SoFlaBassAddict

Every year come Lobster season, the FWC and marine patrol start posting up in the channels to pull over and randomly check boats for bringing back short lobster. It's a horrible pain in the butt. Especially with the less experienced boat operators. People get irritated, aggressive, and down right mean with the officers. And I love the fact that they're doing it. I have nothing wrong with them taking a few moments out of my day to inspect my safety gear and the legality of my catch. There have been some major busts over the years because of it. Programs like that are what we pay for. They help keep the fisheries intact, as well as help with the safety and education of all boaters. I for one have never had a bad experience with any of the officers on the water down here. If you're polite and patient with them, they generally are in return.

Freakin horse right there. Awesome fish.

Buy what your budget allows. Applies to every aspect of fishing, and life in general.

I'm telling ya, Shane cheats somehow! Fish are biting and the water levels are starting to drop. It's only going to get better in the glades for the next couple of months.

Went out Saturday afternoon/evening to Holiday. Plenty of fish to be caught, finding the bigger bites is the hard part. Cichlids and sunfish are still bedding. Great way to set the hook a bunch and get disappointed when you drag back a plastic with no claws left on it.

Something flashy, fast moving, and aggressively fished. Peacocks will hit plastics on occasion, but you'd fare far better with a hard bait. Small jerk baits can be downright fun in a canal filled with Peacocks.

Tempted to run out with my daughters today or tomorrow for an early evening trip. The bite is only going to get better now as the water levels start to come down.

What Glenn said. When I first looked at a Ranger trailer I got confused. Few minutes of messing around and I had it figured. Much different than what I have on my saltwater boat.

Baltic birch is fantastic wood. It's what you'll find in a good cabinet shop. Like stated above it traditionally comes in 5x5 sheets. It's not cheap. You can find 4x8 sheets, but it can be extremely expensive. Baltic bird is comprised of basically nothing but void free wood and the adhesive between each layer. It's really great stuff.

Certainly not a 10. Good healthy fish nonetheless. Hard to guess a weight because of the angle. Lips and jaw aren't huge though. Unless of course you have huge hands.

X2 Basically the same bait. Just has a different action when it comes through the water.

The fabric itself I probably could have done in my shop, though not nearly as quickly I'm sure. Just decided to have a pro do it right the first time.

Not to mention the darn foam powder that would get all over the place. Irritating junk.

Frustrating as hell. Drop a bait and and get thumped. Rear back and jack em. Think you have a monster on, then you realize it's a mudfish. I think I caught more of them on Saturday than I had on any other single trip. Darn things destroy plastics too.

Give it a good thorough rinsing with the hose when you get home. You'll be fine. It's not going to say "Oh gawd! Saltwater!" and start to melt. You'll only have to break it down completely if you dunk it in the water. Do your best to not let any sand get into it though. That'll be a sure fire way to mess a reel up.

Hit Holiday up on Saturday and had roughly 22-23 pounds in the canals without having to really even go far from the ramp. Went to Loxahatchee today to do some product testing/filming. Not as much weight, but more fish. Probably around 18 pounds. Water temps both days were in the mid 70's. All fish were caught on Gambler Burner Craws, Burner Worms, Why Nots, and Fat Aces. Flipping the pads at Holiday. Swimming the worm and switching up to the Fat Ace once the sun got up at Lox. They're starting to bite baby. Time for those big summer bags to start coming in. I'm hell bent on a 30 pound bag from Holiday this year.

It wasn't terribly expensive. When I looked at buying aftermarket seats, then fabricating a seat pan, carpeting, etc. It became almost a wash. I was just under the budget I set for it. So, I can't complain really. Ill probably send both pedestal seats over to get matched at some point. Those will be far cheaper just from not needing foam.

Seeing as how I haven't posted a picture of the smaller rig for freshwater... It's small. It ain't quick, but drives and handles fantastic. Does exactly what I bought it for. Oh, and it burns very little fuel.

Finally got around to having my bench seat redone. Couldn't decide on having a center step or the middle seat. Really wanted to have the seat for the days my daughters go fishing with me. Upholstery guy came through and gave me both. Middle seat cushion is removable and flips over into a nice step to get into the back deck. Boat looks completely different now. Before and after:

Works great. Just plan on never having any warranty service on the rod. I've got an old flippin stick that has a wonderfully short handle. It's still my favorite heavy cover rod. Never gets in the way.

What that guy said. I prefer a moderate tapered rod for heavy grass flipping. I've notice that my catch rate is much better with them than a fast rod.

Give, Shane a call. One of the better guides, and people around. He gets booked pretty regularly, so you definitely want to call in advance. If for some reason he's booked elsewhere, Steve McDonald is another darn good guide, especially if you want to have an opportunity to catch some Peacocks when you come down.

AFC East is getting stacked with talent! Crying shame there's only one QB in the division.....

One thing I've learned about products labeled "saltwater" is that they come with a heftier price tag and don't really perform any better. I've had the same Klein tools scissors and pliers on my saltwater boat for years now. Good quality steel right there.

Getting to wear my bdu's to work when I was on active duty in the Army. Had to be the best job ever. The pay sucked, but d**n was it ever fun...mostly. The good times far outweighed the bad. Now, it's the job I have. I'd do it for free. Getting to design and build special events booths from scratch really is enjoyable. Plus I get to sound like Tim Taylor whenever I get a new tool into the shop. It drives the ladies crazy I tell ya.....