish. It's feast or famine, there are many times you get a hook up on almost every cast, then you can go for days without a strike as is the case now. At an inlet you have to play the tides, snook and tarpon on the outgoing as they like dirty water, other species like clean water so it's the incoming for them. I'll give ya a tip, after spending hundreds of dollars on every lure known to man, it boils down for this. All you really need is a silver spoon, a feather, swimbait if you like them and a topwater. So many of the old timers that catch tons of fish walk around with only a spoon nothing else. Nothing catches more fish than a generic silver spoon for $2.50. lol. I go overboard myself as I like to try different things, but really isn't needed.

Hurricane insurance update. I just came up for renewal. If you get a "Uniform Mitigation Inspection" at a very nominal fee your insurance may drop as much as 50% or more. My rate was $2775. and after the inspection the rate was reduced to $1423. I opted to go with a new company and had no underwriting problem. The rates from both companies were very competitive. BTW the standard deductible for a named storm is 2%. True State Farm has backed out of Florida.

I go every day. This time of the year I don't leave until 5 or 5:30, once the snook are on I'm gone by 3 am.

I don't go overboard on pliers. I use a Rapala, only because in came with a belt sheath, for freshwater works fine. For saltwater I have a pair of Hurricane Stainless for about 10 bucks that have worked flawless for 3 years and no rust, an occaisonal shot of PB blaster keeps them smooth. As far as cutting braid, which pretty much all I use, I burn it, which is better than cutting because a knot is less likely to pull thru.

Everything works some of the time and nothing works all of the time. Fishing is simply a matter of putting in your time and playing the numbers game. Enough casts over time with some experimentation generally will produce something, if not today maybe tomorrow. Enough small fish caught, eventually you'll hook a larger one. I just enjoy being out there and relishing everything nature has to offer, the fish are merely a bonus.

I'm in the area as well and have never seen anything as described. Salt or fresh? I'm in saltwater everymorning everyday without fail and I've seen nothing that resembles swirling squid. Several weeks ago man o wars were beached all over the place, but they don't resemble squid at all.

Hey you're talking to guy that puts an xrap and spoon in his pocket and is good to go.hehe

Zoom flukes or similiar would work well with your style of fishing. Inexpensive too.

I wish you well in your endeavor, but with the decreasing water temperature the snook are few and far between. I may suggest the El Rio canal in Boca on high tide, the snook may be holding up in the warmer water. The bite is Palm Beach County has been poor, but the bright spot for me has been barracuda. Generally its too cold for them now, but they have been around and we have caught a few. We throw surgical tubes on the incoming tide hopefully with a calm wind. They come around like a wolfpack 30 minutes before tide change. Cudas seem to be one of the more difficult fish I have ever caught on artis, you just don't get them everyday. Amazingly how picky they can be. They will chase that lure down at 30mph then turn on dime within inches or if they hit half the time they miss the hook. When they run over 40" they give one heck of fight. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp;jsessionid=EMFEZVXAEFH0DLAQBBJCCNVMCAEFGIWE?id=0003480312438a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=saltwter+lures&Ntk=Products&sort=all&Go.y=12&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&_D%3Asort=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&Go.x=8&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_requestid=55 I use something like this but I make my own.

I'll put my response on the other species board.

For my money south Florida has the best winter weather. It's a given that fish live in water and water produces humidity but I find it very tolerable in the winter months. I'm no expert on fishing in the western desert states, but I've been out there and the humidity is very low.

Me too, I even clean my cork rod handles on a regular basis with denatured alcohol.

I had the identical expierence from Shimano, my warranty was voided for using a brand other than theirs. At present I'm using corosion x, simply the best I have ever used.

I have caught many muskie as well as other toothy fish both fresh and salt. A steel leader is not a must but a good insurance policy to avoid a cutoff. If a northern or muskie would hit a lure with a steel leader (and they do) I think fluro would be a waste, a good mono leader is more than sufficient, just check and change when needed. When I use a steel leader I always make my own, easy to make and I think the quality is better or just use piano wire and twist it.

I see that the people that gave permission do not actually live on the lake themselves. I think we have a much different situation. If they have lake privileges there is a common access area that would be owned by the HOA and not any individual homeowner. I don't think your homeowner has the power to grant permission to his friends that are alone and unaccompanied by him. I don't mean to insinuate that someone there would or would not complain. This is an HOA decision and may be addressed in their documentation, if not your homeowner friend would have to bring it up to the HOA board for a vote. If your friend is a merely a casual one your chances are slim at best in my opinion.

Roadwarrior is right on the money. I may go a step further, if you used a credit card for the purchase, dispute the sale, as I'm sure the card has been charged. Visa or mastercard may have better luck getting to the bottom of your dilema.

I don't like swivelsnaps, especially for top lures. Duolocks are light and work well and would be my choice. Personally I tie everything and never use a barrel swivel to attach my leader. If you feel the snap is not affecting the lure action and you prefer the quick change, I would definatley use them.

Children can get arthritis, it's not just a disease for seniors. There is lot to be said for pain being physco sematic, that's what makes hypochondriacs. I'd only consult a physcian if your pain is acute and you are in agony, otherwise let nature run it's course, time generally cures these maladies.