Zcoker

There's some bigguns down here in the south Florida Everglades. There's also some giant snakes that eat them! Can't get my head around that one but when I see the size of some of these captured pythons with a big gator outlining their fat belly, then I know for sure that it must be true. So be mindful of what's in the water but also be mindful of what might fall out of them there bushes!

Check on the Facebook 'Headwaters Lake' for the guides. Most of the popular ones post there with their catches along with their contact numbers.

I mainly fish the everglades a night around all kinds of crazy cover, which makes things even more subliminal. I go heavy with tackle and line. I've often thought of 'kayak convergence', stuff like that but when it comes down to it, I don't consider the mechanics of much of anything related to drift and so forth, I'd probably loose the fish if I was thinking about all that kind of stuff. If I were to offer up anything useful, I'd say ANGLE makes more of difference in a kayak, imho. Being at the right angle that anticipates an outcome readies me for what may happen if a nice fish hits. Seems to work because I always seem to land the big girls with least issues.

In general, I go out into the water to de-hook them and then swim them off with a kiss lol

A big fat lazy lady off the bank lol Almost pulled me into the water! These big girls are expecting the fisherman to underestimate them! This one just happen to be waiting around for a thirsty rabbit lol

Nice fish! On the beach there is no such thing as motoring over to the fish lol. It's do or die, especially with giant tarpon. Those fish are brutal to bring in off the beach! I'll take a jack any day over them.

We call them Florida GT's down here in south Florida. We get them right off the local beaches during our annual mullet run on surf rods. WHAT A FIGHT!

Well, I beg to differ on that one. I've had big LM bass give me a run for the money many, many times, especially late at night. Not just a few runs but a ton of runs all over the place, including in mid-air....rarely giving up the fight. Heck, even while dehooking and measuring they still fighting hard! Granted, they may react differently at night, maybe so.

Come down to south Florida and hook into some these crazy Peacock bass...those things are insane! As far as your 8 pounder goes, some of the bigger fish are lethargic, yes, but others can totally lay waste. Here in south Florida it can be just a few weeks apart hooking into them. Some are easy peasy, others can break rods! Just never know what to expect. Always good to be prepared, though, expect the unexpected is my motto.

Unless a place is specifically posted or fenced off, I'd just fish it until something comes up that says I cannot fish it. If you get permission form the owner, even better. From the looks of your image, seems woody and secluded, certainly more secluded than some of the residential areas that I've seen or fished over there....an outright concrete jungle guarded by all kinds of crazy security. When you start tearing apart a place, trying to find out who owns what, it's gonna get frustration and even challenging to the extent that you might become a bother or nuisance to the property owner(s), who eventfully just call the cops. If a place is trouble and unless it has giants in it, I'd suggest moving along to another place and start the whole process over again. Pond hopping is just what it implies: hopping around from place to place.

I lived over there and have since watched it boom into what it is today. Most areas are sealed up pretty good. If it's private property, then you'd be taking a chance one way or the other. Sometimes nothing comes of it; other times you get the boot. Can't say if freshwater lakes or ponds share much the same legality as saltwater, like with the mean high tide line. We have similar disputes over here on the east coast off our local beaches over that one. In any event, you can fish places until you can't, no big deal, imho. Or get into pond hopping with a kayak...hit it, fish it, and then leave it. Or just do the time, travel the distance to find places that aren't so restrictive. All comes down to what you are willing to do to get the fish.....and convivence is not always a part of it.

Yes, sir, quite a puzzle. One can spend a lot of energy picking up all those pieces to make it whole only to have it tossed all over the room again. My approach is quite simple: a totally open mind. I look for no pattern or routine or puzzle. What the bass want is what they eventually get!

I see your point....but, look, man, I broke the driver's side as much out of anger as anything else because my phone and key were right there on the front seat. To be honest, the last thing on my mind was the type of glass and the last thing on my mind was to break the windshield. Besides, I had to drive home a very long distance late at night and that wouldn't go so well with a smashed in windshield. I made it back fine and got the window replaced in a few days. My focus now is preventing stuff like that from happening again, with anything, really, gotta be prepared for ANYTHING in the fishing world!

The pattern that I've notice most often with bass fishing is no pattern....bass conform to a more elusive biological trigger that can often defy what we think we know about them, or what we think they want at any given moment or under any giving condition.

Wow, such a logical recommendation from the guy from New Jersey. Windshield lol I'll have to remember that one! I had no idea it was Lammy on the newer vehicles. My keys, phone were right there on front seat. Live and learn. Glad you had your phone! I couldn't even send smoke signals lol .My truck has never just locked itself like that without me pushing the lock button. I've unloaded it many times with no issues. Now I know better. My fob comes out with me ALL the time no matter what. I'm also getting a spare key to hide on the vehicle. I did that on my last truck and it saved me a few times. Just hadn't gotten around to doing it on the new Ranger.

Maybe not a moron moment but a disturbing moment nonetheless. I was deep in the Everglades unloading my Kayak and gear at night. I was on the passenger side of my truck getting stuff out, finished up and then shut the door. When I went around to the driver's side, the door was locked....all the doors were suddenly locked...the firggin truck "decided" to lock itself up. Well, my phone, my keys, all were inside. Only option was to break the glass, break the glass on my nice new Ford Ranger. So I took a massive rock and it took a good 6-7 times at full power to bash it in! I was like, what the x*a**&^, It was like hitting steel! The rock would literally bounce back. I learned the hard way on that one, learned to never, ever break the driver's glass on newer vehicles because it's the very expensive laminated glass to the tune of $600! The other windows are not laminated and are reasonable to replace. What a night! I still went fishing lol

I fish where I have the whole place to myself. I fish where there is an almost infinite variety of cover and structure. I fish where I know I can catch a ton of bass every time, all the time, no matter what. I fish where I know GIANT bass roam. I fish at night out in the Florida Everglades.

I hear ya. It's so obvious it's almost repulsive. Sometimes I want to watch a video of his to see what it's all about but I just can't bring myself to sucker pass the clickbait title, like giving into a dare. The final draw for me was a recent video that he just put out where the subject is all about "why people should subscribe to his channel" based off his "fifty years of experience." Which may or may not be true; seems he's always tossing that weight around to justify most everything.

2020 Ford Ranger. I'm averaging about 26-27mpg down here on the south Florida flat roads, which helps out a LOT with my Everglades trips!

I've noticed his clickbaits are through the roof....moving right along lol

That's what I luv about the glades, untouched and virgin, miles and miles of new beginnings! One day it can be this way; the next day the other way, like a living creature in itself, ever changing. One day there's a nice little creek-like entrance winding into a beautiful lagoon....gone a week later! No sign of nothing, like both never existed. Plays out like that a lot in the glades. You have one chance to fish and enjoy the mystery. And I'm quite sure mysterious creatures live out there as well. I've seen stuff out there like freaky looking birds that I've never seen before. It's really a way of life, fishing out there, a big change from the conventional stuff. I guess that's why gators and such don't bother me so much at night, not because they might attack me but because I know they won't.

I think Randy's initial approach to things was old school normal Joe kinda stuff and sooner turned into something else...or is in the process of turning into something else. His two per day "in your face" style of broadcasting can get on the nerves. Yet he's very smart in churning up the pot and imprinting his face all over. He admits that he has no clue what his video's are going to be about. He goes back into his makeshift shed, flips on the light switch and camera button and then just starts talking. Often times while driving. He talks of humility and gratitude, stuff like that, content that just pops into his head which he slowly kneads into an opinionated shape over the course of the broadcast, sometimes in good ways, sometimes in bad ways. This mixture of feelings, agitation and/or friction that he might create is precisely his power, imho. Sometimes he hits the nail on the head; sometimes he doesn't. He knows this precisely and is using this vacillating approach to create a very formable YouTube channel.

I've never fished Lake Okeechobee at night, either. About the biggest body of open water that I fish at night is Lake Blue Cypress....and that's still pushing it! Large open places like that can turn into the likes of an ocean. A little bit of wind can get the white caps churning. And I don't wanna be out there at night jumping white caps in a kayak lol. Aside from the natural events, manmade events can change lots of things. Manmade in the sense of water level control, weed control, pumping, stuff like that. All of which impacts fishing significantly here in south Florida. Sometimes its for the better and sometimes its for the absolute worst!

I know a few who are convinced Sasquatch live out in the Everglades and I've heard some crazy noises that almost make me think they exist, too! Sometimes I think the greatest dangers out there is by man himself. Amongst other things, it's like a war zone at first light during hunting season, bullets flying everywhere!

Launching at night into the abyss!