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Guys thanks for responding. I watched this guy break two of these rods in month. One rod a micro guide broke off and separated from the rod. The second one he was fighting a 3 pounder in the pads and the rod snapped 4 inches from the tip. The tip felt awfully soft from the beginning. I have no faith in the Dockett Rod durability, especially with these micro guides.

When you get into a situation where you have to use a backhand cast don't whip the cast. Make it a sheady back hand cast and be ready to put the breaks on by applying some thumb pressure. You need to practice this cast, and whatever you do don't whip the rod. It is not that hard once you get the hang of it. A good quality reel always helps.

I have seen some beds recently on the Alley, but not to the volume of some other years. Water has remained higher then normal, so they may be bedding back out in the marsh rather then in the canals.

I just saw this post. Thanks for sharing.

Anyone have any experience with these new white Dockett Rods. A friend of mine has broken two of them in the last month while fighting fish. The last one broke while fighting a three pounder. Are they just junk? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Under normal conditions the north/northwest always heats up first. So true!

Nice fish buddy! I'm sure she could have dragged that canoe around for a while. Great job. I have fished Lake June but its been a while.

Sunday 2/22/15, 7:00/1:30, mostly sunny, temp 85, wind SW 5/10, water temp 78, light stain, levels normal. Went out again with Steve Johnson. We ran east to the dead end and began fishing with plastics. The morning bite was great. I caught 6 in a row on 6 casts. All were between 2 to 3 pounds. After the early flurry the bite slowed to one every 5 minutes. We threw an array of plastics, but the big surprise was the Strike King Raggin Craw. It was a steady producer and Steve only brought one bag. I threw it Texas Rigged with a #3 Gama hook, and slow rolled it along the bottom. I even caught 4 nice bass with the craw claws torn off. We named it the Ragin Stump. We finished the day with 53 bass, almost all between 2 to3 pounds. The big fish was 3.5 pounds. It was another fun day with steady action and good companionship.

WTG Lou, its all about making memories!

While fishing for bass I have caught, Peacock bass, Oscars, rock bass, pickerel, mudfish, catfish, turtles, walleye, crappie, bluegill, foul hook a 30lb carp, two alligators, gar, Mayan Cichalids, an anhinga bird, and strangest of all a Hawk in flight. Over 40 years I'm sure there is more.

Where did u go yesterday?

For Florida and our warm weather, Frogg Toggs are hard to beat. They are reasonably priced, they are not hot, they breath and they will last for years. I have had three pairs over the years, and have been happy with all three. Get the pants a size bigger then you normally wear, so they are easy to put on over your fishing cloths. I have one set in the boat, one in the truck. The company has good customer service. The first year the company was in business they replaced a Jacket that had a seam problem. Since that time they reinforced the construction of their product. I have one set over ten years old. Good stuff!

Some of my worst days fishing have been on special event days!!!!!!!!!! The bass could care less, as long as there is food and water.

I have gone in March and have made the reservation a week in advance. I have caught several big bass in the lake, and it is a limited access lake so they are not over pressured. I have also had days when I caught 45 in four hours on wacky rigged trick worms. Senko's, plastic frogs, slow rolling spinnerbaits have also produced well. Good luck if you go!

Gotfishy, it sounds like you found a honey hole. I try not to actively fish for bedding bass, but I have caught a few unintentionally. The ones this week had tail rubs and it was apparent some had already dropped their eggs. Nows the time to find a monster if that is your goal. Good luck!

Very often plastics will not make it through the digestive system. I read an article about how plastics often blow up inside the fish and become soft and sticky. The article said it is never a good idea to toss old plastics in the lake after being used. They have been known to cause a complete break down of the digestive system. Many plastics will double or triple in diameter after sitting in liquids for a few days. I always collect my used plastics and toss them in a trash can. Never throw them in the water.

Look into the boat rentals at Turkey Lake in Orlando right next to Universal Studios. BPS sponsor's the boats and they are super cheap. It is the best deal anywhere, and the lake has big fish. You have to make a reservation for the boat. I have done it at least 8 times. Don't miss this deal.

I have caught the same bass twice in the same day. In the Everglades, on L67 at one of the big cuts, I hooked a bass on a zoom fluke. Shortly after setting the hook the line broke at the knot. Several hours later I passed threw the same area, and caught the same bass on the opposite side of the big canal. It still had my Zoom watermelon red fluke and Gama #3 hook hanging from its lip. I went and bought lotto tickets on the way home.

1. I check the weather reports for strength of wind and wind direction. 2. Then I pick a place to fish that would be easy under those conditions. 3. If the wind is above steady 20 MPH with gusts, I stay home. It just makes my life easier. 4. I let the wind be my friend, by keeping the wind too my back, and casting with the wind to my back. 5. If the wind pushes the boat too fast, I put out the drift sock. This greatly reduces the forward movement of the boat, and is useful in all depths of water. A lot of guys now have power poles, this really helps in shallow windy areas. 6. I will use more weight with my lures to keep the line under easy control, and back lash free. 7. With the wind moving the boat instead of your T/M, you are NOW in stealth mode. This helps greatly with spooky fish, especially in clear water. 8. Look for funnel points for the wind between clumps of weeds, or two pieces of land. Funnel point provide increased current which the fish position themselves on. Fish the down wind sides of the funnel. 9. Look for slack water behind some structure, fallen trees, clumps of vegetation, points, objects in the water, anything that will break the wind and current. They often sit in the still water behind objects, and dash out and ambush stuff drifting bye. Don't be aggravated by moderate winds, let the wind work for you, and use the tools out there to help you be successful.

Not catching = not happy! Catching anything = happy! Catching big fish = call in a sick day at work, I'm going fishing again tomorrow!

I have fished it several times, but that was 30 years ago. I remember catching bass along the riprap walls along the road, during the spring. Since the water is still cool that riprap will warm up before the surrounding area. Seek out any warm water sources. Try a suspending jerk bait, or a zoom fluke, fished parallel to the riprap.. Good luck.

Sunday 3/15/15, 7:00-1:00, Partly Cloudy, temp 85*, wind SE 5-10, water light stain, levels normal, W/T 78*. Went out today with my buddy Steve. We ran from the ramps east to the bridge and started fishing east. We caught fish right away and most were quality fish in the 3 pound range. Most bites were back in the pads fields on the north side of the canal. There were some visible beds but no fish present at the time. We experimented with quite a few baits but stick-0's and centipedes were the only productive baits. We ended up 45 bass and three big mudfish. Almost all bass were keeper size in the 2 to 3 pound range. It was a battle getting those 3 pound bass through 10 yards of pads. If you waited to set the hook, you were rapped in the stems. Setting the hook quick was key to getting them to the boat. We threw spinner baits, hollow body frogs, football jig, rattle trap, beaver, fluke, trick worm, u-tail worm, and only the the zoom centipede and the stick-o were consistently producing. There was only one other boat out there all day, and a bunch of friendly gators. Between the weather and the bass it doesn't get much better then that!!!!

Some good advice for previous posts, watch what your partner and others around you are doing. Look at others boats and what is tied on their rods. But don't get caught up too much, and fish your strengths. You will learn a lot fishing with new people, save the good stuff and disregard the rest. You will master new techniques before it is all over.

Most of the time I would call myself a slow, methodical, plastics fisherman. Like everyone else I will spent time breaking away from the norm, and working a top water fast, or burn a crank bait. But the majority of the time I'm dragging a stick bait, or worm through the thickest stuff. You must have confidence in what your doing or you will be wasting your time.

In South Florida, Alligator Alley runs along I75 which cuts right across the heart of the Everglades east to west. Because the everglades is a river of grass with constant water flow, there is a bridge every mile to allow water to flow south to Florida Bay. When summer storms pop up, I often duck under the roadway and tie off to a piling. I'll rap my bow line around the piling and hook it to a front cleat. I have sat out quite a few bad storms, safe from lightning, and nice and dry. You could also tie off to a piling and fish and then relocate and tie off again.