mplspug

Okeechobee is south Florida. It wasn't just a local story, it received national coverage. And it's not just agriculture, nutrients are fed in from the urban areas in central Florida from Orlando south. Much like MN, lake and river front owners fertilizing their lawns are also to blame.

This is true. I haven't come across any muddy water myself. The retention pond I fish gets pretty murky, but it isn't mud, its decaying plants, algae and microorganisms. I am surprised I don't see more green water and algae. I am from MN and a lot of lakes turn green in the summer as a result of agriculture runoff. Maybe it doesn't happen down here is that with the water table so close to the surface, most lakes are spring fed to some extent?

If they are schooled up, they are most likely still pre spawn. You are a little further south and east than me, but the bass here have not spawned. It's a little different than the rest of the country when it comes to spawning because the water temps won't normally get lower than the 60s. It's been pretty warm, but the forecast is for several days, Friday through Tuesday, where high temps won't get out of the 60s. With the full moon set for Feb 10th, action should heat up, unless we get nailed with cold fronts after next Tuesday.

Weight. I have a Rapala digital scale that comes with a clamp and a hook. I don't like either because the clamp has too much pressure and the hook is thick. I think both would cause unnecessary harm to the fish. If I have a net I will zero out the scale with the net as a baseline and weight the fish in the net. I'll use the clamp directly to the lure if it is firmly hooked and not deep down the mouth, both are rare. Some guys use the hook to poke a hole in the lower jaw, I don't like that, but if you put the scales hook under the gill plate, there's a chance you might kill the fish. It doesn't take much to damage the gills and bleed them dry.

You lost me at thunderstorms... Overcast morning will definitely keep them active in shallow water longer before their daily migration to deeper water and/or thicker cover. But they will still move.

I've had decent luck at the retention pond this summer compared to last summer (I have only lived here 2 years). The bass seem to be hanging close to shore in the early morning in one spot where there is some sort of baitfish that appear to be spawning. I should dip net them to see what they are. The bass have been hitting mostly the chatter bait on the fall when jigging it. I also was able to wrangle another 5#+ bass and a bowfin a couple feet from shore flipping under the lily pads near a bush back when the water was up. I am getting concerned about the water levels. The pond is at the winter levels. I hope it doesn't stress out the fish too much, although the ones I have caught have been pretty healthy. I would like to see the water some up.

of the above until I figure out which one works?

I've been saying I hate to judge in such a tragedy and not being there to know the circumstances, but I don't understand how that happens. I don't know how far away the parent was, but how do you let a 2 year old wade in the water in Florida?

Yeah, on second thought don't leave the hotel. It's too dangerous. But please spend a lot of money, our state taxes aren't going to get paid on their own!

There are 2 types of ponds generally and ponds can be your best bet for shore fishing. Retention ponds have little emergent weeds and or structure, so you can just focus on covering a lot water. Basically the shoreline is the main structure. I fish these types the most because it is easier, and in the case of our HOA ponds, the fishing is better. Fish it at the crack of dawn. Cast parallel to the shoreline very close to shore, I am talking within 5' of shore in 1-1.5' of water. There is a lot of bait/fry/tadpoles and they are sitting on the shoreline. You should use buzz baits or top water to avoid the vegetation that grows along the shore. On a good day, before you even make a cast you'll see the splashes and wakes of that bass pounding the shoreline. Another good sign is shore birds. If they are concentrated in one area and not randomly scattered, try that first. They are picking off the minnows the bass are scattering when they attack. The other ponds, at least the ones I am used to, have a lot of lily pads along the shore. You'll need heavy gear or it won't be worth it. Again fish at the first hint of light in the morning and use a weedless top water like frogs, although I like using unweighted texas rigged flukes and I swim them on top of the water through the openings and channels of the pads. You can fish the other parts of the days, but the bass activity will drop off significantly. The water is warm in these small bodies of water now, so the fish take advantage of the slightly cooler water in the morning.

...and they're called resorts up there. I had a heck of a time trying to find a place to rent a boat down here until I realized I had to search for Fish Camps.

I am fairly new to it too, just because it requires patience. Put on a plastic bait with no weight or as little weight as possible. Cast it out and let it sit like you are live bait fishing on the bottom. Let it sit for a minute, this is where the patience comes in, and if nothing bites, give it a tiny little twitch or two and let it sit another 20-30 seconds. If nothing, sweep the rod up like you would normally fish a plastic and repeat. I'll use plastic worms, but I prefer a chunky bug bait.

I definitely like fishing as the sun starts peaking. I'll stop after an hour or too when the sun comes up. I once found the bass schooled up and aggressively hitting a buzzbait. .When I first arrive I watch the shoreline. If I start seeing wakes and splashes, its game on! That is in a retention pond that only has a little hydrilla carpeting the bottom in some spots and a ton of mussels. The pond next to it has a lot of lily pads. I actually have had better luck there in the hot months later in the morning. I love cranking a fluke across the top of the water real fast. It doesn't seem to matter how fast, amazingly they'll nail it.

Its a great time of year for deadsticking. It's a little boring, but it's effective, especially during the day.

Being I have only been here since August 2014, its typical for me The fishing has definitely gotten better with the cooler temps. I tried one morning early on a warm day after a cool spell a about a week or 2 ago. I got there early enough to try a buzzbait and I was literally catching them on every cast or 2. They must have been schooled or loosely schooled and pressing the bait. It was pretty fun, but shut down as expected as the sun came up.