Captain Phil

Nice peacock! When I lived in Pembroke Pines they were just starting to become plentiful. The canal behind my home was full of LM bass. Some were nine pounds or more. I stocked the canal myself from fish we caught in the Everglades and Okeechobee. I've caught some big snook and tarpon in those canals too. South Florida is a fisherman's paradise.

Sometime around the late seventies, I bought a new Cadillac from a dealership in Miami. It was my first really nice car and I was pleased with my purchase. The first week I had it, the engine would die intermittently. This happened a few times in the middle of an intersection. I took it back and the service manager said they had never seen that before. I left the car with them and returned later that afternoon. When I walked back into the service department, all the service bays where full of new Cadillacs like mine that the mechanics where attempting to start. "We have never seen that before" is mechanic speak for "We don't have a clue".

I have a 2020 Ford Explorer. The dash gauge background color changes on my car with the drive mode. Red is Sport mode. The modes are Normal, Eco, Sport and Tow/Haul. The default is Normal which the car returns to when the ignition is turned off. By the way, my Explorer gets 30 mpg on the highway in Eco. Pretty good for a SUV.

I would very much like to see how this device would work in the deep Everglades fishing on a hot summer night. I suspect the mosquitoes would die laughing. ?

I do remember one time when this was an advantage. I was standing in line at a phone booth (Google it) in Taylor Creek when Jack Adams was talking to his wife on the phone. Jack was as tough an angler as they come. This was during a practice day in a big Okeechobee tournament. He asked her to bring him some lures I had never used before. I bought a few of these lures and finished 8th overall using the lures I learned about from his conversation. I guess I should have disqualified myself? ?

When I was actively guiding, I had numerous tournament competitors hire me before tournaments. They didn't do this to learn specific spots. They did this to learn how to run the lakes or to find areas they couldn't on their own. They sure didn't need me to show them how to fish! It would be impossible to do this without discussing where or how to locate bass. Back then, there was an off limit period on professional help before each tournament. I wasn't allowed to talk to any tournament competitor during the off limits period. It seems to me the way this rule reads would make a liar out of most people. Information gathered at the boat ramp or in a tackle shop is fairly worthless.

Mosquitoes are a significant health problem in many parts of the world. My wife got malaria on a fishing trip to Australia and New Guinea back in the nineties. Trust me, you don't want that to happen to you. Thankfully we don't have malaria carrying mosquitoes in the US, at least so far. Fishing the Everglades and South Florida most of my life, I have seen my share of mosquitoes. Sand fleas are much worse. Orange label Cutter insect spray was our go to mosquito dope. In the boy scouts we used 100% Deet. It burned our skin, but it worked. For night fishing in the Glades, we dressed in long sleeves and wore head nets. Nothing keeps them off forever, so we had to constantly re-douse. We also used PIC coils in our boats. If you haven't used them, check them out.

I don't consider the Senko a worm. I would call it a stick bait. The first of those lures I remember was the Slug-O.

When Mann's jelly worms came out, they were a sensation. As far as I know they were the first plastic worm with an impregnated scent. Even local newspapers were writing articles about them. A list of tournaments won on those worms would be endless. They are not a floating worm. The brighter colors are translucent and the shape and texture are right. The larger size has caught many a big bass here in Florida. The big three of plastic worms are Creme (the first), Mann's Jelly (historic) and Zoom (the GOAT). Everything else is in second place. ☺️

Back when my grandfather was alive, I took him to the neighborhood where he grew up. It was a small farming town in Eastern Pennsylvania. He was in his late eighties and what he told me I remember to this day. He said, "Everyone who I knew then is dead." We drove around and passed an old lady rocking on her front porch. He ask me to stop, got out of the car and walked up her driveway. Halfway up the driveway, she called him by name. It was a great day in my life watching them talk about old times. I have tracked down most of the friends I had as a teenager. Many are not with us. Some are sick and can't even come to the phone. My father lived to be 90. I've got away to go yet.

Years ago (maybe 50 or so), you could buy live crawdads in the bait store. I remember when a friend's Dad caught a ten pound bass on one. I haven't seen live crawdads for sale since. Around here, live bait fishermen use shiners. I agree the raccoons are what's eating your crawdads. I have seen Florida crayfish that are 12 inches long counting the pincers. I wouldn't use one for bait over 4 inches myself. If you did, you may wait a long time before you get a bite.

Thanks for the info.

My best friend is my wife. We have been together since we were kids. We've seen good times, bad times, health, sickness, celebration, tragedy, youth and now old age. Through it all, our friendship has never wavered. We have been truly blessed. ☺️

Years ago, I fished these lakes when they had some of the best bass fishing in Florida. Since then, Orange has gone dry more than once. Anyone currently fishing these lakes that can give me an update on current conditions?

I started having back problems in my fifties. It gradually got to the point where I had to hang onto the kitchen counter to make coffee in the morning. I had to sell my boat because I couldn't get in and out. I saw a number of doctors. Some said they could fix me with physical therapy. Some wanted to give me shots in my spine. Others wanted $10,000 to laser me. What I discovered was back problem are a huge cash cow. I sought out the most experienced back specialist in Florida. It took me almost a year to get an appointment. After numerous MRIs, I was told to wait. The surgeon told me I would know when I was ready and he was right. A year ago last March, I had major surgery on my back that fused four of my bottom vertebrae. Recovery has been a long process, but I am now able to do everything I wish without pain. My advice is this. Don't call TV doctors or people with bill board spine ads. Chances are, you may not need surgery. Find the most experienced orthopedic surgeons in your area. Find someone who has done thousands of these operations. Don't listen to a friend who may or may not have done their research. Back problems are serious business. The quality of the rest of your life will be in that surgeon's hands.

Here's my Mitchell 300. This reel changed bass fishing forever.

The Devil's Horse is a killer bait in Florida. For some reason big bass seem to be mad at it. It's common to have them blow the lure out of the water on the strike. I fish it faster than most people. Watch carefully behind the bait as bass will follow this bait for some distance. To get the most from the Devil's Horse, throw it in cover. It pays to be fearless.

Two of the most effective bass lures of all time are the Rapala minnow and the Heddon Tiny Torpedo. They catch bass under the worst conditions. Both need to be thrown on light line. I use 8 pound mono on a spinning rod. There are very few new lures that can top these baits. The only thing really new are soft plastics which are truly amazing.

The lake where I normally fish is the poster child for murky water. Algae booms are the norm in summer with visibility less than 2 feet. Like others have said, bass hold shallow and close to cover in those conditions. It may take a number of casts to get their attention. That is why so many people fail when fishing here. They cast with their foot on the trolling motor switch. They cover a lot of water, but they don't catch fish consistantly. To do so, you must slow down and fish everything thoroughly. Dark colors like, junebug, all black and black/blue work best. Paddle tail and vibrator worms help. There was a time when we glued rattles in our baits. Today's worm designs make this unnecessary. Any vibrating lure that you can fish close to clover will work. My favorites are spinnerbaits. I don't fish many blade jigs, but I am sure they would do well. Some of my friends like crankbaits and Rattle Traps. The best hard bait color in murky water is Chartreuse. Fire Tiger baits are excellent. Dirty water is excellent flipping water. Anything that you can drop on a bass's head will work. Top water is clear water fishing. Unless you can find clear water, you are wasting your time fishing top water in the murk.

In all the years since graphite fishing rods have been produced, I still can't tell the difference between a $50 rod and a $400 rod by casting it with my eyes closed. The main difference is in weight and the quality of the components used. I still have three rods I purchased from Bass Pro Shops about ten years ago for $39.95 each. I also have two Shimano Zodias rods that I purchased last year. The Zodias rods are lighter, more sensitive and definitely prettier. I feel this is an advantage when throwing soft plastics. I like the cheap rods for spinnerbait fishing. I feel like the grip is actually more significant than the rod itself. There is no way to tell definitively which rod you like better without feeling a rod in your hand.

I started bank walking the Tamiami Trail canal back in the mid sixties. Like all the Everglades, action depends greatly on water levels. Sounds like you ran into a cold front besides. Next time, use light line and a Rapala floating minnow. Walk the bank and cast to the far side twitching the lure on top. Alligator Alley has great fishing but bank walking is limited and could be dangerous.

Why would anyone want to purposely catch gar? Just kidding... Here on the Harris Chain we have tons of them. Some of them are huge. I caught one on a spinnerbait in Kissimmee that was so big I was afraid to bring it in the boat. No one that I know fishes for them here. You would have the entire fishery to yourself.

Try a Mojo Rig with a light weight.

I would guess this is a condition caused by exposure to salt water. When I lived in Miami, we caught bass in a flood control canal a block from the ocean. Bass will tolerate those conditions for short times if there is a food source. It's definitely a skin condition of some kind.

I love all types of music except hip-hop which I don't consider music. It's more like poetry than music. I was born in 1947. When I was three, my Mom worked in a record store and I went with her and listened to it all. Early 50s music was left over from the 40's Big Band Swing Era. There were some great singers like Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and the Ink Spots. The first real Rock and Roll singer I remember was Chuck Berry. Most of the early Rockers were black. This was one reason Rock and Roll was initially hated by white parents. This is sad because those singers were ground breaking and absolutely fabulous. Pat Boone was the favorite with parents. In the mid fifties, Elvis became popular. He was white and sang like a black man. All went well until they saw his hips moving around on TV. Funny how things were in those days. My favorite 50s group was the Everly Brothers. Ricky Nelson was very underrated. I still remember first hearing Ray Charles sing "Hit the Road Jack" from a juke box. Buddy Holley was great, but he died too early. The Beatles claimed his songs inspired their early music. Roy Orbison wrote and sang some great songs. He would have been more popular if he had been better looking. Other great singers were Bobby Daren, Bobby Vinton, Steve Lawrence and Neil Sedaka. I am sure I have missed more than I have named including all the groups like the Supremes, Temptations and the Miracles. Everything changed in 1964 with the Beatles. It seemed they had a new song every week better than the song before. I like Hard Rock too. Lead Zeppelin, Ozzie and The Who were some of the best. The 50s and 60s were the best decades for rock and roll period. Who could forget the Doors, Rolling Stones or Jefferson Airplane? These days, I like listening to County Oldies Willies Roadhouse on Sirius XM. It's all good...