TOXIC

If you look on a map it’s 22.1 miles from where we stayed. Little roundabout but doable. 32.7 to Headwaters.

Understood. Some of the lakes and rivers I fish would be downright dangerous without it. Used to be you learned the hard way but with the advent of sonar it’s gotten much shorter of a learning curve. While I never used the paper graphs, my use started with flashers. I was amazed at how some guys could read and decipher those. I also used a lot of paper maps with depth contours.

When I had my old NITRO guide boat, I would leave the key in the ignition but one trip home the floaty on the key ring was enough to pull it out of the ignition and out of the boat. Going forward, it lived in the glovebox or teathered to the throttle handle.

My words as a guide always was…“I can take you to the fish but I can’t catch them for you, especially if they won’t bite”. My solution…..head south. Waaaaay South…..?

While I have a tendency to get lost in my own backyard the gps function on the graphs is a lifesaver but it is still just a suggestion and that’s why every manufacturer has a warning screen that it is not to be used as navigation. If you have your transducer mounted on the back of your boat, chances are it’s going to tell you what you just hit. I’m super cautious though and wouldn’t like navigating a new lake without it but I just keep it in perspective. I have been going down my share of canals and it shows me going through Main Street in town practically. ?

For the most part all of the guides we encountered were pretty nice and helpful. Some of the locals were a little salty about cutting in line to launch. I can’t believe the pros were driving all the way from Kissimmee to kenansville but they were. Looks like we were as close to Kenansville as we were to headwaters since we stayed on the backside of Blue Cypress. Word has it that it is extremely shallow.

Perspective is a wonderful thing…. Can you catch bass without sonar…yes but you also can catch bass without a trolling motor, power poles, 250hp motors, heck you don’t even need a boat. It pretty much boiled down to how far YOU want to take it. ?

Ranger plus. 1234 Start…..1234 Start. No key needed although I do have a keyed ignition I can plug into the keypad wiring harness if it fails. I recon that code will start 99% of the Rangers with keypads. ?

Thanks for the tips! We may put kenansville on the list. 2:years ago when we were on Kissimmee we had some of the Elite Series pros staying next to us. They were trying to convince us to go there because Kissimmee was fishing very tough and they were catching huge fish and numbers. We should have taken them up on it. The only ramp drama we saw at Headwaters was a lot of the “pro’s” parking on the grass and viewed as entitled and a tourist who passed a line of 4 trucks/boats on the access road at 50mph and then instead of going to the rigging area to get his boat ready, he got in the launch line and held everyone up as he took 2 covers off his boat and loaded all of his gear. People eventually started going around him. Overall the trip was a huge success if we go back we would probably try to find a place a little closer to the lake even though there was absolutely nothing wrong with where we stayed. Most did have to unhook to get boat/truck in but luckily we got permission to park across the road in a neighbors lot that was big enough to hold the truck and boat hooked.

Here we go. Headwaters from start to finish. Sit back, relax and if you ever want to venture out on this water, hopefully this will help. Lodging There are a few options for lodging. A lot of Airbnb places are popping up. There’s a guy who rents out 2 travel trailers on his property and there’s a guy who has a travel trailer in an Orange grove that is fairly close. A lot of guys stay in the many hotels in Vero Beach or Sebastian. Some are set up for boats and some are not. We opted to stay in a 4 room set up on Blue Cypress Lake. They call them cabins but they are like small efficiency rooms with a full size refrigerator and a cooktop. Can be set up as 2 twins or 1 king per room. Blue Cypress Lakeside Cabins, Vero Beach, FL, (772) 770-2067 https://bluecypresslakesidecabins.com Would we stay there again? 50/50. Rooms were spotless clean, beds were fantastic comply, shower was a little small and we found that at the end of the day we were too tired to cook and ended up eating at a couple of places in Fellsmere on our way back to the rooms. The trip to the launch was about 40 minutes and there was really no traffic. The drive allowed my fishing partners to catch up on emails, etc. places we ate were the Marsh restaurant, which was very good and a true Mexican restaurant called Tapatias. The Launch Much is said about the road to the launch. I can’t remember the exact length but it’s like 3 or 4 miles long. It’s graded once a week and is the consistency of flour or baby powder and gets everywhere. We trailered everyday with the cover on the boat and it still got coated really bad, not to mention my truck. There is a car wash in Fellsmere where if you are like me, you can rinse your boat and truck off. We did it right before we headed home. The road to the launch is very, very rough if you are getting towards the time it is to be graded. The ramp itself is very nice. It is privately owned but patrolled by FWC to enforce rules. Rules are no entering earlier than 1 hour before sunrise and no parking on the grassy areas, which are clearly marked. There is an open field across the road from the launch that I used a couple of days because the lot was nearing full and there is some drama that goes on everyday. I also witnessed the vultures and crows that liked to perch and walk on any of the trucks parked near the water. One day there was a huge hyacinth island that blew across 1 lane of the ramp rendering it useless. There are 2 lanes. Normal ramp drama is people cutting line and rigging in the launch lane. I have a story about that and will post if asked. There are also a lot of guides that operate out of there. The road to the launch is that same road to Stick Marsh Farm 13. The Lake The lake itself is pretty straight forward. It is your typical Florida shallow lake with deeper canals for general navigation. Remember the lake was designed for habitat so up to date mapping software and waterproof plastic maps to identify areas is paramount. We had to rescue a friend who got high centered when he ventured out of a canal. Because of the canals, you get some great weed edges close to deep water, there is hyacinth mats, reed islands, milfoil, Kissimmee Grass and even rock islands from the dirt they excavated and piled up. We found a submerged old orange grove and there is an area of cypress called the Cypress Maze on maps. We fished it all in the week we were on the water. We have been to Kissimmee and Okeechobee twice and saw the most gators here. My one major takeaway from the lake was that it fishes much, much bigger than it looks on a map. I was a little concerned we were going to be crowded due to the popularity and the size but we were never once crowded and there were days we didn’t have a single boat near us. No air boats allowed and that was refreshing. There is a 25 mph speed limit on the lake and a requirement that you slow to idle when passing in the canals but those 2 rules are pushed by quite a few. The lake is a gem for sure. Lures Thrown We threw a good selection of baits and opted for all artificial. The guides will give clients the option and most choose shiners because, let’s face it, that’s the easiest way to catch a trophy fish. There is a circle hook rule if shiner fishing. We took the gear to float or free line shiners (against my better judgement) but there was a shortage of shiners coupled with the fact that the guides had first dibs and the price was $30 plus a dozen with reports of guides going through 6 dozen a day, made artificials much more attractive. Here is a list of what was thrown: Senkos 5 & 6 inch weighted and unweighted.*** Speed Senko weighted and unweighted*** Yamamoto Heart Tail weighted ewg hook*** Yamamoto Kut Tail 7.75 inch with screw in nose weight*** Yamamoto Cowboy & Mermaid on Shakeyhead** Yum 4in Worm on Ned*** Jerkbait* Dropshot* Bull Shad Chatterbait Yamamoto Zako Trailer Swim Jig Yamamoto Paddle tail Zako trailer Yamamoto DShad and Zoom Super Fluke weightless * 1 to 4 fish **5 to 10 fish ***over 10 (5 day span). We averaged 10-15 fish per person, per day. We put a 6lb or bigger in one of the boats everyday. There were 3 boats 2 days and 2 boats the rest of the time. The days of 3 boats we had 6 anglers the days of 2 boats we had 5. The biggest producer by far was the 5 inch Senko with a nose weight and a screw in hitchhiker blade in the tail. My big fish came on the Kut Tail and a lot of fish were caught on the Speed Senko. The Yum 4 inch on the Ned rig caught a ton of small fish and was a surprise because my buddy rigged it up for his nephew who flew in from Boston and wanted to make sure he got on fish. He did catch a 6 pounder on that rig. If you want any details on how or where each was fished, just ask. General consensus was that we were a week early for the big spawn wave. We saw a lot of empty beds and did catch a few off the beds. Now on to the pics….if you want an explanation of any of them once again, just ask. I’ve got a lot more pics if there’s something specific you want to see. Will we go back! ABSOFREAKINLOUTLY!??

Most reputable repair shops have a hydrometer type tool that can detect moisture through your hull. They use it to determine if transoms and foam is waterlogged. Normally foam is dried out with heat lamps and it takes a long time if I remember correctly.

You know that different brand of props run completely different on different motors and boat makers right? I run a Yamaha HPDI 250 and run a Yamaha 25 pitch T1, 3 blade on a 21 foot Ranger. It would help if you gave the boat and motor choice.

I was a little disappointed in the wild boar. I’ve had Russian boar on the grill and it was delicious. I had a 1 pound roast and I figured it was small enough to smoke. I used a temp probe and got the meat up to 150. I was afraid it would be tough and dried out if I went any higher because it’s so lean. Odd thing was it was a good medium rare but was still a little rubbery. It also had more of a gamey taste than I wanted. I don’t know the size or age of the boar so that may have played into it. When I talked to my buddy who is the game chef, he said he’s never had it any other way than in a crock pot or on the grill. Lesson learned.

I had the same set. Can’t count how many times I burned myself on those hot molds. I also had a chemistry set that I was only allowed to play with in the back corner of the basement in case I came up with some caustic concoction ?

We’re about to find out! First time for me. I’ve had Russian boar off the grill but never done a wild boar on the smoker. I was given a roast and a loin. Roast is up first.

Close, I am getting ready to throw a 1 pound wild boar roast on the smoker. Should only take about 2 hours.

Alrighty then. I’ll work up a good report. I’m waiting to see how Yamamoto wants to cover it but I’ll post here. First I have to go to the beef processor and pick up 550lbs of black angus we had butchered. You’ll probably get the most out of a report because you know the “lay of the land”.?

Made a trip to the newest big bass Mecca in Florida and spent a week on the water. Chose which version you want me to relay. All the details with pics or a quick rundown.

Sometimes we overthink this stuff. My friend who was raised on St Clair and passed away a few years ago once told me he could catch a smallmouth on a cigarette butt. He then did it. He then told me he could catch one on a shoestring. He then did it. He then told me he could catch one on a gummy worm candy…..you guessed it, he did it.

A day in the life. Hopefully the pay = your commitment.

Enjoy!

So sorry. I hope it was quick and painless. ???

Most Every fish a bass eats has spins either dorsal or side. You haven’t scratched the surface of what they eat. Minnows aren’t the only baitfish they eat. Bluegills, crappie, white perch and many others do have spines. No leeches here, I don’t ever remember catching a bass with a frog in its mouth but plenty of crawfish…..with claws. Not to split hairs but my point is the bass don’t care about claws….or spines….or anything else that pokes them in the mouth including hooks.

A bass would starve to death pretty darn quick if he only ate craws with no claws. Most Everything a bass eats has claws spines or other appendages to defend themselves with.

2 come to mind. 1 was a state owned and stocked lake that was a water supply for the city of Manassas, Virginia. It was electric only and bordered by a Robert Trent Jones designed golf course on one section. When 911 hit it got closed because it is a water supply lake. When everything opened back up the city refused to reopen the lake. Word has it that the golf course heavily influenced that decision. The other was on the Shenandoah river where you had to drive about 1/4 of a mile back through the woods. Owner finally gated it off when the piles of trash got ridiculous. Everything from diapers to beer cans and all the remnants of what looked more like a homeless camp than river access. People were catching, cleaning cooking and eating making a total mess. We usually picked up 7 or 8 garbage bags worth of trash every time we went out there but the owner finally had enough. He cable locked the road access and someone cut the lock, he then put up solid metal bars. ?