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Stealing my start directly from Geo G Loxahatchee 2/18/18 7-10am Clear sunny day Wind ESE 2-4 mph Water temp 72.5* No current Water light stain Was able to get out on the kayak for a few hours this last Saturday morning. Always get excited when the forecast calls for light wind conditions when fishing from the kayak, and the weather guys were dead on this time around. Wind was nonexistent up to a light breeze for the large majority for the morning. High bright skies and overall a beautiful day to be out on Lox regardless of the fishing. Paddled directly back into one of the more secluded flats that I typically target just north of the Lox boat ramps. With the high water levels it was very easy to get back there. Actually with water levels so high, this was the first time I saw a bass boat back in the same flat I typically fish. Looked possibly like a guide with his client who clearly knew where he was going. He went directly to an area that I just fished through 10 minutes prior and only caught one small LMB (less than a lb). Difference is they were live baiting and from what I could hear from the constant splashing of fish on the other end of their lines, they did a LOT better than I was doing. Although I'm not a live bait fan, it looked like a fun time. On my end, mainly fished that back flat and had a great time doing it. Started with a HB frog and had two on early but wasn't able to bring either to the kayak. Never got a good hook set. Then it went flat for the remainder of the first hour or so, I continued with the HB frog, switched to a grass pig swimbait, also threw a swim jig for a bit with no takers. A bit discouraged, I tried to slow it down and switched over to a watermelon fluke and the bite turned on immediately. I'm guessing by the color and presentation that it was resembling a baby bass in nature. In any case, the bite for the next couple of hours was fairly steady. Caught 10 fish in total all on the same watermelon fluke (9 LMB, 1 Cichlid , 3 got off (including one rather large mudfish that hit about a 5 feet from the kayak). 2 of the bass were in the 2-3lb range, otherwise most of the others were less than a lb. but still fun to catch of course. The highlight of the morning was hooking into my new personal best pictured below. She was the bedding bass I was searching for. Her tail was all bloody from making her bed. Unfortunately I didn't have a scale but I'm guessing she went at least 5.5 to 6 lbs, thinking maybe more judging by her gut. Pretty fish! Made my morning. Looking forward to getting back out this weekend and continue the hunt for these big girls. Hope you all are doing well. Good luck out there!

Got back out to Lox this Sunday and fished some of the same flats I've been targeting just north of the Lox road boat ramps. Can get there quickly and didn't have a ton of time this morning. Water temp was quite warm, which is expected this time of year and water clarity wasn't great but fairly clear back in the flats. Winds felt a bit stronger than I was expecting and likely were in the 5-10 mph range and seemed to be constantly switching directions, especially back in the flats. I was only able to fish from first light until approximately 9 am, but was still able to have a productive fun day. Starting fishing alternating between a livetarget hb frog and a 5" soft plastic swimbait, trying to target some larger bass but nothing going. After about 45 mins I switched to a watermelon green/brown senko and still wasn't even getting a bump. About an hour or so in I switched to a watermelon green fluke and started getting bites immediately. Was casting as close to the grass / structure as I could and slowly jerking it back while letting it sink to the bottom occasionally. Wasn't so much about quantity today but fish quality was much better. Caught only 6 on the day but 2 of them were over 2lbs, pushing 3lbs. 3 others were between 1-2 lbs. And of course this girl that I caught casting the fluke up into some tall grass along a point, then slowly dragging the fluke back into the water without a splash. The second the fluke hit the water, this girl leaped up and smoked it. Although I wasn't fishing top water at the time there is nothing better than a top water bite from a big fish. She then proceeded to give me a nice ride before I got her to the kayak. Didn't have a scale with me so not sure on the exact weight but she was a tub, much bigger than my last PB. Always amazed by how each and every day / every hour is so different in terms of what these guys want to eat. Trying to crack that riddle is half of the fun in my opinion. Apparently today for those couple of hours I was out there it was all about the fluke. Hope you all did well out there this weekend. Tight lines!

Got back out to Lox this past Saturday and was pleased to see that water levels, although still high, were quite a bit lower than 3 weeks ago. They were also still pumping water out of the basin and not in so the current wasn't nearly as drastic as last time. Water quality was much better than expected and as I was paddling into the flats I noticed quite a bit of surface action early in the morning. Got off the ramp around first light and fished until about 10:15 when a few storms started to roll in. I paddled all the way back deep into the flats just north of the Lox boat ramps. A couple of times I found myself throwing my weight back and forth to nudge my kayak through the muck that I was stuck in. Once I reached the open water I was shooting for it paid off. I started fishing around 6:45 or 7 and started with a green/watermelon senko. About every 3rd or 4th cast I had a largemouth. Had landed 14 fish by 8:30, all under 2 lbs, all on the same color and presentation of senko. Just letting it sink to the bottom and jerking it two times slowly off the bottom, many hit on the way down on the initial fall. After 8:30 the heat must have set in as it was a bright sunny hot day, before the storm clouds started to roll through. I did manage to catch another 5 from 8:30 until 10:15 but it was much more difficult. Switched to a fluke and caught a few, also caught one on a swim bait, all still under 2 lbs. Only fished a hb frog for about 20 mins but nothing going. Despite the size of the fish I had a blast. 19 in total on the day and lost 5 others that shook loose. All Largemouth, not a single exotic. My thumbs were both torn to shreds which is always a good sign as far as I am concerned. Looking to try to get back out this Sunday morning if everything lines up. Hope everyone had a good and safe 4th by the way!

Went out to Loxahatchee for the first time this Saturday morning on my kayak. There was a local tournament out there so the ramps were quite busy. Armed with 5 rods I fished from first light through 9:30 (had to come home early unfortunately). Wind was almost non-existent at times (<5mph) which was great for fishing from the kayak. Started directly east from the Lox road boat ramps fishing a HB frog along the way. Nothing going early on so I decided to head across the deeper water into the flats almost directly north of the boat ramp and try some of the shallower areas, less boats, less traffic. I also decided to switch away from the frog and started throwing a grass pig swim bait. The first strike I had was so subtle I didn't feel anything but a bit of extra weight. After realizing it might have been a strike and setting the hook (or trying to) it confirmed my thoughts that i was snagged. As I was reeling myself toward the snag and about 10 feet from the spot, what would've easily been my personal best LM jumps entirely out of the water and throws my swim bait out of it's mouth. Had to be 6+ easy by the size of her... Once I came out of my brief depression I kept pushing forward and fishing around the shallows and found some really nice fish. Ended the morning with 10 fish total with a couple of dinks and the majority in the 1-2 pound range. The best two I caught (likely both around the 4 marker, sorry no scale) came within 10 minutes from one another in the same shallow. Also both on a junebug uvibe (credit to Geo g for turning me onto this bait). Had what I believed to be a chain pickerel on as well at one point but it cut me off. Spoke with a bunch of the boat anglers that said that they were out fishing the main canal and the general consensus was that they weren't having any luck. Sounds like the majority of the fish were tucked back up in the shallows. Also I was throwing fairly light rigs with 15lb pp braid with a 10lb flouro leader on all my setups, with the exception of my frog setup. Although that was only 20lb braid with the same 10lb flouro leader. Not sure if that made a difference but worth noting. These were the two chunks I was able to nab. All in all, I had a really fun first outing to Lox and looking forward to getting back out there in the near future. Hope everyone is having a great memorial day weekend! Good luck out there!