bocabasser

that is great advice gator. my problem is that i don't make a ton of casts to a specific area. after reading your advice, that is exactly what i will do. i always fish super slow pfc, but it is tough for me because i consider myself a power fisherman. i have a tourney on sunday and the weatherman says it should warm up to the high 70's low 80's, but right now ot is freezing at 55 degrees. i will definitely work an area longer than i normally do. thanks for the tip. great thread warmer.

i am not a hater simonsays, i just agree with wpd. i guess wpd and i don't get as fired up as you do about a CARP. lol

X1 i thought this was BASSresource.com--is there a carpresource.com?

great idea! if you have ever driven through pahokee, you will see some of the richest soil on the planet. the muck they like to call it. i would think a company would purchase the scraped muck for that exact idea.

esr1-welcome.

with all of this talk about lake okeechobee being so low and how bleak things look, my friend finished 3rd in the bass busters gold division. he had big fish of 9.42 pounds. it took 30 pounds to win it and i believe 2nd place was 28 pounds and change. the lake may be low, but some toads are being had.

well said. i only like fishing at night with a full moon when there are lots of clouds and wind. otherwise it is usually tough.

Yes, it is true that the Central and Southern Flood Control System was turned over to SFWMD for maintenance and operations, BUT the Herbert Hoover Dike, the navigational channel and lake levels and lake operations were retained by the federal government exclusively. i do not claim to have the answers, but after reading the article presented by mr. welcome, it seems that sfwmd has A LOT to do with the releasing of water. yes it is a joint decision with the uscoe, but it seems the governing board at the sfwmd has the last word. with all do respect WPD i think you should read the article before you start barking facts. i have attended a couple of the S.A.F.E.R. meetings down here, and it seems that no one has a viable solution. what's next? who knows, but i do know people that fish the st. lucie estuaries and they say that the fresh water coming in is killing the estuaries and the fishing. again i don't have the answer, but something needs to be done SOON, so my children can see lake okeechobee thrive like it once did.

-i always wear the same boardshorts -i always listen to the same radio station on the way to the ramp (it is an oldie station that my friends dad used listen to every time i fished with him---god rest his soul) -always order a pizza from the same pizza place every night before a tourny. -always wear a hat that i cut and made into a visor -always reel my first cast in @ 90 miles an hour so i don't catch a fish on the first cast. -always thank god after every first fish

paca for sure. i tried the rage, and i like them, but the cost is more for less.

peacock bass. those are some fighters.

i swim them on top 99% of the time. i know people who use a small screw in weight and swim them just under the surface and as a swim bait. right now that is a hot bait for me, been crushing them on it.

X1 i went snookin friday night/morning and boated 3 slobs over 25 pounds. released them of corse. also jumped 2 tarpon in the 70 pound range and boated one around 50 pounds. live finger mullet got all of those fish. the best thing was all the fish were caught in a hot water canal in western broward county.

No - nobody care's about it any more. That was years ago - old news. Yaaaaawn! X1

i would not let my dog swim in any canal/lake if i knew there were gators in it. the officer is spot on when he says gators love dogs. i don't believe gators seek out dogs specifically, but when a dog is far from the bank and there is a gator in that body of water, well that is just easy pickens. i have personally seen a small gator (6 FEET) ****** a poodle from shore while the owner looked on helplessy. as far as work goes, i know several painters who do VERY well and seem to be busy all the time. to put things in perspective, my inlaws just purchased a 3 bedroom 2 bath 2 car garage brand new with a pool and it is on a 1/4 acre in port saint lucie for $158,000. it is a buyers market down here and the prices are going to continue to drop. by the way, a good cold front just rolled through and it is cold here to-----this morning was a freezing 57 degrees. i actually have a thermal shirt on underneath my sweater. good luck with your decision.

even when you are just reeling him in?

everytime i hook a fish that is like that and up to 1 pound, i let him swim around for about a minute. i have had some monsters come out of nowhere and try to eat my dink. caught an 8 pounder while reeling in a cichlid.

avid even if the lake receives a lot of rain, the water management will soon dump it into the indian river lagoon to the north and biscayne bay to the south. those folks don't know what they are doing. why did they drain ANY water out of the lake is the question i keep asking myself.

tradewinds park is played out---yea you can still catch fish, but if you want big fish, you have to get creative. coral springs has some toads in ALL of the gated communities. you just have to get in. don't be afraid to fish the canals of margate either. i will give you one spot to try in margate/pompano. lyons road south of atlantic to the church on the left hand side. go past mcnab road and about a 1/4 mile on the left you will see a church/school. park in the townhouse parking lot just on the north side of the canal. if you are not afraid to get your feet wet, walk in the water (only about 1-2 feet deep) and head east. throw a wacky rigged senko and you will get crushed. there are no gators in this canal, so you are safe( i think). a small boat(like a 10' bass hunter is best or a ghenoe). i have caught many fish over 7 pounds in this little dirty canal. if the water is real low by the church, don't fret---keep heading east and the canal will get a little wider--the fish will be stacked up in these deep pockets. good luck and let us know how you do.

i will use the sluggo SS when i am searching for a big fish. i believe it is about 8 inches long and it is thinner than the regular one. alewife, arkansas shiner, and firetiger are my big fish catchers.

i am not to keen on the frogs, horny's and cane toads still are supreme with me. with that said, i love the craws as a trailer for my jigs.

i live right across the street from FAU. let me know when you get here, i will dial you in on all of the local walking spots.

although i have many different brands of cranks and love them all, right out of the box it is either a rapala or lucky craft. rapala is up there for me because i use a lot of them in fresh/brackish/salt water. with lucky craft, you get what you pay for-----a great hard bait.

fished a hot water canal in west broward county last night and caught 3 tarpon around 30 pounds each. jumped 2 that were between 60 and 70 pounds, just couldn't get them to the boat. 10 jacks and 15 small undersized snook. ran out of bait so i was home by 3 am.

ladyfish are amazing BIG snook bait. i have also heard people refer to ladyfish as a poor mans tarpon. they jump and act like juvenile tarpon---super fun to catch, but IMO they are a great big snook bait. bassnblvd said it best---you better hold on when using ladyfish as a bait, because you will get slammed.