Shane Procell

It has been along time since I have seen this much water in the southern part of the glades this time of the year. I had to really look for some slack current to do any good a few days ago. The canals off the trail are running hard and the bite is tough. This was the best fish we could come up with in the Cypress. He took a June Bug Gambler Ace. Here is Jameson and James Bond with a good one. Today we went to Lake Okeechobee and had to really hunt before finally getting into a area that had plenty of willing fish. The lake is up but the Kissimmee grass paid out for us. I will say this, the better fish were all chubby/healthy. Here are a couple that took the Gambler Big EZ's in white. We made a great video as well that is on my You Tube channel. Jeremy with his best for today. My best of the day

I was on the lake today. Fishing was great. Had to look around for a while before I found them. Most of our fish were caught on the Gambler Big EZ and my hand poured frogs. Our best area was in the Kissimmee grass.

That looked exciting!

Bruce that good intel. Your dialed in!

Looking at those two peacocks.....I know exactly where you were and who you chartered. There is only one guide who can produce those. I know that was a blast! You have fished the best area so anything else will be the minor leagues.

I am from Bossier City and born in Bastrop.

Good fish Bruce. The spinnerbait has been on fire.

Very sad indeed.

That is two years in a row now. Tragic

Yes they are all bank canals. Park near the new Temple being built in front of the park. I-75 and Griffin

That's where I would have sent him as well. That must be the best known PeaCock spot in South Florida. I have been seeing a couple of them on beds as of two weeks ago.

That's good advice.

Since I first fished Lake Okeechobee 4 years ago, I have maintained a Love/Hate relationship with her. One trip I can't go wrong and the next your wondering what the heck went wrong. I have found that I have about a 50/50 chance of catching real good fish vs eating a piece of humble pie. Granted I have never been skunked on the lake, I have had days when I wondered why the heck I even wasted my time. I know why I go to Lake O...for the big fish of course. The more I go up to Lake O, the better my odds.... as it should be. Lately my odds of getting on the better fish have gone up. Not sure if I am starting to get the hang of the south end or perhaps the Lake is having mercy on me. I have fished three times up on the south end of Lake Okeechobee in the last ten days. I have been using the BoohYah spinnerbait, the Gambler Lures Big EZ and the Spro Frog (Bronzeye) to do most of the damage. Not that they fish would not take something else, but I like to cast moving baits and have found over the years that my confidence bait/technique is my strength. Here are the better fish from the last ten days including a 9 1/2 and a 10. Hopefully in time I will get aquainted with the west and north ends of the lake. Does anybody else have a similiar relationship with your lake?

I was fishing on Lake Okeechobee today with some fellas from Ohio. A few days ago they had told me that the everglades bass were too easy and they did not care to catch a 100 bass but would like to catch a few good hawgs. I suggested Lake Okeechobee for some chubby chaseing, which turned out to be a great idea. About 10 days ago I had found a school with some pretty good fish, so I was hopeing they were still around. They started off with three some small fish and then then it was on like donkey kong. Bruce was working a BoohYah spinnerbait, clacking it on the surface.....making a heck of a fuss. But it did trigger the first chubby of the morning. Then Bruce followed that one with a ten pounder on the same bait, same technique. I made a cast and was looking around to see what was happening in the back of the boat, when I looked back at my frog it was gone. I set up just in case and was rewarded with a heck of a fight from a beautiful nine pounder. We fished for 6 hours and got 12 fish. I love days like this.

Thats a Big O Monster Steve!

It is going off on the lake right now. One of the most popular and busiest guides on the lake is Capt. Steve McDaniels. He works out of Rolands. Another good one is Capt. Mark Shepard and Brett Isackson who work for BassOnline. I know there are alot of guides up on the lake but theses guys are consistantly putting clients on good fish in all weather and seasonal conditions.

I have been using the Fitzgerald Rods for a while now. For frogging I use the 7-2'' All Purpose Model. They are American made with the best components available. Check em out at www.fitzgeraldrods.com

Bet your drag got a workout!

No I was sent down and never got asked to bat again. Which was fine by me )

Snakeheads are no different than any other fish species. They will go deep at times. As far as a snakehead destroying the bass fishery. That is solely an opinion, and has no scientific backing. On the otherhand: Kelley Gestring who heads up the invasive species unit for the FWC, a guy who knows what is actually happening in our waterway via scientific study and electroshocking, has said that so far he has not seen where the snakehead fish is doing any harm to our native species. He has stated that the largemouth bass are eating the baby snakeheads. I too have seen the same results as I have spent time on the water. I have fished all over South Florida and have seen snakeheads, bass (juveniles to mature), peacock bass, brim, shiners, talapia, turtles etc.... all living together. I now catch and release all my snakeheads unless I intend to eat them. There is no law stating that you have to kill anything in Florida. If I was ever cited a ticket for releasing a fish back in the same water in which it was caught, I can promiss you that it would not stand up in court.

It has been a couple of months since I last fished Lake Okeechobee. But I had a regular client call and wanted to fish the lake for the first time. It was howling on the lake and I had to run around most of my spots for several hours trying to find the cleaner water. Finally i found gin clear water in the SE corner of the lake up next to some pretty reeds. I never fish on a charter, usually I tell them I really don't like to fish.... with a smile on my face. But the Doctor and his son insisted that I demonstrate the Gambler Big EZ bait.......well if you insist A couple of "demo" cast later I was tight on a good fish. That was all the guys needed to see. I was sent down and the clients took over. They had a great time catching many fish, but they lost the two big girls that wanted to dance. Later in the day we went through real slow period and again I was called up to take a shot........well if you insist A few cast later with a Gambler Big EZ in a gold color and I hit a homer.

Wow Steve! You consistantly blow my mind.

Perfect little boat to do some serious snake head and bass damage.

Three years ago I bought into the snake head hype, hook line and sinker. I was one of the loudest opponents of the snake heads in Broward County. I was killing them like crazy and encouraging everyone to do the same. I started to realize that I was catching the snake head in areas that are full of bass, peacock bass, bluegill, oscar, talapia, shiners, turtles and everyhing else. I even noticed all these fish in the C-14, which is supposed to be ground zero for snake heads. I started to ask myself how can the snake head be a monster and there still be so many bass of all sizes in the same areas? If I was not on the water all the time to see it for myself then I might be taken in by the hype. I recently read an article in which Kelley Gestring, who is the head of the FWC Invasive Species unit, which confirmed that I am correct in realiseing that the snake head is just another invasive species that has found its place in our local waters. I have linked to the article at the bottom. One more thing: I am not a proponent of killing a fish just for the sake of killing. I no longer hunt because I really did not like killing the deer. Does that make it wrong to kill a fish or deer? Absolutely not. This is just my personal conviction and sits right with me. http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/03/16/man-snags-supersnake-in-margate-canal/

I will no longer particpate in snakehead bludgeoning tournaments/roundups.