Brown Town

Hey guys, From the Midwest and heading down to Florida next March for a buddy's wedding. Have been wanting to get down there and fish Okeechobee for several years now, but could never find the time to drive down. Myself and a buddy are looking to at least take a guide out. Any recommendations for a specific guide? We are mostly looking for that one big bite that could be a PB. In the Midwest we don't get opportunities at 8-9 pounders so just looking for size not numbers of fish. Any recommendations would be appreciated thanks.

It is actually much different than swimming a t-rig. If you take a wobble head and throw it on gravel or rock and straight retrieve it, it keeps constant bottom contact and looks just like a crawfish slithering between the rocks. Since the hook is free swinging from the jig head, you get a lot more side to side action than a Texas rig. Very similar to banging a crankbait off the bottom except you can keep it in the strike zone the entire cast.

Keep oars in the boat and if the fish are in thick mat or pads I pull the trolling motor up and sneak in. People give me weird looks seeing I have a trolling motor on deck but I'm paddling an entire shoreline. It helps me when I'm punching thick weeds and I can get right on top of the fish without spooking them which leads to better hook up ratios since I don't have to make long pitches. Hook set straight up and buries right in the top of the mouth every time

I also fish wobble heads like a crank bait just a slow steady retrieve with some pauses mixed in. Really excels in rock or gravel not so much weeds. I'll go to shakey head or a neko rig if there's a lot of grass

For me the first bite is chance the second is a pattern if it was similar location or on the same bait. Location is definitely more important for me and then I can focus on a specific area and find baits that might be more suitable or get better results than what I'm throwing at the time. Finding where the fish are and want to be is more important and usually more difficult than finding what to throw. Love when the pattern is very specific like shaded part of docks or on secluded structure off shore because then you can put more focus on those areas and quickly work other areas in between those points.

I used to have the same problem but reducing the amount of wraps to 3 or 4 made the knots slide easier when you pull them together and made the knot much smaller. Too many wraps especially with braid makes it difficult to slide the knots together fully as they always seem to stop short of each other and caused problems with snagging.

I live in a metro area as well where local forest preserve lakes get hammered all day everyday. To get bit you have to try and throw baits that other people aren't using. Neko rig saved me from getting skunked plenty of times just because it's something different the fish haven't seen time and time again. Walking away from the parking lot and all of the people is also key.

I am one of those crazy muskie guys and even I have to second guess myself sometimes. Why in the world would anyone throw a one pound bait for 12 hours a day for a week straight? I guess it's just knowing there's a tiny chance that any cast could yield the fish of a lifetime. And nothing gets my adrenaline going like when a 48 inch monster with teeth hits your bait so hard you swear the boat stopped. But to each their own I will definitely say catching fish makes it more fun, but it's not why I fish.

They have it flipped upside down with the reel on top

1. Seeing people fishing with spinning rods with the reel facing the wrong way. 2. Jet Skiers 3. Seeing people on tv holding fish out of the water for 5 minutes while they cycle through how all their sponsors helped them catch that fish.

Daiwa J-Braid is great for the price. Suffix 832 on the frog rod

Taste delicious breasted out and cubed then bacon wrapped with cream cheese, jalapeno, and a water chestnut toothpicked together and grilled medium rare.

I have one 7 foot medium XML casting rod from 3 years ago and I think it's a great rod. Love the full cork handle and good sensitivity. Use it to throw weightless plastics mainly.

I think line diameter is more important than color. Fish will probably pick up a large diameter line moving through the water with their lateral line before they see it. When casting past a target with a moving bait I've wondered if they sense the line moving above or past them first and then the bait goes by and they react to that. Kind of like the line got their attention and they anticipate bait/prey is going to be moving through there.

Went to the day 3 weigh ins for the FLW event in La Crosse last year. Brutal conditions just cold and rained all day but cool to see guys flipping flooded timber and catching smallmouths. Not huge bags but the guys that could find largemouths did well. Planning on going again in June to see the Elites.