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When I'm looking at a veggie location there are several obvious observations. 1). I look for green veggies. 2). I look for isolated clumps rather then massive fields. 3). I look for two or three types of green stuff together. 4). I look for happy water in the same location as the weeds. 5). I look for bird activity close bye. 6). I look for movement from the weeds. 7). I listen for sounds from the weed field. 8). If a location meets a few of the above I will fish it with plastics slowly.

I'm happy catching bass, not happy catching nothing. I will throw where big fish should be, but not just after big fish. The tug on the line, and bass to the boat makes me happy. The occasional big girl finds her way to the boat. I'm much more happy catching 25, then just one big fish. Not a tournament fisherman.

In Florida I have been working hard for the bites I have been getting. Find current and cloud cover and the bite has been better. A few big old girls but lots of smaller bass. Most on senko type baits, and zoom U-Vibes, fished slowly. Good luck it will get better.

In South Florida we have massive flats a consistent 3 to 5 feet deep. Our flats are are full of vegetation that covers almost every inch of the bottom and sometimes all the way to the top. The bass love these areas and so do the fisherman. Many of our tournaments are won in the flats, pitching and flipping baits. Many will throw vibrating baits like swim baits, U-Vibes, chatterbaits, and spinnerbaits. Baits that will call them out of their grass hiding spots, and finally noisy top water baits. This is far different then your original scenario, but still a flat, and still an area loaded with bass of all sizes.

Lox Preserve Lox Road Ramps 6:30-Noon Mostly Sunny 91* Light wind NW No Current W/T 84* Went to Lox and put in at first light. Went with a friend, and we began in the flat fishing a H/B Frog. We had a couple of hit and misses. I switched to a swim bait with similar results. I then went to a senko and caught a nice 18 inch bass right away. Caught a few more dinks and then another 18 inch beauty. The first bass had a baby bump, so we are getting closer to spawning season. I switched to a junebug, and black trick worm and caught 3 more quickly. Once the wind stopped and the sun got high, the bite came to a quick stop. For the next two hours neither of us got so much as a bump. We called it quits at noon. We stayed the entire time in the flats, and finished with 6 bass caught. Two of those six in the 18 inch size. The grass in the flats is thick, and you need a good T/M to keep from getting rapped. Low boat traffic, and it seems that the construction at the ramps is done. Still better then sitting home watching the tube. The South florida guys have been awfully quiet lately with their reports!?

If you smoked one cigarette a day,you might be fine, but why do it! I do all catch and release in Florida freshwater, would rather eat saltwater fish any day.

A bunch of old tackle shops have closed in my area because of the big retail stores and the internet. I had a great one on Griffin road in Davie that was owned by Pat Fitzpatrick. He lived on Poga and was as knowledgeable as anyone in the sport of fishing. Every time you went in the store there would be ten guys sitting in the back room talking fishing. You were always welcome to come in a join in on the conversation. He died a slow death from cancer, and his wife took over the store for another 5 years. The years and health issues made her give up the business. I miss that store and the entire fishing community has lost a good friend when that place closed down. His store was Everglades Bass Pro Shop, and he had that name way before the national chain came to Florida. The store was there at least 40 years. Miss you Pat and his lovely wife.

In south Florida I would say no. High Mercury levels. In your area it might be ok.

See if you can find a farmer with a big barn. My daughter was in college in Ohio and a farmer allowed us to store her furniture and stuff in his barn over the summer. It was great, we never had a problem, and he refused to charge us. Just super nice people!

I went somewhere this summer that I didn't know would be a good bucket list body of water. I never even heard of this lake. My son in law rented a lake front house right on Lake Nantahala, North Carolina. It is the highest lake reservoir east of the Mississippi. Surrounded by mountains, and over half the surrounding property is National Forrest and will never be built on. This is a gorgeous setting. We had a pontoon boat that came with the house rental, with a four stroke, and T/M, and two kayaks The lake has a good supply of largemouth, smallmouth, crappy, lake trout, and salmon. Since most of the locals troll for salmon, we had the bass fishing to ourselves. We hired a guide for half a day to get a feeling of the lake, and then went out on our own all week. There is a good size river that flows into reservoir, and you can motor up the river for miles, and it looks like your in a canyon river out west.. This is where the bass action was most prevalent. Lots of lay downs on both sides of the river. All our bass came out of this wood. The main lake is over 200 feet deep, with sharp drop-offs. In the early morning there was a black bear spotted swimming to an island in the lake. Lots of black bear. This lake is very close to Cherokee NC. Our guide was pure Cherokee who retired from the US Parks Service. Fascinating stories of growing up as a boy in the mountains, and fighting forest fires for the Park Service all over the country. What a great trip, I will go back!

Almost every week, every trip is different. It's up to you to figure something out for that day. Don't get stuck with just one bait, one technique. Think and adjust, that's the fun in Fishing!

Alligator Alley MM41 Sunday 10/14/18 6:30 - noon temp 87* partly cloudy, light wind East W/T 84.5* current to the east Water stained Went out this morning with a friend Roberto. We ran north and west to the weir, and fished back to the east on the north side. Early, Ricardo was fishing a HB frog and I was using a swimbait. We were getting hit by garbage fish, Gar and Mudders, who were tearing up the baits and slicing line. I switch to a U-Vibe and started fish deep by letting it settle and jerking it off the bottom and letting it fall back. The bass were there deep, and the action using this technique was fairly constant. Most hits were on the fall after the jerk. I switched to a trick worm wacky using the same technique, and fishing was just as good. Once the sun got high the deep action dropped off some, and they seemed to move under the pads to seek some shade. Senkos back into the pads also did quite well. We ended up catching 20 bass, 2 big mudfish and a few brim. It was a fun morning with little boat traffic, good company, and enough action to keep it interesting. Ripping the bait, then letting it settle was what they wanted, at least where we were fishing. The big fish was a little over 3 pounds, with most in the 1.5 range. Anyone fish Lox recently. I would love to get some reports on that place, I almost went there instead pf the Alley. There should be some bedding starting up there, it's about that time of the year!

Believe me the stumps are there just west of the pump station, and their are thousands of them. I have seen a map with all the hazards marked on it. Go on line and see what you can find.

Believe me the stumps are there just west of the pump station, and their are thousands of them.

Sorry to hear that, but stupid crap happens all the time. Once my wife was putting the kids in car seats and left her purse on the roof of the car. She drove away and her purse fell off the roof into the middle of the road. Luckily a police officer saw it fall off and picked it up. He called the house. We had it back shortly, a very lucky day for the whole family. To be equal opportunity stupid! I left McDonald's and put the super size coke on the roof of the car, put everything else inside, got in, and drove away. The new car was covered in coke, and I thought a car full of kids threw it at my car, and for a minute I was on a mission to track them down. I quickly figured out it was my coke and my fault. Really felt like an idiot. Stupid crap just happens in life. Sorry you lost the valuables.

Just take your time and you will be fine. Just don't run in areas that you don't see others running. Some of the best fishing is in those stump areas. Plastics, chug bugs, rattle traps, swim jigs, shallow squarebills are all good at times. Bring a plug knocker or expect to lose some baits with treble hooks. If the wind is high fish the flood gate in the north west corner, you don't even need to go into the main lake. Being very shallow the lake it will get choppy quickly with high winds. Also with high winds the water will get very muddy quickly and take days to clear up after the winds subside. Not an easy place to fish, but it does hold a lot of big fish. The spoil bank that divides the two main lakes is shallow so idle through this area. Anywhere you can find current the big girls will stage. Especially down by the south east pump station. If its been raining, they will be moving water down there and you will hear the pumps from a long way. Good luck and let us know how you do. I live about three hours south of the Marsh.

I have fished it 4 times, and have a friend that lives there and knows the place. Watch for stumps to the west as soon as come out past the palms trees at the first opening. Then to the west of the pump station in the south east corner. If you don’t know the area, don’t open up the boat. Many lower units lost in there.

In South florida most of our fishing is done in 3 to 7 feet of water. Only the canals, and a few lakes, get deeper then that. Everglades are 2 to 6 feet deep for hundreds of miles, and Okeechobee a max depth of 15 feet, with 60% under 6 feet deep. So when you talk about fishing deep we don't do it as much as other parts in the country. Clear water gives us visibility to almost the bottom with thick vegetation the only obstacle. In clear water a bass will not have a problem seeing a bait even in deep water. Remember it's not whether you can see the bait, it's whether the bass can see it. Bass eyes are far different then ours. Also remember that bass eyes are not a bass's only means of detecting pray.

The reports from the South Florida guys are nearly non-existent. Have the boys been staying home? We are not very well represented here.

Good choice, Captain Shane will not disappoint, a great guy, and a ton of laughs.

General rule the clearer the water the more natural and light the colors. The less visibility the darker the color. Also the lower the light conditions the darker the color. Night fishing, first light, and dusk. Those are the simple rules I have followed for a long time, anywhere in the country.

Try a Carolina Rig with a heavy weight, a two or three foot weightless leader, and a Tube with a small piece of Styrofoam inside the tube. Texas rig the tube, with the hook going through both the plastic and the foam, then back through and skin hooked. Totally weedless the rig will work in grass, gravel, mud, or wood bottom. It works great and locks that hook in place. Instead of laying on the bottom this dances just above it drawing strikes. A two foot leader, and the tube will float above the bottom, dance, dive, sit still, and move with current, and raise up above the bottom silt, with the slightest jerk of the line. You can also put a little cotton with scent then the foam and then Texas rig. It will float and release scent for a long time. I have not done this for a while, but used to use it on Okeechobee alot, years ago. The styrofoam makes the tube do it's magic! My favorite way to fish a tube.

As long as it's legal, knock yourself out, it's not for me and never will be. As for expensive gear, you don't need expensive rods and reels to be a good freshwater fisherman. What does a bag of knock-off senkos cost, a bag of zoom trick worms, and some U-Vibes. They will catch a load of bass of all size, you just have to work out a pattern for that day, that hour. Money is not a factor!

The fun of the game is figuring out how to catch them with artificial baits on that day, that hour. Chumming waters and sitting there waiting for them to come to you,would be like watching paint dry. I would rather sit home and watch TV. If that's what excites you, then go for it. For me it's just not exciting enough, and the sense of accomplishment just would not be there. If it came to that, I would give up fishing, and take up shuffleboard.

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