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#1 West Lake Toho - This lake has produced more trophy fish than any other lake in the U.S. (period). #2 Lake Kissimmee - This lake is where the next World Record bass will come from (remember I said this). #3 Lake Istokpoga - This lake has made the best come back and is a giant success in FL wildlife management. Don't under-rate this lake because you will be hearing more about this one as time goes by (this one is getting even better everyday). Teneroc Pits and Stickmarsh/Farm 13 are decent for those with limited time to fish, but are like hunting a baited field to me and way to small to fit in the best of list. my .03

Post this again when it gets a little closer to that time and I may be able to help you out with a day on the water, but I have to warn you that there is NO money involved ........... I just try to pay back a little of what God has blessed me with in my life. If something does come up that I can't maybe the Good friends I fish with reg. on here could offer to get you out. Getting to know some of the people on this site may help you're chances out also.

Enjoy the Tiger's game and I will see you Thursday morning (remember to call me Wed.). Dave

Tim we were both blind last week in that fog and the gps didn't even help. You know you are my fishin' buddy after all of the (20+) trips we have made together and I've enjoyed everyone of them (I believe you have enjoyed them also... except my first few casts each time.... I just want to be as lucky as you someday....ahahahaha )

PM returned

Hi, If you want to get out on the water I would be glad to take you out a time or two. I have taken a couple different people from the site out that have come down on vacation and had a Great time. You won't need anything except yourself as far as rods, reels, or tackle go. And it will cost you a whopping $0 I am sure someone here will tell you that I am pretty fun to fish with and do fairly well sometimes. PM me and I will send my phone # back. Have a safe trip and there is a seat in my boat if you want to use it, Dave

Thanks everyone Daniel - I didn't weigh it (1st trip of the year). I ended up with 35 bass that weighed 8 lbs+ in '07 and I am looking for 50+ this year. I hope the new year is treating you and the family well. If you come back down this way you know there is allways a seat in my boat for you. Give me a call and say hi sometime. Dave

Thanks and I hope you have a Great 2008. Let the games begin.............................. (1 of 15 from today and that d@&n headless guy is at it again )

I just wanted to check in and say hello to everyone! I hope 2008 is going well for you all and all of you're fishing wishes come true this year. I am going to start my quest for some big bass in a couple of days and see if the fishing God's will treat me well this year. Tight lines, Dave

I really don't know because I can't see very clearly with all of the tears in my eyes ..... but I do know that the pump sounds like a never ending slot machine and it only gets about 8 mpg, at least my Jeep gets 9 mpg.

Thanks Guys I pride myself in being a decent turd polisher

I got sick of worrying about getting stuck in the mud due to the low lake levels here in FL. The summer dog days gave me the time to try and solve this with an old beater truck I bought. I hope this will work now after a complete drivetrain and suspension replacement (and a few extras). I'm about ready for fall and catching a slew of dinks (I'm good at catching them). Do you think this will work?

Get a Ford (with the 35" BFG MT's it will pull an H2 & Z21 together through the mud or down the hwy without a cough, but don't ask about mpg because the H2 is easier on gas )

Hey Bro I hope all is well and you and the family are doing Great. Let me know whenever you plan on heading back down this way and we can get a couple more days on the water. RW - Sounds like you are doing Good and one day I need to try catching those small mouths (People tell me they are fighters)

The fish this time of year seem to like slow moving baits. Carolina rigged Trick worms, senkos, etc.... fished real slow is what seems to work. If you fish cranks, spinners, or anything fast all you may catch is a schooler once in a great while down here. (added: Also the fish are not real agressive and they tend to pick it up and move off with the bait. It may even feel like you are hung in a little grass rather than hitting the bait like they do in the spring & fall.) I wish you all the best

Thanks Catt, There was a little more than just me enjoying the work (and I love it also). The original buyer/owner (in the pre-resto pic) passed away and his son wanted to make sure the boat went to good home. So I did the best I could to insure that happened. His son has since said that he knows his father has a big smile on his face up above every time I launch it. Maybe that's why I've boated close to 30 that have weighed over 8 lbs in it this year

It has been a miserable hot summer here. From July until now me and most of the people I fish with have cut way back on our on-the-water time. I did get my boat towing truck finished and a few other things done (that usually get put off to fish:)) Last Tuesday Timistall and I went to check the water clarity on a chain of lakes we fish. We caught 12 - 15 in a few hours and most were real decent fish. We did lose a couple real nice size fish and I even had part of my hook straightened out by one. The water temps were down to 80F - 82F from 90F the last trip we made which is a good sign fall is getting here slowly. Things should pick up in a few weeks (saying prayers, crossing fingers, and pockets full of wabbits feet ). This was the better of the bunch for the day (didn't weigh it though). (date should be 9-25..... my fault)

Florida vs LSU is the Super Bowl.......... That is a big gator and here in the south there are a lot of them (I'm sure Catt sees them reg also). I see 3 or 4 (not quite that size often) every trip. You can get a permit to hunt them here every year now. This one was around 10' that I saw not long ago

Thanks I bought that Ford to just haul my boats. It has a whole new drivetrain all the way through leaf springs and leveling kit (new Rock Crawler wheels since that pic). That boat looked like this when bought: I did a hull up restoration + Garmin 178c gps, Garmin 160c in front (now), Aquatronics am/fm/cd w/ 4 infinity 6 x 9s, new pumps w/ timers, 12 gallon tank, dual batteries, new storage boxes, all new wood, seats, new trolling motor, etc..... It runs about 35 kts on the gps. The trailer was done the same way. It was a lot of work but well worth it to me.

Out of the 4 boats here my favorite has to be my old (110% restored) 1975 17' Ebbtide Bass Bandit w/ 70 hp Evinrude. It gets anywhere I need to be and seems to be effective

I agree with George 110%. I have 6 of them and couldn't be happier unless I had more of them. I have a lot of other rods like a couple Airrus, Kistler Heliums, All-Stars, etc... and they are all retired now since I started using G-Blanks. I would still be very satisfied if I had paid twice the price I did.

Those must be very unorganized local tournaments. All of the club rules from several clubs I have read would disqualify all of them. You can get DQ'd for violing speed limits, no wake zones, and for not respecting the local fisherman. They also have stout penalties for unhealthy or dead fish. They all stress conservation in every way with bylaws that include leaving a lake either better or equal to the condition it was before they came. I am not a tournament fisherman but do give the same respect I get from the tournament fishermen (good or bad). Here in Central Florida even with 10K+ lakes the larger lakes see a lot of tournaments, some have 1 or 2 every week by different clubs. If I were you I'd show up about weigh-in time and have a talk with the clown running the circus. I wish you well,

^^^ I agree with what RW said (mostly ) ^^^ It depends where I fish and what I'm doing. If I'm locating big fish it can be 1-20 per day or even 0 per day. If I'm testing baits at the honey-hole I can catch up to 50 bass in 5 hours (20 bass on a bad day there). Sometimes I take the hooks off my baits when I'm locating fish just seeking hits. This is a good question but may be better suited to regional forums. I wish you well,

If you don't have confidence in any lure, reel, rod, etc... then you may as well throw it away because a positive attitude in any aspect of your life breeds success. I don't believe there is a "magic" catch-all lure on the planet. Some may catch more fish for you at certain times but all of them have their place and time. Trying a new lure for a few minutes or even hours then giving up on it is the sign of a loser that will never reach above average status in fishing. If the lure is catching fish for people other than you then you need to figure out what "you" are doing wrong. Practice, patience, and confidence makes winners (period). My father told me something when I was young that I have never forgot .. "You have to be smarter than what you are fu..ing with!"

This is a good technique I will wacky rig a senko or worm on a 5/0 weedless hook with a small bobber on choppy days and let the waves bob it around (one of my little tricks I don't really show people). It does work for suspended bass if they are going to feed at all.