shallow thinker

I answered my own question about water levels. That 10 yr old link was replaced by a new system and I stumbled around until I found what I needed.

I fished the leading edge of the storm on Friday morning. The water was up a good 6 inches from the past week (even before the 10-12" on Fri -Sat). I guess the western areas had been getting daily rain and there was a bunch of current in L-67. We did well on peacocks and a couple of LM in spawning areas and funnel points. I am supposed to go back out Wednesday with 2 fly anglers. It could be alot tougher. I just wish that SFWMD would publish up to date water levels so I could game plan. The site is frozen with May 19 data.

I made a couple of trips out there last winter. I didn't get into any toads but it is a great place for canoes and kayaks. Bank fishing is certainly an option. The rules prohibit any gas motors and it's only open on Fri - Sunday. I believe that's the area where Roland Martin films his YouTube videoes (from a canoe).

I fished Lox on Saturday. It was slow but the weather cooperated until about 11:30am. There was a short topwater bite just before the down pour but it was mostly stick baits. Biggest was 3 lbs. Both of the gates west of Lox ramp were wide open so there was tons of current. Water levels are pretty normal so I could run anywhere on the flats.

The SFWMD moves water north to south (mostly) so upstream is the north side of the gate while south is downstream. Flow is a measurement of the current through the gate.

You seem to be in the right place but I like https://www.sfwmd.gov/science-data/current-water-conditions and then click on the region that I am going to fish. It is simpler. You get water levels and a pretty good idea of which gates are open and the resulting currents. For example, S11c is letting water out of sawgrass into the US27 fingers. You can see that under the Ft Lauderdale tab. The other useful thing is download the map of all of the SFWMD structures. I have a pdf that calls out all of the gates. It was called SFWMD_map_overview.pdf but I can't find it on the website now. This link https://www.sfwmd.gov/sites/default/files/documents/em_flow_monitor_map.pdf looks like what I have. Good luck.

I'd recommend that you spring for a guide trip out of Lake Ida in Delray Beach. The guides net live shad and it makes for an awesome trip. They catch the heck out of largemouth, peacocks and sometimes clown knifefish. There are several good outfits who fish there daily bassonline, Butch Moser, swamptosea, or hawghunterguideservice...

I think Bruce was talking about the area around MM41. You can put in at MM41 or on the west side of the big rest stop at MM35. Historically (I haven't fished there recently), the Miami canal north of 595 is good for numbers of small bass but relatively few big ones. I like to bring tourists there since its usually fast action. There are breaks in the canal giving fish access to some flats. Further west is were most tournament anglers focus. You have some deeper canals, sometimes some current and lots of lilly pads.

Have fun. Islamorada is a great place to vacation. Great fishing, really good local captains and some of my favorite keys restaurants. You need to decide between inshore or offshore. Wintertime offshore means you have shots at catching big fish (sailfish, kingfish, amberjack..) but it can be windy and rough. If its too windy they'll take you a shallow reef to pull on little snappers. Check out the boats here http://budnmarys.com/ Inshore is more like bass fishing (usually). You are in a open flats skiff either sight fishing (bonefish, snook, redfish), blind casting for seatrout or soaking bait for all of the above. Most guys run north into Everglades National Park but the bonefish are caught within sight of the keys. This guy is good https://blackflycharters.wordpress.com/ as are many others that work out the Lorelei https://www.loreleicabanabar.com/marina-and-fishing/

I went out last week during the windy days. Caught about 10 dinks on a spinnerbait fishing the flats. There were some good looking mats out the end of the west canal (out of Boca) but I only got one bite out of it.

Geo, I fished Lox a bunch in May (before monsoon season) and did pretty well. Haven't fished in June but I did see the strong current and high water while doing some bike rides. This morning it seems that the gates are closed. There was no current in Boynton and water level and clarity both seem to be much, much better. Now you just have to deal with the extreme summer heat! Jack

The feds run Lox and they only allow a handful of tournament permits of year. The small parking areas at all 3 launches prevent them from hosting large tournament fields so they only seem to OK the smaller clubs. Part of the appeal of Lox is the lack of crowds so it works out. I don't see guide boats at Lox anymore. There used to be but maybe its easier for them to do those live bait trips out of Lake Ida. Fishing at Lox is good right now. Water is low and I've been having fun with the evening topwater bite.

Coming from Buffalo, you are probably happy with the weather in Boca... but it's like 10 degrees colder than normal so I would expect the better time to fish will be afternoons once the water warms up a bit. Good luck!

I think I'm done fishing Osborne and Ida till the fall. The ski traffic is pretty fierce and that makes it hard to fish the main lake areas.

If you figure it out... let us know. I fished Lake Ida a bunch this winter and most of that was 'offshore' around the shad schools. I was trying to tune my Lowrance side scan unit so I'd troll around for a few hours. Even on really cold days you could catch peacocks, LM and sunshine bass with lures worked around 6 feet deep. Shallow running baits didn't work as well and deeper baits just dredged up snot from the bottom. I thought about dragging a carolina rig but again that snot is nasty stuff. I can't say that I have done much offshore or ledge fishing there in the summer. We did find decent concentrations of bait in Lake Osborne 3 weeks ago and did catch a few small ones out deep... but the one fish over 6 lbs was taken along the bank where brim were bedding.

Charters are big bucks. You get what you pay for but not everyone can swing it. Another option that is fun is a head boat. This is a 40 to 60 foot long boat that takes like 20 people. I'm guessing it will run you 50 bucks. We also call them party boats. They mostly fish the reef edges for snapper and grouper. The boat supplies basic tackle and cut bait but you can bring your own along. The boats that I know of run out of Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon and Key West. Most run 2-3 trips a day. The do it yourself option is to fish from the bridges. Local tackle shops will set you up with everything that you need. It is usually windy in March so this may be your best bet. I can't handle rough offshore conditions and its kind of fun just hanging out on the bridges.

See if you can get in touch with Kelly Gestring. He is a biologist with FWC. Until recently, he was director of the non native species lab in Boca (until the State closed the lab to make way for the new I95 exit at Spanish River Road). Kelly is the specialist with non native freshwater fish and shows up on his personal time to attend tournament weigh ins. I've chatted with him about all the canals and how different fish come to populate the system. In terms of private ponds I know that homeowners associations spend lots of $$ on weed control (chemicals and sterile grass carp) but I have never heard of any that stock or manage the fish population.

I'll give you two things to try. Yes, the C15 and surrounding waters are fishy. If you look at Google Earth find where Congress Ave crosses the C15. There are some townhouses and commercial buildings on the west side of Congress. There is a running and bike trail that runs along the C15 and then turns south. I would walk that southern part and chuck flukes, unweighted senkos and small spinnerbaits. It is pretty shallow and weedy but does not get much fishing pressure. You may have to search for a legal place to park up near C15. Worst case, park at Costco on Congress and walk a block to that El Rio canal and fish toward the north. Another easy place to fish is Glades Road and the Turnpike. Fish the canal that runs along Boca Rio Road. You can pull over and park anywhere along Boca Rio Road. This is a typical canal with heavy weeds on the shoreline and a sharp drop off. Good luck!

A couple of non fishing suggestions... To eat - Marker 88 overlooks the bay. Nice food on the pricey side. Lazy Days overlooks the ocean and will cook your catch. Mangrove Mikes is a fisherman's diner for breakfast. The Lorelei for casual outdoor eats or a drink. Nice place to see the sunset or watch the inshore charter boats return to the dock mid afternoon. To do - Robbie's Marina to feed the tarpon. They have rental boats and may have kayaks. Holiday Isle has the famous Tiki Bar frozen drinks a small beach plus charter boats. Bud & Mary's Marina for live bait and charter boats. There are always big tarpon hanging under the fish cleaning table there. Anne's beach is really not a beach but a place to park and wade. Your wife will like the Rain Barrell artists village. Lower Keys - worth a day trip. Enjoy the view from the bridges. You have the Turtle Hospital on Marathon (book a reservation) Stop in Grassy Key for the Dolphin Research Center at mile marker 58.9. Take a 1/2 day snorkel trip- I like Strke Zone Charters on Big Pine to see Looe Key Sanctuary. If you pass through Big Pine around sunrise or sunset you can turn off at the traffic light to see Key deer. There are many places to eat - 7 mile grill is a classic diner...Square Grouper MM22.6 for a good meal plus many options if you go all the way down to Key West. I'm jealous just thinking about it.

I just 'discovered' trolling last weekend while testing some new electronics. As I was idling with the big motor I threw out a vibrating jigging spoon called a Binsky. Caught largemouth, peacock and sunshine (hybrids) around shad schools. The strange thing is that the Binsky outfished cranks and traps by at least 6 to 1. I did it again yesterday with similar results. We have some little kids visiting for Thanksgiving so I'll bring them out to reel in some of those bass.

It was slow for me the last time out at Lox but I did stick a 6lb bass that day. I fished last weekend with a forum member in a local lake it was very slow for us too. One thing that often happens in summer out there is you do get some current as they dump water in the north end and open gates to let water out the south end. I've had success patterning bass that position themselves in choke points on the flats or those cuts between the flats and main canal. Topwaters and rattle traps work just as well as plastics. I know guys who do well in the canals in that current fishing vegetation points or the bends but I haven't done much of that myself.

It is saltwater at Palmetto Pk Road. If you look at Google Earth (or other satellite mapping program)... trace the canal north of NW 20 street in Boca and you will see where there is a bike path that runs alongside the El Rio canal. The path runs a long ways to the Boca-Delray border. This part is all freshwater. I fished the banks and caught largemouth and seen peacock bass. I put a canoe in from the FAU campus. There was no ramp and it was a bit tricky but I bet you would have an easier time putting in where the El Rio intersects Congress Ave in Boca. Park on the side of the road and drag you canoe over the bank.

Good luck those fishing the open this weekend. I'll be in Asia Sunday but I did fish a few hours along US 27 last night. Had some topwater fun but nothing over 3 lbs.

It came as a single card listing when each of my licenses expired in 2013 along with a list of what licenses I bought through 2018

I got a new 5 yr salt and freshwater license back in November. I did it on line and the license is that credit card style. I don't remember choosing plastic over paper.