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Sunday 2/23/14, Alligator Alley MM39, partly cloudy, water levels low. Went out today with another member of the site. Things started slow and then picked up considerable. Lots of small fish but not the numbers from last week. Ended up with about 35 small bass, the biggest about 2 pounds.

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while!

You certainly got allot of great advice from those posts. Like other said when you see the strike DON'T SET THE HOOK until a two count. Because you wait, you need heavy line or Braid, and a strong long pole, to yank them out of the slop. It is fun fishing frogs and definitely a big fish bait. The equipment you have will not get the job done.

I'll bet the kids had a ball out there. A day like that and they will be hooked for life. As a parent it doesn't get any better then watching the smiles on their face. So much action out there right now, if that water drops another foot it will really get crazy.

Guys looks like you boys made it to the spillway at the Stick Marsh. Was there current? If so, you can clean up on some big old girls. Congrats!

The water column is top to bottom, but the most important feature is the thermocline. The Thermocline is the spot in the water column with a significant fluctuation in temperature change. Many fish will hang at this level and therefore you can use the proper lure to work that level. With suspending fish I will work plastics with no weight so they fall slower through the water column and give the suspending fish a chance to see them and react. With some electronics you can pinpoint the Thermocline if the unit is adjusted properly. Sometimes you will see fish all suspended at the same level, you can bet that is close to the Thermocline.

I think I need to go to Dicks if they last that long. These from BPS were the size of a sugar pack. So you didn't know they were in your glove or boot. How big are the ones from Dicks?

Some places are better then others. I fished vista view twice last week and probably tomorrow. Been catching quality bass there and pretty good numbers. The alley this weekend two of us were there for 4 hours and had over 100+ bass. I fish quite different then you this time of year. I'm throwing plastics with a 1/32 or 1/16 weight and fishing very slow. Most of the fish I have been catching were down deep, and took the bait while at rest. Two or three small jerks and then let it sit. Ill let it sit 10 to 15 seconds and then repeat the process. You have to be a line watcher for any movement. Senkos, flukes, trick worms, zoom u tails. With the u tails ill slow roll it along the bottom and stop once in a while. Watermelon red, W/M glitter, Okeechobee, and black, are great colors for South Florida. With these real clear waters like vista view and the alley right now west of the river, I use 100% floro line and long casts. Good luck if you go, I hope this helps a little.

I have fished in 30* weather in Orlando and did a lot of the stuff already mentioned. I will add one thing BPS sells these little hot chemical packs that heat up when you crush the pack. We bought a box of them and put them in our gloves and in our boots. They worked great and lasted about an hour. Hands and feet were nice and warm. Just put a new one in when you need one.

1).Mile Marker 30 is the first ramp on the north side. 2). MM35 is the big ramp and rest area with both north side and south side ramps. There are also ramps on the east side and west side of the Miami River. The the east and west side of the river are seperate landlocked systems. 3). MM38.5 Is on the north side further west. I find the water a little cleaner out here. 4).Then you have MM 41 south side. 5). If you go past the Gas station out west you will come to L 28 canal running north and south there is a new concrete ramp out there its on the north side just past the canal. There are other ramps mixed into the Alley. This gives you idea of all the possibilities.

I have seen some high speed runs that were exceptional. They had a home made camera mount on the rear seat post.

Under certain conditions it might not be a good idea to have a change of clothes in the boat. One early morning with 35* weather I saw two guys pushing a big bass boat off a mud flat at the mouth of the Kissimmee River at Lake Okeechobee. The only thing these guys were wearing was a smile. They were not going to get wet the only clothing they had in near freezing weather. You don't need coffee when you start the day like that!

This will be my last comment on what a feel is a ridicules subject. Yes fish should not be abused, thrown, or dropped on carpet, but dropped into the water does not hurt a fish in anyway. Fish race through wood piles, sawgrass, thick weeds chasing bait or running away from bigger predators. Dropping into water is absolutely no problem for an aquatic creature. If you are so concerned about this subject, how can you drive a hook through its mouth, into its head, eye ball, or gullet. You have a problem dropping into water, but have absolutely NO problem sticking a fish! I think its time for some to rethink what your really doing to these little creatures. Its time to go hug a tree!

I have been fishing for over 10 years in a bunch of states north of the Mason Dixon Line, and 30 years in South Florida. I take a bunch of different people out in my boat almost every weekend, and learn something new almost every trip, by watching and listening. Sometimes its good, and sometimes its forgettable. I make a conscience effort to help them if they are looking for any assistance. I hope over the years I have helped a few, God knows they have helped me in many different ways. I have gained many dear friends over the years through this sport I love. The quality of life would be far different without these interactions.

Congrats on placing so high in the tx. This time of year to catch so many peacocks when water temps are under 70*, very interesting. Thanks for the offer.

Capt'n Shane do you have a favorite color and size on that Husky Jerk?

Jupiter is a great place for some big snook fishing in the brackish canal systems. Don't know anything about bass fishing up there. If you find freshwater bodies you;ll find bass.

Lets get real on this one. Dropping 3 feet into the water is the least of the fishes problem. I would worry more about that 4.0 hook, the 65 pound braid, the 7.0 fast reel, and the 7.4 flipping rod, with the 300 pound football player setting the hook. Going back in the water is the least of their problems! Wow!!!!!!!!

Kebler peanut butter cheese crackers are hard to beat. Ill take 2 or 3 packs. Lots of frozen water bottles. There is always one thawing on the deck. On a long trip 3 PBJ sandwiches.

I take a #2 or #3 Ewg Gama light wire hook and Texas rig it right through the nose of the bait and the Styrofoam and then back through the mid section and then skin hook it. The Styrofoam is lock in the bait by the hook and floats as high as the leader. When you pull it, it dips down and then floats back up when stopped. If you shake the weight lightly the tube dances above.

Sunday 2/16/14, 8:00 - 1:00, water temp 64.2*, bluebird skies, light winds. Went out today with a friend from the site. January catch rate was off the chart. Then last week was tough. Today the rate went back up with over 100 caught. We had a couple of three pounders in the mix. The bigger fish were caught deep on wacky rigs. Fun right now in South Florida.

Bill, sorry for the lack of response. I have a boat but fish at least 5 days a week from the bank. There is no lack of spots to fish in Palm Beach County from the bank. You have as much a chance of a big bass from the bank as in the boat. If you fish the canals look for culvert pipes or flood control structures. If the water is flowing you have a good shot of a big fish. In palm beach I would hit Lake Osbourne at Prince Park. Lots of fish and you should see some bedding from the shore. I have done that several afternoons, years ago. The park is close to the Palm Beach Airport. Out west you have Loxahatchee and several spots for bank fishing. In south Florida if you find water it has bass in it. All the canals and lakes are tied into the flood control system and fish and gators move in and out through the culvert pipes. Just keep your eyes open for the slivering stuff, they are there. Good luck whatever you do.

I have taken a small piece of packing Styrofoam and put it in the body of a tube bait. This is great for Carolina rigs. When it stops it floats up high in the grass and moves in the current. Then when you move the bait it drives back down behind the heavy weight. Stop and it slowly floats up, again. It has worked great on Okeechobee.

I would go with a trick worm or finesse worm. Yamoto products way over priced for what you get.