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It’s the trolling motors mounted to the power poles they are eliminating, not the pole themselves. Only one trolling motor allowed and it has to beat the front of the boat. Amen @MN Fisher, we’re right there with you.

I don’t think I explained or maybe worded my original comment correctly. I meant to convey that we fish as much or more now that we are retired. But with the cost of fuel specifically, we fish close more often than making long runs to other locations. We still fish the other locations but do it when we know we have a better chance for success. And by fishing close more often, we still get our fishing in and can use the money saved to go towards the longer distance trips.

I used to too, but now that we are on a fixed income that’s lower than when we were working and had more disposable income, you learn to watch your pennies.

Sounds to me we need to be monitoring the classified section for a while. Based on the article over on BASS, there’s going to be a lot of transducers and units for sale soon.

@crypt I’m mainly talking about the fuel costs too. When you retire and have a fixed income it makes a big difference.

@A-Jay thanks for replying Andy. I know you’re retired and would have some input. @Bankc that’s kinda what we do with trips. Some long distance trips just aren’t worth the “ return on investment “ so to speak. Being we live right off the St. John’s river, it’s much easier, and cheaper, to go to it being one ramp Is 2 minutes from our house and fish it. With West Lake Toho being 100 miles round trip and Headwater and Stick Marsh being 230 miles round trip we save those for the better springtime.

I’m curious what y’all’s budget for fishing trips for a month and how many days you go out of the month. I’m not talking tackle, just fuel costs based on where and how far you have to travel. For the wife and I, being retired, and being on a fixed income, we have to consider where we fish to get the most out of our budget.

You’re a good man Koz.

Yep, probably a green heron. Here in Florida springtime, they eat a lot of baby birds, coots especially. I always throw a black topwater that time of year.

You have some big lakes on your list. George, Harris Chain and Toho. George especially. It’s the second largest in Florida behind okeechobee. Are you comfortable in your kayak on big bodies of water? @Zcoker has a lot of good info and I think he’s a kayak guy too. Like @Dwight Hottle said, Headwaters is next to Stick Marsh. There is a levee that separates the two. Stick Marsh is coming off a drawdown last summer so it’s still on the recovery from that. But there’s still fish to catch there. The C54 canal runs along the north side of the road to both of them and can be good at times if it’s too windy on HW & SM. Blue Cypress and Garcia are two you probably want to add to your list as they are in the same general area as HW & SM. And are smaller lakes. I live right off the St John’s river in Debary so if you decide to try it, let me know. Your list is also quite spread out in Florida with Orange near Ocala and Istapoga SW of okeechobee.

Yep, same here.

Amen Tom.

No he doesn’t. But at 71, I can attest that the “grind” is real. Standing on the front deck of a boat for anything more than 6-7 hours will wear an old guy out. Heck I’ve got to get the seat out after 4-5 hours 😂 I don’t care how good a shape you are in. Multiple that by 4 or 5 days of competitive tournament fishing and it’s over.

Well Rick Clunn is 78 years old, so there’s that to consider. Bernie Shultz is 70. Some of the others mentioned haven’t hit 60 yet. Of course a lot depends on their success in tournaments but age plays a big factor in retirement decisions. The mind is often willing but the body isn’t always.

Most of the time it’s caused by a loop when closing the bail. Closing the bail manually, instead of with the reel handle can help a lot. Also, if you get one, most of the time you can get it out by applying some chapstick to the knot and pulling on it. The chapstick lubricates it enough for it to come undone.

Stick Marsh/Farm 13 back in its heyday. 50-100 fish days were normal with an 8-11# fish usually in the mix. And they would eat just about anything you threw. The other was a small private lake on my buddies property. We had to drag a 12’ Jon boat through about 200’ of thick reeds and bulrushes to get to it. On one trip I caught 12 bass on my first 12 casts. More than a few 100 fish days and a 12.5# fish was the biggest we caught out of there.

Most call them coppernose only because of the potential reference to the copperhead. A “copperhead” is a venomous snake ( and a nasty one at that) that gets that privilege.

Thanks Andy. I was going to tag you on this one😉 Do you go up one size on the rings and hooks or?

Wanting to change a couple of floaters to suspenders. These are discontinued lures so that’s the reason why as I can’t buy the suspenders or sinking ones. Oversized spilt rings and heavier/ one size bigger trebles might be enough. Any other options?

Meh. I have a neighbor that has a 21’ Stroker with a 450 Merc on the back. No I will not ride in it. Says he get 110 mph.😳

@Zcoker @Mike L @AlabamaSpothunter https://www.mightyriverrecovery.org/ Check this group out guys. It’s on the St. John’s river right now but will probably expand

Sexy Shad and red color in cranks or jerk baits. Pumpkin in worm colors have not been that good for me here in Florida.

@crypt Have you been since the drawdown? If not, you’ll be surprised how the shoreline has changed.

@AlabamaSpothunter Yet they keep spraying. It just boggles the mind. @Zcoker I agree, none are the same. I fished Kenansville a few times but it was a long time ago.

@Zcoker I agree 100% on everything you stated. Something needs to be done to curb the pressure or it’ll soon be a shadow of what it is now. It’s already gone down compared to just a few years ago. The drawdown and the vegetation enhancement in the Marsh will help it and eventually that may relief some of the pressure on HW. But that will take a couple years for it to recover from the drawdown. I only with they had improved the submerged grasses while they were at it.