Not trying to pitch the " I had to walk 30 miles to school" bit but just thought Id share this with you younger South Florida guys, I'm sure many of the guys my age in other areas have similar story's.

Remember in the early 70s University Drive was the end of civilization going to west Broward. We used to walk along the banks out whats now Coral Springs, Pembroke Pines, Tamarac and the fishing was unreal, black creme worms, and top water plugs, then Producto worms and Culprit curly tail worms came out, I remember looking at the first Culprit red shad worm and listening to the old timers laugh about the colors.

Many of the lakes the homes now surround were rock pits, they were later excavated into natural looking lakes.

In 76 out of High School I got a job working as laborer forming foundations, we started Bonaventure, that development jumped way out west there was still very little between that and university dr. it was nothing but land and natural lakes, I started at 700am but would go out there at 500am and fish the untouched pristine lakes which no one was allowed in yet, I cant tell you how many monsters I pulled onto the shores. I would crawl broken back Rapalas parallel to the banks, just enough to make them wiggle and BAM.

It was a blast learning to fish back then, then I got an aluminum boat and started fishing Holiday, Sawgrass and Lox, later a older friend took me to Okeechobee in the early 80s, then the tournaments started and I never looked back. I haven't fished the canals in years but the more things change the more its the same.

Just thought id share. Gar Tracker

I did little bass fishing in Florida until about 6 years ago, but have been fishing Florida waters for 30 years, I was a snowbird in 1980. The fishing then as compared to now is night and day and I don't mean for the better.

I remember those days. In the c14 thread I posted a story about the c14 from those days.

I grew up in coral springs in the early 70's and most of the canals were fairly new freshly dug without much vegetation. I had a canal behind my house in the Windings that had lots of adjoining canals and 2 small lakes that were a few years old. They had Lilly pads and some hydrilla, but not too much. We would catch wild shiners behind my house with bread balls, save a few in a bucket, and then hook up the shiners on a stout spinning rod with a bobber. We would sit on the bank in the late afternoons and evenings dragging in some hogs with my friends BS'ing.. The were lots of bass in those canals, with a few double digits.I caught a 10lb bass, and my neighbor caught a 12lb'er out of those skinny canals.

When Wiles road was 2 lanes, that canal was absolutely loaded. The canal ran from 441 west to the sawgrass levee flood control. We used to drift down the canal on a homemade john boat we constructed out of plywood (lots of houses under construction in those days)

Not trying to pitch the " I had to walk 30 miles to school" bit but just thought Id share this with you younger South Florida guys, I'm sure many of the guys my age in other areas have similar story's.

Remember in the early 70s University Drive was the end of civilization going to west Broward. We used to walk along the banks out whats now Coral Springs, Pembroke Pines, Tamarac and the fishing was unreal, black creme worms, and top water plugs, then Producto worms and Culprit curly tail worms came out, I remember looking at the first Culprit red shad worm and listening to the old timers laugh about the colors.

Many of the lakes the homes now surround were rock pits, they were later excavated into natural looking lakes.

In 76 out of High School I got a job working as laborer forming foundations, we started Bonaventure, that development jumped way out west there was still very little between that and university dr. it was nothing but land and natural lakes, I started at 700am but would go out there at 500am and fish the untouched pristine lakes which no one was allowed in yet, I cant tell you how many monsters I pulled onto the shores. I would crawl broken back Rapalas parallel to the banks, just enough to make them wiggle and BAM.

It was a blast learning to fish back then, then I got an aluminum boat and started fishing Holiday, Sawgrass and Lox, later a older friend took me to Okeechobee in the early 80s, then the tournaments started and I never looked back. I haven't fished the canals in years but the more things change the more its the same.

Just thought id share. Gar Tracker

Thanks for sharing. I can remember those days.

The Mann's jelly worm (black) was the go-to color. Later I discovered the red shad color, and the black with chartreuse twister tail. We also used the 2 piece rapalas, rebels, in gold/black and silver/blue.

Now I have 2 suitcase sized tackle boxes...I cannot even remember all the stuff I have..

I forgot about the jelly worms, I used to get all my stuff at Golden Triangle, they had one on 441 north of Broward and one in north Miami.

They would take a reel back after forever and give you a new one, I think I had a return go on for about 5 years with a Penn spinning reel.

great story gar. i too remember when university drive was "west". my dad bought our first house in margate in 1969. my best friends dad was a guide at lox and we would go and fish from the shore and collect cans that actually had a return value. he would often take us out for an hour or 2 just to find more fish for his next guide. some of my best fishing was when my friends and i would ride our bikes out west to the sunrise musical theater and fish those pits. we used to catch toads. another spot was cypress creek and lyons. behind the mister grocer. monsters. man was i free back then. great times.

Bocabasser that was a great area I had a friend that lived out, being from south Broward, Hollywood area most of my running around was a little further south. But like i mentioned in the original post those canals up north were great.

I think the best of all was Plantation over were the Broward Mall wound up,.When they were just starting to build out there we would sneak a Jon boat in those lakes and canals that are by Inverrarry Golf course we usually got about 2 hours in the AM in before police or security came and ran us off.

It was all good, and it was a great time, then the discovery of woman side tracked the fishing for a little while until you realized you were better off fishing

I forgot about the jelly worms, I used to get all my stuff at Golden Triangle, they had one on 441 north of Broward and one in north Miami.

They would take a reel back after forever and give you a new one, I think I had a return go on for about 5 years with a Penn spinning reel.

LOL...I remember begging my dad to drive me to the Golden Triangle all the time. It seemed like a long way from Coral Springs in those days. I used to fly those Cox gas powered airplanes, smash them into the ground, and return them covered with castor oil for new ones. They always took them back. I bought my first 2 spinning reels there. A Mitchel 300 and a 324. I used them for years.

great story gar. i too remember when university drive was "west". my dad bought our first house in margate in 1969. my best friends dad was a guide at lox and we would go and fish from the shore and collect cans that actually had a return value. he would often take us out for an hour or 2 just to find more fish for his next guide. some of my best fishing was when my friends and i would ride our bikes out west to the sunrise musical theater and fish those pits. we used to catch toads. another spot was cypress creek and lyons. behind the mister grocer. monsters. man was i free back then. great times.

I miss that old building at Lox where you could rent boats and buy shiners and snacks. You could just hang out there on the porch and chill. Where the air boat concession is located now, my dad used to take me and my 2 brothers trap shooting and we would let our German short hair pointer hunting dogs go for a run....wonderful memories.

When Producto worms first came out I would go in to Golden Triangle and get a bag of them and then open a bottle of LUNKER LOTION also made by Producto, then proceed to empty half of the bottle in the bag of worms. I would walk up to the counter with the oil dripping out of the bag.

I hope the statue of limitations is up now that I'm admitting this.

Note I still use Producto's Producers.

When Producto worms first came out I would go in to Golden Triangle and get a bag of them and then open a bottle of LUNKER LOTION also made by Producto, then proceed to empty half of the bottle in the bag of worms. I would walk up to the counter with the oil dripping out of the bag.

I hope the statue of limitations is up now that I'm admitting this.

Note I still use Producto's Producers.

LOL

I fished an open draw bass tournament on Okeechobee in 1978. There was 278 boats entered. The hot bait and technique was Cordell Hot Spots in "Smoky Joe" fished around and thru the rat-tail reeds. I came in 18th with 28#s and was very proud of that finish.

The next tour I fished down there was a little later when the 1st Lunker Lure buzzbaits came out. I had over 35#s in the first hour fishing over pepper grass and didn't win.

That lake has been my favorite since my Dad first took me there in 1949 and we caught over 100 bass before lunch in Harney Pond canal after an all night rain at the mouth of an irigation ditch flooding into the canal. Lots of great memories.

I fished an open draw bass tournament on Okeechobee in 1978. There was 278 boats entered. The hot bait and technique was Cordell Hot Spots in "Smoky Joe" fished around and thru the rat-tail reeds. I came in 18th with 28#s and was very proud of that finish.

The next tour I fished down there was a little later when the 1st Lunker Lure buzzbaits came out. I had over 35#s in the first hour fishing over pepper grass and didn't win.

That lake has been my favorite since my Dad first took me there in 1949 and we caught over 100 bass before lunch in Harney Pond canal after an all night rain at the mouth of an irigation ditch flooding into the canal. Lots of great memories.

Thats right bosshog the local tournaments always had a minimum of 100 boats and at times upwards of 200, it was a 10 fish limit at the time. per man on team tournaments.

We used to fish those LL buzz baits in the pepper grass fields outside of chocrans that ran up the shoal, that grass never came back like it was then, they were like islands of pepper grass, I remember when the hot spots were the rage.

Later m the mid 80s the Sugar Shad became the bait, still have a bunch of them.

BIG Os great, I fell in love with it as well that's why I bought a home up here, as I type Im 30 feet away from the rim ditch and Ill be in thew water in about an hour.

You're a lucky man Gar-Tracker living that close to such a fine fishery.