FloridaFishinFool

TNF can be measured in more than one way. You prefer to deflect tips and measure tip swings for some reason which can never be calibrated so cross rod comparisons results in compromised data. I choose to use a digital frequency counter with transducer and measure the TNF of a rod that way. Like ringing a bell. Each time you hit the bell you hear the same tone. The same frequency. Rods are no different. Each has their own TNF as well but due to calibration issues I don't count tip swings to measure TNF. This issue has confused custom rod building. Prove it. As far as I know, the remaining rod is still the same. However it bent before losing a little tip, it will still bend the same after losing some tip. I see no reason why it should change. So I need objective data here. Proof. Physical evidence. You are somehow suggesting that the 2 or 3 or 4 inches of tip dictates to the rest of the rod how to bend. I disagree.

Breaking any length of tip off of a rod does not "move" anything on the remaining rod shaft. The rod still bends identical to before. Just missing some tip is all. Since the bend area cannot just get up and move up and down the rod shaft, by way of missing more of the tip, the fixed physical location of the bend area is now closer to the tip. Hence, a now faster rod reaction and response. I'd agree with you if the rods would only do as suggested and move bending areas for us. But as I see it, once the rod is solidified, that is not happening. Bend area stays in same place. And no, it is not logical to me. Let's just agree to disagree.

Yep. That's it. I just searched for the history of the rat'l trap and found an article. I hope its OK to post a link to an article? I surely do not want to break any rules. Gonna go read them again. I want to sell some stuff and gotta a book of rules to read first! https://bass-archives.com/the-rat-l-trap/

Yeah I think its an older one too and not the same as what is sold today. I looked this one up online search says: "The "NRX 852C" is a G. Loomis fishing rod, specifically a Jig & Worm casting rod. It's known for its lightweight and sensitivity, making it suitable for finesse fishing techniques. This rod is designed for bass fishing and is particularly effective for techniques like flipping, pitching, and fishing with lighter jigs and worms. " I have to refresh myself on what "finesse" means because in my fishing world there is no such word and it has no meaning to me. I am old school. There is ultra-light, light, medium, MH, and H. Got no place in there for this finesse word or what it applies to means nothing to me. But, a jig and worm rod tends to sound heavier to me than whatever finesse means. I guess I gotta go look up finesse again to try and make something useful out of what the search results seems to make sound contradictory like its suitable for finesse fishing but you can use it for flipping and pitching to. Is it a lighter finesse rod? Or, is it a heavier worm, jig, and F&P rod? Sounds confusing. I am one of those people who don't like rods with specific techniques printed on the rods in graphics. We decide. Not them. Note to manufacturers... if you put a technique specific graphic on a rod I won't buy it. All you are doing is ticking me off with that every time I see it, especially while trying to fish using the rod for something other than what is written on it. Ah, I found it. Finally some language I can understand. Its a medium! MXF. I would never use a medium for jigging or bottom fishing worms or flipping and pitching. Never. I begin with MH for those techniques and use mediums for cranking and other. Man fishing lingo can be confusing and all over the place. Great rod though! Hope you get it! I don't want to spoil it now with one of my own GLoomis purchases recently. Good deals on these rods are rare indeed!

I agree with you. I like your quote so much I added part of it as my profile signature and gave you credit for the quote. My comment does reflect more about me than them. I agree with you in that as long as the mission is accomplished, then there is no wrong way to cast- even if one way is more work and takes longer. But, for me- like you said "more about me than them" there will always be a wrong way to cast because I overcame it myself and "corrected" it while watching others mindlessly ignore it and never correct it. If I am watching any pro bass fishermen try and tell me how to fish, and he mindlessly casts with his right hand and switches it over to his left hand, I am changing the channel. Click. Let me see if I can find a pro who knows how to cast- the right way! Maybe I made a mistake in posting this comment here when it should have been placed in the "pet peeves" thread.

How about some widespread fish mishandling leading to their deaths? This is an important pet peeve. People who flip fish into the boat and let them touch the boat by way of flopping around in boat. Or, people who bank fish and drag fish up on shore letting them flop around in the dirt, grass and leaves. Or, people who use nets to land a bass. Or people who touch the bass on the body in some way. Or, put bass into live wells where the fish beat themselves up against the boat. We are killing the fish! There are photos posted all over this forum "showing off" the bass they caught laying on shore. This should not be happening in my opinion. Another fish on the way to its grave. And people think by releasing it alive all is well. It isn't. When the Slime coat is removed and fish is released bass back into the water alive, they are instantly attacked by germs, parasites, and who knows what else. Bass can develop sores, infections on their bodies where we removed the slime by our mishandling of bass. This can lead directly to death of the fish while we stroll away thinking and believing we released a live fish that is OK. Its not. "A bass' slime coat, a protective layer of mucus, is crucial for its health and survival. It acts as a barrier against infections, parasites, and other external stressors, and helps regulate the fish's water balance. Improper handling, like touching a bass with dry hands or placing it on a dry surface, can damage or remove this slime coat, making the fish more vulnerable to illness." All bass fisher people should learn to handle bass correctly. All tournaments should ban bass touching a boat (flopping around in boats) and ban nets and live well use. In my opinion they have a duty to protect the fish. Some are not. Bass should only be landed by lipping them carefully. Weigh fish where caught and release back to where caught instantly. No putting fish in live wells and removing them from their home area. In my opinion, if anyone on planet has a responsibility to land and handle fish correctly it should be tournaments and fishing organizations. It bothers me to watch others mishandle fish. Especially so called professionals. If I see any professional bass fishermen on TV in tournaments mishandling a fish, they instantly lose a fan and earn a critic. For old Ray Scott, the father of catch and release.

Exactly. I thought about the AR bearing first, but discounted it because the op said this: "Everything seems to be in the right place, I can turn the main shaft OK." That is what threw me off the AR to the next issue of side plate binding. I skipped the AR this time thinking it had NOT been removed from side plate. My bad. Glad you got it.

That rod is $600 to $650 retail new. If in as good of condition as you say then $250 is reasonably less than half retail, but I'd try and get it for less if you can. Try $200 cash. Or, $250 with free shipping? I'd try some kind of haggling.

None of us can second guess your reassembly. But the part about cast knob not working sounds like it could be missing a shim on one or both ends of spool axle. And as guess on your reassemly sometimes a gear won't go all the way down seated properly. Some snap into place and can be kind of hard to seat them. Sometimes a little drag grease around lower drive shaft area can help as well as holding gear with one hand and spin drive shaft while continuing to push down on gear and it slowly moves and may snap into place being careful of the pinion gear meshing correctly as it is seated. If the gear is not seated all the way down and you try to put side plate on it could bind. The top of pinion gear should be about level and flush to top of main drive gear. When you remove side plate take a look at this relationship between pinion gear and drive gear. It wil be obvious if not correct. Also curious about positioning of pinion yoke. It can possibly be put in upside down. Not sure how that would affect it since I dont think I've encountered it before but another thing to consider. If that yoke is upside down both pinion and drive gear would probably be a raised position and possibly bind when side plate put on. This is just a long shot guess. Otherwise, you found your reel tech DVT above- or he found you! If you do figure it out, be sure to coat the gear teeth with vapor thin coat of grease. Just barely enough to wet the gears but not so much as to sling off. Now I'm curious. Love following threads like this.

Here in Florida I have tried all shapes and sizes and colors, and the one I catch the most on is a medium sized lure that is blue and silver flash foil. I keep a dedicated rat'l trap rod at the ready and is a go to for awesome schoolie action or when I see an actively feeding fish I can cast to quickly. It is a lure I can cover a lot of water with and at different depths and speeds and let flutter down into holes or rip it. One of my top 10 lures year round for sure. I try and match the hatch as much as possible but they like the blue around here. How strange is it to see a baitfish lure colored like a crawfish bottom feeder? If it works, it works.

I'm curious if any of you consider the old cast with the right hand and fish with the left hand switchover is a technical mistake since it involves extra muscle effort and time to do that is not necessary? I am a firm believer of keeping the rod and reel in the hand that does the casting. If a person can train themself to use both is great. I bring this up because I have done work with kids over the years to get them into fishing and I try and teach them to keep the rod and reel in the hand they use to cast. I won't teach kids how to do the switch hitting thing at all. If I did that I would think I was teaching them wrong. Its kind of funny when I watch pro bass fishermen do this all the time on TV getting on camera telling us all how to fish while they stand there and mindlessly make this "technical mistake" with each cast. How can I give them full credibility to know what they are doing when they can't even cast right! (As I see it) Fishermen can lose fish in the time it takes to be switch hitter. Hey Joe, you had a hit! I know, but I was changing hands and fish was GONE before I could set the hook! So some fishermen have resorted to casting with their right hand and switching to the left BEFORE the lure ever hits the water. A compensation if I ever saw one! I got caught up in this as well being as old as I am, I grew up with reels with handles only on the right. But it was my spinning reels that set me straight.

Be good inside a movie theater for those people in front of you blocking your view and making noise. Be interesting to see their response as the critters make an appearance between the seats.

Maybe so, but metal does wear down and becomes dull with use. Glenn is spot on with this one. I keep a similar sharpening tool in every tackle box and the boat. No hook is safe from becoming dull new or not.

Heck yes! For us Florida guys those are awesome!

Thanks Eric! Its not just band history I can share. What I really want to share is all the music, bands and artists most have never heard of before. I believe the music benefits all of us. Its all about the music! And history. I worked for a lot of independents like the musicians of King Snake Records out of Sanford, Florida. All dead and gone now. The record company is now out of business and all that is left are the 300 or so albums recorded and produced there. Those people were like family to me for years, decades. Great musicians you may have never heard of before and I outlived them all, but in their memories I carry on for them bringing their music to the world if I can. The albums are long out of print. No more copies will ever be made. What's out there is it. And slowly over time, these albums will fade into dust. But for my part, I try and keep my brothers' music alive and it brings me great satisfaction knowing this music brings others joy and enjoyment.

Uh oh. The pressure is on. Will the solunar calendar deliver for Swamp Girl? I sure hope so. It seems to be fairly accurate here in Florida. All of my tournament fishing buddies use it too. I just checked the app and it says that the peak for this cycle happened late last night around 1am. So today is a 96% day, but also rounding the peak and beginning to go back down. Good luck!

Is that the water behind your house or are you holding out on me with a secret spot? I can go help catch your fish! Ha!

Molly Hatchet! A real can of worms can be opened on that band! I liked the harder edginess' that band's guitars had. I spent many long years around those band members. Got to meet and work with most of them for years in numerous bands. Even made it to one of the band's albums and earned front cover image for the audio album, got the disc as well, most liner photos, and DVD cover as well. In short because too many words are apparently frowned on, Molly Hatchet was held down and held back by the other great bands of Southern rock. Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd tried to help them going so far as to try and produce that band's first album and shop it to record companies. Dave Hlubek and founder of Molly Hatchet told me they sat on their front porches for 9 years trying to get that band out of the starting gate and were getting angrier by the minute not being allowed out there with the other Southern greats like Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, Outlaws, Marshall Tucket Band, etc. So on their first album they came out swinging with a song called Gator Country where they put down other Southern rock bands. So Molly Hatchet was always trying to copy the others and from Skynyrd Molly Hatchet took the song FreeBird and recorded it on their live album along with another song Skynyrd played Called CrossRoads all without the permission of Skynyrd band members who were furious over it. I left town the night they recorded FreeBird with a Skynyrd band member so as to not be in JAX wanting to go do unto them what that band did unto others. Skynyrd band members and fans had to read in the local newspaper Danny Joe Brown saying it was Molly Hatchet's duty to carry on for Skynyrd since they were gone now. And that they sometimes played FreeBird more than Skynyrd ever did since they played it sometimes twice a night, and Danny Joe Brown said Molly Hatchet played Skynyrd's song FreeBird better than Skynyrd ever did. Those were fighting words right there! Interesting behind the scenes things going on I got to see some of it. This song you posted "Dreams" is yet another one of the songs Molly Hatchet copied from another Southern rockin' band Allman Brothers. I could write a book detailing decades of this band going all the way back to the beginning and why they earned the name the "GraveRobber band" which revolves around what happened in 1977 when Skynyrd died in a plane crash and Molly Hatchet's first album was when? 1978. A direct connection right there and rock history too! The only reason Molly Hatchet was given a recording contract was because of the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash. Epic Records wanted to use Molly Hatchet to clean up right behind Skynyrd's demise. Hoping the fans would switch over to Molly Hatchet now that Skynyrd was gone. Hired to takeover another band's fan base and musical legacy. Hence the name given to them of graverobber band. Only out there because Skynyrd died and then out there to take their fans and income through the music of Molly Hatchet. The story of Molly Hatchet is a very interesting one. Brutal on road stories. Just brutal is all I can say. following image from my collection showing Nashville film documentary cameraman Rick Broyles behind us with camera in hand to left side of image, and then Jay Johnson of Southern Rock Allstars, his daddy was Jimmy Johnson of Muscle Shoals studio fame who recorded Skynyrd's first album, next is Phil McCormick and Dave Hlubek of Molly Hatchet and me squatting down in front because those 3 were too wide for me to get in shot beside them. Have you ever heard Edge Of Sundown? A FreeBird like copy cat rip off! lol But great Southern rock here some of you may have never heard of before now... I give this one an 8 myself just for the twin stereo blistering leads in left and right channels. Turn it up loud! Great story behind this album...

Wow! Two great songs. A-Jay I'll give yours a 7 and 12poundbass yours is an 8 to me, maybe a little higher. I specialize in regional music starting in Florida and moving to SE USA. I have worked with untold numbers of musicians over 45 years, but I always support independents who are shut out of mainstream music and never heard on any radio stations nationwide. So I really appreciate hearing and learning about new Southern artists like Tim Goodin carrying on the passed down musical legacy the South is known for- Blues, bluegrass, jazz, country, mountain music, Southern rock, Native Indian music, and much more. The South is a musical garden the world has enjoyed the fruits of for centuries! And preyed upon by yankee slickers for profits in their northern recording companies and that brings me to an artist and some music I would like to share with all of you. There is a band from St. Louis, Missouri called "Mama's Pride." And if you don't mind I would like to provide some background on this band. Mama's Pride is primarily 2 brothers. Pat and Danny Liston. These 2 brothers formed this band to try and make it in the music business and they almost succeeded but fate had other plans. Since this band did not have commercial success and you never heard them on the radio back in the 1970's, this band opened up concerts for all the major Southern rock bands of the day back in the 1970's. And when Gregg Allman was down and out after his brother Duane Allman died, Gregg needed a quick band to get back on the road with. He hired the entire band Mama's Pride as his own personal solo now Gregg Allman band. So Pat and Danny thought they had made it and were on their way to success. The former management of the Allman Brothers saw what Gregg was doing and pitched him an offer to put the Allman Brothers back together again. Gregg took the deal and wound up firing Mama's Pride back into NOTHINGNESS again. One shot at success shot down. But we got the Allman Brothers band back together and on the road again. Mama's Pride next opportunity for fame came from lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd Ronnie Van Zant who saw something in that band and primarily saw something in Pat Liston. I think Ronnie saw himself and wanted to help that band to succeed. So Ronnie Van Zant himself contracted Mama's Pride to open up for the Lynyrd Skynyrd band starting AFTER the 1977 Baton Rouge, La. show. Mama's Pride was going to hookup with and join Lynyrd Skynyrd on the Street Survivors tour to open up shows starting in October of 1977. Fate intervened again. The Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crashed before arriving at Baton Rouge killing lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, new guitarist Steve Gaines, his sister and backup singer Cassie Gaines, road manager Dean Kilpatrick and 2 pilots. 26 people on board. 7 died. And the rest are still messed up to this day. I am presently helping to support for the plane crash survivors to this day. I have known more than 6 or 7 or more survivors of that plane crash and we are frynds to this day. And yes its a Skynyrd thyng to spell frynds with a Y. But, that plane crash put the last nail into the coffin for a great Southern rock band most have never heard of and never heard their incredible music. And I post this today in 2025 because now you can take a trip back to the 1970's to listen to quality music that is seriously lacking today. Pat Liston is one of this country's great songwriters, arrangers, guitar player, and singer and band leader. And this is what Ronnie Van Zant saw in Pat Liston. Himself. A musician who wrote songs about real life and being simple people. Ronnie wanted to help Pat Liston and his band find the fame and fortune they deserved but it was never to be. So I would like to share with you some of the music of Pat Liston. I am still in contact with him to this day. He is a great guy and in his 70's now his passion for his music is burning hot inside of him and when all other band members have retired and gone away from music, not so with Pat Liston. Every week I get emails from him with all of his new performance dates and shows. He goes it alone. One of the songs that drew me to the music of Pat Liston and his band is a song called "Blue Mist." This song was written by Pat Liston in every detail. This is a song written and recorded and produced by amateurs that most would have called garage band level before Mama's Pride actually acquired a recording contract with Atlantic Records, some of the same people I worked for from that label. "Blue Mist" if it had hit the radio airwaves nationwide back in 1976 or 1977 it would have been a major hit song and a single off the band's debut album no doubt about it. This song is a hit song from the 1970's most of you have never even heard of before now. I consider this song personally very influential to me and I have enjoyed listening to it for about 40 years now and I would like to share it with all of you. And down the road I will get into some of Pat's rockers... Pat Liston is one of the greatest singer songwriters that you never got to hear back in the 1970's. In the following song, he wrote it, he sang it, he played guitar in it, he arranged it. This song is 100% Pat Liston with a band. https://www.patliston.com/ Debut studio album verion Live version

I have studied the water here in Florida for years thanks to what biologists have shared with me. And so I use this water quality information for all of my boating and fishing choices. As a Floridian "in the know" about nutrient loading, one of the lakes I avoid is Lake Okeechobee. Today that lake is by far the most polluted lake in Florida. The dirty secret to that lake is that biologists have proven that one lake due to its size and unnatural containment of water has led to a serious problem. Every single day, 24/7, around the clock, no holidays and no time off, that lake is getting more and more polluted every single second. Its nutrient loading is astounding. And it is not reversible. Lake O is NOT getting better. It is getting worse. So much so that dogs who enter that water can be dead within hours. Humans in boats on the water are breathing in aerosol particles from the water and inhaling the toxins. One of the 2 primary outflows of Lake Okeechobee is the St. Lucie river. Take a read on how safe the water is: https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/environment/2018/09/17/report-shows-dog-killed-toxic-blue-green-algae-st-lucie-river/1339559002/ Toxic algae killed east coast dog after contact with St. Lucie River, owner says necropsy reveals Tyler Treadway "Toxic blue-green algae in the St. Lucie River killed Finn, a healthy 9-year-old standard poodle, a medical report shows. A necropsy found cyanobacteria, the scientific name for blue-green algae, in Finn's blood, urine and liver, according to owner Misty Aydelotte of the Rio community. "His insides were pretty much destroyed by it," Aydelotte said." Here's one from Texas: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/08/12/three-dogs-played-pond-toxic-algae-killed-them/ Three dogs played in a pond. Toxic algae killed them. August 12, 2019" The toxic algae blooms are a result of raw human sewage providing nutrients in the water for the bacteria and algae to feed on. We humans caused this. Online search found: "Yes, there have been reports of people hospitalized due to exposure to toxic algae in Lake Okeechobee, and health alerts have been issued for the area. The Florida Department of Health has warned the public to exercise caution due to the presence of harmful blue-green algae toxins in the lake. Specifics: Hospitalizations: At least 15 people were hospitalized due to contact with toxic algae in a previous incident according to Newsweek. Symptoms reported include nausea, vomiting, skin rashes, eye irritation, and respiratory issues. Health Alerts: The Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County issued a health alert for Lake Okeechobee-S352 due to harmful blue-green algae toxins. Similar alerts have been issued for other areas of the lake. Public Health Advisory: The public is advised to avoid contact with the water in areas with visible blooms, wash skin and clothing after contact, and keep pets away from affected areas. Toxicity: Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, can produce toxins that are harmful to humans and animals. These toxins can affect the liver, nervous system, and skin. Factors Contributing to Blooms: Sunny days, warm water temperatures, still water conditions, and excess nutrients can contribute to the formation of algal blooms. Why anyone comes to Florida to boat and fish in Lake Okeechobee baffles me. If there was any lake in Florida to stay out of, it would Lake O. It is so bad now the state is resorting to unproven science that really bothers the heck out of me: https://ufhealth.org/news/2025/new-research-map-shows-levels-of-forever-chemicals-in-floridas-water Map shows state of ‘forever chemicals’ in Florida water February 3, 2025 A predictive heat map created by Bowden's lab for a September 2024 study of PFAS in Florida's surface water. Orange and yellow areas have the highest concentrations of PFAS; green areas have the lowest. (Posted here is just part of the article) GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Like diamonds, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are forever. PFAS, the hardiest of man-made chemicals, are like gum on the bottom of your shoe, but far more sinister. Used in consumer and industry products since the 1940s, they can linger in the outdoors for decades, loiter in the human body for up to 35 years, and are linked to a growing list of negative health effects, including cancer. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Florida are documenting just how many are found in the state’s surface water, including its prized freshwater springs, which provide 90% of the drinking water to its inhabitants. John A. Bowden, Ph.D., an associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and a team of more than 100 UF undergraduates and citizen-scientist volunteers fanned out across 67 counties in Florida, conducting an in-depth analysis of chemicals in the state’s surface water, which included over 50 springs. What they found was sobering. In the initial study, published in November 2024, some 90 water samples from 50 freshwater Florida springs were analyzed for the presence of 29 PFAS. The chemicals were detected in 63% of the spring vent samples, or the actual opening in the ground where water from an aquifer first emerges to the surface, and 68% of the spring run samples, or the flowing body of water that originates from the vent, with 13 quantifiable PFAS present across all samples. Green Spring, Blue Spring, and Gemini Spring held the highest PFAS concentrations. “This issue isn’t something we can magically resolve,” Bowden said. “It will persist because, as a society, we demand the use of these chemicals for their practical benefits in thousands of everyday products, like preventing grease leakage, nonstick cookware, or clothes staining.” For example, a new offender is the standard smart and fitness watch band, which is coated with PFAS to keep oils and sweat from staining the band, according to a recent study from the University of Notre Dame." Even our springs are not safe! So thanks to Florida biologists, I can now find our cleanest waters for my children and I to enjoy. Unfortunately none of this is going away. It is only getting worse. More humans means more of this. So, clearly the future of humanity may depend on reversing course and as soon as possible. Anyone see that happening anytime soon? Shame it has to be this way. How bad is it in your area?

***WARNING! Long post! Too many words for some. Click off now if too many words are an issue. One line posts can be found elsewhere! This post has been years in the making. I consider the information shared here to be vitally important to all humanity, especially those of you who go into the water. I post this information to hopefully help others make the correct decisions for themselves and their children. I can tell you this information controls my actions and those of my children because their lives are on the line. All of our lives are on the line. In fact, the future of humanity is on the line with this one. It is that serious. This post is my opinion only. I am not an expert and so I encourage all of you who are interested to do your own research on subjects shared here. As I have stated here numerous times I have spent years around state of Florida biologists. Heck my high school sweetheart is today a state of Florida biologist. When I worked for a rod and reel and trolling motor repair shop years ago, my connections to various biologists increased dramatically because those biologists also fish and boat in their off time, and are on the water almost daily as part of their careers here in Florida. So the information contained here for my part, is directly sourced to the connections I have had with biologists informing me and explaining things going on in public and behind the scenes efforts they are involved in trying to help solve this sad situation we humans have gotten ourselves into. Basically we humans are trapping ourselves. Boxing ourselves into a trap there is almost no way out of and that is a dire warning for the future of all humanity. I'm going to get straight to primary cause of the problems mentioned in this post. It is raw human sewage and how we humans dispose of it and how it comes back to haunt us in deadly ways. Biologists here in Florida study the water. It is the source of our life and we humans are destroying it. More humans mean more raw sewage to dispose of. This raw human sewage is seeping into the water. And it does what the biologists call "nutrient loading" of various waters. In other words, they measure daily the amount of nutrient loading going into various waters so they can go after the sources to try and put a stop to it. Nutrient loading comes primarily from two things- surface land run off fertilizers used commercially on farms, ranches, residential sources, etc. and from human sewage. So all across Florida the biologists prepare reports on every single body of water in Florida and these are called BMAP's. https://floridadep.gov/dear/water-quality-restoration/content/basin-management-action-plans-bmaps "What is a Basin Management Action Plan? A BMAP is a framework for water quality restoration that contains a comprehensive set of solutions to achieve the pollutant reductions established by a TMDL. Examples include permit limits on regulated facilities, urban and agricultural best management practices, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, regional projects and conservation programs designed to achieve pollutant reductions established by a TMDL. A BMAP is developed with local stakeholders and relies on local input and commitment for successful implementation. BMAPs are adopted by Secretarial Order and are legally enforceable. BMAPs use an adaptive management approach that allows for incremental load reductions through the implementation of projects and management strategies, while simultaneously monitoring and conducting studies to better understand the water quality and hydrologic dynamics. Progress is tracked by assessing project implementation and water quality analyses. DEP continues to work with local and regional partners to identify additional projects necessary to meet reduction milestones to achieve the TMDLs and inform funding priorities." The accumulating data of public bodies of water are transferred to FDEP (Florida Dept. Of Environmental Protection) online dashboards where anyone anywhere in the world can go to the dashboard and view critical water quality information. https://protectingfloridatogether.gov/water-quality-status-dashboard I would advise anyone traveling to Florida to boat and fish and especially anyone wanting to get into the water to pay close attention to this publicly available information. It is there to help save your life and make your Florida visit safer and more pleasant and hopefully a better visit all the way around. And now without getting into the nitty gritty details let me just show you the results of the increasing and growing trap we humans have boxed ourselves into and have really compromised even the future of all humanity because this problem mentioned in this post is the same everywhere in the country and world. https://www.foxnews.com/health/more-cases-deadly-flesh-eating-bacterial-infection-popular-vacation-destination "More cases of deadly ‘flesh-eating’ bacterial infection in popular vacation destination Florida health officials confirm eight deaths from Vibrio vulnificus bacterium so far this year" These deaths have primarily happened by people getting into the ocean. Saltwater born bacteria. And as if this is not enough to worry about... https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/news/boy-dies-from-brain-eating-amoeba-after-swimming-in-sc-lake/ Boy Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba After Swimming in SC Lake Publish Date July 30, 2025 HealthDay News — A 12-year-old South Carolina boy has died after being infected by a rare, brain-eating amoeba found in freshwater, his family’s lawyer said. Middle school student Jaysen Carr died July 18 after swimming in Lake Murray, a large reservoir near Columbia, S.C., according to a Facebook post from the law office of Tyler D. Bailey. Doctors from Prisma Health Children’s Hospital in South Carolina confirmed that Jaysen was infected by Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic organism that lives in warm freshwater and can cause a deadly brain infection." And as if that is not bad enough, and god bless little Jaysen Carr. He died because his parents were not informed of the dangers their child was facing by getting into the water there in South Carolina. He died because his parents were uninformed of what is being posted here. If they had known they probably never would have allowed their child to get into the water. I will not allow my children into the water here in Florida except right at a spring. And they are not allowed to splash or swim around the shoreline because that is where the brain eating amoeba live, but they can be stirred up into the water and be found in deeper water. All it takes is just one amoeba getting into your nose and life is over. 99.99% of all infected humans die within a week or two. No cure. No hope for survival really. Is it worth it to get into the water? Not for me and my children. But that is not the worst of it. It gets far worse and what I am about to tell you is absolutely devastating news for all humanity. Here comes the trap there is almost no way out of. This is something we all need to know as a matter of life and death and we must do something about it but presently it is being kept hush hush to some degree because if every human knew of this, we would all be moving forward down a different path real fast. But because this is not largely publicized, most of humanity is unaware and have no clue. I strongly encourage all of you watch the full 30 minute video above. And please keep in mind, down here in Florida this state is on the front lines of this battle because it is so much worse here due to our geology. The sandbar that is the state the Florida. Water flows easily through our sandy soil. Around the 10 minute mark in above video they discuss microcystins. "Microcystins are a group of toxins produced by certain types of cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae). These toxins are primarily hepatotoxins, meaning they can damage the liver, but can also affect other organs like the kidneys and reproductive system. Exposure to microcystins can occur through contaminated drinking or recreational water, or through products containing blue-green algae." And it gets worse... at the 11 minute mark in the video above is why I am writing this post. I want to make all of you aware of a substance in our waters that is causing great concern. Its called BMAA. At the 11 minute mark in above video University of Miami Professor Larry Brand explains what all of us need to know about BMAA and its effects on humans and animal life. And it is not good. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Β-Methylamino-L-alanine β-Methylamino-L-alanine Sources and detection [edit] BMAA is produced by cyanobacteria in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments.[2][3] In cultured non-nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, BMAA production increases in a nitrogen-depleted medium.[4] The biosynthetic pathway in cyanobacteria is unknown, but involvement of BMAA and its structural analog 2,4-diaminobutanoic acid (2,4-DAB) in environmental iron scavenging has been hypothesized.[5][6] BMAA has been found in aquatic organisms and in plants with cyanobacterial symbionts such as certain lichens, the floating fern Azolla, the leaf petioles of the tropical flowering plant Gunnera, cycads as well as in animals that eat the fleshy covering of cycad seeds, including flying foxes.[7][8][9][10] High concentrations (144 to 1836 ng/mg of flesh) of BMAA are present in shark fins.[11] Because BMAA is a neurotoxin, consumption of shark fin soup and cartilage pills therefore may pose a health risk.[12] The toxin can be detected via several laboratory methods, including liquid chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, amino acid analyzer, capillary electrophoresis, and NMR spectroscopy.[13] Neurotoxicity [edit] BMAA can cross the blood–brain barrier in rats. It takes longer to get into the brain than into other organs, but once there, it is trapped in proteins, forming a reservoir for slow release over time.[14][15] Mechanisms [edit] Although the mechanisms by which BMAA causes motor neuron dysfunction and death are not entirely understood, current research suggests that there are multiple mechanisms of action. Acutely, BMAA can act as an excitotoxin on glutamate receptors, such as NMDA, calcium-dependent AMPA, and kainate receptors.[16][17] The activation of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 is believed to induce oxidative stress in the neuron by depletion of glutathione.[18] BMAA can be misincorporated into nascent proteins in place of L-serine, possibly causing protein misfolding and aggregation, both hallmarks of tangle diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and Lewy body disease. In vitro research has shown that protein association of BMAA may be inhibited in the presence of excess L-serine.[19] Effects [edit] A study performed in 2015 with vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus) in St. Kitts, which are homozygous for the apoE4 gene (a condition which in humans is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease), found that vervets that were administered BMAA orally developed hallmark histopathology features of Alzheimer's disease, including amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangle accumulation. Vervets in the trial fed smaller doses of BMAA were found to have correlative decreases in these pathology features. Additionally, vervets that were co-administered BMAA with serine were found to have 70% less beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles than those administered BMAA alone, suggesting that serine may be protective against the neurotoxic effects of BMAA. This experiment represents the first in-vivo model of Alzheimer's disease that features both beta-amyloid plaques and hyperphosphorylated tau protein. This study also demonstrates that BMAA, an environmental toxin, can trigger neurodegenerative disease as a result of a gene-environment interaction.[20] Degenerative locomotor diseases have been described in animals grazing on cycad species, fueling interest in a possible link between the plant and the etiology of ALS/PDC. Subsequent laboratory investigations discovered the presence of BMAA. BMAA induced severe neurotoxicity in rhesus macaques, including:[21] limb muscle atrophy nonreactive degeneration of anterior horn cells degeneration and partial loss of pyramidal neurons of the motor cortex behavioral dysfunction conduction deficits in the central motor pathway neuropathological changes of motor cortex Betz cells There are reports that low BMAA concentrations can selectively kill cultured motor neurons from mouse spinal cords and produce reactive oxygen species.[17][22] Scientists have also found that newborn rats treated with BMAA show a progressive neurodegeneration in the hippocampus, including intracellular fibrillar inclusions, and impaired learning and memory as adults.[23][24][25] BMAA has been reported to be excreted into rodent breast milk, and subsequently transferred to the suckling offspring, suggesting mothers' and cows' milk might be other possible exposure routes.[26] Human cases [edit] Chronic dietary exposure to BMAA is now considered to be a cause of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism–dementia complex (ALS/PDC) that had an extremely high rate of incidence among the Chamorro people of Guam.[27] The Chamorro call the condition lytico-bodig.[28] In the 1950s, ALS/PDC prevalence ratios and death rates for Chamorro residents of Guam and Rota were 50–100 times that of developed countries, including the United States.[28] No demonstrable heritable or viral factors were found for the disease, and a subsequent decline of ALS/PDC after 1963 on Guam led to the search for responsible environmental agents.[29] The use of flour made from cycad seed (Cycas micronesica[30]) in traditional food items decreased as that plant became rarer and the Chamorro population became more Americanized following World War II.[31] Cycads harbor symbiotic cyanobacteria of the genus Nostoc in specialized roots which push up through the leaf litter into the light; these cyanobacteria produce BMAA.[32] In addition to eating traditional food items from cycad flour directly, BMAA may be ingested by humans through biomagnification. Flying foxes, a Chamorro delicacy, forage on the fleshy seed covering of cycad seeds and concentrate the toxin in their bodies. Twenty-four specimens of flying foxes from museum collections were tested for BMAA, which was found in large concentrations in the flying foxes from Guam.[33] As of 2021 studies continued examining BMAA biomagnification in marine and estuarine systems and its possible impact on human health outside of Guam.[34] Studies on human brain tissue of ALS/PDC, ALS, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and neurological controls indicated that BMAA is present in non-genetic progressive neurodegenerative disease, but not in controls or genetic-based Huntington's disease.[35][36][37][38] As of 2021 research into the role of BMAA as an environmental factor in neurodegenerative disease continued.[39][40][41] Clinical trials [edit] Safe and effective ways of treating ALS patients with L-serine that has been found to protect non-human primates from BMAA-induced neurodegeneration, have been goals of clinical trials conducted by the Phoenix Neurological Associates and the Forbes/Norris ALS/MND clinic and sponsored by the Institute for Ethnomedicine.[42][43] See also [edit] Oxalyldiaminopropionic acid, a related toxin ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now that you know what BMAA is and you now know what it does are you ready for the trap? BMAA is now in our water and food sources. Scientists are saying this is what is behind marine animals like dolphins and whales who go crazy and wind up dead on shore. Or entire families of dolphins and whales beaching themselves and dying. What is happening? Keep in mind I am no expert. I am simply a citizen learning about this and sharing it with others for education, information, and hopefully to help others avoid it by way of KNOWING about it. From what I have been told and I cannot prove or disprove this, but I am told BMAA cannot be filtered out of our drinking water. This means that the water that carries our raw human sewage away from us we think is disposed of properly, it isn't. The bacteria grow because of the nutrients loading into the water with the raw sewage. We can filter out the raw sewage and make water drinkable again, but the BMAA is still present. I am told the only way to remove BMAA from the water is by way of distillation. How many desalination distillation water plants do we have in USA? Not many. So the present water filtration systems we have providing most of clean drinking water are still poisoning us with BMAA which is directly behind the increase of mental illnesses and neurological problems with humans across the board. Basically, we humans are poisoning ourselves and as a whole group, we are all slowly going crazier because BMAA could very well be affecting all of us in varying degrees and we simply do not know it. And this is the trap. If we humans continue to ingest BMAA we may wind up like the dolphins and whales beaching ourselves because we lost our minds. As far as I can see, there is no way out of this trap for us. I will leave the solutions up to the experts but all I can say is we did it to ourselves and have no one to blame but ourselves, and now we humans have to come to realize we are poisoning ourselves off this planet. BMAA is devastating to all of us. Where do we go from here? How do we move forward to avoid BMAA in our foods and our drinking water? This is what scientists, doctors, and biologists and many more are quietly working on behind closed doors. I think one of the first things we all need to to is to 1)Change how we dispose of human sewage and prevent it from seeping into Nature. And 2)We must begin to build distillation water plants if we are to have a sane future. Gotta start somewhere. Others would jump at depopulating the planet: https://torontosun.com/entertainment/celebrity/bill-maher-agrees-with-rocker-rick-springfield-that-there-are-too-many-kids-being-born Bill Maher agrees with rocker Rick Springfield that there are too many kids being born Spiro Papuckoski Published Aug 07, 2025 "Rocker Rick Springfield thinks there are too many people on the planet." Tell me, when you come to Florida do you still want to get INTO the water? I live here and I sure as heck don't. Springs and swimming pools are it for me. If you have any open sores or wounds stay out of the water! Do not get it up your nose! You life depends on it!

Wow! Thanks for posting this. Florida has this same problem because a lot of our waters are more shallow than Minnesota. One thing I notice here is that all prop boats on the water are mowing up the vegetation, especially the eel grass. It floats to surface and makes fishing harder and wind blows it to shore and leaves piles of dead decaying plant matter everywhere, especially on boat ramps where it causes tires to slip and slide when thick on the ramp. I often have to dig it out from under my wheels just to get rubber on concrete. No doubt all prop boats, not just these wake boarding boats do cause harm. Massive amounts of harm. I guess even I am guilty of it. ------------------------------- (A facebook post I found- not Florida) Lake Guntersville Fishing ·August 29, 2024 · FYI, Beach Creek state launch has been rendered useless due to eel grass cutting. Eel grass is 40 yards thick. I understand and support the effort but this practice needs seasonal regulations. This is 2 years in a row This public boat ramp has been basically shut down right before labor day. Who should I contact? ------------------------------- Almost as bad at some of my lakes and ramps. The towns of Maitland and Winter Park have purchased their own removal boat with conveyor belt to scoop as much of it up as they can and remove it from the lakes.

I got a good one for you... Down here in Florida the unique way the St. Johns river flows north along the eastern side the state for 300 miles created a situation where central Florida guys from the middle of the state drive their big boats to the coast and go do their offshore fishing trip all day and then when returning home they have to drive west across the St. Johns river. So what a number of these guys do is stop off at boats ramps on the way home at the river and back their big old boats down into the water to do nothing more than flush them out. So they clog up the boat ramps for 10 or 15, 20 minutes or more. And could not care less about anyone else. People are on the water waiting to get out, and people are lined up on shore waiting to get in. It has gotten very heated out there sometimes and police are called on those guys who do this. Now that's a peeve! But yeah, I agree with you. Boat etiquette is gone.

Pet peeve? Bad communications etiquette. There are consequences for it......

I don't have just one rod dedicated to flukes. I have several that I use, but one of my favorites is a Kistler 7'6" MH F spinning rod and 4000 size reel that I use for long distance bombing casts all the way over lily pads and onto shore if I can make it that far and work it back to me. I like the longer rod for longer distance casting more than anything else. And VMC weighted and unweighted hooks usually a 4 or 5 are my go to right now until something else comes along.