basshead1

I have heard about lots of people hearing things lately but I have not heard from anyone who actually has been there. I heard all of the above. Fish kill. Weeds. Too many gators. I also heard the water is so low that it is hard to launch and that is why the other excuses came up. There is a tackle shop at the launch there maybe give them a call and ask. I may do that tomorrow myself because I am curious and I always wanted to fish there too. Let us know if you end up calling and I will do the same. Good luck.

I would rent a kayak for a week. The best spots can only be had by boat. When I first moved down and fished from shore I would walk the canals in east Lehigh and Hendry county. Another decent spot that is killer if you have shiners is Hans Marsh preserve in Lehigh but walk south down the dirt road to the top of the Orange River/beginning of Abel Canal. Nice Bass back there and the snook and tarpon stack up there too in the winter. I have caught em there with rubber worms and cranks too but a bucket of shiners and your drag will be singing. Sunshine Blvd North canal system has lots of bass too. Behind the Lehigh Medical Center there are a few ponds. Also north of that at the end of 14th St west. Health Park Hospital in Fort Myers has a few ponds with fish in em and a secret spot for baby tarpon. shhh lol My favorite spot for bass though is Lakes Park. Sunrise in the summer and sunset in the winter. There are big snook in there and sunshine bass. My 3 biggest bass in my life are from Lakes Park. This is Lakes Park here. Use big baits in there because there is plenty of food. Creature baits and 10-12 inch worms bounced under bushes work best for me. That water is murky green so I add a rattle for some noise. I will be there tomorrow afternoon watching the sun set hopefully. Well the caffeine is running out. Good luck on your visit.

I am looking at the Ego nets right now. They make the wallet ache but they are supposed to be good.

Here is the answer.......... http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/25442-any-pelican-bass-raider-owners-out-there/ Lots of happy Bass Raider owners on this board. I love my Bass Raider. Good luck.

It is bass season down here and I have the fever so I hung up my kayak and I have been putting the Bass Raider to use. I have already caught a couple 5 lbers and lost a 10lber(could've ate the 5lbers) at boat side. I need a landing net to save my back and prevent the loss of another hawg. Any recommendations? I went through this whole thread again, took a week, and I think I know which mods I will make for this season. I bought a fish finder earlier this year and I am finally going to mount it. I am just going to mount the transducer on my trolling motor and mount a couple of Scotty mounts so I can use my kayak's rod holders and FF mount. I am also going to work on a paddle mount for the kayak paddle that I use in my boat. Ack.com is a great site for discovering new things to use. I was looking into that 3M VHB tape that someone posted back a few pages ago and on 3M's website they offer free samples so I ordered some to test out. I will let yahs know how it works out. Someone asked about the Harbor Freight trailers a couple pages back. I have the 4x8 with the 12" wheels and it works great for the boat and my kayak. I even picked up a new stove with it the other day. I just bolted on some plywood and leave it flat. I was thinking about building some side supports for it too because there would still be room even with the width of the boat. I will post some pics of my work and if I catch another hawg I will post that too for you northern guys. Here is a healthy one I caught on turkey day. BTW if you haven't tried Zman Paddlerz, you should. They are made for salt but bass love em too. I use new penny or electric chicken for bass.

I am interested. I was actually thinking about building a livewell for tournaments with the Jon Boat Bass Club. https://www.facebook.com/JonBoatBassClub You can actually do photo catch and release tournaments online. 321fish.com usually has a few. I also kayak fish too and we have a great kayak fishing club down here that does tournaments throughout the year. Some of the tournaments are open fishing and you can use a kayak, boat, wade, or fish from shore or a bridge ect.... We are also on facebook. Right now I am in a species tournament but life gets in the way and I am not doing so well. heh Plus every year there is a day long charity tournament for paddlers(no motors allowed) that the club holds and gives away a Hobie Pro Angler. And don't forget the Calusa Blueway Festival Fishing Tournament which again is paddlers only no motors. This is not peer pressure for you to also own a kayak but it is. lol

I fish there pretty often in the winter. One day I caught over 20 bass in about 2 hours then it turned off. I was just there on Thanksgiving and caught a nice 5 pounder but usually I catch lots of babies. I was searching all day on Thanksgiving and had no luck then 2 minutes after my wife called me telling me dinner is almost done it turned on. I was late for dinner. lmao

They had some really good deals last week with free shipping. I spent like $25 and got a box of stuff.

I love Ebay and always use Paypal through my credit card for the extra protection. I only had one problem in 13 years of buying off ebAy and it was fixed with a 5 minute call to Paypal. Be careful of foreign sellers and always check feedback.

My next yak is either going to be a Native Slayer or a Jackson Cuda. Both are right around $1300.

We love fish porn and boat porn on here. Post away.

I had an inflatable pontoon and I bet you would have a hard time stabbing it with a knife. It will stand up to decent sized hooks too. What I didn't like was the time it took for setup. I ended up roof topping a kayak. I have a trailer and a little boat now but the kayak is still my goto for quick fishing trips.

I have bass fever right now py8pointer. We may need to share some spots. I know a few good spots down here. I know one that I have caught my 3 biggest bass and there are people around everywhere but I rarely see someone fishing. Do you ever go to Babcock/Webb?

I had a buddy who could not swim but owned a row boat and he wore his jacket all the time. He was always hesitant in everything on the boat and missed lots of action. I recommend at least learning the back stroke and how to tread. You can do the back stroke for hours without getting tired. It is lots easier learning in a pool with a lifeguard than in the middle of a lake alone.

I think I need to make a rudder too. A couple of the local bass lakes are electric only and if I put the motor in front it is almost impossible to keep straight with any wind at all. My outboard works nice as a rudder when trolling the mangroves though.

Kayak fishing is addictive. Be careful. Same goes with me for the anchor. Most of the time I will drift but if I am fishing mangroves or a nice honey hole and I do not want to get pulled in by a nice fish then I will use my parking pole or an anchor if is too deep for the pole.

I was on the Caloosahatchee last week and you can barely see down 6 inches and the current is moving. Franklin Locks is wide open with tarpon and snook stacked up below it. I think I know where I am going this weekend.heh

I am kinda newly registered but a long time browser. I started fishing as a kid with my grandmother and uncle and I am still obsessed to this day. I mostly fish out of a kayak or my Bass Raider but I still do the occasional wade or bank fishing. I love bass fishing and it is my first love but that is just 1 of the many game fish to target down here in SW Florida. Gotta love the snook too.

I have the Pescador 12 and love it. It is fast, glides nice, very stable, and you can not beat the price for a rebadged Tarpon. I got mine last fall off of Amazon for $420 shipped to my door. The prices start to drop in September if you don't mind waiting. A few of my friends have Pro Anglers and I keep up with them no problem but they can not keep up with me on the flats. They need a foot of water, I only need 4 inches.

Thanks. I have only had it for a month but the Hangkai has not failed me yet. Starts on the first pull and it sips fuel. 1 tank(1.1 liter) lasts me 2 outings but I do lots of drifting and use the electric when working the mangroves. This may be how I rig mine. I am hesitant to drill holes.

Don't laugh but I picked up one of them Chinese Ebay Hangkai 3.5 motors. I paid $360 shipped from China, took 2 weeks to get through customs but it was worth the wait. It idles at about the same speed as my electric motor at 5 and it gets me through some heavy currents that the electric failed me on. It runs about 8-12 mph depending on the wind and the current according to my gps. I mostly fish saltwater flats and passes and this little boat moves really nice and I have not needed the bilge pump. It floats like a bobber right over some big boat wakes. Here is a pic of her in the Caloosahatchee River, downriver from the Big O. They have been draining the Big O and the water is nasty right now and not many fish in the big river but I did manage to find some in the creeks the other day. I use a Harbor Freight 4x8 trailer to tow it with my minivan and it works great. And yes that is a kayak paddle, works great when standing.

That depends on the balance of the paddler.

Get reading.lol http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/25442-any-pelican-bass-raider-owners-out-there/

Perception Sport Pescador is what I use and it is always going on sale at Amazon. Wait for the sale though, I got mine for $420.

I did too. Dicks had a great sale and free shipping.