GLADES

Welcome to the site. The fishing has been on and off lately. When it warms up, fish in the early morning or late afternoon. Use trick worms (Wat/Red), frogs, or rapala floating crank baits. Neighborhood canals in margate or coral springs are a good bet and try the Markham Park canals. If you have a boat, there's Loxahatchee off of SR7 or Holiday Park, Sawgrass, Holeylands off of US27, and along alligator alley(I-595). There are several bass clubs in the area with friendly folks to join as well.

If you are visiting Davie, Everglades Holiday park is where most of the local tourneys are held. In the spring and summer, the quantity and quality is hard to beat. It is very common for 5 fish @ 25-35 lbs. The receding water levels in the winter and spring force the bass into the perimeter canals. Once the summer rains start and the water level rises, the bass leave the canals and head into the flats which are shallow. The last couple of months have been tough there with the higher water. We havent had much rain for the last several weeks so the park should be on the upswing. The park has a store for bait and snacks, a good ramp and parking, airboat rides, peacocks running loose and a alligator show. A little slice of old florida. Free It would be a nice place to take the family. Everglades holiday park is located on US27 seven miles south of I-595 in western Broward county. Another spot would be Sawgrass Recreation area. It is located on US27 about 3 miles north of I-595. The ramps are poor and so is the parking situation. There is a store and airboat rides there as well. Good fishing there is conditional if the water level is receding. Free On the broward/palm beach county line is Arthur Marshall Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge. It is located west of SR7 (441) at the end of Lox road. No facilities or amenities, but there are good ramps and parking. There is a $5 fee to enter on the honor system. The wildlife officers are usually there every day to lock and unlock the gate. Sunrise to sundown. For peacocks, check the thread on page two. It has a map to the boat ramp for Clear Lake in Miami. The lake is near the Miami international airport. Ive never fished there but I heard it is loaded with peacocks. Lastly, the Stick Marsh/Farm 13. It is located about 2 hours north of Ft lauderdale off of I95 near a town called Fellsmere. It has 2 boat ramps and restrooms. The dirt road leading to the ramp is long and can be uncomfortable depending on if it was leveled. The Stick/Farm 13 was once a orange grove. The submerged trees are like bass condos. If you go there, you will need a nav map to avoid the stumps Hook up with George Welcome. He is the authority on the area. On page 2, you will find some of his postings and he has a website. good luck and have a nice vacation. Dont forget the Fla fishing license - you can get it online and print out yourself. kevin

The lake water is still very low but the channels and rim canal are accessable. Use caution and when venturing away from the channels use your trolling motor. There are lots of submerged rocks and boulders.If you are renting a boat, there is Roland Martin's in Clewiston. There are areas on the SW side that are doing well. Observation shoal, the monkey box, and tin house cove. Live shiners, crank baits, and plastics are my sugestions. I have not been there personally in a while, but the local fishing reports are saying the fishing is good. Hopefully there wont be any cold front passing during your stay, that usually slows the bite. I dont have any GPS points to pass along, maybe one of the other guys can help you with that. If you are trailering your own boat, alternates to think about are the Lake Kissimee chain or the Stick Marsh/ Farm 13 or Ansin Garcia. Good catching.

Buy a tach first. You will need it to diagnose your existing motor or to dial in a better more powerful HP merc or johnnyrude. Once you know you WOT (wide open throttle) on the chrysler, then you can make a decision about whether to upgrade your motor. If you do upgrade you motor, check the manufacturers hull plate to find out your maximum HP for that boat. Buy the biggest HP motor that will fit on your hull safely. With the bigger motor, you will have more fun and better fuel economy because you wont need to push it full throttle for cruising. You will need a new tach, and water temp and water pressure gauges if your boat doesnt already have them. These are must halves. good luck.

Thanks guys. Our club is looking for some new areas to fish since Holiday and Sawgrass are not to good right now. We talked about having a peacock bass TX and the lakes around Miami airport are well known. I am going to fish Blue Lagoon/canals next weekend. Thanks again for the map. Boca, so are you going to tell me which neighborhood ponds/lakes in CS to fish? There are alot of them. Im going to assume that they are close to the C14. Sometimes the residents/communities dont like fisherman on their lawns. Our club is the Sunrise Bass club. Kevin (aka Glades)

Hey Irun Where are you launching from near Blue Lagoon? Where is the boat ramp? Im up for some peacock bass action

Bassboy, Let the man check out all his options. How do you know what he wants? You tell him not to deal with that dealer, yet you bought a boat there yourself. Just reading between the lines, it seems you interest in selling him the pontoon boat might be self-serving. MFD, I hope you find what you are looking for and my hats off to you for your community service.

Hey guys, I would like to get together on the weekends. I am fishing a club TX on dec 16 at holiday park so i wont be able to make it. Maybe another time. Kevin

Go to usedboats.com 1994 Bass cat Pantera II Ad 1312389 The boat was set up for a wheelchair. Check it out.

Lake Ida or the flats at Lox, sawgrass, or holiday park

Hey Bassin, I live in Coral Springs which is close to Palm Beach county.

Bob, Can you tell me which is the best location along the canals to access the flats? How deep are the flats right now? On sunday, there were alot of duck hunters west of the 67A canal. I didnt want to end up next to some decoys and spoil the duck hunters spot.

The fishing is lousy out there west of 27. I caught one small bass on sunday.Everyone I spoke to said the same. Anyone else been out there over the weekend?

Personally, I would have put myself between the fishing spot and his boat and cussed him until he got froggy. If that didnt work, I would pee in his boat. Finally, if he still doesnt leave, and ive had enough, I will pull out my air horn and submerge it and let out a few blasts. Im learning to control my temper fortunately.

Hey guys, I want to add a 6" manually adjusted jack plate to my 84 procraft / 84 merc 150. Can anyone suggest a good brand? I also want to add a aluminum plate to the transom. I am think 1/8" will be OK. The boat is old, but the transon is still sound. I just want a measure of extra strength. Will 1/8" be OK? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Just put a mess of worms on a paper plate & liberally coated in salt and pop them in the microwave oven for a few seconds

I been using the soft Storm 4" silver shad in the everglades canals recently. The bass have been in the center of the canal where it is deepest (10-13 FT) They have been producing 3# + bass along with the occasional peacock bass. Fish slowly on the bottom.

Skychimp, I have been experimenting with different hooks and #4 set up has been most effective for me. I was buying the Zoom hooks and I probably only had a 30% hook up rate. If it works, everyone will use it, but wont admit it.

I agree. After reading another posting about lean/skinny fish, I was wondering if all the tackle ingestion was causing some fish to be malnourished, especially in areas that are under heavy fishing pressue.

If a bass swallows rubber worms / creature baits, do they get digested or do they accumulate in the digestive system in the fish? If they accumulate, could this cause the fish to be malnourished?

Yea, I am always perturbed when the tail gaiting idiots are following so closely on the highway that it seems like their car hood is under the tilted outboard lower unit.

Good advice ghoti. I am 46 yrs old and I have to get a full body skin screen every year because of 2 skin cancers that I had removed. One was on the back of my bicep and the other was on the rim of my ear.Thank god they were not melanoma. They can show up on your scalp, feet, etc. I want to ensure that if anything else pops up, it gets removed early. Like you said, the damage is done when you are younger. I encourage everyone to use max protection sun block and to make sure your kids and teens use it too. if you are middle aged, make a appt with a dermatologist, it dont hurt much.

Go to the Triton web site - they usually give the hull weight and total weight for each model. Otherwise, you can go to a weigh station on the interstate.

I think using a guide is an excellent idea for someone fishing unfamiliar waters. If you dont have the gear or local knowledge, you would probably have an nice time on the water using a rental boat, etc but you might come up empty. Using a well known experienced guide will not only put you on the fish, but you dont have to worry about preparation or clean up. You can really just focus on the fishing.

I bought the Garmin 250C color fish finder for about $250 6 months ago with a single transponder. The defination,clarity and color are great even during sunny days. I would recommend this unit.