MagicMoment

You too huh lol? It is scary being out there when the waves start up especially with the size of the lake. There are some good flipping spots on Walk-in-Water, haven't been out there since the water came up recently.

I would try flipping those lily pads using a good sized hook (5 aught off-set shank at least). 65# braid also and a heavy action rod. Also if you need visual help with catching these monster bass, PM me the lake address.

I used to fish a pond with a fountain. When the fountain was on we caught a lot of fish, when it was turned off during the evening I had to work harder to catch them. It would make sense that the fountain acts as a "generator" to create current which helps fishing.

And the gator had to be killed because.............? Oh now I remember, he "attacked man".

I heard about it this morning. I believe they captured and killed the gator to retrieve the guy's hand. Depending on how he was attacked, its unfortunate we decide to kill animals because we don't know how to respect their space.

One of the biggest travesties of it all is that probably only 4 homeowners actually have boats and probably only one them actually fishes.

Its beginning to seem to me like you think I despise this landowner or the homeowners for being wealthy. Let me tell you that this is not the case. I never stated that I was upset with the guy for blocking off the ramp, i'm grateful he even had it opened to begin with. My only complaint with the homeowners is that they used taxpayer monies for their own private use and demanded that the public access be taken away. Him spending his money on such a small property is his business and he is entitled to everything he has earned.

The landowner does not live on the lake or in the area. I never thanked him because nobody knew it was private land since at one point in time the county claimed it as a "public assess ramp". I've never even seen the guy in question but had I known of his generousity at time I would have told him thanks.

When I said "the landowner recently stopped people from fishing due to problems he was having with boaters" that really meant "the homeowners bugged him into blocking it off". This lake will remain blocked from public access most likely, too many homeowners with big money. The landowner in question payed $1.3 million for this piece of land which is basically just a small strip of the side of the road. Needless to say, this guy is loaded. I don't condone trespassing but I see why guys sneak into lakes at night and wreck havoc on bass, because as long as you have tons of money you can get away with immoral things like this. I also discovered that taxpayer money may have been used in the upkeep of this lake at one point in time as well. Sickening in all aspects.

That's what it looks like. I'm baffled by this too. One thing I will do is fight against those homeowners to refund the city for all those years of free lake maintenance. The lake has always been public. I was under the impression that the county had the burden of allocating a space of land in the event something like this happened.

Well I finally got a resolution on my issue today. It seems as though the "ramp" is on private land and the landowner recently stopped people from fishing due to problems he was having with boaters. The lake IS public but it is surrounded by private property so therefore is inaccessible without trespassing. There isn't any land available for the county to build a public ramp. Needless to say this sucks big ones and should be illegal.

No its not. The ramp runs adjacent to the highway, basically on the side of the road.

I contacted the Florida Fish and Game. The woman told me that the lake in question is "a public lake", she's supposed to be looking into it and contacting me tomorrow. I forgot to mention that the lake has a gate that separates one part of the lake from the other in order to keep the grass carp out. She told me that the gate was put in by the FWC so it looks like some homeowner might be in trouble.

What if the property address doesn't come up on the GIS map?

The road parallels the lake but it was deemed a public ramp according to the FWC so I don't know how someone could buy public boat ramp land. I also don't believe that a public sign such as the drop off depth sign would be used if it was indeed private.

There is a lake in my area where 8 years ago you could put in the lake on the side of the road with no issues from homeowners. This access point on this lake is registered as a public boat ramp according to the Florida Freshwater Commission website. Within the last couple years some homeowner began putting huge barriers, obviously they used some sort of tractor, at the ramp so you cannot get in. I was also told by a sheriff that there have been complaints of people using this land and that it was private. My question is how can it be private land if its registered as public by the FWC AND it has a sign stating the drop off depth at the ramp? Don't the taxpayers pay for that sign? The "ramp" isn't paved by the way. I'm guessing that some deep pocket homeowner is doing this and hoping nobody will question it.

Yeah you cant even get through to Mattie now that the water is so low.

I've been bass fishing my entire life and never "snapped" a bass's jaw bone by holding it with one hand. I guess to each its own though.

A lot of guys really overvalue "holding the fish without breaking it's jaw". Bass aren't built fragile like shiners. If they're jaws were that fragile then how come they don't break when they violently thrash trying to throw lures? I understand trying not to cause harm to the fish but some of these ideas are kind of ridiculous.

That would be awesome if you could. I'd pay admission to fish there.

Good article. However, fishing a pond with a 5lb average would get kinda redundant for me. Sounds weird but true.

I know the feeling. I was out a few weeks ago and kept getting the feeling I was being watched and soon did I notice there was a big gator behind my boat. The fact that the water was ~50 degrees made its presence even more spooky.

Good to hear nobody was hurt. How the heck did they locate you on a lake like Okeechobee? People don't realize how enormous that place is.

I went out to Lake Caloosa (Crooked Lake) yesterday and nailed them. Water temps were in the 70s with 80 degree whether. The beginning of this week should be prime.

I remember I was fishing at night once and was loading my boat at the dock around 11pm. I looked down towards the brake lights on my trailer to see about a 10ft gator submerged not even 8ft away. Scared me worse then anything i've ever encountered so I went in my truck to grab my pistol. But I prefer the gators over cottenmouths anyday. I had my fish on a stringer once fishing from a jon boat and looked down to see the snake latched on to one of my fish. Scary stuff