hawgenvy

Well, Bob, how'd you do? I'll be launching from Belle Glade on Saturday.

Great. I hadn't tried the U-vibe worms until this spring but so far they've proven miraculous in the post spawn. They are very versatile -- you can fish them several ways. I love the watermelon red color.

1/4 oz bullet sinker (unpegged).

You'll probably want at some point (in addition to lighter stuff) a 7 1/2 foot heavy fast action rod with #40-50 braid to pull a swimbait or swim jig across heavy grass or pads, or pitching jigs or plastics deep into reeds. And an even stouter rod with #65 braid for punching heavy mats with 1 1/2 to 2 oz weights. Then later you may be finessing a fluke, shakey head, or dropshot with light mono or fluoro. Or you might be pulling a big crank or Carolina rig across a deep hump in the middle of the lake. I usually carry 7 rods as a coangler. There is great variety in Florida lakes, and you'll want a considerable arsenal to maximize opportunities. I would bring down all your rods if you can. But then I'm a bit OCD.

Decided to bank fish a residential pond after dinner tonight. I don't take for granted that I can drive to spots within 3 miles of home and have a phenomenal hour of fishing, even after putting in a full day at the office. Caught 20 fish between 7:19 and 8:19 PM, all on the U-vibe. These were some of the best fish.

Bank fishing last night in the cool light rain before sunset. Six 3 to 4 pounders just like this one, a bite on every cast, over ten minutes, all from the same shallow spot in a little cove -- the most exciting ten minutes of bassing I've had this year. A passer-by stopped to watch and I was glad for a witness, even an anonymous one. Watermelon red Magnum U-vibe Speed Worm was the ticket.

I was on the north side of the Alley on Saturday, too, same area as geo g (MM28-30, prob saw you out there!). My friend Joe and I were also catching tons, also on the Zoom U-vibe (!), but up untill 10:00 we were catching even more on a Vision 110 jerkbait jiggled down the middle of the canal. We persevered through the rain (which was brief, actually) and in the sunnier afternoon the pattern changed. From noon till 2:00 the ticket was burning EZ Swimmers across the pads and sinking them to the bottom at the outer edge, which resulted in slightly larger quarry. We had 40 keeper size and perhaps as many dinks. Thanks, geo g for this and your past reports. I always appreciate a tip!

I got 30 LMB in the Everglades yesterday, but none of them were as big as this 3-plus I nailed tonight after dinner from the bank just a mile from home. I caught half the fish yesterday and this one today on the Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm -- my new best friend.

They're working on it:

I've heard most of the peacocks in Palm Beach County succumbed to back-to-back cold fronts earlier this year.

In post-frontal conditions just before sunset today, the Megabass Ito Vision 110 did the trick.

I would take a heavy rod for the heavy cover you are likely to be fishing, and I expect you will be paying more than you are hoping to pay to hire a good guide who knows where in that cover the fish are likely to be hiding. And it will probably be worth it.

Seems like prices for a 25" bass mount vary from around $450 to $2500. If I purchased a bass replica mount my wife would make me hide it where nobody would ever see it, or in the garage. Partly (40%) because she'd be ticked I spent the money, and partly (60%) because she thinks fish mounts are corny and kitschy. I have a great 8x10 photo of me with a 7-pound LMB, and even that I had to take to the office to display it. I'm just sayin', check with the boss before you blow big $$ on a mount.

Cool! It's become my confidence bait. Be sure to break the little tab between the twin tails so they flap when you swim it. I break the tabs ahead of time so I don't forget to do it when I'm fishing. You can leave the tails connected for a more subtle presentation but I don't seem to catch much that way.

Thanks, man. It's a good scale, and 6.4 seemed about right. I was holding her a wee bit out in front of me for the photo.

It was my last cast tonight from the bank, 30 minutes past sunset. She was 6.4 pounds, nailed via my trusty blue-back Rage Menace grub, Texas-rigged on a 4-0 EWG with an unpegged 1/8 bullet weight. Yahoo!

Nice fish. Cool photos.

Today I skipped a Zoom fluke under the wooden walking bridge you see reflected in my glasses. After I set the hook she was so heavy and motionless I thought I had set the hook into a wooden piling -- until she started moving that big head to and fro, that is. Then I knew I was battling a big ol' beast. I was lucky to get her out from under the bridge with the light rod I was using. .

Everythingthatswims, that is an impressive bunch of bass you got Saturday! Better than I've ever done on a long day on Lake Okeechobee, and with a winning smile to match those handfuls of goodies! Congratulations! Anyway, I fished the bank for an hour today after work, and everybody there loved the taste of my dark blue SK Menace grub. It was sucked down by a beefy bass, then by a beautiful Mayan cichlid, followed by a gorgeous blue tilapia, all within 29 minutes.

Did a little offshore fishing this morning. Gorgeous day. Got this grouper and three Spanish mackerel, including a really big one. ...oh, and this massive nurse shark.

Good to know. I guess when all you've got to eat is a square yard of green slime you had better make sure it's your exclusive square yard of green slime.

I posted this post already in "Other Species," but I wanted to post it here as well, because these photos, I thought, are pretty interesting. Well, actually it's these fish that are interesting. Many of our local waters are populated with the invasive, algae-eating, armor-plated catfish species known as Plecostomus (from the Greek for "folded mouth"). They apparently originated, like many invasive species, from home aquaria. It is pretty rare to catch one without deliberately snagging it with a weighted treble hook. But today this guy ate my lipless crankbait, or I assume he did, since, as you can see, he's hooked in the lip. Another surprise was that on the very next cast I caught another pleco with the same lure! But the second puppy was foul hooked in the dorsal fin. I found I needed a towel to hold these guys, because the tough overlapping armor plating opened and closed as they wiggled side to side, pinching my skin in the process.

Many of our local waters are populated with the invasive, algae-eating, armor-plated catfish species known as Plecostomus (from the Greek for "folded mouth"). They apparently originated, like many invasive species, from home aquaria. It is pretty rare to catch one without deliberately snagging it with a weighted treble hook. But today this guy ate my lipless crankbait, or I assume he did, since, as you can see, he's hooked in the lip. Another surprise was that on the very next cast I caught another pleco with the same lure! But the second puppy was foul hooked in the dorsal fin. I found I needed a towel to hold these guys, because the tough overlapping armor plating opened and closed as they wiggled side to side, pinching my skin in the process.

Anyone have a tall glass tube and a stopwatch?

Yeah, because when the lights are on I sometimes peek.