FD.

Good for the fins... we are 1 and something and looking at a 50 point beating this weekend. Go Bucs

I got it right away... maybe because I'm

I got a 19... but what is a vhf tv DIAL? ;D

OK, here is the real scoop. Lake Parker is 4 ft below normal water. Unless you are launching a canoe, the ramps are useless. There are two public fishing piers if you want to catch catfish. Lake Hancock has no public access unless you count the dirt ramp on Saddle Creek where CR 540a crosses it, again you might launch a canoe right now. Lake Hamilton has a little better access but is not known as a bass lake. It is famous for Speckled Perch but most of the local clubs have stopped holding tournaments there because of the low bass numbers. The bottom line is this, the Peace River watershed, which includes most of the lakes in Polk Co west of US 27, is just about unfishable right now because of record low water levels. There are a few that I can still fish but you must do it from a boat if you want a chance at catching bass. I fish almost every weekend. If work does not pick up, I will be fishing more than that in December. Send me a PM with the specifics of when and where you will be, and I will try to get you out with me. FD

Bright blue skies and 81 degrees today. Sorry.

I'm in again!

Not many local bank fishermen on this site. I fished it more than 20 times from a boat last year, mostly in Lake B or Lake 5. While we had good numbers days, we did not catch any over 5 lbs. They have several lakes on the property that have excellent bank access, but I don't know how good the bass fishing really is. Here is a link to a weekly central Florida fishing report that usually includes Tenoroc in the "Around Polk Co" section. http://www.theledger.com/section/sports09

Not yet, but he only lives about 10 min from me so I can have him sign it and get a picture of him doing it.

Bobby has given me a rod "for a charity." It is this rod A 6-9 Vendetta MH that looks new but was used by Bobby on tour last year. Now this rod sells for $80 new but you can't normally buy one that has been used by an Elite series touring pro. We would like to raffle/auction it off with the proceeds going to "Cast for Kids" or some similar charity. If anyone has any ideas I'm open for suggestions. FD

Toho is going to be your spot, or somewhere on the Kissimmee chain. Send me a PM several weeks before your vacation and I will send you gps coordinates for the hot spots and the right bait to use. Tenoroc water levels are still way down and is difficult to launch a boat in most of the lakes. FD

I don't know what those pics are but here is what I know about E Toho. It is a shallow bowl lake with maidencane, bull rush and pads as the predominant vegetation. Last March, if you could find water over 60 degrees, a toad, skinny dipper, or swimming jig with trailer was just getting hammered in the pads. Use dark greens/browns with gold flake. If the water is colder I would fish the openings of boat trails in the maidencane with a dark worm. If you can find submerged hydrilla (if they have not sprayed it) rip a rattle trap or use a carolina rig.

Come on down, the weather is nice. High of 83 today.

Most bodies of water I would say Jan through April...Given the right set of weather conditions you can add Dec and May.

Hillcrest LodgeAddress:[ch8206] 241 Palm Ave Babson Park, FL 33827-9673 Get Directions (863) 638-1712 - hillcrestlodgefl.com

Camp Mack is really nice but crowded most of the time. Grape Hammock http://www.grapehammock.com/ is on the south end of Kissimmee and is almost as nice, a lot homier and less expensive than camp mack. We spent a weekend there last month and loved it. There is also a place on Crooked Lake that we have stayed at several times with a private boat ramp. They don't have a web site so I will try to find the number for you.

So much for freedom of meep.

exactly!

I have a garmin GPS Map 398 that is easy to use. It has been a good unit with an exceptional depth finder but the detail in the maps is not as good as the Lowrance GPS that my buddy has in his boat. If I had it to do over again I would buy a Lowrance. I would check with local guys to find out which unit offers the better maps in your area if that is important to you.

No, he has a Tennessee hat on and boots. I think I just threw up a little bit

Loud is easy to deal with. Just wait till they are 16 and 13 like mine. You will understand why wolves eat their young. :

Cody - that jacket thing sounds awesome... Nick - anywhere you want to volunteer is fine. Just let us know how it went.

Ok, the packages went out on Monday, priority mail, so they should arrive Wed or Thur. Since you don't have them yet I thought I would torture you guys a bit. : All of the boxes were packed at random. All of them have at least 15 bags of plastic. Some of the bags are new, never opened, some half empty. All of them have small Storm swimbaits. 2 of them have large swimbaits. All of them have jigs, 2 have several new jigs. All of them have Chatterbaits, rattle traps and crankbaits. 1 of them has a new spool of Cajun Mono. Dave, Lee, Cody, Hayden, Zachary, Nick, you guys earned these packages by working hard in school and getting good grades. This was not part of the deal, but I have a request. Each box has somewhere around 100 dollars worth of stuff in them and the shipping cost 12.00 each. My challenge to you guys is to collect 120 cans of food from your neighborhood (you can have your friends help) and donate them to your local food bank. Or you could volunteer 12 hours (you can have your friends help again) at the food bank. If you are up to the challenge, reply here and then tell us how your collecting/volunteering went.

Welcome back Bruce!

What Roger said with the exception of the Winter Haven Chain. It is still low from the drawdown last year. There are some many irrigation pumps using the water that it did not recover like most of the other lakes in Polk.

Congratulations to all six of you guys and your grades. There are heavy boxes of goodies on the way to you guys. Be carefull when you open the boxes, I threw some traps and cranks in because your grades were so high.