salmicropterus

i'm down with that. Wednesday, July 21st sounds like a plan. Dang, I'd like to get in on this but I'm having cataract surgery on the 21st. I'll keep checking in and if the date changes maybe I can do it. I'd like to meet some of you SOFLA members. I have a TR-21 with an empty back seat.

The problem is getting the exact degree of elasticity on the side walls of the cap-too much and it doesn't have enough "spring" to it and it engages the button. I would love to hear a solution as I go through about 5 of these a year. These things are crud compared to a couple years ago.

It's been good there for sure. The bite seems to get better the later in the day. I've had the most success with a giggyhead.

Good job of making lemonade out of lemons. Can you explain the 7 mile ditch being "blown shut" Debris? Wonder why the channel was shut near Moorehaven? Anyone know? Good thing you had lots of fuel . I can confirm the help of the strap down on the TM.

A protein shake for the AM and those Land o Lakes or Cabots cheese rectangles which I don't eat anyway and which I then put back in the fridge for the next time and when I dont eat them again, my wife makes me throw them out to start another group.

2X and shaky-head too

As afar as rules, you can run the canals but the common courtesy is to slow down if you encounter a boat unless they wave you through in which case you jump back on plane. Idle under the bridges to go from the north to the south canals or vice versa. 38 is on the north side west of the rest area-that will give you access to the Alley and if you back track east to the Miami Canal if the water is high enough and it should be. As mentioned, best to troll through the weirs (if you look very closely at Google Earth, you can see them-they are tight little passageways on the edge of a berm on either the north or south side. In your pre-fish I would suggest learning the weirs and passages just so you don't have to think about it on T days. Senko's t-rigged and wacky, floating frogs thrown in the worst places, 10" worm to drag the ledges. That time of year, the fish may have moved off the ledges into the deeper areas so mid-level crankbait, swimbait (try to weighted ones) and even a C-rig can be effective if they've moved deep

Great job to all of you!

I caught a 9#+ a few months ago and it was a bluegill like tap tap tap. I put some tension on the line and it felt tight but dead like a snag then the snag started to move and I set up. Frankly, I think I was probably lucky on that one that it wasn't a spit-out. All that said, my hook ups on senkos and wacky rigs has improved by being more patient and feeling the weight a bit. I am sure I am missing some bites and I think we have all have. You can watch a fish take your bait and kind of gradually walk off with it and not feel a thing even after the line moves. The art of worm fishing is an integration of feel, sight and a slight sense that "something is different" when a fish is on. On this I am a C hoping to become a B

Went out the Alley yesterday and we caught 50. Lot's of chunky keepers (1.5-2.5#s) and one 5#. We would have had more if we really stayed in place when we found them but we moved around a lot. Fish seem seemed clustered in 50-100 yard areas dispersed randomly.

Isn't this an event which occurs later in the year like Fall/early Winter when the top levels of water cool, get denser and sinks and the warmer water below rises and replaces the cooler water?

X2 on Tomoka Park idea

Fish have definitely moved to the outside or to pools just on the inside of the main grass lines. They are schooling and if you catch 1 or 2 I'd probe the area cause you might catch 10-20. Look for shad and birds. Areas on West Wall and East Wall have been productive. Hope this helps

X2 very good presentation made to our club. I know we have all become cynical about gov't and such but cynicism is the money interest's best friend. So take the time and complete FL anglers because these people want to do the right thing for anglers IMO

Check also about tiller steering. Some fishing organizations prohibit them-not exactly sure why but hate to see you get all pumped up and have that happen. That post about the guy with a belly boat I think refers to Edwin Evers and he proved himself pretty good over time. And don't worry about not being able to cover water and distance-everyone here will tell you some of their best tournaments came from a short distance from the ramp. Most of the older guys here did their first fishing in an aluminum boat with a 10 and we thought we were living large. Have fun and whip 'em

sorry about the whining comment. Prob over the top. My interactions with F&G down here is that if you have good intention and the appropriate equipment you are ok as they deal with a lot of hard-*** hard core violators which we all pay them to do. I'd still say the same thing though-buy the stamp and be above suspicion

buy the darn stamp. If you are fishing in trout like waters with trout baits you are going to be under suspicion as well you should be (from a game and fish perspective). Stop the whining. G&Fdeal with a lot of hard core violators and don't want to put up with all that. Just do that right thing and deal with it

Like a roller coaster at Six Flags. I was about 0 for January/February, then starting mid-March got on a run and won three tournaments in a row and caught a PB 9.12 fun fishing one day. Now I'm settling back to mediocrity again.

Agree and good post. Another factor to consider along with the above is whether or not there is a booking guide service involved. If the above criteria are met, then I would go 10-15% which will make the guide "whole" net of the spiff they pay back to the service

I also suffer from this one... Always seems like Northern Pike will hit topwater during the middle of the day though. X3 I am totally and completely addicted to chuck and wind topwater or wakebait fishing with baits such as Skinny Dippers, Trixie Sharks, Gambler's new Big E-Z or Ribbits. I can't make myself flip and pitch even if it is warranted

I am seeing and hearing the same thing though I have not been targeting them as yet (my summer fun!). The death line seems to be the Alley but I have some credible reports of catches in the Margate system. Sad to say though, not hearing anything good from Palm Beach County

Not an expert on this but isn't Lake Sinclair pretty close to Macon?

Grape Hammock at the south end of Lake Kissimmee is a very good fish camp with ramp etc.

Nice job there. Good luck in the finals. I was out there yesterday and didn't do as good as you. I was looking for those 4s in the Alley there but you took them on a little boat ride Sunday!

I think there have been numerous instances of Elite guys bringing in 4 and thinking they had 5 and Tommy Biffle I rthink came in with 6 at the classic this year. I figure if it can happen at the level it's going to happen top numerous times Funniest one I ever saw though was a guy pulling a 6 out of a live well holding only one of those wooden balls on a culling loop. Well, the weight of the fish pulls the loop right out of the ball and he's left holding the balll with a 6 swimming away.