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The answer is yes. I will not cancel because of rain, full moon, cold, or 100+ weather, but I will cancel for 20+ steady wind. The wind makes boat control tough, it will make feeling the bite tough, and it will blow floating vegetation around which will be tough to handle. The wave action will make standing and fishing a chore. Since I fish for enjoyment, I can always fish tomorrow. Many times if its blowing hard I will choose to bank fish. Since your stationary, fishing with a heavy wind from your back, is easy fishing. You can cast far and easy, and feeling the bite is no problem. Bass are often active with all the bait fish stirred up by the wind.

I often use a Texas Rigged 4" Senko or a worm with a 1/32 bullet weight for a slow fall through the water column. Let it work up the drop-off from the bank. Treble hooks will get hung up every time on the ledge, from the bank. In the summer work it slow, many bite will occur at the base of the ledge or at mid level. They are not chasing baits down here in 90+ water temps. Bites often come while sitting still. Use 15 pound test or better so you can get them up and through any pads or weeds along the bank. From the boat I will throw the bait in the pads and weeds and then slowly let it drop off the ledge all the way to the bottom. Then snap it off the bottom and let it sit for 15 seconds or more. From the boat most bites will come on the initial drop off the ledge.. Good luck.

I fish ledges and drop-off all the time in south Florida while bank fishing. In our man made lakes, which there are thousands, there is a shallow flat and then a straight drop-off as much as 5 to 25 feet deep. Fish will hang at these spots either moving up on the flat or dropping off in cooler water. The flats are full of pads and other vegetation, and the drops-off is void of any growth. Bass will often hug the ledge wall for shade and use it as an ambush point. I catch loads of fish from this type of structure. Several ways to find the drop off. 1). study the vegetation and where it stops growing. There is usually a drop off, and significant depth change there. 2). Be a line watcher and watch for a change in the line as it reaches the bottom. As you slowly pull in your line, you can often feel the ledge and when your up on the flat and in shallow water. You can usually figure out how deep the ledge is by feeling the line as it climbs the wall. Good luck, these are great places to fish in our Community lakes and ponds.

In south Florida deep water is usually 20 feet or less, in most of our shallow weed filled lakes. There is a thermocline layer usually 10 to 12 feet deep. Bait fish will often hang out at this level and bass will follow their pray. Any deeper water in our canals and lakes will often be lower in O2 levels and have rotting vegetation that reduces the water quality. Spring feed lakes may be the exception to this, with cool clear water constantly supplied. Bass will drop down into the depths if there if there pray does. Bowfins will frequent the depths because they tolerate poorer quality waters.

Some unusual terms I have sometimes used: She Slammed it! She's just messen with it! Pounded the bait! It was a pig fest! Its a dink fest! A wolf pack bite!

All of us dedicated to releasing big bass sometimes lose a bass especially smaller ones that are harder to remove from the hook. Its not that big a deal, but just practice all the best techniques of hook removal. The quarry is in better shape then it was 30 years ago thanks to catch and release efforts. It is just something that occasionally happens to everyone that fishes.

You get what you pay for, Trilene professional grade is the best I have found. Expensive but strong and will last. Not as many problems as other floros. Worth the money, super sensitive.

Alligator Alley MM39, first light-11:30, Sunny, wind south 5-10, water stained, current running south east toward the river, water temp 90*. Went out with Steve Johnson, we ran down to the dead end to the east. We fished back toward the ramps. I was throwing a u-tail worm and Steve a stick-o. I caught a bass on the first cast and that is often a curse of the fish Gods. Neither of us caught a fish for another hour. Steve caught one and got the skunk out of the boat. The wind finally picked up and we started catching again. There were few gators or signs of life in the canal. Unlike last week you had to throw way back in the pad fields to catch fish. Then getting them out of there was a problem. We noticed a small snake trying hard to get in our boat before becoming fish food. We had to out run him with the trolling motor. We finished the day with 10 bass caught, a bunch of gar strikes and some little bait fish action as well. The biggest bass were in the 1.5 range. We threw an array of plastics in the pad field and drop-offs. It was a tough day of fishing with unbearable heat, and little cloud cover. We also had a near full moon all night, which often makes the glades fishing a challenge.

I have been catching bass for over 50 years. Started out in: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, New Hampshire, Maine. College years: Missouri, Ohio, Saskatchewan. Adult years: Florida, Georgia, Alabama

I have costas that fog up once in a while. I will slide them down my nose and they clear pretty quickly. You have to let some air circulate between your face and the glass. I have never used a defogger.

j bab, the deal with MLF is that every competitor is constantly informed what the rest of the field is doing, every time someone catches a fish. This is what makes the tournament a real pressure cooker. First period KVD was a in a solid last place 20 pounds behind the leader. He was cool as a cucumber and didn't sweat his position at all, even though he only caught one dink in period one. The second period he took off catching fish after fish and was leading by 2 pounds even though the leader kept catching fish. He never gave up the lead in period three and ended the event with a comfortable lead. He is a cool character under pressure and lets nothing distract his concentration. You could watch the rest of the field feel the pressure, as KVD passed them in period two. Greatest fishing comeback I have ever seen!

Just watched the KVD comeback in one of the episodes. It has to be one of the greatest comebacks in fishing history.

You must have meant 13 or 14 inches!

Like Lou said check the SFWM site. A less technical way is to look at the water marks on the sawgrass stems and the water marks on rock wall, ramps, ect. You can see if its at a seasonal high or if it has recently receded.

If there is water, and green water plants, then there are bass. Now you just have to figure out how to get them to bite.

Water level is high, that day there was current to the south west. You could find areas at the weirs where the current was funneling quite strong. The wind was blowing way too hard to effectively fish just one specific area.

If you can find a drop-off close to shallow water, work the depths, close to the drop-off. If there is no drop-off, fish the shallows with heavy cover. Look for the greenest cover available. Besides providing shade, there are increased O2 levels, with the green veggies. Find an area with two or three different types of vegetation in close proximity, the odds get better for you. Now, put that vegetation close to a drop-off, and you may have hit a home run. Bass will move into the flats during low lite, and at night, to feed. Daytime they may seek out the depths of the drop offs to cool off. If you find current close to anything we already mentioned the odds go up again. Current will usually improve water quality, and provide easy ambush points. Just a few thoughts on summer fishing.

I fish almost everyday, sometimes in the boat most of the time from the bank. In south Florida with all the heat and intense sun fishing is often easier from the bank then the boat In this summer pattern you have to fish slow and many bass are at drop offs where they hug the bottom close to the shallow flats. I use senkos, trick worms and zoom flukes and if your moving the bait too fast there is no bite this time of year.. Throw it out past the depth change and let the bait slowly flutter to the bottom and just sit. Then very slowly drag it a few feet and let it sit again. If this doesn't work I will snap it off the bottom and let it flutter back to the bottom and just sit, up to 30 seconds. Most of the hits happen as the bait flutters back to the bottom. Dont use much weight, either weightless or a 1/32. This works for me everyday and always produces fish of varies size. Fishing from the bank you dont have to worry about the boat moving and pulling the bait, Wind is much less of a problem from the shore. There are other ways to catch bass during summer, but this is a constant producer if you have confidence in the bait. Confidence is key to bass catching success.

First you have to have a confidence bait you know will work most of the time. I am constantly thinking about what that bait is doing under the water, Check the bait in a pool and work as many different cadences as you can think up. See what the bait is really doing when you do this. At the beginning of the day I will have a mental game plan of how I want the bait to act under the water. After 5 minutes with no bite I will change up the cadence until I find something that works. If something works I will stay with it if I catch a few more the same way. If I don't get repeat bites I change up the cadence again. I often see guys always changing baits instead of fishing. You can't catch anything unless your bait is in the water. Two key points is to have one or two confidence baits, and master the use of these baits. Without confidence your always on the losing end of the deal. It is such a mental game. I have tons of baits at home that never make the cut to the lake because I just don't have confidence in them. I know what works in my area, and I enjoy what I use. Also keep thing simple, I am not a run and gun guy. I would rather be methodical and work it until they like it.

That is my personal best Rock Fish!!!!!!

They look somewhat similar The Bowfin is a native fish, the snakehead from south east asia. They both have a nice set of teeth and are at the top of the food chain in our Florida waters. .

Bowfin, and mudfish are the same fish. They are plentiful in the Everglades and we catch them almost every trip. We often catch them over 8 pounds. They tear up terminal tackle big time.

Alligator Alley MM 30, Broward County Florida, first light - 11:00 AM, mostly cloudy, wind East 15-20, water stained, current south west, Temp 87^, Went to Alligator Alley at first light with Rick P, from the site. We went out from the south ramps at MM30, and ran west to the first bridge. We then moved to the north side and fished the deep holes. We managed a few fish early and then things slowed considerably. The fish were nice chunks and bug bellies for their size. I began with a Zoom Fluke and then a Senko. Rick began with a Hollow Body Frog. The top water bite was nonexistent, most bites were deep in the water column and not under the pads along the shore line. We drifted down the canal for about three miles with the east wind at our back. This made fishing and casting simple and kept me off the trolling motor and in stealth mode. We ended the day with 10 bass caught, a big mud-fish, and a 15 pound rock fish that put up a hell of a fight. It was a fun day, with a few fish willing to bite, good conversation, and mother nature sparing us from the lightning storms that surrounded the area. It doesn't get much better then that!

I fish for one reason, I enjoy it! It is relaxing, mind stimulating, and totally stress free. I enjoy fishing with others and have a group of friends that I call to go as back seaters. I fish from the bank when I'm not in the boat, and enjoy that as much as boat fishing. It is a great way to wind down after a tough day.

Harvest some of the smaller bass and leave any decent size ones. Sounds like there are just too much competition for the food supply and these small size bass are eating everything. I'm not an expert at pond control, its just an educated guess. Smaller bass will be quicker to the food supply then the bigger ones. On the Alley when the water drops, the canals will be flooded with bass of all size escaping the shallow flats before they go dry. Sometimes we have to add weight to a bait to get past the smaller wolf pack bass to get to the bigger ones deep in the canal. Many times small bass will hit the bait as soon as it lands in the water. Bigger ones are at the bottom just buying their time for an opportune strike. They don't waste their energy!