salmicropterus

Anybody know of any P's being caught at Ida/Osborne or the adjacent canals?

Yeah, I went out to Holiday on Sunday to test some props on the Triton. I'm glad that was my goal because we wet a line for a couple hours without a bite. The water was about 3" from going into the parking lot at the ramp. The way they are moving water from Sawgrass, I wouldn't at all be surprised to see it go over the edge.

Can't say as I've ever been into anything like that on a lengthy basis but we had a 20 minute or so taste of it a few weeks back. All you can do is be thankful and say "wow"!

We were there yesterday also out of Clewiston. Lots of rigs at the ramp. I haven't been to the Lake since before The Great Refilling so most of what we did was run around and take a look at back water areas that haven't been fishable recently. As Shane said, the water was really dirty down south, particularly over by Ritta . To the extent we fished, we caught fish and had we stayed put in several places we would have had a decent day. One observation, most of the trails like Boy Scout and the one to the immediate west of Ritta are easily runable but the adjacent areas are extremely overgrown and are going to be challenging to fish or in some instances even get off the boat path to fish.

You gotta wonder...although everyone is saying the fishing is fantastic. I haven't been up to see the water and I have a T at Grape Hammock this weekend. Can't wait to get up there. I was looking at the levels upstream and at least at Kissimmee the water is down about a foot in the last week plus it looks like the lock is closed so only the gates are open. But, this rain has been up there and it's got to go somewhere so looks like it could go 14+ easily. I haven't been to Holiday or the Alley either-is the water way up there like in the parking lot high?

It's really pouring in now. 12.29 at 11PM last night and 12.41 reatime at 7 this morning. 13+ looks for sure and this current system could do 14 I'm thinking.

With a week or so head's up I'm pretty much good anytime/anywhere. I think it's a great idea to try and get our Central Florida guys involved also, so north end of the Lake would be fine with me (or southend)

South Florida Water Management District is predicting 13.25 from the widespread rain event on the 8th. Furthermore, they are saying no releases from the Lake are planned. Anything coming up from the Gulf should add to that. The Kissimmee River is running full bore from the S-65 gate at the South End of Lake Kissimmee all the way down to the Lake. I have a T up at Grape Hammock this weekend and it should be interesting (hope "good interesting and not "bad" interesting). If all of this occurs, we caught a break

Oh. I'm always in for the Grape! Next poster, it's at the bottom of Lake Kissimmee off Hwy 60 past the bridge about 20 clicks past from Yeehaw on Hwy 60. The Grape rules! Going there this upcoming weekend.

11.67 this morning. The water is running full bore now down the Kissimmee. Should see pretty large increases the next several days.

That is such an excellent adventure. Have fun and lot's of pix

This was posted this morning by Water Management: Water managers expect Lake Okeechobee water levels to rise by two feet due to heavy rains in the Kissimmee region. The expected rise in water levels would bring the lake to 13.24 feet, well below its historic average of 15.02 feet, said Randy Smith, a South Florida Water Management District spokesman. "District meteorologists are saying that Saturday, Oct. 8, was the wettest single day in the Upper and Lower Kissimmee regions combined in the last 100 years," Smith said. "The local maximum average in that area was 11.7 inches." To protect the aged Herbert Hoover Dike, which surrounds Lake Okeechobee, water managers like to keep the lake at 12.5 to 15.5 feet. When the Kissimmee region, which is in Central Florida, and Lake Okeechobee receive extremely heavy rains, water managers must release large amounts water down the Caloosahatchee River. Large releases of nutrient-rich fresh water can make the lower river too fresh and trigger massive algal blooms, which can cause fish kills and kill seagrass by blocking sunlight. The difference in this event is that Lake Okeechobee itself didn't receive much rain. There are no releases from the lake planned, Smith said, and if people see water flowing down the Caloosahatchee, it will be from local runoff rather than from releases. Over the past year, the Caloosahatchee has suffered from too little fresh water during a prolonged drought. High salinities can kill tape grasks, an important part of the upper river's ecosystem, and can have negative effects on oysters. With recent rains, the river's salinity dropped into the proper range. "We're in good shape," said Eric Milbrandt, director of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation Marine Laboratory. Wow, maybe we are going to get lucky. It'll play havoc with the fishing for awhile I'm guessing but in the long run it takes 8' out of play for next April/May

Maybe this is a do-over for the Corps. Hope they don't screw it up but think they probably will

I've been the camera boat for six shows shot down here in South Florida. The norm has been 2 days however, with bad weather and slow fishing it has extended to more than 3 days. I was never involved with one for just one day. They are full days with lots of activity, all distilled into about 18-19 minutes of actual fishing action. The shows budget typically 22 minutes so there is some time for intro's and an exit.

Wasn't he also the first commissioner of the old AFL later to become the AFC of the NFL?

Agree. I think when the Lake is at this level it can breed a false sense of confidence. At 10-10.5, you see all the problems and have more caution. At 11, some bad stuff is 6" under the water. Be careful-you still can't run the trails safely. The Lake really needs a foot more-hopefully the soaker this weekend will help. I understand there is a lot of water north up in Toho and Kissimmee and we know there is a lot of water south. 11-11.5 going into the dry season in two months is way too low. Easy to imagine in the 8s next April/May.

Agree with all the posts about gators being a marker for bass location. They are both in "live" areas with food supply. Maybe they do feed on the occasional bass but both are there for the same reason-not unlike bluegills being markers for bass

Not fishing the BFL this weekend. Going to go up to Clewiston Sunday. Anybody going?

True that!. I have prodded some writers from the Sun-Sentinel and Herald to ask the questions I am asking. They come close but don't quite do it. Makes me think money is working somewhere. Surprised? No. Disapointed? Yes

I hear ya and it's true what you say, but my understanding of that release program last fall was that the water simply went out to sea down the Caloosahatchie. This was after maintaining a 14-15.5 level throughout the entire rainy/storm season. The phrase the Corps uses was "for flood control" purposes, but on examination that makes no sense. Why maintain a higher level during the storm season when the risk is the highest, then draw down afterword? Simple logic would dictate you let the dry season bring the lake down naturally, then you tweak it down in March-May if you think it's too high going into the storm season. I know there are proponents of the big drawdowns for the Lake's benefit, but absent a soaker, the Lake will barely noodge above 11 and definitely not make 12 this rainy season and if we have another dry winter, it's easy to see it in the 8's next May.

And, if you can explain this, please also explain why the Corps dumped 2' of water out last fall and winter after the rainy season was over

Sounds like I maybe am lucky-it was the pulley and not the compressor. I replaced the compressor about 4 years ago so I had my $800+ haircut on that one already. And if by coils, you mean the Power Paks, yeah did those also. It's a death by a 1000 cuts LOL

We got out yesterday about 7:15 or so. Caught some good ones on Big EZs, Chatterbaits and Buzzbaits. Unfortunately, as we were running the Rim Ditch, my motor shut down around Bare Beach. When we got in, we determined, at best it was the compressor pulley and belt and at worse the compressor (ouch!). We'll see. I guess it was lucky to have happen where it did. I was going to run out to the reef.

Awesome day. I shoulda had a helicopter up there tracking your every move LOL. Hope my day on Sunday is half as good, well may be 2/3 as good.

Yep, green/bone with a little sparkle silver Triton. I'll probably get up there 7 or so.