FloridaFishinFool

I had no idea it was a Russian site. Heck I did not even look at that. It was an article that came up in a google search RSS feed I had programmed years ago for scientific articles of this nature. So just to double check, I found that the basis of the article is true and not satire. This one is Sri Lanka: https://slguardian.org/scientists-achieve-first-brain-upload-as-digital-fly-moves-on-its-own/ This one is from Turkey: https://www.turkiyetoday.com/business/scientists-place-fruit-fly-brain-in-virtual-body-in-new-digital-neuroscience-step-3215923 This one is from the country of california: Berkeley NewsResearchers simulate an entire fly brain on a laptop. Is...By digitally mapping the whole brain of a fruit fly, scientists hope to gain insight into human brain disordersSo no sir, I did not mean it as satire. I was being serious! lol When I click search on google I have no idea where in the world they shall send me. This one just happened to be Russia. It did not enter my mind until you mentioned it. From what all I have read on this subject scientists are presently mapping the brains of numerous creatures- including us humans: Georgia Institute of TechnologyCan You Upload a Human Mind Into a Computer? A Neuroscien...Is it possible to upload the consciousness of your mind into a computer? – Amreen, age 15, New Delhi, IndiaThe concept, cool yet maybe a little creepy, is known as mind uploading. Think of it as a wayThey started with a fly and working towards humans. I figured a bass might be somewhere in between. I posted it as a curiosity.

I am posting this news article because of the coming possibilities of this same thing being done to largemouth bass and what all it could mean for us bass fishermen in the way of future predicting of bass behavior that we can use to our fishing advantage. According to this we could soon have computer modeling of a bass brain, and natural behaviors programmed into computers that we can all access at the click of a button- or control as well. Also try imagining the use of drone fish controlled by this type of thing that could one day replace forward facing sonar that could become obsolete. Show up at boat ramp. Put boat in water. Toss overboard a couple drone bass, hit the "search" button and put on your eyeglasses with built in sensor imaging and let technology show us the new way. Who knows maybe one day we won't just be fishing WITH AI drone bass programmed with a bass brain uploaded behind the programming. We may one day be fishing for them! www.rt.com/news/634364-virtual-fly-brain-upload/ Scientists complete first-ever ‘virtual brain upload’ A complete digital copy of a fruit fly’s brain has been uploaded to a simulated environment and has been seen exhibiting natural behavior Scientists complete first-ever ‘virtual brain upload’ A Silicon Valley startup has announced what it describes as the first “multi-behavior brain upload” after creating a complete digital replica of a fruit fly’s brain that controls a virtual body in a simulated environment. The achievement, unveiled last week by Eon Systems, represents a significant leap beyond conventional AI. Unlike AI systems that learn behaviors through training, the virtual fly’s actions, which include walking, grooming, and foraging entirely on its own, emerge from a neuron-by-neuron copy of a real biological brain. “This is not an animation. It is not a reinforcement learning policy mimicking biology,” Eon co-founder Dr. Alex Wissner-Gross said in a social media post announcing the breakthrough. “It is a copy of a biological brain, wired neuron-to-neuron from electron microscopy data, running in simulation, making a body move.” The feat builds on landmark research from 2024, when an international collaboration mapped the entire connectome of an adult fruit fly – every one of its roughly 140,000 neurons and 50 million synaptic connections. Eon senior scientist Philip Shiu co-authored a Nature paper showing that a computational model built from this wiring diagram could predict actual fly motor behavior with 95% accuracy. However, the model was effectively a brain with no body to command. Eon has now closed the loop, integrating the digital brain with a physics-simulated fly body using Google DeepMind’s MuJoCo engine. Sensory inputs from the virtual environment flow into the emulated brain, neural activity propagates through its complete connectome, and motor commands drive the simulated body’s movements. The digital creature’s behaviors arise from its own circuit dynamics, instead of programmed instructions. Eon CEO Michael Andregg said the uploaded fly achieves 91% behavioral accuracy using only the connectome’s wiring, simple neuron models, and “no hand-tuning, no additional learning algorithms.” The Eon team is now gathering data to attempt a complete mouse brain emulation – roughly 70 million neurons, 560 times the fly’s scale. Beyond that, the team ultimately aims to attempt an entire human brain upload. “The ghost is no longer in the machine. The machine is becoming the ghost,” Wissner-Gross said.

One thing to consider going that route is technology changes rapidly. So whatever you do for one trolling motor today may not fit your next one. Consider the future when fitting for today! Your modifications done today may not be useable with future trolling motors. It might be something to consider.

The very first historic claim along the St. Johns River and northern most claimant is Palatka who offers "proof" https://visitpalatka.com/fishing/ "Palatka’s reputation as the Bass Capital of the World is proven by the number of bass tournaments held from our riverfront every year. We are also known for our copperhead bream, catfish and speckled perch – crappie. The St. Johns River is host to fishermen from all over. Local fish camps and guides can put you on whatever tugs your line." Us Florida guys don't buy that argument. The only reason so many tournaments are run from Palatka is not because they are the one and only bass capital, but because that town grew to a size large enough to host such events. Welaka and Crescent City do not have the facilities for large tournaments. Palatka has 11,000 residents. Florida guys like me take a look at the water, not the town. I don't like the water around Palatka or Welaka. Not suitable to me. Crescent City is another story. Much better water choices there. Crescent City has less than 1,800 residents. Less than 1/6 the size of Palatka so the environment there is more country, and more peaceful and less crowded on the water making it a more enjoyable bass capital to a lot of us Florida residents. I won't even consider Palatka when better choices like Crescent City are available close by. Tournaments have to go to Palatka. Larger boat ramp and more parking and more support facilities like restrooms and restaurants. So their offered proof of why they are the capital may be a selling point to outsiders, but Florida guys don't fall for it knowing what else is close by. One of Florida's last small towns wanting to get in on the "bass capital" claim is Dunnellon, Florida. Its all they have to advertise their little town to the world and so they painted it right on the town's water tower: As far as I know that is the last of the towns across Florida making this claim. By way of historical conquering and settling of Florida the top 3 very first bass capitals are in technical order of measured distance down river from Jacksonville as conquered and settled first: 1)Palatka 2)Welaka 3)Crescent City While Florida guys who lived in area their entire lives tend to stack it like this: 1)Crescent City 2)Welaka 3)Palatka Based on level of water quality and actual bass fishing enjoyment. Its kind of funny when tournament guys put their boats into the river there at Palatka who claims to be the number 1 bass capital because of all the tournaments there, WHERE do most of the fishermen go in their boats? As far away from Palatka as they can get! And they head South on the river and fly past Welaka too, and some head straight for Crescent City and better waters to the South. So the tournament may be in Palatka, but the fishermen aren't! Most of them anyways. And as an FYI to other bass fishermen reading this, if you put your boat into the river at Palatka, there is a reason nearly all bass pro's head South on the river. DO NOT go north of Palatka! Huge mistake! The river to the north to Jacksonville has been sacrificed to state approved water pollution. On Rice Creek just north of Palatka is a paper pulp mill. When Senator Rick Scott was governor here in Florida, he allowed that pulp mill to double the amount of chemical toxins dumped into the river that flow out into the ocean for disposal. https://www.jacksonville.com/story/opinion/columns/mike-clark/2016/08/19/ron-littlepage-has-gov-scott-ever-met-polluter-he-didnt-want/15721602007/ "You may recall that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection - we really have to come up with a more accurate name for this agency while Gov. Rick Scott is in office - moved recently to increase the amount of toxic, cancer-causing chemicals allowed in the state's surface waters." And this folks is what us Florida guys pay close attention to- polluted waters and where it is and how to avoid it. So don't go north of Palatka is all I can say. "For decades, the Georgia-Pacific paper mill in Palatka, now owned by the Koch brothers, dumped its polluted effluent into Rice Creek." And all of it flows right into the St. Johns river just north of Palatka and is carried north by the river current and out to sea. And this is why 99% of all bass fishermen head South on the river. A bass capital turned into a toxic mess. River war rages over Georgia-PacificState close to decision on mill’s pipeline The entrance to the Georgia-Pacific mill north of Palatka. The mill is Putnam County’s largest employer, providing 1,000 jobs. By Mark Szakonyi – Staff Writer Feb 11, 2011 PALATKA — Georgia-Pacific is confident it will be allowed to build a $30 million pipeline to discharge its plant’s wastewater directly into the St. Johns River, but opponents have one last shot at blocking the project." Governor Rick Scott did allow this pulp mill to basically double their toxic output into the river. And this is something all of us bass fishermen should want to avoid. I'd tell Palatka they are no longer a bass capital until they close the pulp mill and send it back to Georgia where the others are along the coast. This pulp mill is here at this location because of all of Florida's pine trees they cut down and haul to this pulp mill to make their various paper products. So whenever you turn on your TV to watch any bass fishing tournaments in Palatka watch where the fishermen go in their boats. South- away from Palatka and away from the source of the river's pollution. And I tell all of you this to help each of you make better decisions about your fishing choices in this area as well. We all need to know. And the last and final Claimant to Florida's "bass capital" title is not coming from a town, but coming from a professional bass fishermen Roland Martin who also wants to use it to sell his South Florida business operation: https://rolandmartinmarina.com By roladmin / August 4, 2025 Lake Okeechobee, often called “The Big O,” stands as a monument to bass fishing. With its vast expanse of water, stretching over 467,000 acres, it is Florida’s largest freshwater lake. The name “Okeechobee” itself translates to “big water” in the language of the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes. Nevertheless, this lake offers more than just scenic beauty and expansive views. For fishing enthusiasts, it’s a place where dreams are made, particularly for those who enjoy bass fishing. Bass fishing at Lake Okeechobee has earned this legendary spot its title as the bass fishing capital of the world." Says who? So both the town of Palatka and Roland Martin at Lake Okeechobee hail their locations as "bass capitals" while the truth of both of those locations today in 2026 is that in all of the state of Florida, both Palatka and Lake Okeechobee are the most polluted waters in Florida! 100% true! WBBHTests show Lake Okeechobee is six times too toxic for humansWe collected samples from Lake Okeechobee after tests showed it's six times too toxic for humans.Updated: 10:15 AM EDT Aug 23, 2025 Sarah Mankowitz PAHOKEE, Fla. — Tests conducted on Lake Okeechobee have revealed algae blooms that are six times too toxic for humans." That's TWO "bass capital" claimants here in Florida using this title to sell toxic waters. I don't know about you, but this old Florida boy has scratched those two places off the list- permanently. And I do believe every single bass fisherman out there in the world who wants to come to Florida to enjoy "bass capital" bass fishing at its finest needs information like what is in this thread to help each one of us make the best decisions for ourselves. For my part as a life-long Florida resident, I target springs. Spring fed rivers and spring fed lakes. By far the cleanest clearest water in the state. Find a spring and you have found a real bass capital. The image above shows Florida biologists examining their laboratory created sunshine bass circling a spring vent here in Florida. The water coming out of the spring vents across Florida is 72 degrees year round while the surrounding water in the lake can reach 84 degrees in hot summers, so these cool water fish hover around spring vents to stay cool. Further out away from a spring vent like this one is clean crystal clear water that contains all our other species of fish who also enjoy the cooler temperatures and cleaner water, and this is what I target all across Florida. Springs first. Surrounding waters next. This is our modern day best case scenario "bass capital." Image courtesy of State of Florida FWC biologists.

I hope you get to do some fishing here as well! Here is the 2009 "updated" version of "bass capitals" in Florida... as chosen by state of Florida fishery biologists. And in this article they actually name the man who was in charge of Lake Toho during the time period it was drained, muck scraped off bottom and hauled off, and shallow sandy spawn areas created to cause bass to explode there. His name is Ed Moyer. And he says the bass explosion there was directly attributed to lake management practices, and will provide great bass fishing for years to come. Well, its now years to come in 2026 and once again Toho is getting choked up with vegetation and fishing is going back down. Lake Toho needs Ed Moyer back on the job there! It seems like everyone in Florida, Georgia and Alabama all want to lay claim to "Bass capital of the world!" https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2001/02/10/lake-tohopekaliga-florida-bass-capital/26525383007/ Lake Tohopekaliga: Florida bass capitalBILL CHESTNUT Feb. 9, 2001 Updated June 15, 2009, 11:25 a.m. ET When you ask Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) fisheries' biologists what are the top bass fishing lakes in Florida, you get a lot of different opinions. But one thing is for sure: West Lake Tohopekaliga in Kissimmee is on everyone's list. Naturally, it is on the FWC's list for a great bass fishing lake. In a Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) tournament on Jan. 17-20 at Lake Tohopekaliga, the winner landed 108 pounds, 12 ounces of bass, shattering the organization's previous high mark of 91 pounds, 3 ounces. On the first day of the tournament, the B.A.S.S. single-day catch record was established at 45 pounds, 2 ounces that included two bass more than 10 pounds, and a 9-, 8- and 7-pounder to round out the five-fish bag limit. FWC director of freshwater fisheries, Ed Moyer, who spent 20 years for the agency managing Lake Tohopekaliga, said: "It was the most incredible four days of fishing that I ever heard of in Florida or anywhere else for that matter. Florida has taken a major step toward re-establishing itself as the Bass Capital of the World." Moyer credits the tournaments success to FWC's lake management practices on Lake Tohopekaliga during the past decade. As a result, anglers can expect many years of quality fishing. The following list of top 10 bass lakes aims to help anglers find a quality place to catch trophy bass. These Florida lakes (in no specific order) have been selected by FWC fisheries biologists as top bass fishing destination. LAKE GEORGE -- Lake George is one of the premiere bass fishing lakes in central Florida. It is the second largest lake in the state (46,000 acres), and is 18 miles northwest of Deland and 29 miles east of Ocala. Hot spots on the lake include Juniper, Salt and Silver Glen spring runs on the eastern shoreline. There are many fish camps on the lake and St. Johns River. STICK MARSH/FARM 13 RESERVOIR -- Created in 1987, the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 Reservoir is synonymous with trophy bass fishing. This 6,500 acre reservoir near Fellsmere, east of Vero Beach, became one of the hottest bass lakes in the country during the past decade. During winter/spring 2000, many fishing guides reported the best trophy bass catches in recent years. This summer has been no exception, with a number of anglers catching 50 to 100 bass a day, with many over 10 pounds. The regulation for largemouth bass is catch and release. There is a two-lane boat ramp, paved parking lot, picnic pavilions and rest rooms. No gasoline, food, ice or other facilities are available on site. LAKE KISSIMMEE -- This lake has a national reputation for high quality bass fishing. Currently, trophy fish and high catch rates are reported from guides, fish camps and tournament anglers. Six fish camps, one state park and three public boat ramps are available at Lake Kissimmee. Wade fishing is a popular method used by many anglers including myself. RODMAN RESERVOIR -- Rodman Reservoir, east of Gainesville and south of Palatka, covers 9,500 acres of prime largemouth bass habitat The state's largest bass of the year 2000, 15 pounds and 17 pounds, came from the reservoir during March. Access to Rodman is available at several locations. Among the most popular are Eureka east and west of C.R. 316, Rodman Recreational Area west of S.R. 19 and Orange Springs Recreational Area, Cypress Bayou (Paynes Landing) and Kenwood Landing off S. R. 315. LAKE TARPON -- Lake Tarpon is located near Tampa/St. Petersburg in Pinellas County. For years, this lake has produced excellent bass fishing. Most range from 12 to 16 inches long however, quality and trophy fish also are present in good numbers. Biologists have observed anglers catching upwards of 20 fish with an occasional 10-pounder. There are two public boat ramps within county parks. Anderson Park boat ramp is on the west shore, off U. S. 19. Chestnut Park boat ramp is on the east side of the lake, off C.R. 61. Some bank access is available in both parks. LAKE WEOHYAKAPKA -- Lake Weohyakapka, commonly known as Lake Walk-In-Water is located east of Lake Wales. The lake has a national reputation as an outstanding spot to catch largemouth bass. Anglers frequently catch up to 25 bass a day with several ranging from 4 to 8 pounds. This lake also produces many trophy bass exceeding 10 pounds. A 15- to 24-inch slot limit regulation with a three-bass daily limit is in place to help maintain quality bass fishing. Anglers may keep three bass per day, either under or over the protected slot range, of which only one bass greater than or equal to 24 inches is allowed. Your best bet for lunkers in this lake is drifting wild shiners in the northern half of the lake. A public ramp is located on oat Landing Road, which runs east off of Walk-In-Water Road. There is little access for bank fishing. LAKE ISTOKPOGA -- Lake Istokpoga is often overlooked by bass anglers who fish the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes to the north and Lake Okeechobee to the south. Situated in Highlands County between U.S. 27 and U.S. 98 south of Sebring, Istokpoga is the fifth largest natural lake in Florida. Anglers frequently catch bass up to eight pounds, with some between 10 and 13 pounds. A 16-pound bass was caught by an angler in March 1998. Lake Istokpogahas a 15- to 24-inch slot limit for bass with a three fish daily bag limit, of which only one bass may be 24 inches or longer. Several fish camps and four public boat ramps provide access to the lake. Everglades Water Conservation Areas are marsh lands bordered by canals. Originally designed for flood control and water supply, the area provides some of the best bass fishing in the country. A no-consumption advisory for bass is in effect in these areas due to high levels of mercury. Because of this most fish are released, which has resulted in anglers catching many 2- to 5-pound bass and an occasional 9- to 10-pounder. The L-67A Canal has access at the north end of Holiday Park, off U.S. 27, where camping and boat rentals are available. At the south end, it can be accessed at the S-333 water control structure off Tamiami Trail (S. R. 41). The L-35B Canal access is at Sawgrass Recreation Area, off of U.S. 27 and has boat rentals. LAKE OKEECHOBEE -- Lake Okeechobee is consistently one of Florida's best bass lakes. If you want to catch big bass, the Big 'O' is the place to go. Anglers routinely catch 7- to 10-pound bass, and 10- to 12-pound bass occasionally show up too. The lake record is 15 pounds, 5 ounces. Lake Okeechobee has a 13- to 18-inch slot limit on bass, meaning all bass between 13 and 18 inches must be released unharmed. Sixteen boat ramps and numerous fish camps surround the lake. For more information about these lakes, call the following: Lake George - (904) 985-7880 Lakes Weohyakapka & Tarpon - (941) 648-3202. Farm 13/Stick Marsh Reservoir - (407) 752-3115 Rodman Reservoir - (352) 392-9617 Lake Istokpoga - (941) 462-5190 Lake Kissimmee and West Lake Tohopekaliga - (407) 846-5300. Everglades Water Conservation Areas 2 and 3 - (561) 625-5127 Lake Okeechobee - (941) 452-5190. Keep those lines tight, and I'll see you on the pond.

3218 + 56 = 3274 Does this mean all those who started this thread and disappeared forever years ago that now we have to subtract them from total? Ha!

Honestly I try and keep them as short as possible. Florida has so much good water to fish I swear you could dig a hole, wait a few minutes for water to fill it up and catch a lunker out of it. So my choice drive time is 30 minutes or less and most often 10 minutes or less. It is my 12 year old son who is now making me drive long distances of 100 miles or so for his saltwater fishing trips. And its not just the road trips. When I get on the water I am not one of those people to run a boat 20 or 30 miles just to find a place to fish. My last trip out I asked my son how far did we go on the outboard motor. He said 1 or 2 miles and that is about as far as I need to go here in Florida. Sometimes I put in at the boat ramp and just get on the trolling motor right from the start and fish away from the boat ramp and back again all on trolling motor. I just don't need to run the heck out my motors to fish thankfully. So shortest trips are boat ramps 5 minutes away, and longest trips are around 100 miles and everything in between.

I did a lot of Florida history research over the years. I searched for a acquired many first hand accounts written by the hands of the men and women who lived that history here in Florida. I accessed U.S. Army archived records that are amazing to read. I have acquired the diaries and journals of generals, captains, officers and from top to bottom in the army and even doctors and surgeon's handwritten accounts which can be quite disturbing. Like one doctor's handwritten journal I read detailed the suicide of an officer at Fort Lane on Lake Harney where I lived and fished for years. Reading his words was like standing in his shoes and seeing through his eyes as he was called to a tent along the shore of Lake Harney at Fort Lane. A young officer had killed himself inside by standing the butt of his sword on the ground and impaling himself in a way I will leave off this comment, only to say the man was suffering from a water born disease that was common back then when soldiers did not have access to clean drinking water and got sick from drinking whatever water they could get. I think this officer had typhoid fever or something that was driving him crazy and not curable back then. He left behind a wife and 3 children. Fort Lane was named for him. Another entry in this doctor/surgeon's diary detailed horrific details of what he saw and witnessed that the Indians themselves were doing to their own children as they were fleeing Southward running from the army. Soldiers kept coming across those Indian children and the details of what is in the doctor's journal is heartbreaking. Devastating really. I have accessed eyewitness accounts from the army, civilians, and the Indian statements of prisoners of war, and even the details of treaty negotiations and much more. Modern history books do not contain most of this information and modern writers really don't have a clue and write a lot of nonsense and call it history like with the attack on Sanford in Feb. 1837. Not one single published account I could find matches the original sources details. Not a one. I researched that attack in depth because that was the beginning of the end for the Indians what they did then and there. Little did they know then or they maybe would have not attacked if they did. You will not get these type of details in modern history books. Details I can't even type here. But I do want to use this comment to bring your attention to an interesting bit of history also not found in modern history books about what was happening on those steamboats going up and down the St. Johns river that really ticked me off and it should make all of angry today, but back then they seemed to think nothing of what they were doing in terms of right or wrong. Somewhere along the way I accessed the handwritten journal of a northern reporter who was sent to Florida to attach himself to the army and tag along to document the Seminole Indian war. This civilian traveled with the army on their steamboats loaded with soldiers and guns and whiskey. Yep. Government supplied tax paid whiskey for the soldiers to dull their senses. The steamboats had lots of whiskey and card playing going on as they slowly moved up and down our rivers on long boring nights of trying to keep cool out on the decks because it was too hot to be inside. The reporter documented detailed information in his journal that army officers who were bored were taking their rifles and basically shooting Florida wildlife for the sheer fun of it. Just for entertainment. When they did not have Indians to shoot at those soldiers took aim elsewhere. And these were not just any regular soldiers either. These were the very first special ops soldiers called Dragoons. A special outfit who came into Florida to fight the Indians the same way the Indians fought them. Guerilla warfare. The history books say Florida is where some of the very first special ops guerilla warfare was learned and executed. Its amazing to read. The very lakes we all fish here in Florida are named after either the Indians or the army officers. Lake Jesup named for General Jesup. Lake Harney named for Col. Harney the commanding officer of the very first Dragoons to arrive in Florida. The details are off the charts. I was stunned to read those first hand accounts. But what really ticked me off to read was how these soldiers and civilians on board those steamboats were pulling out their rifles bored as heck on those long slow nights down the river and even during the day as well and they would shoot anything that moved on land or in the water. It was fun betting sport for them to shoot every alligator they saw. Turtles. Birds. Deer. Bobcats. Raccoons. Just shoot maim and kill and laugh about it and take your winnings or losses and shoot something else. The reported was simply joining in on the drunker solider fun on their mission here in Florida. But hey, sometimes the woods shot back at them. I read an amazing story of the army trying to navigate down the St. Johns river in the shallow area I mentioned above. Some of their boats were so loaded down they ground out on sandbars and soldiers had to offload and portage the boat around the sandbar and reload the boat to keep moving forward. The Indians were on both sides of the river shooting at the soldiers who were out in the open and unprotected from the incoming bullets. One soldier's diary said that soldiers were actually hit by the Indian bullets and they bounced off their thick wool army coats because the Indians were so short on war supplies that they shorted the powder they used in each shot to make it last longer and because of this many of the bullets shot at soldiers did not even have enough force to penetrate their wool coats and simply bounced off of them. Something else I was not aware of was that the army did not discourage settlers getting in their way and tagging along with them or behind them because the soldiers said in their own words those civilians were a distraction to the Indians and the Indians turned bullets on those civilians that would have been meant for them. So sure tag along! We got you! Ha! More like sure, we can USE you. Those civilians were getting free land in a newly conquered land and they were giving the army civilian support in ways of helping to facilitate the forward movement of the army by helping to provide food, water, and general support the army needed. Those northerners did not like being here in Florida at all. And another crazy detail I found was that the army would only fight the Indians in cooler weather. They would move into Florida, build a chain of forts in cool weather and abandon them when it got too hot and army went back up north with St. Augustine as their Southern most point of continuous occupation for years. When the pine tree forts were abandoned the Indians burned them to the ground. And when the weather cooled enough for the northerners they would move back in down the same paths and rebuild the same forts over and over and over again every years as needed. In one story the soldiers walked the soles of the shoes off and had to come to stop in Fort Lauderdale and wait there for a ship to arrive from Boston filled with new shoes so the soldiers could keep chasing the Indians. The details show the army was not very well supplied back then which is why they gladly leaned on all the civilians tagging along with them. When Fort Gatlin was built, it was those civilians who claimed the land around the fort and developed it right around the fort because the army kept the Indians away, and the civilians gave support to the army inside the fort. And that is how Orlando was born. Fort Lauderdale as well and many other locations like Fort Meyers and so on. The real history books are handwritten eyewitness accounts. They will blow your mind all those details not found in published modern so called history books. The old fort in St. Augustine Castillo De San Marcos is another one. Not a single modern published history book gets it right. There is only one source that got it right. The Jesuit priest who was up on deck of Admiral Menendez fleet of Spanish ships. Read what he wrote upon arriving here in Florida and it does not match the BS found in modern history books. Not even close. It took me half my lifetime to find that one source but now I know the details and found my answers for why that fort is there and at the precise angle it is constructed and why. Now I know. And its great stuff too. All through those handwritten accounts shows fish and fishing and hunting is clearly what fed all that history. Here in Florida we walk on sacred ground and never even know it. We walk upon the graves of those people and don't even know it. They are still here buried in the soil under our feet as we build modern civilization right over top of them. Look up the "dead zone" on i-4 interstate in Sanford sometime... it is the site of the Army's machines of war drop off point at Lake Monroe. The developer of the interstate was required to relocate all human remains found in path of highway. He failed to do so. He simply tried to get away with moving on the tombstones and make it look like he had moved the bodies but he never dug them and instead built his interstate right over top of all the graves who are still there to this day under 50 feet of dirt and interstate built over top of them. People drive over their bodies every day and never even know it. Another one from my neighborhood. My house could have been built over top of the graves of Seminole Indians. The following story shows modern humans did not have much care for the graves of Indians and run away slaves who died here. A terrible part of Florida dark history... I shopped at this store when I lived there and was surprised to discover this about my neighborhood. I researched it and it is a true story and right on hiway 17 the army built right over top of them in 1837. Us modern humans blindly move around in our modern world not even knowing or realizing the history and human remains just inches below our feet to this day. We live and walk on the graves of the dead- and show very little respect or care for any of them. A sad truth. Just bulldoze up the bones and discard them and build. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Florida_s_Ghostly_Legends_and_Haunted_Fo/-pdxDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=fern+park+winn+dixie+haunted&pg=PT144&printsec=frontcover

I am glad to see some members here enjoy history as much as I do. I can tell you that when I do my historical research I search out original eyewitness accounts from Florida Memory Project and the national archives and other original sources where first hand eyewitness accounts are stored. Many modern writers kind of make it up as they go along and modern history books tend to contain inaccurate historical representations from modern writers who simply do not do thorough research and often repeat mistakes from other history books. I much prefer to read the words of the humans who lived it and saw it with their own eyes. Much more detailed and interesting and you get an instant feel for it and better perspective on it than reading about it in some book written by someone who was not there and writing their opinion of it 200 years later. I skip all that and go for original source materials which I will share some more soon. Florida has a rich history and fishing is what fed all that history to happen here. And Griver, I may be your neighbor one day soon hopefully. I am putting my Orlando house up for sale and guess where I am looking to spend my retirement and the rest of my life at? Right in the middle of the bass capitals mentioned in this thread. So I am looking at properties now in your area and may be a new neighbor soon. I have found one that is a fixer upper no one wants to purchase because its overpriced for what it is. The location is stunning. Perfect location for me. Over an acre of wooded land on a gorgeous chain of lakes. But the 1962 house is a nightmare which is why its not selling. Solid block construction with lifetime metal roof, but inside the house has never been updated since 1970's. It still has lime green shag carpet in there from early 70's. Its a complete strip down, even the central heat and air will have to be stripped out and replaced. Ducts as well. Possibly new septic system and water piping and well pump, and reshaping the front yard with bulldozer because house blocks water running downhill into lake and causing water intrusion into house. All has to be corrected. But I am willing to deal with fixing up the house how I want it just to get in on this awesome location and great piece of land. Will be very quiet here- for once! Except for my music. The house could cost me anywhere from $50k to $100K to update to where I want it. But man take a look at the backyard view if I can buy it! This first image is looking out the living room window: View from standing in backyard... the hurricane destroyed dock on this property will cost $10k to rebuild. But this land has nearly 400' wide of lake front land that would be all mine! I'm picturing a new fire pit right out here somewhere and a hammock hanging between the trees... to enjoy the awesome sunsets and fresh clean air and best bass fishing on the planet in my backyard for once. And closest neighbor houses hundreds of feet away on both sides and private road access into this location that is part of this land's deed. Location. Location. Location. It does not get much better than this for me. If I can swing the deal on this property, I'll be a new neighbor of yours and shopping at Winn Dixie in Crescent City as my closest grocery store. Will be a dream come true if I can buy this one. Going to be a lot of work though but this one is worth it. I want to live in bass capital of the world too! I do not like north Florida or Jacksonville at all. Grew up here, but I want out of here ASAP. No more Jacksonville and no more Orlando city life. Time for the country life- I hope.

Mick my 2005 motor has fortunately avoided the VRO system. I did a search on it and it says they did produce VRO systems in 2005, but starting on the 35hp models and up. My 25hp is a fuel mix motor thankfully. So it looks like the general consensus is to spray some lubrication into the spark plug holes and go from there. I appreciate all the responses. I think most of you know I am going to attempt this one myself first- and only take it to a pro when I reach the end of my rope. I think the comment above about 'crossing fingers' and hope for the best is on target. I'm going to focus on causing no harm with whatever I do so it won't be damaged if I have to take to a pro eventually. Hopefully this motor can be saved. It will help my son reach his boating goals sooner. This is the boat he is wanting to buy right now to put this motor on. This is a nice boat for inshore fishing, and this motor is a perfect fit for this boat -if we can get it before someone else does.

I'd be trying to keep the deck free of clutter. Open deck space bow to stern as much as possible to make it easier for humans moving around while fishing and not stepping on things like batteries and fuel tanks. If it were me, I hide all that stuff as much as possible. And I don't want all the weight in the back either. I use the fuel tank and batteries in my boat to balance it out better so I moved those to the bow under front casting deck. I over powered my boat and the motor can push it to porpoise some even fully loaded, but the more weight I can shift forward the better in my case. I'm sure you will be adjusting yours as well as you learn it and want to change things. As for the wires to the back you said are 6 gauge? AI says this about its current carrying capacity: "For a 50-amp trolling motor using 6-gauge (AWG) copper wire, the recommended maximum length is generally up to 15–25 feet (one-way distance) to keep voltage drop within an acceptable 3% range." I bet Minn Kota says less length than AI. And when I look up the actual current capacity of 6 gauge this is what AI says: "6 AWG copper wire typically carries 55A (60°C), 65A (75°C), or 75A (90°C) depending on insulation and NEC conditions, often paired with 50-60A breakers for residential use." Most 55lb thrust 12 volt trolling motors can draw around 50 amps at full speed and with weight of boat loading it. Point is, 6 gauge wire is rated at or slightly above a trolling motor's maximum current draw. It should be fine. Be sure to use a circuit breaker and maybe a steel box for that battery. (I'm not a fan of lithium batts) It looks like a new boat all cleaned up!

I didn't spin it. I bumped it to see if it was locked up or moved. When I did that was very little movement- less than an inch of turning. But you are right I should not have done that dry. And I won't do that again. I agree the fuel mixture will do the lubricating once it starts flowing, but I am really considering putting something in there before the fuel start flowing.

Yes its a 2-stroke. I may take you up on that marvel mystery oil. I do want some lubrication inside those cylinders when it starts turning. For fuel to get in there it will take a little time for that fuel oil mix to get in there. I want the oil on those cylinders before anything starts moving. So maybe Marvel Mystery oil is the ticket for this project.

WARNING- Long historical post. If too many words are an issue then please skip this thread. And, not one single word of this post will come from AI. This is a story about Florida's history of settlement that involves fishing development in this state since the beginning of Florida as a state. Where to begin... I think the first thing to say would be my connection to the content of this thread because it has everything to do with it. My family rolled into Florida in 1878 on an open mule drawn wagon. They moved into Florida from South Carolina seeking better land, better living conditions, and to find their own space in a new wide open recently conquered land. Once they rolled across the Georgia/Florida border my family chose to make their new home west of downtown Jacksonville. They received from the government their allotment of 40 free acres of land to homestead and farm and develop. So my family is considered as Florida cracker settlers. Not pioneering settlers. They were 30 or 40 years arriving too late for that addition to the title. Pioneering settlers is a different story with far more hardships to endure. But once my family moved here and made their land claim and built their first cabin, from that very first day of arriving here they had to get to work fishing and hunting to survive until the farming was developed and adding to the dinner table. So all of my family members made an instant immediate connection to the land and water to survive. It is that connection that flows down through my generation and into the next that I shall explore some in this lengthy historical thread written to be informative to other fishermen who may not be aware of some of this and how it can still play a role in our fishing to this very day in 2026. My grandfather on my dad's side of family was born in that homesteaded cabin in 1895. My father and his 4 brothers were born there as well. My father was born in 1926. My father said each brother were given specific duties towards supporting the family daily. My dad and another brother really enjoyed to fish so they did most of the fishing while other brothers would do more of the hunting and all of them did farm chores. My dad said as a boy he would carry his rifle to public school and hand it in at the office and when school let out they handed him back his rifle and he would leave school and immediately go shoot some squirrels or birds on the way home and bring some food home for the dinner table. You sure don't see this today! My dad said his primary go to spots to fish were ponds nearby first, and then the creeks and St. Johns river as well. My family's connection to the St. Johns river goes back to their first day in Florida in 1878. And we have maintained that connection to this day. I know that river from one end to the other today, but back then they only knew the northern end of it. Now let me take you back a little bit further in time... trying to make this as short as possible because I could turn it into a book in an hour and may do so anyways because so much to tell. Florida was conquered by the U.S. Army beginning really actively in the 1830's when the Seminole Indians were really becoming a problem to settlers moving in. The army was sent into Florida to take care of the Indians once and for all time which they did. The turning point in those Seminole Indian wars happened on February 8, 1837 down in central Florida at what is today known as the town of Sanford. This is still very important to this day for us Florida fishermen because of some very important nautical details that are not well known and I will tell them here and now. When the army conquered Florida, they used the St. Johns river as their method of travel into Florida's deep interior since there was no roads back then and only cow trails through the woods that even the Indians had to use as well as by water. But the army floated down the St. Johns river on steamships loaded up with guns and cannons. The army could only float those heavy deep drafting boats into Lake Monroe at Sanford, Florida. When you leave Lake Monroe heading South on the river for the next 150 miles, the river is too shallow for those steamships to navigate. Sanford became the stopping off point for the army to drop off all their men, machines, and guns. If you look on the road maps of Florida look how highway 17-92 dead ends into Lake Monroe. Its really the other way around. That is the army's offloading spot and the road the army created to head South chasing Indians actually begins right there. Hiway 17 is the road the army made to defeat the Indians. They built a fort there at lake Monroe called Fort Mellon named for the captain Mellon who was the only army casualty of the vicious Indian attack on the morning of Feb. 8, 1837 at that location. So they named that fort after him. And following hiway 17 South into the deep core of Florida, heading South from lake Monroe each new fort built was one man's marching distance from sun up to sundown. They had to reach the next fort before dark or get caught out in the open by the Indians. So each fort was one day's march apart. Fort Mellon in Sanford, Fort Maitland next, Fort Gatlin next that Orlando grew up around. And so on. But for us fishermen the very important details on this we need for today revolve around critical details of boat navigation issues. Same now as it was back then. The river has not changed. But we have changed that river. The U.S. Army was behind some of the first land reshaping here on that river. It had to be dredged from Jacksonville to the docks at Sanford. 150 miles of river bottom dredging out a deep consistent channel so steamboats and commercial barges could travel up and down the river. The St. Johns river to this day is still dredged from Jacksonville to Sanford. Dredged to U.S. Coast Guard commercial navigation standards. But as I said, leaving Lake Monroe and heading south on the river from there and it begins to get more and more shallow. And the real dividing point of that river takes place in Geneva, Florida at hiway 46 bridge and public boat ramp. You can put a bass boat into the river there and if water is high enough go either north or south. But if water is low and at normal levels, then most bass boats can put in there but only travel north on the river because heading south is wide and shallow and sandbars everywhere. This is significant and important to us Florida fishermen like myself because we use these physical limitations to boat and fish. Since I have a small boat I now avoid the river north of Lake Monroe. Too many large boats running all over us up there. So I choose to this day to get on that river in Geneva and head South most of the time. I will go north to about as far as the old Lemon Bluff fish camp location and its not bad as most of the big boats avoid this part of the river. From hiway 46 heading South on the river is mostly airboats and shallow drafting boats like mine. This is why when you watch professional bass fishing you will never see any of them fish the river South of Lake Monroe. The MLF Elite series uses Palatka as their base of operations to put on their tournaments. Its a totally different river way up there in Palatka than it is South of Geneva. Worlds different. And with this type of background to that river there is another component of it leading to the topic of this thread, the creation of bass capitals. The term "bass capital" is a selling gimmick. It is used like bait to lure in people who want to fish to go there to the bass capital and buy some land and settle down there to help create more and more economic development in Florida. And settler families like mine who came to Florida basically followed in right behind the U.S. Army. As they chased the Indians out, the settlers moved in. Just how it was back then. And once again the St. Johns river was being used to conquer the Florida jungle and turn it into civilization. So the second wave of conquering Florida came from settlers. They would roll into Jacksonville or come down from up north on ships to Jacksonville. They would travel down the St. Johns river and when they found a good place to stop and wanted to settle there, they carved some of the first roads into the jungle from the river. Float down river. Stop. Carve road due west or due east straight in and start building. A great example of this type of thing is the old Kingsley Plantation just South of Jacksonville. Today Kingsley Ave. is a busy road. Back then it was a single lane dirt driveway from river to plantation house. Everything came and went from the river until other roads were built connecting up settlements. So getting to the point of this thread, some of these very early first settlements and communities built up along the St. Johns river who wanted more settlers and more commerce and more development had to come up with ways to attract rich northerners to move into Florida and invest here. Boating and fishing and beaches were among the very first selling gimmicks they used to sell Florida. And it is from this that came the idea of a bass fishing capital. So in this thread I would like to reveal Florida's very first bass fishing capital or capitals as it is. Each community competed with the next for those rich northerners. So by now you probably have guessed it that Florida's first bass capitals will be along the St. Johns river and closer to the starting point used to conquer Florida- Jacksonville. And its an interesting process as to how communities approached doing this. The first attraction to Florida is Florida itself. So that was the selling point. Rivers. Springs. Lakes. Beach. Ocean. So communities had to provide provisions for what they were trying to attract here. So the first thing every community had to build was their own "local" hotel. Food, room and board had to come first. Next, was to sell them some land. The land boom happened here around 1925 going into 1926. Every shyster known to mankind was down here trying to sell land back then, even worthless swampland. This type of thing ended in a tragic disaster with the hurricane of 1928. Thousands of people had trusted the shysters selling them land not knowing it would soon be under 12 to 15 or 20 feet of water killing thousands of people trying to live on unsuitable land. To this day they still do not know how many were killed on that day back in 1928. They never found them all. Estimates to this day begin at around 2500 dead and possibly more than 3000. Most who died were dirt poor being sold the worst land in the worst location just South of Lake Okeechobee- the natural outflow of that lake down into the river of grass the Everglades. But that is what is behind all the dikes and water management and flooding controls being built down there to this day. Contain the water, save the land, protect the people on it. Back then they did not know any better. They sure do now! The following images are an original 1920's land boom brochure printed to sell land at the bass capitals. Notice below the first selling gimmicks on first page of brochure? Water and fishing. Bass fishing! The Florida largemouth bass as a specie was used to conquer Florida. First as food then as sport to this day. We still sell Florida with our bass! But in the history of Florida the number place along the St. Johns river that received the very first title of bass capital of the world is Putnam county. There are several small towns there still making the same claim to this day. Palatka is one of them. Welaka is another, and Crescent City is the most well known. (These strange sounding names are Seminole Indian names and language) This is the heart and soul and core of Florida bass fishing capitals at its earliest roots of development combined with today. Looking at this map you can tell the MLF Elite series picked this area for tournaments for a reason. History rolling into today. It is interesting to note that in the above image used for 2026 is not in alignment with the historical record. This map image shows how Putnam County wants modern humans to view it to include other areas of Putnam County that were never associated historically to any "bass capitals." So on the new map above we see Palatka and Crescent City, but we do not see Welaka, and the other locations are all new additions to the title of bass capitals. Interlachen, Ocklawaha river, Rodman reservoir, Satsuma, Pomona Park. None of these locations ever carried the title of bass capital. Only that they were within the area of the bass capitals. What you are looking at here is the core heart and soul of where Florida bass fishing as we know it today came from. This is the place. The area of bass capitals of the world. Not just Florida. It would not be until later on moving into the 1930's and 40's when the hidden remote fish camps were built that rich northerners began flying into and out of since back then there was no roads to many of those secret fishing spots hidden deep in the Florida jungles accessible only by plane. But it all started on the St. Johns river and then moved deeper into Florida. To try and keep this short of being a book, I'll end it here with a 1960's sales brochure for Florida's true number one "Bass Capital" in this old Florida boy's opinion. If I had to pick one spot on the Florida map to say that is our real and true bass capital, then I would choose Crescent City while others would put Welaka at the top of the list. They keep adding to the list to sell, sell, sell, but there is really only one bass capital for me... Crescent City. To this day I will not tow my boat on interstates. I do not want to travel at those speeds. Taking Glenn's advice and keeping it slower under 65mph. So I use Florida's backroads. And my primary travel route is up and down hiway 17. The same one the army used to conquer Florida with. Everywhere I travel up and down that road I see and feel the deep echoes of our historical past from the Indians, the Spanish conquerors, the English and French, and U.S. Army, and run away slaves seeking freedom here, and even the settlers and famous rock stars who also knew these secrets of Florida's core bass fishing history and used it to our advantage for our entire lives here -while other humans pass on through and pass on by are completely oblivious to most of it. I have a much deeper connection to it all and I know a lot of the history by memory. I know the locations well. I always get a smile when I pass by this sign: Welcome to Florida! Now go home! Kidding. In trying to meet forum requests for brevity and minimal word counts, I kept a lot of interesting historical details out of this post to simply cover the basics, so in succeeding comments I may add in some interesting tidbits of history directly connected to all of this core Florida bass fishing capitals 101. One of them I will post now. Did you know the information I just posted above is not just used by MLF, B.A.S.S. and professional fishermen on where to target the St. Johns river for fishing, but do you know how many professional bass fishermen used this same information posted here to pick where they choose to live? I cannot tell you how many current and former professional bass fishermen all have houses in this area. Two that I know of off top of my head are Terry Scroggins and Cliff Prince who both live within minutes of each other precisely located in the center of this core historical bass capital area. I see both of them often driving up and down hiway 17 passing each other on the road or at the boat ramps. Over 100 years later and the bass capitals are STILL the bass capitals. But today fishermen have the entire state to enjoy and things are much different today. https://www.bassmaster.com/angler/cliff-prince/ Hometown Palatka, Florida Years as a full-time pro angler: 14 Signature technique/strength: Versatility Home waters: St. Johns River https://majorleaguefishing.com/anglers/terry-scroggins/ Terry ScrogginsSan Mateo, FL You can't miss this boat on the road or river! Even Bass Pro is getting in on using it for a selling gimmick inside of their brand new store in St. Augustine Florida. But Bass Pro does not want to limit it to the heart and soul core location. Bass Pro is expanding it yet again to cover the entire state today. https://www.jacksonville.com/picture-gallery/business/2024/11/14/bass-pro-shops-st-augustine-store-preview/76272660007/ Get to cleaning them up boys! Empty bellies are waiting for dinner!

And I know you are right! lol Like I said, I know enough to be dangerous!

I need a little bit of advice from motor experts... I have a 2005 Johnson outboard motor that was given to me as part of a removal and disposal deal of an abandoned boat in a friend's backyard. So this old Johnson sat out in the Florida weather for 12 years unused but covered. It ran when it was left there. I would like to try and bring it back to life, but also follow the technical details of how to go about doing this the right way. The primary issue I need advice on is upper cylinder lubrication before turning motor over in starting attempts. I have already bumped the motor with its starter motor and the motor will turn so it is not locked up. It should fire up once the carburetor is cleaned up and fuel lines. But I don't want to cause any scoring or damage inside the motor. So I am reading online that using fogger oil or something similar is advisable to use before trying to start it. So when I consider the pistons and cylinders, Its metal on metal in there. Fogging oil can only reach one side of the piston. Is this enough upper cylinder lubrication to protect the cylinders from damage? In my mind I'm thinking the oil should be on cylinder walls both in front of the pistons and behind them. Is this best case scenario and simply not possible and just go with oil on one side of the piston as directions on products say? How does one lubricate behind the pistons on the rest of the moving parts behind pistons? Is that all covered by oil in fuel? Some fogging oils are sprayed into the carburetor on running engines to get it into the cylinders. I have also been told to remove spark plugs and spray it inside that way which is what I leaning towards as most effective in this situation since going through the carburetor requires motor to be running or turning for that so that does not seem like a viable option at this point. Yet most products all say spray through the carburetor and this motor is not there yet. I am not a mechanic. And I know enough to be dangerous. I have the skills to do most basic maintenance or repairs on these motors. I have no problems changing gear oil, replacing impellers, replacing a carburetor is easier than rebuilding one and I have successfully swapped out carbs on generators and lawnmowers with no problems. So I am reasonably certain I can handle the small carb on this motor as well, but its that upper cylinder lubrication that is bugging me. I don't want to cause damage in those cylinders. I know I need to do compression testing, but I am not quite there yet. Should I attempt something like this and spray oil in through the spark plugs holes and just try it and hope for the best? Or, should I play it smart and pay the big bucks for a professional to do this part of it? That is what I am trying to avoid since this motor was free its not going to be a big loss if it never runs again. When my son buys a boat we will just have to buy another motor as well if need be, but if I can get this one running again by some simple do it yourself at home techniques, I'd sure like to start there and save some money and have some good father/son projects for us. So I did some searching on fogging oil and was going to purchase Sta-Bil fogging oil that I found on walmart website, but when I went into the store they told me it was only available online and the only fogging oil they had was Seafoam Spray. I'm just not sure if this product is good enough lubrication for what I am attempting. I have heard Marvel Mystery oil can be poured into the spark plugs holes for similar. But pouring means gravity controls where it goes which will always be the bottom of the cylinders and may not flow around entire piston and cylinders. So a spray seems to me would be more effective at covering the entire cylinder walls before I try to start it. I'm avoiding the pro's on this one because their prices have skyrocketed and this simple process would cost hundreds and no telling how long it would take to get motor back as I hear is time lengths are getting longer and longer these days, and if this motor ran when abandoned, the motor has been covered and protected all these years. And after cleaning up fuel lines and carb, it should run I am thinking. Its in good shape. I just don't want to blow it by something I did wrong in this process. So I'm asking the motor experts to weigh in on this one if you will, and thanks in advance for any and all advice and suggestions. RIght now I am cleaning it all up. Propeller removed for some straightening of blades and sanding off burrs. Its a 12 pitch so that is a down the road issue once its on a new boat and tested out for proper pitch at a later date. Just going to use old prop for now if it runs and see which way I need to go with it for a new propeller. I am familiar with this process. I've done it before on several of my boats. I have two of these outboard motors almost identical. I run a 1987 OMC Johnson/Evinrude 35hp on my boat now without issues for more than 10 years. Runs great. So since both motors are due for new impellers, I am going to get my 12 year old son to help me replace both of them at the same time and get that out of the way. This 2005 uses the same impeller my motor does and I have 3 in stock so that's covered. He's going to change gear oil as well. I plan on pulling the fuel pump to examine it internally to see if there is gunk from degraded old fuel in there or if it is clean. I hope the doctor who owned it may have run it dry before leaving it for all these years. I doubt it. I just replaced the fuel pump on my motor. The original one lasted from 1987 until 2025. Nearly 40 years on original fuel pump. That cost me less than $15. Runs like a scalded dog now and idles better and does not shut off until warmed up like it did before. Now it starts right up and stays running. Hopefully this 2005 will do the same. I'm ordering up a carb rebuild kit now... but about that upper cylinder lubrication? How to do that right is what I am most concerned with. I want to do it right and with the best product to. Thanks again.

The price difference between the 45 and 55 12 volt models is negligible. I'd go for the biggest 12 volt motor you can get. Having power to overcome wind and waves and current can be important as well as speed since you said this was your only propulsion. I'm the kind of guy that no matter what the voltage is, 12, 24, or 36 volts, I would always go with the biggest motor in each category. I've had canoes with 25lb thrust. Just about useless. A 55 on my canoe was much better. And I think the same for you as well. Why play around? Go big!

Taking a look under the hood of the old Shimano Cardiff 401A. Clearly this reel had been used in saltwater and not cleaned properly after use and the owner allowed the saltwater to just corrode some of the reel away with galvanic corrosion as seen under this aluminum handle. When salts attack the metal, it is always the weaker metal that gives way. In this case the aluminum handle was experiencing the loss while the steel spring suffered no damage at all. This reel was rough to spin, and the drag was in terrible shape. The previous owner was clearly catching some large fish on this reel because all of the 4 drag washers were just about worn away. Only about 50% of the drag washers remain. All of the worn off material from all 4 drag washers became dirt or grit inside the reel going everywhere inside contaminating the gears and even the brake drum. I was surprised by the amount of drag washer material floating around inside the reel. At first I thought maybe someone had used a black grease on the reel, but it slowly became apparent all the black junk in there is drag washer material worn off by some really large fish this previous owner tried slowing down with cross fiber carbon drag washers. You can see specks of dark black particles scattered all over the inside of this reel. That is the drag washer material worn away and floating loose inside the reel. These may hold up well in low load bass fishing reels, but for larger saltwater reels this is the reality of those so called drag washers just not able to hold up well. Even the brake drum had it contaminating braking. All of the black on this brass gear is what is left of cross fiber carbon drag washers after big fish tear them up. It wears off the drag washers inside this gear and spins outward right into the gears which grind down any particles moving into the gears. Black all the way around. Years of drag washers falling apart right here. All I did was touch the teeth of this main gear and you can see what came off on my finger. This should not be happening and should not be there. And here you can see chunks of ground up drag washer material mixed in with reel grease to form chunks of gritty material floating around inside of this reel for years. On the key'd plate on left side of this image you can see where the material came right off the drag washer and onto that key plate washer as it is on its way to join the rest of the junk floating around in this reel. And this is what is left of the drag washers... only about 50%. These are unusable and I will be replacing all drag washers with a different material that will not do this to this reel again. Not sure yet what I am going to use, but its gotta be better than this! I may wind up replacing the gears along with the drag washers and use different gears with a different drag washer fit rather than try and work with this one again. Not sure what Shimano was trying to do with a drag stack like this one. Appears to be 2 cross weave carbon fiber drag washers and two dartanium II drag washers. Gonna have to play around with this one and see which way it goes towards repairing it. I may start off fiddling with this gear setup and new drag washers and see what I can do with it. I just don't want to see a repeat performance of what I found so far. The previous owner really put a hurting on this reel's drag. Curious how many of you have Cardiff reels, and if any of you have had this sort of trouble from them?

Eric, he is loving his new stradics. He got 3 of them for Christmas. A 4000FH, a 2000FE, and a rare 2500MgFA given to him by Kel's rod and reel repair shop as a Christmas gift and it came on a nice band new Denali rod. He absolutely loves the new combo. Here he is this past Saturday fishing with me on lake Santa Fe near Keystone Heights, Florida. He was trying out his newly learned skills for using creature baits to catch big bedding bass. He said dad I am tired of telling everyone my PB is only 3 pounds! I want a double digit bass he says. So we will be trying to get him one off a bed somewhere soon. Spring break is coming and that means road trips with boat! This is what its all about! I give him front casting deck and trolling motor controls and say go where you want to. Fish how you want to. I don't make it all about me like I do around here. Ha! Nope. When fishing its all about him. I have to tell myself make sure he enjoys it no matter what. No time for getting mad at something. Nope. Not allowed. I just take the back of the boat and chill out and cast around him if need be. I want him to know its all about him right now. I've had my day. Its his turn at living life his way. Here's the keys to boat. Make it all yours kiddo! I'm good wetting a line anywhere. Back of boat is fine. This is lake Santa Fe. Redneck heaven on earth out there! Not kidding either! This image was taken just north of the saddle point between the two lakes sides where the widest shallow sandy area is located without swamp muck on the bottom where he could sight fish for bedding bass. Here he is trying out the creature bait he just put on a hook using the Denali rod and his 2500 stradic MgFA. This is a large gorgeous lake out in the middle of nowhere Florida. Low fishing pressure. Clean water. Just an awesome lake! Keep in mind these photos were taken Saturday. Weekend when lots of boats fill out lakes, but not these out in nowhere Florida. You don't see one other boat in these photos. We had a huge lake nearly all to ourselves. Just look at that grass line! Bass heaven on earth right here. And behind the grass is lily pads in shallow water back in there. I did some casting over the grass since you can't go through this grass. Those reeds or stalks sticking out of the water are solid as wood. Very hard. So they do not give way to lures pulled through them. He is also into saltwater fishing as well. In this photo he is using his cheaper tackle because I really don't want the classic 25 year old stradics used in saltwater if possible. So we buy other decent reels for him to use in saltwater that he can dunk in the water if he wants to. This is his Bubba rod with a Shimano sienna on it. He was out with a friend near New Smyrna Beach intracoastal waterway in this image of his trout. He loves being able to catch something worthy of eating. He's 12 years old and already searching for his first boat. He's wearing his state of Florida Trophy Catch program hat given to us by state of Florida biologists at their booth at ICAST last year. A young conservationist growing up fast. To help him out in saltwater fishing I pick up used reels when I come across really good deals like these two reels. One is a hefty OffShore Angler 8000 with 6 ball bearings and smooth and powerful and strong as heck and a rated 30 pound drag on it for the big ones. Gotta rebuild it first and treat metal for saltwater corrosion prevention before using in saltwater, and same is being done to his new Shimano Cardiff 401A we just got for free dumped at the rod and reel shop abandoned by a customer who did not want to pay for full repair but went and bought a new reel and just left this one at the shop, so I got it for nothing and the 8000 was on clearance at a pawn shop and I offered them $10 for it and they took it! Pretty cool. Two awesome reels for $10. I'm getting into the cardiff now.

Well based on what I can buy that reel for right now on ebay for $115 with free shipping all the way from Japan, I'd say based on that alone your price is a bit steep. You might find a taker. Good luck! https://www.ebay.com/itm/397640718010

I'm with JigMan, but with a twist. JigMan records his own data. I don't have to do that because I have state government agencies who do that for me and paid to do it to. I'll try and dial it down and dial it in for our frustrated OP who just joined an exclusive club on that one! We have arrived at a mutual understanding. I'm good with it. About bass and the spawn. I am no expert so what I am about to say is merely my interpretation of what I have "learned" over the years. The spawn is primarily for the bass involved not about food, its about real estate. And we all know in real estate it is all about the location, location, location. And that's it in a nutshell right there. Years ago I was in contact with a couple of the state of Florida biologists in the fisheries dept. who help the bass with their ongoing science. Take West Lake Tohopekaliga in Kissimmee, Florida as a great example. This lake is commonly referred to by a shortened name rather than its longer Seminole Indian name and is most often referred to as Lake Toho. Seminole chiefs used to live on the islands in middle of this lake before being driven South into Everglades by U.S. Army in 1830's. Today that lake is world famous and fishermen still want to go there from all over the country. The reason behind this type of an earned reputation goes right straight to state of Florida biologists and their bulldozers who reshaped that lake's bottom after draining it and cleaning 10 feet of rotting plant muck off the bottom of the entire lake. Once cleaned back to pure white Florida sandy bottom is when biologists went to work. They changed the shape of the lake bottom for one reason and one reason only- the bass spawn. I was told by a Florida biologist that what they did was more than triple the vast shallow expanses of sandy bottom that Nature had provided for bass to spawn on. By tripling the spawn areas, the bass exploded in that lake to legendary proportions still echoing down to this day I read on this forum some guy is going to take a trip to Lake Toho even though he's nearly a decade too late to enjoy it at peak level. And that is the point of this comment. Its real estate and location, location, location. So I approach it a little bit differently. Since I am retired now and have boat and will travel, as I travel to new places I am always remembering what the biologists did to Toho, and as I travel from place to place I am looking for what they created with bulldozers. Some lakes have very little in the way of shallow expanses with sandy bottom. So it is hit or miss around the shoreline. But some lakes have large vast expanses of sandy shallows perfect for bedding bass. So I take note of these specific lakes, rivers, etc. And it is those places I would return to for spawn. I did that this past weekend with my 12 year old son. We headed to just such a lake with clean, clear water and gorgeous white sandy beaches around entire lake, and in the lake vast expanses of shallow sandy bottom. That is location, location, location and prime real estate right there. You can go to just about any lake to find spawning bass. But if we humans can plan anything then it should be around the criteria the bass use for what they do. I'm with JigMan and biologists that bass don't choose their spawn locations based on food sources or roaming bait balls. They seek a perfect location to spawn so we humans should also be thinking in terms of location, location, location. In West Lake Toho biologists were not concerned about food sources because bass know how to take care of themselves and they do. The only thing biologists were concerned with was in creating massive spawn bedding real estate and nothing else. So if we target what those biologists build with their bulldozers, whether manmade or natural, the fish will be there at their right time. I can target any lake for spawning bass, but if I am targeting spawning bass then I am targeting prime real estate first. Its all about location, location, location. And if I don't have any in mind all I have to do is call up a fisheries biologist and request his list of prime real estate. Those guys know far more places including places they are working on that we don't know about yet. I'd like to ask them when will they redo Lake Toho?

I get it. A lot of fishermen are like that. Stay off Florida lakes on the weekend if you don't like loud music in boats because Florida lakes are a rocking! Mine included. Ran into it yesterday on Santa Fe lake near Keystone Heights Florida. Everything from rap to country and then my Southern rock on top of that. I fish for fun so I'm not worried about scaring any fish. Its not THAT loud. Well maybe sometimes. I think the Florida bass can hear me coming, but they still seem to bite ok. I'm not worried if I don't catch them all. That's not what its all about. Catching is not the end all goal. Living life is the goal. If I made fishing all about catching it would lose its charm real fast and become work. When fishing is work. I'm done. So to enjoy bass fishing even more on Florida lakes to drown out everyone else's noise, I'm turning the bite on with some Skynyrd and Allman Brothers band. Play some Skynyrd and the fish give up and jump in the boat. I'm a retired old school soundman. I started in late 1970's mixing sound for local Southern rock bands and eventually made a career out of electronics and sound mixing for concerts. So I kind of specialized in loud. Still do. I still work with guitarists on their gear. I like it loud. What can I say? Loud driving down the highway. Loud at home. Loud in the clubs and shows, and loud in the boat too. Who says we gotta be quiet and sssssshhhhh don't scare the fish! And with days like yesterday with a lake filled with rap and country rap with a c in front of that, I have to be louder than they are so I can hear my music while fishing. (Sounds good anyway) I go silent sometimes to, like yesterday I started off playing some music but turned it off so we could just concentrate on fishing. A father- son trip so he was more important, but when I am alone the house- er boat is a rocking! (Some) I could not imagine trying to listen to an audio book while fishing. My brain can't be in two places at once- and when fishing, its fishing brain time. The audio books would go in one ear and out the other and not touch anything on the way through. I could listen to any entire chapter and have no clue what it is about because my brain was elsewhere by choice. So music works best for me because I don't have to think about it. I just get to tap along to it automatically while swinging away. Don't get much better than that. And if the next boat over don't like it, oh well! Maybe a little more space between boats would work?

FYI, long post here just to stimulate some discussion on a word forum made for it. Harold, I am going to show my age here. As I read your title while scanning for interesting threads to read I kept thinking about what you are asking by name. Does one start to fish power or finesse? And that is where you lost me. I will have to take a pause to go elsewhere and search out what is meant by power fishing and finesse fishing because I am not sure if I do any of that really. These two words have no place in my fishing world. All new to me. AI says power fishing is: "Power fishing is an active, fast-paced angling technique designed to locate and catch aggressive fish quickly by covering large areas of water. It involves using noisy, fast-moving reaction baits—such as crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and topwaters—on heavy tackle, rather than waiting for fish to bite." That is me all day long. However the topwater bite is not a start off the trip technique- unless first light- nor is it a search technique for me at all here in Florida. That is an end of the day hail Mary technique at last light or first light in specific areas of cover. AI says finesse fishing is: "Finesse fishing is an angling technique that uses light tackle, small lures, and subtle, slow, or precise presentations to catch finicky, lethargic, or highly pressured fish. It prioritizes a natural, delicate approach—using light lines (e.g., 4-8 lb test) and small soft plastics (drop shots, Ned rigs)—to coax bites when aggressive, standard fishing methods fail." Um no. Heck no. I rarely drop down this low in load categories at all. No reason to. I'm not after 12" dinks all the time. Though those can be an indicator of what is going on under the water. I generally do not carry any rods under a medium here in Florida. And if finesse fishing is below that, then not me. I will do the same in a heavier load category. Sort of the idea that I don't go shark fishing with minnows. Shaw Grigsby is a master at finesse fishing. I can see that now that word has some meaning, Shaw gives it life on camera. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLO-8gJJ80Y Maybe you can teach an old dog a new trick. I just learned some new words that are supposed to mean something to me, but for this old dinosaur they never will. And I'll be honest, I wish the term finesse had never been brought into fishing. I much prefer ultra-light and light tackle as more specific language I can relate to better. Just call me old school. Just don't call me late for dinner! When getting down into light lines, I look at it more in terms of line physical size. So when I am putting line on my smaller spinning reels in 1000 and 2000 sizes, I look at what the manufacturer suggests in way of standard mono line, and then cross compare the physical size of that recommendation into braid line also of the same physical size, but with significantly more load capability than the mono. Ya follow me? So my 12 pound braid is physically the same size as say 4 to 6 pound mono. So I am within manufacturer specifications even if my line has more load ability than what was known at the time my reel was made- 20 to 25 years ago- that did not include braid specifics on the spool which has changed over time anyways rendering such information as suspect at best, but a guide none the less. I do like light fishing, but here in Florida like one guy from Minnesota likes to tell me here "the Florida argument is IRRELEVANT" as he puts me in my place in relation to other states who do not experience the level of issues we do here in Florida from the much bigger fish to the overwhelming salt content and heat. Don't forget the heat! However that heat can drive some of the best bass fishing you jhave ever seen! I'm just not telling where or when or the why and how this type of turn on happens here. I lived in area where this next video was shot. This young man stumbled onto one of my secret bass locations and at the right time too. I lived out there for 12 years and would like to retire out there to do this type of bass fishing all to myself for the rest of my life. Details on the "when" are shown clearly in the video. I could experience bass fishing like this almost every day on St. johns river all through summer June, July, August, and first few weeks of September and as it cools off so to does this type of bass fishing disappear at this level of activity. I could start off fishing out here any way I want to and it does not matter. The bass slam anything that moves out there. This guy admits he threw the kitchen sink at them and they slammed every lure he had and broke solid steel spinners like they were nothing. The bass wore him out. And they did me too. On hot summer afternoons fishing by myself up and down the St. Johns river chasing those schoolies and targeting the bigger bass to the sides, this is what I wind up looking like trying to take photos in between bass wearing me out. And something all of you should be thinking about concerning bass fishing like this is that lake bass are lazy bass. Big ones roll over and come up to the surface and often get dragged in like a sled on top of the water. Not much fun. But the St. Johns river bass are where this species of fish earned the nickname "the brawler." The bass on St. Johns that wore me out and wore out this young man who stumbled onto this awesome Florida fishing secret learn real fast that river fish in the current will fight like crazy as compared to lazy lake in lakes near this river but not connected to it. Huge difference in fish behavior when caught on rod and reel. If you want the bass fight of your life, then the St. Johns river is the place. And your timing has to be right. And you have to know where and what to look for and once you get those details down pat, bass fishing heaven on earth does exist! And I'd say out there is no place for lightweight tackle- if you want to keep your fish that is. You will need power fishing tackle and nothing else. Going ultra light would be a novelty for fishing flavor only out there. gee, let me see if I can reel in a 4 pound brawler in this current on 8 pound line. Why? Nope. starting at 4000 size spinning, 7'6" rod, maybe even an 8' MH fast action rod, 25 to 30 pound braid, and bring the kitchen sink and hang on. The water will boil and then you know what time it is. This year 2026 will be the first year I get to take my 12 year old son back out on the river at this location and during this time period so hopefully he can get to experience this Florida magic. But if any of you come to Florida and want in on this type of fishing contact me privately for details. I don't put them online. Us Florida guys like to keep the good spots to ourselves. Just how it goes I suppose. And its kind of funny why this is. When I lived out there in small one traffic light towns if you can call them that, I was at the boat ramp one day with locals only when the town's oldest patriarch in hunting and fishing- he was the guy you took your deer to for butchering- but he decided that was the time to chew out my fishing buddy because he had run off from the ranch lands to the east coast and joined one of those uppity, rich guy saltwater fishing clubs mostly populated by rich northerners who move here and seek the big ones of the coast, and what did my buddy start doing? He began bringing those east coast saltwater flats boats to our local river and ticked off the locals with his rich buddies now on the river being rude to locals. So the patriarch chewed him out for doing that. Keep your northern buddies off our river and out of here! And he meant it too. But all the yelling was not stopping or even slowing them down, but our sandbars sure were! Another story. And BTW, my fishing buddy just made the list of grandmaster fisherman here in Florida in his rich northerner club. Only 49 grandmasters going all the way back to I think 1974. This is a link to the old list, but shows my fishing buddy on it who has now reached grandmaster rank! Only 49 men have accomplished this in Florida in more than 50 years. So congratulations to him for sticking with it and getting grandmaster rank he will carry with him for life. Who wants to go fishing with a grandmaster? You know he's gonna rub it in. And deservedly so. If my Florida argument is relevant to this discussion, then power fishing all the way and finesse fishing does not exist and no reason to. Got no time for that. I want kitchen sink fishing like this. Other states simply cannot compare to what is shown in this video. What is shown here is why Scott Martin says on camera the St. Johns river is today Florida's number one bass fishery. And he's right of course. But the interesting thing is it is not the entire river! Specific locations for specific reasons deliver something special for those who know. And believe it or not, when I moved out there, I also stumbled onto it. No one told me what I was about to find out there. I just found it and held onto it all by myself for 12 years. I talk about it now, but only to open the door to it. How would you like to bass fish for real brawlers where every cast in a split second is another fish on the line? And how would like it that it did not matter what you threw out there or what color it was or what size it was that the bass would be slamming all of it instantly on just about every single cast? And let the fish wear you out until you could not cast any more and your arms are about to fall off? Its that good! Here is video proof it does exist! If you had 20 arms and 20 rods and reels to cast at same time most of those would all have a fish on them too. Its that good. No great! I've never seen bass fishing anywhere that rivals this. You go out here it is power fishing all the way. You can play around if you want to, but if you want the bass fight, you will find it on this river. The brawlers are there. Be prepared for them because they are prepared for you! Florida power fishing at its finest!

Lead Acid for me. Too cheap to pass up and too reliable to ignore. Besides, my boat NEEDS the extra weight up front! Balances the boat out nicely. When I compare costs between the 2 choices, lead acid wins big time. In my opinion the lead acid batts have proved their ability to run continuously for days without recharging. And at $60 each per battery its a no brainer. I posted more detailed info about it in another thread if anyone wants to learn how to troll on lead acid batts for more than 2 years straight for $60 for 12 volt, $120 for 24 volt, and only $180 for 36 volt- lead acid batts working flawlessly for years. Can't beat the price really. Solid performance too. I use a professional battery reconditioning company for all of my boat and auto battery needs:

I knew this was coming. I tried to avoid it. Folks we have basically 3 sides to this Rodman issue: 1)state government & federal to large degree 2)Lake front residents 3)Bass fishermen. The issue I have tried to avoid and dance around on this issue has now been brought to center stage with the posting of the above article. So let's dive right in. 1)bass fishermen do not matter. No one cares what any bass fishermen (myself included) think about the Rodman reservoir. Fishermen be damned here! That man who wrote the above article is coming from the bass fishermen perspective and his arguments fall flat as a huge fail and what he said in the article above simply is not true and he based his entire pile of words around something false I'll point out shortly. Here is the problem with the bass fishermen who are whining and complaining about this dam removal. Are any bass fishermen stepping up to the plate to PAY for the dam's maintenance costs now that it is 8 years past engineering shelf life of the dam itself? No, they do not step up and pay one penny of the costs. They simply want to show up whenever they want to and take advantage of a mistake. They whine about keeping the mistake and could not care less about anything else, the river, nature, nothing. All they care about is bass fishing and catching those huge bass Rodman is known for. Honestly, and I am in the bass fisherman camp, but honestly we bass fishermen DO NOT matter in this issue. We need to stay out of it. Fishing is insignificant. Petty. Minor. Not important at all. Should not even be on a list for why to keep the Rodman dam. That river will still produce huge bass with or without the dam. The St. Johns is proof of that. And for all those bass fishermen who want to whine about this issue like the article above does in spades, be aware that biologists working for the state of Florida have taken LESSONS LEARNED at Rodman and expanding them statewide. So what was learned there is being exported. Lake Okeechobee is an example of how biologists and Army Corp of engineers are working on water quality and water movement and water controls for FLOODING purposes down South that has the same or similar effect on bass fisheries. Need I remind bass fishermen of the biologists work efforts at Stick Marsh? Farm 13? How about Headwaters? All 3 of these are man made reservoirs biologists and Army corp of engineers use as natural water filter tanks to clean up the headwaters of the St. Johns River. They are growing huge bass quickly! Reputation is now worldwide. Lake Apopka is being done the same way right now. Lake Toho was drawn down years ago by biologists and cleaned out and reshaped specifically for bass growth. Polk county is today- besides the Rodman reservoir- is the number 2 spot in Florida producing the largest numbers of double digit bass like Rodman does. Losing the dam is not the same as losing the fishing. Rodman lives on all across Florida and even into other states and possibly countries. Rodman has been used by biologists for decades. It is NOT needed for any real flood controls. It was never built for that. So its not being used in an important capacity. The Rodman dam is today an irrelevant old outdated MISTAKE mankind made way back when the Texas oil men wanted to shortcut their oil tankers trips around the world to make them more money while DESTROYING our state and natural water flows. And that is what we need to get back to. Fixing what mankind has messed up. Any bass fishermen want to step up and start paying the tax bill to keep fixing a dam long past its shelf life? Any bass fishermen want to meet a brand new baby manatee and his mother at the dam blocked from moving forward because humans thought it was better to block these creatures from their natural circuitous migration routes now destroyed by that dam? Be there at the dam when an infant manatee just recently born in central Florida has to swim all those miles down that river to the dam to only have to figure out they have to now turn around and go back all those same miles to safety at the springs in central Florida. where are the bass fishermen to help nature survive and do we care? I sure as hell do. Those manatee are more important. If we let them go extinct just remember that list includes us at some point and if we let ourselves go around killing off specie after specie then we are bringing ourselves up next a whole lot faster. Will we ever learn? This Rodman dam issue would be a great place to start. I would tell all bass fishermen who want to keep the dam, then you pay for it. You maintain it. You run it. See how far you get. No, all those bass fishermen want everyone else to pay for it so they are the only ones who can enjoy it a few times a year if that. It is simply not worth it. Bass fishermen do NOT have a case here. Not a leg to stand on. All they care about is big bass and their man made swimming pool to catch them in. So in my opinion, and I am a bass fishermen who has enjoyed the fruits of the Rodman reservoir, that today in 2026 I have to go with the flow of the right path. Fully restore the Ocklawaha river and remove that dam! Now let's take a look at some of the BS in that whiney article above: "On the surface, the sell is beautiful: manatees, “lost springs” and a restored Ocklawaha River. But when you look at the rigging of the legislation itself, you find a high-stakes trade designed to benefit private interests while sidelining the local community. Do you see this writer's conclusion on the bill at face value above according to him? What he just said in that article is completely FALSE! He tries to claim the new law benefits ONLY private interests while SIDELINING the local community. That is what he said. The law itself says something completely different and opposite: ""Tributaries of the St. Johns River; Requires DEP to hire project lead to oversee implementation of act, to develop project plan for restoration of Ocklawaha River, & to develop specified outdoor recreation plan; creates Northeast Florida River & Springs Recreation & Economic Development Advisory Council; requires Department of Commerce to develop specified economic development program for Marion & Putnam Counties." 1)The law says DEP to lead and oversee project. That is government and NOT private interests which the writer does not name. 2)Project plan is to include OUTDOOR RECREATION, COMMERCE DEVELOPMENT & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. For who? That article writer said the local community is being sidelined and yet WRITTEN into the law all I see are community projects! The law says various government agencies and councils are to do what? DEVELOP commerce, economics, and recreation for who? Yeah the sidelined communities again. That writer is so bogus its not funny. It ticks me off actually to read such nonsense about this project. The writer of the article not even worth naming him continues to write: "The Florida House passed this bill 107-3 on March 4, and the Senate is poised for a final vote. We are being asked to trade a world-class fishery for a $95 million gamble run by private contractors. " More rubbish coming from a selfish bass fisherman who only cares about one thing- his next lunker and the world be damned according to him. And what is this gamble BS? How is removing a dam and restoring back to Nature what we messed up a gamble? Fer shame this selfish bass fisherman only cares about losing his world-class bass fishery! Shame on him! How can he say these things that are patently not true? If we spend $95 million to remove that dam it is no gamble. Its the right thing to do. World class fishery be damned. Go to other places in the state where this same type of water projects are ongoing right now and stop yer whining! Bass grow big in all our bodies of water. What he is really saying is he likes how easy it is to catch the big ones in Rodman and he does not want to give that up. When the drawdown happens every 4 years all those lake bass are now monkeys in a barrel in river channel and fighting for food. So even the big ones will bite. Its a unique setup for sure. I'd call that writer of that article a lazy bass fisherman. Show up, toss out some wild shiners and hang on for that 12 pounder. That's all he cares about. He is the problem. His words are the problem. Now let me address another issue this whiney lazy bass fishermen complained about that is also completely wrong! The state of Florida operates in the black. We do not operate in debt and in the red. This state has reserve surpluses you can't even imagine. Billions of dollars on hand in this state. "Florida is experiencing a strong fiscal position, with a projected $3.8 billion budget surplus for the upcoming fiscal year, supported by over $15.7 billion in total reserves as of mid-2025. Recent analysis indicates a $23.4 billion taxpayer surplus (assets exceeding liabilities)." I'd say it would be $95 million well spent to tear that dam down NOW! Putting it off will only cost more down the road. Now about those private contractors this whiney lazy bass fisherman is complaining about. Folks who do you think built Stick Marsh? Who do you think constructed Stick Marsh? And how about Headwaters? Private contractors for sure. And yes they will get paid and rightfully so when they are doing the work of the people. But one thing not so well known about this state's bidding process for contracts is that Florida really does scrutinize closely all bids and bidding. They do not play around here. And one of the things brought into contract negotiations with private contractors is not viewed on the table as one off projects to consider. What is happening in Florida is a series of projects one after another or coinciding at the same time. I wonder if this writer even knows or cares that the private contractors used to reshape the land we call Florida into world-class bass fisheries off the state reduced costs BECAUSE of the ongoing multiple projects all flowing from one to the next. When you find good private contractors who take care of business and get the job done on time and on budget and even saves the state some money to put to the next project you bet those good contractors will be getting paid for what they do. And all of should be thanking them when you fish Stick Marsh, Farm 13, Headwaters, Lake Okeechobee, Tenoroc, and the many other places across this state our biologists are working hand in hand with private contractors doing what needs to be done. I am for one am thankful even if this whiney lazy bass fishermen pretending to be a writer thinks otherwise. He apparently does not know it was private contractors who build the Rodman dam in the first place to CREATE the world class fishery he is whining about losing now. The writer continues: "This is being proposed even though a $4 million repair could address deferred maintenance and stabilize the existing dam for years to come." Who cares. You are on the wrong page. All he cares about is big bass and nothing else. All those baby manatee born every year following mommy down the river to the dam to feed and grow and live only to be cut off at the dam and turned back around DO NOT matter to this writer. He is showing who and what he is inside. And its not a good look either. Buddy if you want that dam so bad then you pay for it. You have no right to tell everyone in this state that all of us- 99.99% of tax paying Floridians never even see that dam or Reservoir, and he expects EVERYONE else to pay for it so basically only he can enjoy it at the expense of everyone and everything else. I'd like to tell this fake writer where he can go and how to get there ASAP! But there are rules around here to follow. The fake writer continues: "Before the final votes are cast, we need to ask: Who is actually going to land the “treasure chest” at the end of this line? From where I’m sitting, it doesn’t look like the local guy in a bass boat." Yeah because that local guy in the bass boat is irrelevant. When pay full costs of the dam to repair and maintain, then you might have an argument. Until then you are merely mooching off an entire state and expect everyone else to pay for a MISTAKE that never should have been built in the first place. It needs to be torn down and all this bass fisherman cares about is himself. I tried to dance around this issue and not deal with it, but that article just pushed it over the edge for me. I am a bass fisherman and I am the first one to say the dam is causing more harm than good and I can catch big bass all over Florida. I don't need one remote reservoir to take advantage of its unique properties targeting only huge lunker bass when they are all forced into a river channel at drawdown. He is the one who wants his cake and to eat it too, and have everyone else pay for it while he tries to smear the state and private contractors as "landing the treasure chest" which all of this is NOT about! He is trying to make it so and its not happening. Articles like his do not deserve publication. We need truth in media and news. And yet nonsense like this is what we are being fed? To SC53 who posted that article, thanks for posting it! I appreciate this opportunity to confront the real problem with why that dam is still standing right now. He is the problem in my opinion. I just try and call it like I see it and let the chips fall where they may. I hope this comment in some form reaches other members in the same way. Who are we as bass fishermen? Are we conservationists or not? It is fundamental B.A.S.S. core 101.