davecon

Soflabasser, never mean't to imply that I don't love bass fishing, it is my first love and I'm still a bass fisherman at heart. It's just that a Snook, especially a big SNUK as the old timers called them, are so much fun. Sounds like you understand. Dave

Hezeez, if you are in Apopka you are relatively close to snook. If you can withstand the temptation of the "forbidden fruit" , snook that is , you may remain content with the bass. Once you do catch a snook there is no turning back. I fished exclusively for bass for well over twenty years. Moved across the street from a brackish river. Had to try the river for bass and caught quite a few then had my religion changed when I caught my first snook. No going back. Kinda like discovering sex - wow ! I now fish for bass primarily during the spawn. As soon as it is over - back to the snook. Not to brag, it's just that I've been doing this a long time right here in central Florida, and have caught a LOT of bass over 9, with the biggest two in the teens. Believe me when I tell you that a good size snook, say 35 inches or so which is not uncommon, will out fight any bass that swims ! If you don't want your fishing life drastically changed DO NOT watch those videos and STAY AWAY FROM SNOOK ! Hope you realize I'm just kidding, but nothing I said above is incorrect. LOL, Dave

When it gets really hot I fish for snook. Never gets too hot for them. I'm on west coast of Florida and do great this time of year. You may be closer to the east coast though. Only problem - once you catch a snook bass will never be the same. You've been warned ! Google a couple of videos to see what I mean - snook fishing 101 and snook fishing 102. Keep in mind the guy is using bass tackle, same stuff you probably have, just tie on a short leader. You'll see.

09/14/74 Borrow pit alongside I4 near Tampa. 8 inch black Manns Jeiiy Worm. 14.1 Over the years caught at least 50 others in that pit that went between 9 and 11.4 Have caught several in other bodies of water with the biggest at 13.8 but that 14.1 was/is my PB. Nothing you guys couldn't do if you lived here in central Florida and had been at it as long as I have.

If the "working" length of the rod is OK you can always shorten the handle . I do this often as I fish sitting in a smaller boat and in cooler weather the end of the handles somehow wind uo getting hung in the opening of a flannel shirt right above the wrist. Aggravating as he#$ ! I cut 3 or 4 inches off the handle and it's great. Rod action/performance is unchanged and feels more comfortable in my hands. I usually have the split handles of cork with a section of exposed rod blank part way up the handle. This sounds like sacrilidge, I know, but it works. Bring a small pot of water to boil. Stick the rod handle in the boiling water and keep rotating. When it gets warm, using an old rag or dish towel, twist the end piece of cork off the end of the rod. Only takes a few minutes. Then comes the scarry part. Take a hacksaw and shorten the rod to the desired length. Smooth off the end and stick the cork end piece back on the rod. Sounds terrible I know but I have done this many times with no problems whatsoever. Makes the rods much more comfortable as not everybody makes two hand casts with long handle rods. Then again, I'm old school when all we had was pistol grips.

I don't doubt there are fish there, that's obvious via tournament results, and as always someone will find them. My concern was the lack of activity on both the water and around it. We did pretty good considering I had never seen this section of the chain and the limited time we were on the water. What puzzled the wife and I was the total lack of birds, I mean none, not even a coot or a a buzzard, no minnows, no schoolies, nothing. It was eerie and made us wonder had there been any problems/issues. Just thinking out loud .

Haven't fished tournaments in many years and then it was only local/club/regional stuff. I can tell you how to have a small fortune with tournament fishing - start with a large fortune ! Not bragging by any means, please believe that, but my tournament partner and I won literally half the events we fished for over seven years. Considering entry fees, gas on tournament days for the truck and boat and gas for pre fishing, plus incidentals, we did the math - we broke even. And that was with winning half the time ! We had a good time and fished for free, That was the extent of it. Just look at the names for the big tournament series. The names change to protect the innocent as all but a select few come to the realization that for the most part they are "donors/contributors" and after a short while they give it up. Admittedly, there are a handful that do well over a long period of time but that is very rare. Plus , admit it or not, they are plain out better than most of us. Not saying don't try some local clubs/opens. It's a lot of fun and you may learn a lot, but keep your head screwed on right and don't give up your day job ! Don't mean to burst your bubble, just don't want to see you hurt.

I'm not much for catfishing but a friend told me about this years ago and I was dumbfounded at how well it works. Local lake, spring early summer, sandy flats in 4 to 6 feet of water. Throw a rattle trap (color makes no difference) as far as you can, let it sink to the bottom and sit for about 10 seconds. Take up all the slack line and sweep the plug with the rod only then let it sink. Repeat this all the way to the boat. My kids and I could easily catch 50 to 60 pounds of blue cats this way in just a couple of hours. Really works ! I know it sounds crazy but in all honesty it worked like a charm and these fish averaged about 5 pounds each.

Fished the Tsa Apopka chain back in January for the first time in about 30 years. Was in the Floral City area at my brother in laws place. Caught a few but something looked wrong ! Very little life to be seen both on the water and near it. No minnows, no schoolies, even very few birds (gulls, water turkeys, osprey, coots, herons, etc). It was like the place was devoid of life. Admittedly I don't fish it often and therefore not familiar with it and we were quit a ways from Henderson but it was weird. Just my imagination or has something happened ? Used to be a Great fishery but that was years ago. Just wondering.

Years ago I fished a local reservoir often. Wife wanted to have a fish fry so I kept enough bass for that (usually I catch and release, but if Momma wants fish, I bring home fish). Kept a bunch of small ones and as I am cleaning one little guy about 12 or 13 inches long I find the "point" half of a worm hook in his stomach. The thing had broken off and the fisherman reeled back the "eye" half of the hook. The bass couldn't have been over 13 inches but I have often wondered how many times that angler told the story of the bass he hooked that was so gigantic that it literally broke the hook . If he only knew !

Just TRY to catch catfish ! That would solve the problem for me.

Google is your friend. I'm not familiar with that area but there used to be an active website "Florida River Fishing" or something like that. You may be able to find the old posts but the site is no longer active. Those guys fished mostly small rivers and creeks, often times putting a canoe in upstream, fishing their way down, then taking out down stream using a second vehicle. You might try to find those old posts as the info would probably still be applicable. Good Luck.

Black Musky at night in Florida . Been using them for over 40 years. I have an old wooden one. Took it to a hobbyist wood worker and had him make a duplicate body, bought a new plastic one, they are good but have a different sound plus on a large fish the hooks will pull out of the "seam", took the hardware from the new plastic one and put it on the new wooden one. That's how much I like the wooden Muskies. They sure work here in Florida at night.

BassB8Caster, I agree that it is odd that the Sox fans are this way. I noticed it and said nothing about it to my wife but she also noticed the same thing. It's a shame too because I am first and foremost a baseball fan, secondarily a Rays fan. I love this crazy game so much that I have umpired locally for 25 years and for a couple of years played in an over 40 baseball league. Lots of retired pro's live in this area. Some of the pitchers threw so hard I had to start my swing when the pitcher was taking the signs from the catcher ! Once batted against Mike Marshall, he of the Cy Young award. Didn't go well, at least for me. Agree with you about Maddon. Great guy, better manager and I wish him the best. Rays seem to be slipping in their draft selections to me. They had the opportunity to select Buster Posey but instead selected Tim Beckham. You say who is Tim Beckham ? That's my point ! Buster Posey - good grief ! Best of luck with your Sox. The Rays handled them pretty well this week but I think Boston stands a great chance to go all the way this year. The Rays just need some consistency. They play like world beaters for a series or two then like a high school team for 10 days or so. Lack of experience on the bench.

BassB8Caster, Never said it was ALL Red Sox fans, but there are enough "bad" ones at the local games that going to the games with the Sox is no longer enjoyable and that is sad as they are a good team and the Rays usually play them well. Very entertaining. But when there are so many rude and obnoxious Sox fans that confrontations are very common I have decided to stay away for fear I will do something I'll regret later. I'm sure that every team has it's bad apples, but it would appear the Sox have a bad orchard ! Very rarely, if ever, do we encounter such behavior from any other fan base and I've been to see almost all teams play the Rays. Coincidence ? If this had happened once or twice, maybe. But every stinking game ? Come on now. I've got nothing against any baseball fan, I'm just telling you what happens at the games.

Don't mean to be a smart a#$ but the best lure is what they are biting right now, not yesterday, not tomorrow, but now. I usually have 5 rod/reel combos rigged with different types of lures and start the trip off with no preconceived notion of what they will bite. Catch a lot more fish with this approach. Give them a chance and the fish will tell you what's working.

Tampa Bay Area has always been that way with every sport . If you win, we will come. If you lose we won't. We just have too many other options around here, especially with our year round weather. Kinda like a play or movie, if it's good people go see it. If not good, not so much. As I see it, the main problem with the Rays is the location of the stadium. The news media won't report that as an issue but it's rather a pain in the butt to go to a game during the week and get home and in bed to be able to go to work the next day. Look at a map of where the Rays pull their fans from. St Pete is as far away from the bulk of the fans as you can possibly get. MLB told the city not to build the stadium there but they built it there anyway and it has been an issue from day 1. St Pete city officials won't come to grips with that, or at least publicly admit it but therein lies the problem. Keep in mind this is not NY or Boston or LA. The potential fan base here is not that large/close to the stadium. The Rays must rely on fans that come over and over and over again. I'm probably an exception as we go to 8 to 10 games per year. When the lease is up in a few years the Rays will hopefully build/occupy a stadium in Tampa. While traffic is not the best, it works for the Buccaneers, the Lightning, the Rowdies, etc. Tampa is much more centrally located with multiple choices of roads/highways/interstates to move the traffic so fans can get home in time to go to work the next day.

Off topic for just a moment. A fellow I know played MLB back in the 70's and 80's. If half of what he told me about the Philly fans is true they would take the cake. No first hand knowledge here, just what a former MLB player told me. I'm a little surprised about the Cardinal fans. Have never heard bad things about them. Not doubting you , just a little surprised.

Torn Thumb, I was surprised that New Yorkers and the guys from Mass. were not the worst offenders. Don't see that many from Mass. and the New Yorkers are not as bad as I thought. It's those 2 other states that will remain nameless that are by far and away the worst. Now when it comes to going to a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game I have never seen such behavior from adults as I do from Red Sox fans ! Yankee fans root and cheer for their team and I get that. They are respectful and courteous of the home town fans. The Red Sox fans are a whole different story. Got to where I won't even go to the games when the Sox are here as I am afraid I will do something I will later regret. I guess I have mellowed with age.

I'm in Florida and SOME of the winter visitors are unbelievable. Not sure if it's because they are just so excited to be here, if that's the way they behave at home, or what. Happens at the ramp and on the water. Just hard to fathom that people behave that way. Oddly enough most of the ones that are rude are from 2 particular states (that I won't mention here). I could write a book about the things I've seen these folks do and Steven King could turn it into a horror movie or Mel Brooks could turn it into a satirical comedy.

Congratulation ! Always wanted to catch a Musky but I'm in Florida so that ain't gonna happen. Snook have become my obsession and now I fish for bass mostly during the spawn only so I understand your possible need for an intervention. If it were me I would ride it out though. Great job and keep us posted !

I do know that Dunnellon has free parking. The beaches around Sarasota have parking also. Depending on where you park there might be a minimal fee but it's no biggie. Both of the above are public waters with free public access. let us know how you do !

Did I stutter ? I said pounds and meant it. If you choose not to believe it that's fine with me but the guy asked and I told him the truth.

Used to be. Nothing over 13 or 14 pounds though ( I'm not kidding ). Friend of mine fished it often many years ago. I fished it on occasion but never did that good.

When you are in Sarasota you should really try for Snook on the beaches. They should still be there in September. Just stop by one of the small local tackle shops and they can and will help you out and point you in the right direction. You catch them just walking along the beach. If you want the trip of a lifetime hire the "Mad Snooker". He fishes at night and is a local legend. Just google "Mad Snooker", but you might want to book him early. Only problem is you will never look at bass fishing in the same way.