piscicidal

Holiday is still going good. We caught +23lbs there Sunday from 10-4. Four 5lbers and three 3lbers with several big ones lost. A lot of the guys I talk to are in the same boat as me.... after the tourney season we prefer to fish places like Lox/Okeechobee because we get tired of looking at canals. Of course when you go fishing at Okeechobee like I did Saturday...wake up at 3:00AM, spend all day out there, almost die from the heat, and catch 13lbs...those canals start looking pretty good!

Nice! We need to get out there to Lox....it's been awhile.

I love Lox. Tournament season for me is Nov-May and I didn't fish Lox once. From May-Jun, I like going to Lox and just getting away from it all. It is the opposite of tournament fishing...I go out there on my timetable and just work on techniques and finding fish without the constraints of a 3:00 weigh in. I think I am onto something out there right now. I lost two giants on Sunday, I saw the one...she came 100% out of the water. This fish was 7-8lb. The one I lost, I didn't see but I think was bigger. I'm on a goal to break my PB this month out there.

Yeah...I didn't want to sit up on the levee because it is about the highest thing around. SO I went and crouched down at the base of the levee down near the water. Not sure how much safer that was with all the alligators around.

I fished Lox last Saturday and Sunday. Had pretty good luck both days...caught 17-18lb five fish limits with a big one each day (5lb- Saturday, 7lb- Sunday). I lost two big ones on Sunday that would have put me in the mid-20s. Like Eric said, you have to watch out for the storms...I've been dodging them pretty good, but got trapped on Saturday. I pushed it too close, stayed fishing too long out west and couldn't outrun the storms coming in from the east. I tied the boat up to the 3rd spillway, went up on the spoil bank and rode it out. Not fun...sitting in the mud with lightning crashing around trying to keep an eye out for gators.

I got there about 11:00 and ran west...about 12:30 a big storm came in from the East and I got stuck. I tied up to the 3rd spillway, went up on the bank and rode it out. The storm cooled things off and the rest of the day was nice cloudy/windy. Caught almost all my fish on a horny toad in the pepper grass. Caught three fish flipping, including the 5lber.

Bruce, Who was the winner, Walls?

I fished "Flip Fest" at Holiday Saturday. I hadn't fished out there in awhile, made a big run in the morning and the spot was a complete wash out. I was also having engine problems and I couldn't move around like I wanted. With all the storms popping up, I wasn't comfortable with my lack of mobility out there. I went in early (11:30)...had the start of a decent bag, threw back a 6.2lber. Went to Lox Sunday afternoon and had a fun day. Caught +20 almost all in the flats...some decent size also. Had two 4s and a 5. Water is high and moving. Had to dodge one storm, but the rest of the day was really comfortable and fun fishing.

This will be my second ICAST show. It is a great experience. Make sure to get a map and try to work the area in a somewhat methodical manner. If you don't have a plan, it's easy to just stumble around, rubber necking at all the cool stuff and spin around in circles walking through the awesome Strike King exhibit 42 times a day (I just described my first day there). Wear comfortable shoes. There are some great free instructional seminars that they give, mostly related to the business side of fishing. You'll want to look at the brochure on your way in and sign up early for the classes that interest you. Make a point of it to try and seek out Bobby (Megastrike), Big O (Rage Tail), and Glenn. All great guys, that gave Robert and I some fantastic advice that have helped our business.

Bootytrain, Yes, we sell the knob caps separately. They are not set up on the website for automatic ordering. I guess we should do that...I've been getting a ton of requests for anodized end caps lately. Anyway, just send me an email at support@hawgtech.com. $5 each.

Eric, yeah there is definitely enough water to fish the flats. I fished the flats a good chunk of the morning with no trouble. I was even able to get up on plane out there (with help from trim tabs)

You're smarter than me. I ended up running back to the truck three times yesterday. The third time, I just loaded the boat and went home. it's always a little bit nerve wracking out there in the summer with all the storms popping up. I like to fish way west...but the storms usually come in from the east. Can make for a narrowing trip back if you don't leave early enough.

Went to Lox today. My first time there in 2014. Had an OK day...done at noon. Storms chased me off. Five biggest about 15lbs. Two 4lbers. Water lower than I expected. I like it about a foot deeper. Was nice to get out there and run around a little bit.

Thanks for the positive comments. I agree with the sentiment posted by Drewski...it's to the point I can't even use the stock handles anymore. The carbon fibers really balance out the reel and make for lighter, easier, smoother cranking. If we didn't make the best handles out there, I would still probably have carbon fiber on all my reels.

Thanks Mark. I cleaned up my IMs so I should be able to receive now...

Bootytrain, Yes, our anodized aluminum knob caps fit in shimano knobs. I can/do sell these separately to people who are interested. Send me an IM or email: support@hawgtech.com

Hawg Tech's Red, White and Blue sale. This 4th of July weekend, get 15% off all gear from Hawg Tech. Sale starts Friday morning and ends Sunday night at midnight. Hawg Tech handles...proudly made in America by guys who love fishing as much as you do. Use coupon code RWB2014 to receive 15% off your order.

Well, you're doing something right out there Eric. The 10.73lber is the biggest fish I've ever heard of out of Holiday Park. I've fished almost every open tournament out there the past four years and I have only seen one bass over 9lbs there (mine from March). And that includes thousands of hours of prefishing.

Matt, you fished with Ricky? Cool! I talked to Ricky yesterday...the spot you guys fished, Leo and I fished earlier n the week. Had ~35 pounds on it. You are learning real fast how to fish Holiday Park. I see some chatter on facebook about how "easy" Holiday Park is to fish. It's funny though, that the guys saying it's "easy" aren't cashing checks out there. Even when the FLW/Elite series guys come down to fish events (like Channing Crowders tourney), it's basically the King of the Glades guys that dominate. To me, Holiday Park, is "pure fishing"...every fish (right now) in the system is right there in the canal...now who can go catch em? Those fish are very pressured and they've seen every bait imaginable. Who can make the 6-7lbers bite? Can you leave 5lbers to go find the 7s that you need to win? Not a lot of guys can do it.

I neglected to mention it before....we have our website modified so you can order the 90mm straight handles on the site. Click on "Hawg Handle" icon on mainpage. Then click your reel make (Shimano/Daiwa/Abu/etc..) All three handles (90mm straight, 102mm swept, 94mm swept) are available as options under the pulldown menus on the right side of screen. Don't see your reel on the list? send me a text or email support@hawgtech.com. WIth a very few exceptions (new Calcutta E), we fit virtually all baitcast reels made. Thanks, Mike. www.hawgtech.com

Thanks, maico. Just so you all know, when you buy a handle from me/Robert, it has a lifetime warranty*. If you have any problems at all...just call me, send an IM, or send an email to support@hawgtech.com and we will do whatever we can to make it right. -Mike

Yeah, I've been working with Russ Lane for a couple months now. He really likes the handles...has about 20 of them. Bruce, I was trying to get him to come down to Holiday Park a couple months ago when we were breaking 30lbs every trip out. He was trying to work it into his schedule, but it just wouldn't work out. When me and Leo won the Everglades Bassmaster with 37lbs, he congratulated me. Then he went out and got 38 at Lake Fork...LOL.

Alone, Hey, it's Mike from Hawgtech. I'm sending you an IM with my personal phone number. I'll be glad to help you out with any issues you might have.

Eric, Me and Leo fished the big fish tourney at Holiday yesterday. We actually had a pretty good day. We ran north cause we heard the water was muddy around the park. Had about 26lbs by 11:00....a pile of 4.5lbs - 5.5lbs but nothing over 6lbs so we skipped the noon weigh in and kept fishing. Of course, I caught a 6.5 at 12:15.... Some storms started rolling in and we went in about 2:00. Good day, though. Probably 27-28lb bag. The 30lb bags are going to be hard to come by now I think. That water is rising fast.

I went out with my kids couple weeks ago. Got them some tiny tubes at BPS. They both caught over 100 fish: Oscars, sunfish, bass, warmouth. Non stop action. I sat up front and flipped up a pile of 5/6lbers. Win/win!