Hale

Thats crazy! Insurance is legalized extortion.... My Progressive is 350 for the year with some added options on a new 2006 Nitro. With progressive our two biggest factors on premium costs is your credit score and driving record (in that order). Something that will help get you about a 20% discount is take an approved USCG approved boaters safety course. There is a bunch on the web and the exam will only cost 15.00.

So I have scoured through club listings on various sites. I've sent emails, made phone calls, etc and have had no luck finding a club within a reasonable distance of St Lucie. Anyone know of a good active one? Or do we have enough people in this area to start our own?

6-8w Orvis - LM Bass, peacock bass (Big Montana Trout on the trips)

Progressive seems to be the best. I absolutely hate them, but my boat is insured with them. They have the best rates, best coverage, and seem to have a better program in place for boat coverage than most everyone else. Again, this is for the boat only, forget about property, auto, life with them.

NJFishingGuy: Thats how girlfriends become wives!!!!

Yay for Winter Haven, thats where I grew up. First part of youth was on Lake Pansy and the we moved to Lake Haines (Big City of Lake Alfred).

That funny because its the same here but vice versa. Im looking at flats for dual purpose (i used bay boat in the decription to clarify what kind of flats I was referring to). I live in south florida - world record saltwater fishing, world record bass fishing. Ive looked at the nitro sw compatible upgrades/model. Im really interested in a ranger true flats but I cant find anyone that is running on for both types of fishing to give me some good feedback on FISHING comfort.

11-6 LM Small (private) lake under a dock with a 10" tequila sunrise worm. I was 15yo then and pics are buried in the family albums somewhere - CAUGHT AND RELEASED and I spent years going back after it with no luck at all.

Anyone on here using a flats boat to bass fish out of? (not the aluminum flat bottom duck blind kind - but the saltwater bay boat kind).

Jerking helps prevent premature-a-hookulation! --sorry, I couldnt resist ;D

PM sent

Theres not. Im sure everyone on here can agree that they have had hits/catches when the bait hits the water, initial fall, during retrieve, and even when pulling the lure back up out of the water (that seems to happen to me often since Im paying attention to my next cast at that point!) It will depend on many factors: fish location, fish mood, lure type, etc.

I have to agree with this point. I see so many times fisherman just being lazy by cutting the line and hoping the hook disolves quick enough. We spend thousands of dollars every year on new gear, tackle, etc. Buy yourself some 5 dollar dikes and cut the barb. In the instances where the barb cant be reached, at least cut the hook down as far as you can so there is not as much for the fish to swallow or dissolve. Its easy, just requires a little initiative!

I just read a survival story in Field & Stream about a guy who got bit by a rattle snake here in Florida. The story went on to say it wasnt his first time as he was bite on the hand by cottonmouth while night fishing. he brought in his lure thinking he had a fish and when he realized it wasnt...too late. So with stories like that and the drastic increase in population of the gators down here, night fishing is becoming a distant idea.

Thats just how Swindle is (I cant stand him). Check out the article in the Jul/Aug Bassmaster about Carolina rigs and hes doing the same 'holier than though' shittyattitude (he calls it a quitters bait). Hopefully his 15 minutes is about up and he can go be a boat salesman somewhere.

I try to get out about 5 days a week (the wife just loves that!!! >)

Thanks for the info. And iliked the links too. I have been scouring the internet for more info and there is a lot. Here is one my favortue things i have read in many months: I recall a time many years ago when I helped out Glenn Lau while he was filming his video classic, Bigmouth. Our stage was Florida's Silver River, where about a billion gallons of water spew out every 24 hours and the water temperature stays an almost constant 72 degrees. The severest of cold fronts can't affect this volume of water, insofar as temperature is concerned. Yet at one point in our filming, a cold front turned off the lunker bass that we had been catching. The temperature of the water just a few inches below the surface hadn't changed, so I pondered what else could have caused the big mood swing in the fish. I asked Glenn to try to determine where all the big bass had gone. He went scuba diving for more than an hour. When he returned, he wore the smile of one who knows something the rest of the world doesn't. You wouldn't believe what happened to the bigger bass, Lau told me. They were bunched tightly around cypress tree roots, just sitting there not movinglike they were stuffed. I saw one big female literally draped over a root, so stressed she couldn't maintain her equilibrium.

Does anyone have a chart or set of guideliens they follow for barometric pressures. Its common knowledge that falling pressures before a front will cause bass to become active (and vice versa). But falling from what point will cause the inactivity to change and so forth. This moment is a perfect example for me. The pressure is rising a bit from a passing front but its only at 30.33. Would this still be considered low enough for activity or what? And at what point does is become too low. As you can imagine, with our hurricanes down here we see some very low pressures, even following the storm (Wilma is an exception - and those of you that went through it down here knows what i mean). Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.

Whatever your presentation may be with those topwaters, you can still slow it down. Setup a cadence, no matter if your walking it, popping it, etc. Make sure you establish pauses in there. Why would a fish pick your lure over the school of bait? Becuase yours looks easy prey by being wounded, crippled, dazed, etc!

Welcome to the forum! I dont know much about that area except that there is a lot water around there!

Look in the directory/phonebook for a local bait/tackle shop. Talk with the locals/staff and let them know what you are doing. Them guys will most likely to be the best help as they fish surrounding areas (if not right there). They may even contribute to your campaign by letting you work a few hours here and there for trade in equipment. And at a minimum they will tell what the hottest lures are up there right now. Of course we will all want to see pics of your winning fish!

Evil your going to hit an afternoon school running hungry soon and you will then be hooked on bass fishing forever. That boat and truck will be on your mind every second and march will seem to never get here.

I like fishing channel points and ledges, Its easy to develop a pattern off of these. But give me a couple docks and/or overhanging, submergered woods and its like showing a kid a shiny object.

tennspoher. Your right theres not enough money to go out there at night on the water. We used to sit on that bridge and hit em with the spotlight just to see all the red glowing eyes. Its definitely erie. Enough with the spiders :'(

I thought that looked familiar!!! That fish looks bigger as an avatar!!! LOL