ArthurLK11

Sounds like a nice day. I moved to Florida 4 years ago and I'm just now starting to venture into the Everglades. Quite frankly it is a bit intimidating. I've spent the last couple years fishing all the neighborhood and park ponds in Davie, Weston, and Plantation, but I'm trying to broaden my area. Went out a couple times on Tamiami Trail, but only managed one dink largemouth, a few small peacocks, and then a bunch of mayan cichlids and other panfish. I think I'll probably wait until winter until I start fishing it harder.

From the sounds of it there is too much prey and not enough predators. All the bluegill do is reproduce and grow to a small size because there isn't enough to sustain them all. What you need to is lower the amount of bluegills you have in there. I would probably just keep every bluegill I catch and not throw anything back for a while. Even 4-5 inch ones can make a good snack. You'll need 10 of them for lunch, but they're pretty good. You can also stock some larger bass in there to help. Basically you need a better predator to prey ratio.

Probably doesn't answer your question, but if the fish aren't biting, I'm not fishing. I'll usually go out for 2-3 hours. If the fish are biting then I've caught enough and I leave happy. If the fish aren't biting then I haven't caught enough and I leave disappointed. Either way though I fish the whole time no matter what the action is like. You never know when the bite will start.

Can't give you a specific brand, but for fishing the back bays I like a 7'0"-7'6" medium power rod with a 3000-3500 reel and 10-15 pound test. If you want to fish the ocean out front I would up size to a 9'0" medium heavy rod at minimum with a 4500 reel and 20 pound test. As far as lures go for blues my favorite are various metal spoons. Hopkins, Kastmaster, Krocodile, etc. Cheap and easy to use, don't get damaged, the fish love them.

Nice! Those larger tilapia are a bunch of fun on light tackle.

What part of Florida are you in? I'd like to catch more natives, especially micros, but in the Fort Lauderdale area where I live I just don't think those opportunities exist. If they do, I haven't found them yet.

Fishing small creeks is probably my favorite kind of fishing. No big fish, but the environment and biodiversity is so diverse it is really fun and exciting. Thank you. Will do.

I'd say this was all fresh. I actually entered the river from Kean University's campus. Went there for undergrad and even though I walked by the river everyday, this was my first time fishing it. I had a hard time researching the river as it seems no one fishes it like you said. Based on my experience I can see why.

Basically a mini tank that you can use in the field to take pictures of fish without keeping them out of the water too long. Here's a picture of one. I looked on Amazon and my local pet shop, but haven't really found anything like it. Thought you mightve had one you would recommend. Thanks anyway.

Awesome. I've been dabbling with it, but want to do it more. Just got some tenago hooks last week. I'm looking for a photo tank and having some trouble. Do you happen to use one of these and could recommend one?

Wow that thing is huge. Nice job.

So the most widely accepted definition of microfishing is targeting and catching fish that don't get more than 4 inches long as adults. I see a lot of people post pictures of bluegills and small bass and call that microfishing. I'm still pretty new to the hobby, but trying to get better at it. Anyone else on here microfish? Anyway, during this trip I wasn't planning on exclusively microfishing, but sometimes you have to take what the water gives you. I headed over to the Elizabeth River in New Jersey for the first time to see what was actually in the river. I caught one tiny pumpkinseed sunfish to start the day which was a surprise. After that it was nothing but mummichug killifish for the next 3-4 hours.

Spent one evening throwing around a 1/32 oz chartreuse beetle spin in a South Florida lake. This was one of my first times fishing here so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I've seen some nice size bluegill and redear sunfish in here so that was my main target. Ended up catching a handful of bluegill and largemouth bass. In addition to that it should go without saying that I also got a Mayan cichlid. These things are so widespread and abundant that it doesn't matter what I use, where I use it, or what I'm targeting, I always end up getting at least one of those. The real highlight of the day was the beautiful coloration on the bigger bluegills. Love the colors on those things. Tight lines.

Yea. With all my old spots being closed I got to do some research and find some new spots that I like too.

Blenny for sure. However I can't say what exact species. They have so many color morphs and variations, even by gender of the same species, that I can't tell them apart.

Yes. They're different species silver carp are Hypophthalmichthys molitrix while white amur (also known as grass carp) are Ctenopharyngodon idella. They're actually not even that closely related.

It is a silver carp. It is one of the fish that is often classified with grass carp, bighead carp, and a few others as the invasive Asian carp. Asian carp are a group of fishes rather than just one species.

I know it's tougher is some areas of the country than others, but ever since this pandemic started I've tried harder to find new spots. All my old spots are generally very easily accessible public bodies of water. Like you mentioned, they're flooded with people. I have recently really enjoyed hunting for new spots I found just driving around or on Google Maps. About 75% of them were a waste of time and I wouldn't go back to them, but for the other 25% I'm glad I found some lesser known honey holes that I'll be going to for a while in the future.

The rainy season is starting and the water levels are rising. Recently I fished a local golf course after an afternoon rain storm and with an overcast sky all evening. It was only my second time there, but considering the stained water and tons of lillypads I decided to go with something I don't normally use, a spinnerbait. Went with one of those bright chartruse ones out of the dollar bin at Walmart. Figured the bright colors and vibrations would be good for the conditions and since the spinnerbait is fairly snag proof, I thought it was a good choice for the pads. It ended up being the right move since I landed a handful of largemouths in about two hours and lost a few more. It seems like if I lose a fish, it is almost always when they jump. I know to try to keep the line tight when they do this, but any other advice? At times I'm amazed at what fish will eat. A spinnerbait doesn't look anything like a natural food source for fish, but I guess they don't mind. Tight lines guys.

Nice job. Way to make something out of a not so good situation.

I'd like to add something to this thread. Yes it is a warmouth.

Nice man. That sounds like a great day.

Nice man. Those days where you get a lot of different species are my favorite. You never know what's going to come up.

Couple reasons. 1. Things today are way way way cheaper than they have ever been in the past, comparing the prices of things to how much we make. 2. New things are coming out at a faster and faster rate than they ever have before. 3. We live in a society that mainly due to social media compares things and each other more than ever before. All of these reasons are also the reason why we're in debt more than any generation before us. Schools aren't too expensive, healthcare isn't too expensive, cars aren't too expensive, vacations aren't too expensive, we just like to spend money on stuff we don't need to spend money on.

No expert, but I probably wouldn't worry. They're no more of a predator than a bass. Plus they're going to have a hard time reproducing in a small pond.