Hale

I have the X96 for a bow mount and it works great and very simple to operate.

Im on Adelphia (which was just bought by Comcast) and I have Outdoor Channel and OLN (now VS - Versus)

I caught a flu in a foregin country.....

Some more info for the non-florida crew: DESCRIPTION - Broken lateral line and turquoise ring on the tail are diagnostic; general coloration includes 6-8 bars that can be faint or dark; body color varies greatly in intensity sometimes with bright red on the chin, throat, and breast; has both spiny and soft dorsal fins and a rounded caudal fin. RANGE - First recorded in Florida Bay in 1983, now established and abundant in south Florida as far north as Lake Okeechobee and the St. Lucie Canal. Native to Atlantic slope of Central and South America. HABITAT Very adaptable and lives well in variety of habitats including canals, rivers, lakes and marshes; tolerates wide range of salinities. SPAWNING HABITS Nest building primarily occurs in April, followed by peak spawn in May and June; both parents guard young for up to six weeks; generally spawn once per year. FEEDING HABITS - Consumes grass shrimp, small fish, snails, and insects along with some incidental detritus and vegetative matter. AGE AND GROWTH Largest measured by Commission scientists was 12.6 inches and weighed 1.5 pounds, but may reach larger sizes as the IGFA world record is listed at 15 inches and 2.5 pounds; maximum reported age is 7 years. SPORTING QUALITY Sometimes referred to as the "atomic sunfish;" takes variety of natural baits including live worms, grass shrimp, crickets, as well as almost any small artificial, particularly jigs, fished on light tackle; wooly worms, small streamers, and popping bugs used by flyfishers also taken aggressively. EDIBILITY Good; white, flaky meat with mild flavor; no bag or size limits.

I was looking at some pics of some weve caught in the WP area (Osbourne and Lox) and they were all dark the same. He is pretty big but not too uncommon to catch them that big. Ill load some pics of ours in the next day or two so you can compare them.

IT IS A MAYAN CHICLID

The climate here in South Florida is not like anywhere else in this country. The winters are very mild and seeing days below 50 can be rare most seasons. This is the most critical part of the Peacocks survival, temps drop below 60 there chances of survival are very slim. They were put here by FWC in the 80s to fight against other native species that have been introduced into the canal systems. Oscars, Talapians, and other Chiclids were starting to over run the water systems down here and after a lot of research they decided that the Peacock would be effective in reducing these numbers. It turns out they were right. There is still alot of non-native species in these waters but they slowed down an epidimic. Sometimes you see the wildest and weirdest looking fish in these waters only to find out later it was a fish tank species and now its multiplied and is eating everything. As WPBD pointed out you can catch them on the southern end of P.B county all the way down into Dade county. They are mostly found in all the canal systems down here. Reports of them being caught throughout P.B county are starting to get more consistent but they still lack the size of those in the Miami area. And furthermore those even lack the size of the ones from the Amazon.

You have a pic of its tail? Was there a spot on it? It looks like just like a Mayan Chiclid and they are common down here. He a tough little fighter wasnt he? I am almost willing to bet its a Mayan but without seeing its tail I cant be 100% positive. They are typically a bit more orangish in color but depending on the water you were fishing out its not out of the ordinary to see them a bit more darker.

Peacocks will hit almost any lure. They are territorial and will lash out out anything passing through their zone. They fight hard. You can almost rest assured that any gear you are using right now will get busted by the Peacocks off the Amazon. I dont mean just a tip breaking off a rod but Ive seen a lot of videos where reels were busting. In the non-rainy season you will find them in pockets under cover. The get isolated to these deeper pockets and really become aggresive for food. Here is a link for more info: http://www.peacockbassassociation.com/ You have NO choice but to hire a guide if you really go down there for these. You wont have a boat, the right gear, the right location, or local 'protection'. If you dont have the money to hire a guide on this one just scratch the trip right off the list. And South America is where the big Peacocks are (off the Amazon).

The Peacocks were introduced to the South Florida (Dade/Broward) canals in the 80's by the FWC to take control over other non-native fish that have been introduced to these waters. It was a several year study before this introduction. The Peacock has had a very positive impact to our system down here. Not only in reducing the numbers of Talapia and other Chiclids but also the economic side as now South Florida is the only place in this country to catch Peacocks. So people travel in just to catch this tackle busting warriors. Hopefully the winter will stay mild. Once temp drops below 60f they will start dying off quick.

This happened on an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond. Raymond was tired of always being late, he leaves her behind, and well youll have to watch it. Funny stuff!!!

FIN - the second post was sarcasm but not to be insulting or disrectful. Just to make light of what we are all after.

You need to make friends with someone on the Elite tour and let them explain what good money is. There is a LOT of pros who make a run on the big tour for just a year or two before dropping out. If you dont win, your loosing money. The out of pocket expenses alone runs the average pro 20-25k a year. Of course this is on top of your household expenses that continue on while your gone. Dont make the cut a couple of times and not win a tourney that business degree will be needed. With the exception of some big names like KVD, these guys are not getting rich and making big money (even with sponsors). Preston Clark has done very well for himself lately (won tournaments, corporate sponsors, etc). And yet he still has a 'blue collar' job to make ends meet. Most anyone of them will tell you they do it because its their dream and the money and personal sacrifices wouldnt be worth it otherwise. And as LBH mentioned you getting a boat should be priority one; you have to ask yourself if the chicken came before the egg: You need a dependable truck. Without that, your landlocked with a pretty yard ornament.

Lightbulb! So what you really trying to say is: A fish cant think like humans so they will actually strike from instinct either caused by hunger, fear, or aggression. And with the array of lures on the market we should be able to narrow down what will casue this instinct to work in our favor. Eureka!

I am an engineer as well but I have no interest in bringing anything of a work nature to my fishing life so this will be short and sweet. No big words or over inflated egos, just something very simple: 14 Vibration Bait 13 Horny Toad/ Buzz Bait 12 Spinner Bait 11 Mid-Crank/ ChatterBait/ SwimJig 10 Deep Crank/ BIG SpinnerBait 09 Hard Jerk/ Popper/ Walkin Stick Bait 08 DEEP Hard Jerk 07 SwimBait 06 Carolina Rig 05 Jig-n-Trailer 04 Texas Rig Unpegged w/ Bead (Soft Plastics) 03 Split Shot w/o bead 02 Jig Worm (Shakey Head/ Spot Remover) 01 Drop Shot 0.05 Weightless Soft Plastics Refering to you chart: Does spinner bait rank higher becuase of its vibration? If so, is it because you based this on colorado blades, double blades, or what? A chatterbaits biggest appeal is the vibrations it gives off. But its even further down the list. How does a carolina rig rank higher than a soft plastic when in essence 24" away from that weight is a weightless soft plastic. We can keep going.... This list is entirely too vague even if you removed all of the variables that everyone is mentioning.

This is a bit contradicting. My job wraps up all aspects here as an owner/contractor/employee and there is definitely a huge difference between both/all sides. Any sponsorship regardless of industry is relative to employment. Want to "1 up" everyone? Be a better candidate in all aspects of the position your applying for. This would include education, experience, appearance, and work ethics.

Soemthing that may help you overcome this...get a lawn mower battery from walmart (about 12 bucks) and run the finder of this. You will find that it runs forever and recahrging is minimal. Ive done this in the past on jon-boats and its worked really well for me. Minimized headaches.

Its looking like the forum should have a Florida section seperate from the other regions...hehehe

First and foremost, when it comes your depth finder you have to remember it is only a tool. A screwdriver only allows you to take a screw out, it wont do it by itself. Your depthfinder is there to assist you on catching fishing. Your expereince and knowledge will have to be in control 85% of the time when it comes to the electronics. You dont know its bass, you just evaluate the structure, cover, water, etc. and determine thats a place that should be holding Bass. Then wet a line and see. A lot of people become slaves to their electronics and it causes them to shut down any type of instinct or ration. Go with your gut on where the fish is and use the electronics to help you understand why there would be fish there.

Sunday it is then. Ill call you tomorrow or Sat.

Shiner presentation can be farily easy when starting out...as long as you start out basic. I would say use a 3/0 hook and put the hook through its back behind the dorsal fin. Use a strike indicator run about 3' above the bait. Hooking it in this way allows the shiner to run about somewhat freely, which makes for good excitement when being hunted down by a bass. That shiner will get frantic and may even come out of the water. Try to leave it in a good area and make casting minimal. Hooking it in the back like this will usually kill the shiner after a few casts. I would suggest setting up two rods in this manner and run both at the same time. Until you get a little more effecient at it I wouldnt run more than two lines at a time. Trust me, it can be chaos at times (multiple fish on, tangles, etc). You can also hook it through the bottom lip and come up through one of the nostrils. Someone on here may be able to give a good reason to hook it like that, I personally dont see one. It seems to cause the shiner to swim about in a way that is unnatural. One more tip: You can clip part of its tail to make it swin erratically, a shiner swimming like this is a bass aphrodisiac.

Hey Hey George! We will go fishing this weekend!

Some general info about larger female bass may help you here. Typically when you find bass schooling and they are actively feeding you can find the larger females holding deeper below these active males. The females will actually stay down and catch injured or escaping bait fish that come down below. This is directly related to how lazy larger bass are. So if you find them schooling or a hot area of these smaller fish you referto, fish slower and deepr right in the midst of it. Something else I do when hunting for something big, I will fish much larger baits. At a minimum, it has kept the dinks off.

Well if Florida Bass is harder to catch that makes me feel better! Thats all I fish for being that Im in Florida. If your going to try a live bait, try using wild shiners. Your local bait shop should have some. Geroge will clue us all in on if Florida Strain will grow larger and more difficult to catch. He seems to be the authority on this kind of thing.