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I will certainly keep boynton and boca in mind. They are a big hike for me though coming from pembroke pines. Port Everglades is a real pain, the only way is to park at the dania pier and walk over 2 miles to the inlet. Hillsboro is pretty much the same if you can find parking south of the inlet. I'll research some more about haulover and if all else fails i can try boca or boynton. I really appreciate the info! Thank you again! Matt

Anybody on her know how accessable the haulover inlet is. I know it is part of Haulover Park, but if its a county park then i assume there are time restrictions when you can get to it(i.e. sunrise to sunset). I would try to be there just an hour before until an hour after sunrise. Just thinking of another inlet to try out, Port Everglades is hard to get to before sunrise. And Dania beach has been kind of tough for me lately, just want to try a different spot, change of scenery. Thank you in advance. Matt

All great info. I will add for the LMB the topwater frogs will tend to be better in low-light conditions(dawn/dusk) and senkos for the middle of the day. LMB will hit a topwater frog at noon but more apt to do so in lower light. And senkos are great all around, wacky rigged or t-rigged. Just make sure its a slow retrieve. Good Luck and Welcome! Matt

x2. And make sure you stick'em hard when you set the hook! Their mouths are very boney and that hook needs to get buried

Even during snook season i don't think i would keep one. Only fish i've ever kept that i've caught were mahi, and one redfish when i lived in fort myers a long time ago. Of course i don't do a lot of saltwater fishing, i enjoy the experience more than anything else. I'm going to try tomorrow morning even though the conditions will be very calm. If nothing else i will have a beautiful scene as the sun comes up! Thanks againfor the help! Matt

I appreciate all of the info! I am definatly going to try and get the ok from wifey about goin again on sun. I got there very early and was home before she woke up so it shouldnt be a problem. Would love to get a snook on the beach! I've heard this is prime time for beach snook so i will keep my fingers crossed and keep trying! Thank you again! Matt

Will keep that in mind. i only brought 3 lures with me. a topwater plug(which i ruled out by the rougher water) the doa baitbuster, and a bucktail. I figured that would cover top, middle, and bottom of the water column. i'm sure my distance wouldve increased with the bucktail. will certainly throw the bucktail next time. Either way the day was a success for me, got some good exercise and caught something, and even learned a little bit. Cant wait to get back there again! Thank you for the tips! Good Luck! Matt

Well i finally convinced myself to make a trip to the beach for some surf casting. I've been talking about it for a while now. I woke up at 4:30 sunday mornin and was at the beach by a quarter after 5. Wind was howling, and directly out of the east. i walked from the pier north all the way to the inlet and worked my way back. just after the suncame up i saw some birds about 30 yards south diving bait about 10 yards off the beach. I ran down and made a few casts and caught a small jack on a DOA baitbuster. That was all i caught for the morning. Wind made casting distance very tough. But i got out there! Cant wait to do it again, my legs and feet are still a little sore from walkin almost 5 miles on the beach. Good Luck! Matt

Very true. Its a little harder for me when i have to drop my step daughter off at 8am and i live all the way out by I-75. I'd have to go on a weekend and beg the wife to let me go fishin that early, haha. Matt

its amazing how that happens, how one day can make such a huge difference. I also confuse myself quite a bit when trying to decide what conditions are "ideal". Dawn with the outgoing tide, inshore/offshore breeze, what bait is there, etc. Maybe i just think too much and need to just get out there. Have caught a few small snook and redfish in the way past but never tarpon or cudas. Would love to hear a screaming drag! Matt

Love reading these stories, i always try to talk myself into making an early morning trip to the beach for some surf casting but never do. The one saltwater setup i have needs new line and i need new lures and leader, etc. My bass/snakehead addiction keeps me plenty occupied with my free time, haha. Keep the stories coming! Maybe i'll bite the bullet and head out there as well. Matt

I fish frogs all the time with snakeheads and bass in FL. I only throw them in and around cover so i use 40lb PP braid. i only use 40lb because i'm on shore and need distance. 7' MH rod and am going to upgrade to a H very soon. I also keep the drag locked down to horse out whatever i dig my hook into. Matt

I think i will keep it with single hook setups, there are countless applications for that. Thank you for all of the input guys! Matt

I think they are just blowing smoke. As a lot of the guys on here(including myself), if i find a spot thats "loaded" with snakeheads, it won't be loaded by the time i leave, lol. I really enjoy catching these nasty fish, but i enjoy catching bass more. And i don't have an issue with showing someone a "loaded" snakehead honey hole if i have one. Matt

Its been pretty tough down here in south FL. Went just for a little bit the last couple days, and all i caught was a sunburn. Good news is the snakeheads have been great the last few times i made the trek to coral springs, so i may head there again before the week's out to get some kind of confidence! haha. Good luck! Matt

Both good ideas. My current froggin rod has 40lb PP on it already. I fish from shore and felt i needed to sacrifice a little power for distance. The 40lb is good. I do have an occasional break off from snakeheads, but i think thats my own negligence from not re-tying when i should. I would have the 40lb braid on the new frog setup but would i leave it on my current setup or should i switch to lighter line if i wanted it to be used for spinnerbaits? Thank you again! Matt

Well the wife gave me the go ahead for another combo. I think what I will do is get a rig setup strictly for frogs. My current frog rig is a BPS PQ 7.1 on a 7' MH veritas rod. I love the PQ reel so no issues with that. My question is when i do upgrade the frog setup what can i do with my current one? I will say living in south florida i fish through a lot of slop and pads on a regular basis. My other current rig i only really throw weighted plastics. What else do you think is needed for the heavy cover besides frogs and weighted plastics? I dont really fish enough open/clear water for cranks and spinners. I thought of a weightless rig(senko, fluke, etc). Just wanted some outside input, and thank you in advance! Matt

i hadnt been up to springs in a while, and figured wednesday was as good a time as any. The weather has been a problemso therefore we went out early and came back early. We left my house at about 6:15 and were back home by 10:30 before it got too hot. I just stayed in coral springs and didnt venture east at all so i can maximize fishing time. The bass bite down south has been off for me so a change of pace was needed. I have some numbers(which arent much from shore) but havent caught anything over 2lbs in a while. Hopefully i'll figure them out. good luck everyone! Matt

@slacker, bait was a bps humpin toad in black. @shane, it is a very easy stretch of canal to fish. only about 15 yards across and approx 1/2 mile of walkable shore. Have quite a few other spots in the springs area and i'm pretty sure that was my biggest snakehead so far! Matt

Went out yesterday morning on my day off, and took my step daughter with me as she wanted in on some snakehead action. My 2nd cast of the morning yielded that monster, and about 20 minutes later my step daughter landed her first snakehead! I caught 6 overall with this the biggest, the others werent more than 20 inches or so. My step daughter had an absolute blast and cant wait to do it again! Hope you enjoy! Matt

yes the gators certainly arent shy about inspecting that noisy frog on the surface. When you hook a fish in their area is when it gets really exciting!

The hardest thing about frog fishing is to STOP for a couple seconds when you get a blow up. I like to wait and see what direction the fish swims with it and set the hook in the opposite direction(i learned that from these forums). I throw a lot of buzz frogs down here in FL, and i tend to lean more towards darker colors, black, green pumpkin, and watermelon seed. i also have a few darker hollow bodies that produce well

found it, thank you sir! Hopefully i can make it to that one and hopefully they still allow shore huggers to compete! Matt

Speaking of snakehead round ups, any idea when the next one will be? Matt

Interesting. I'm more of a swing for the fences guy