BassOnline, Inc. is pleased to announce that we have teamed up with several partners and will be creating fishing videos that will air nationwide and be available by download from sources such as YouTube.com and Google.com. BassOnline.com, Florida’s largest provider of Florida freshwater fishing tours will is the selected outfitter for all of the Freshwater fishing opportunities in North, Central & South Florida.
The promo video above was just completed as a sample of what’s to come, the good stuff is still in production and will be out very soon so check back for the new fishing video action filmed by BassOnline.com.The videos will feature special underwater coverage and specific data for each lake, canal and river in Florida. The footage is in the same areas that you will be fishing when you come fish Florida. This will be the official video production for all of Florida’s freshwater fishing interest, the editing company will provide some of the best bass fishing footage that you have ever seen. We will be filming for the next 1-1/2 years, over 190 lakes and rivers for trophy largemouth bass & peacock bass.The Miami lakes and canals video will be done by September 2008, with brilliant under water footage never seen on home video’s. So, check back often at BassOnline Video Blogs for the best Florida freshwater bass fishing video footage ever seen on the web!
We would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact us if you would like to help or suggest a body of water in your area. If you have any questions on the videos or if you are interested in a fishing trip in Florida or you would like additional information on the fishing trips or fishing videos please contact us on this form, thanks you and good fishin!.
Keep your hands on a can of bug spray…this could not be any farther from the truth!
This could be the number one questioned asked when tourist are booking fishing or sightseeing trips in the Florida Everglades.
Critters of the Everglades are everywhere. But you have to know, that there are very few encounters with bugs. Don’t get me wrong, “there are bugs in the Everglades,” it’s just not bug infested like people think it is.
The way to approach fishing in the Everglades is no different then fishing back home on your favorite body of water. In most cases, you will probably encounter less bugs in the Everglades.
I think it’s the whole, “Swamp Thing,” that gets people nervous. They pretend or imagine there going to be lost in a real swamp, then expecting the same on our guided trips. It could not be any farther from the truth.
The “Swamp critters” are one of the biggest deterrents for people not experiencing the Everglades. When your on a guided excursion, you won’t have any trouble spotting the big stuff such as alligators, snakes, turtles and the many different species of birds the Everglades has to offer. But toads, bugs and other smaller animals in most cases escape your mind among all of the natural distractions.
The blessing of actually seeing this place, is learning what the wilderness provides when you open your eyes to it!
The Everglades, is an original creation, not something a museum bought or rented and put on display. People work there entire life’s in order to get to experience this beauty just once. Our staff spends all year working in this beautiful place called the “Everglades,” which provides a mix of real life and fancy for everyone involved.
Grant program will help expand local recreation opportunities
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Under the leadership of Governor Charlie Crist and the Florida Legislature, the 2008-2009 budget includes $24 million to expand and improve local parks statewide. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) will fund 212 projects in 54 counties to develop and enhance community parks, providing outdoor recreation opportunities and improving public access to Florida’s natural resources.
“Outdoor recreation areas and facilities are a vital part of Florida’s economy, drawing both Floridians and visitors to experience the state’s natural resources,” said DEP Secretary Michael W. Sole. “With the support of Governor Crist and the Florida Legislature, FRDAP funding allows Florida cities and counties to develop and enhance local parks while uniting their communities through recreational opportunities.”
Projects include:
Town of Bascom, Community Park – $135,611
Through the Rural Economic Development Initiative, this small community with a population of 111 and an operating budget of $53,000 can enjoy a park without having to match the grant funding provided. The grant will allow the Town to develop a children’s playground and restroom within the only existing park in the community. The property is four-acres and houses the 1929 Bascom school house, which the Town hopes to renovate as a community center for family reunions and community events through historical funding opportunities.
Taylor County, Steinhatchee Park – $135,611
This County Park is located in the Town of Steinhatchee, directly on the Steinhatchee River with close access to the Gulf of Mexico. This project will provide a new public fishing pier and restroom and will renovate the only public playground and picnic facilities in the area. A Florida Heritage Historical Marker is located at this site for its early Steinhatchee history. In addition, the Florida Department of Community Affairs recently awarded the Town with a Waterfronts Florida designation, which provides resources to assist coastal local governments with planning efforts.
City of Hampton, Bobbie Shepard Park – $135,611
Bobbie Shepard Park is the City of Hampton’s largest park located on the Lake Butler-Palatka Trail, and soon to be a designated trailhead along the route. The grant funding will help develop camping, picnic facilities, bike trail, playground, parking as well as enhancements to the existing restrooms and security lighting.
St. Johns County, Nease Beachfront Park – $135,611
Located between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, this site will provide users direct access to the Atlantic Ocean through a raised dune walkover and allow users to view the Intracoastal Waterway from a boardwalk through salt marsh to a scenic overlook pavilion. The project site also contains the historic Allen Nease House. The area falls into the St. Johns County Blueways and Greenways Master Plan as well as the East Coast Greenway, an urban trail that runs from Calais, Maine to Key West, Florida. FRDAP funding will also be used to build picnic facilities, a trail throughout the park and parking.
Palm Beach County, Lake Ida Park – $135,611
The park is located on the western shore of Lake Ida, a 120-acre freshwater lake that is part of Palm Beach County’s Chain of Lakes. The Lake provides fishing and recreational boating and is used by personal watercrafts, water skiers, wake boarders and fishers in both Palm Beach and Broward Counties. The improvements will include a new ADA-accessible playground, picnic pavilion, bike trail, canoe/kayak launch, parking and landscaping. An existing group pavilion, picnic pavilion, parking lot and landscaping will also be renovated.
“Reserving space and funds for recreation is essential to the healthy growth of Florida’s communities and citizens,” said DEP’s Florida Division of Recreation and Parks Director Mike Bullock. “The FRDAP program continues to facilitate city and county park growth and enhancement, strengthening families and the protection of Florida’s natural resources.”
Administered by DEP, the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) is a competitive grant program, providing funds to local communities for public outdoor recreation. Over the last decade, Florida has invested more than $250 million to improve local park facilities through this grant program, funding more than 2,000 projects statewide. Enhancements to local parks include improvements and renovations to playground and picnic facilities such as pavilions, tables and benches, ball fields, tennis and basketball courts, concession areas, lighting, fencing, restroom and shower facilities, parking areas, trails, grounds and landscaping, beach docks, piers and boardwalks.
1 – Around Lakeland, bass up to 25 inches this week at Tenoroc, about 8-9 pounds, in lakes 4, Fish Hook and Tern on junebug worms and spinnerbaits, reports Brian Fleming. Several limits of bluegill and shellcracker in lakes 2, C and Hydrilla at Tenoroc on crickets and red worms. Anglers wading along cattails at Lake Parker catching 10-15 hand-sized bluegill, reports Stacy Roberts at Phillips Bait and Tackle at Saddle Creek Park. Bluegill bite slowed down at Saddle Creek. Speckled catfish biting after rains at Saddle Creek. And lakes 4, B and Legs producing catfish at Tenoroc.
BLUEGILL
Limits of bluegill and shellcracker were commonplace over the weekend. Crickets and red worms were hot sellers. “I’m about out of crickets. They’re catching limits of bluegill just about everywhere,” said Ron Schelfo at Ron’s Tackle Box. “Pick your favorite lake.”
TRENTON BENNETT of Fort Meade, 4, reeled in this 12-pound, 4-ounce bass fishing with his grandfather, Joe Bennett, on Lake Kissimmee July 12. Joe, from Camp Lester, hooked up with a topwater plug and handed the rod to Trenton. “Joe said he had to hold the back of his life jacket to keep him from going out of the boat,” said Joanne Cosce at Camp Lester. PRO BASS FISHERMEN and top local anglers are switching to fluorocarbon line for casting soft plastics – worms, Flukes and Senkos. Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon is a popular choice in 10-, 12-, 15- and 20-pound strengths, said Brent Howlett at Stone’s Outhouse. Fluorocarbon sinks, unlike monofilament.
2 – At Auburndale, super week for bluegill and shellcracker just about everywhere, reports Ron Schelfo at Ron’s Tackle Box in Lake Alfred. Shellcracker bite continues on Lake Rochelle, where bank anglers using half-ounce egg sinkers to cast red worms over ledge in spot where there’s no shoreline grass near boat ramp. “There’s been hundreds of people going down there. It’s been great,” Schelfo said. Also limits of shellcracker on red worms and grass shrimp in lily pads at Lake Mariana, reports Stacy Roberts. Easy limits of bluegill at lakes Haines, Alfred and Ariana, said Schelfo. Bass very tough this week, but Telly Smith boated 7 1/2-pounder to win Ron’s evening tournament on Lake Alfred last Thursday with teammate Alex Holmes.
3 – At Winter Haven, bluegill creating some excitement on small city lakes and south chain, with lots of limits on crickets. Lily pads in south end of Lake Eloise one hot spot. Bass action tapered off with high heat and break in thundershowers.
4 – At Lake Hamilton, bluegill and shellcracker “absolutely great” over weekend with red worms and crickets, reports Gary Parramore at Chain O’ Lakes Bait and Tackle in Dundee. But only small boats can launch at public ramp. Bass up to 4-6 pounds perked up on medium-large wild shiners (6-7 inches long) on area lakes.
5 – At Lake Marion near Haines City, limits of bedding shellcracker and bluegill drew a crowd over the weekend with full moon on Friday, reports Ray Chase at Bannon’s Camp. He said 21 boats launched Saturday. Shellcracker moving back to deep shell bars between new and full moons. Lily pads “thick” with panfish, which are hitting grass shrimp, red worms and crickets.
6 – At Lake Pierce, daily limits of bluegill and shellcracker in lily pads on red worms and crickets at North Cove and around islands near fish camp, reports Jennings Camp. Bass decent, especially when it rains every day.
7 – At Lake Hatchineha, couple of shellcracker beds located over weekend with full moon, and anglers pulled in limits on red worms.
8 – At Lake Toho, big stringers in tournaments on Saturday, but Sunday as bad as Saturday was good. Took about 24 pounds to win Xtreme Series tournament. Fishermen casting topwater lures (chrome/black Boy Howdy or Devil’s Horse) around crisp hydrilla patches until sun comes up, said Brent Howlett at Stone’s Outhouse. Water level up 8-10 inches in past week, and anglers struggling for bites this week, said Mark Detweiler.
9 – At Lake Kissimmee, bluegill carried the weekend, although bass made good showing Saturday. There were two or three stringers over 20 pounds in tournaments on Saturday, but on Sunday, bass took a “nosedive,” said Leo Cosce at Camp Lester. Took just 13 pounds to win on Sunday. Cosce said there’s a lot of bass being caught on crankbaits and Rat-L-Traps. Trenton Bennett of Fort Meade, who’s 4, landed a 12-pound, 4-ounce bass fishing with his grandfather, Joe Bennett of Camp Lester, on July 13. Joe got the bite on a surface lure and handed the rod to Trenton. “That’s kid’s going to be hooked for life now. It’s great when you see that happen,” said Cosce. Limits of bluegill mixed with shellcracker around full moon in lily pads at Gobbler Ridge, Philadelphia Point, Lemon Point and Brahma Island. But panfish bite tapered off since Sunday with half-limits at best, Cosce said. Early risers catching 20-25 specks in North Cove with jigs (chartreuse/white, white/white) along hydrilla edges. Water level up 4 inches in past week, but off-colored.
10 – At Lake Walk-in-the-Water, lake usually overlooked for bluegill, but panfish have been active in lily pads. Bass not worth the trip.
11 – At Crooked Lake at Babson Park, extra-large speckled perch cranked up last week and still going at night on minnows in open water, reports Cindy Ritchison at Bob’s Landing. “Some of my anglers said they were catching ‘hellaciously’ big specks they said had to be a pound and a half or 2 pounds, easy,” Ritchison said. Mark Collier and his crew bringing in 20-25 per trip, as is Gary Earnst of Plant City. Bass up to 2-3 pounds more common.
12 – At Frostproof, panfish anglers loading up on bluegill at Lake Reedy, reports Ron Schelfo. Lake Arbuckle also good for bluegill in lily pads.
13 – In the phosphate pits south of Mulberry and Bartow, things about as quiet as they get with dog days setting in.
Work could wrap up today on a $7.3 million project that dredged dozens of canals on troubled Lake Griffin.The massive effort — one of the biggest ever handled by the Lake County Water Authority — started in 2005 and fell more than a year behind schedule. Officials might call it finished today if they tour the lake and find that contractor E.R. Jahna Industries completed all the requirements of the dredging.
Crews removed more than 340,000 cubic yards of muck and sand from the bottom of 43 canals around Lake Griffin, disposing that material at a former muck farm on Griffin’s north side. The goal is to improve access so that residents along the canals can get their boats to the lake even when water levels are low.
That will be important when the St. Johns River Water Management District moves ahead with plans to increase seasonal water fluctuations to improve the health of Lake Griffin. One concern, however, is that Griffin and other parts of the Harris Chain of Lakes are near historic lows, and experts say it could take from months to a year or more before this area gets enough rain to bring lakes back to normal levels.
Another concern is how the St. Johns water district will handle the proposed change in water fluctuations on Griffin.
Water levels among the Harris chain are controlled by a series of locks and dams. During summers, Griffin typically is dropped up to 9 inches to prevent flooding of waterfront properties during seasonal rains.
Now that the canals are lowered, officials want to allow Griffin to drop a foot or more. That could help the large water body recover by drying out large portions of mucky shoreline and helping establish aquatic plants essential for fish habitat.
That is the plan that prompted the canal-dredging idea more than three years ago. But now the St. Johns district has a plan to allow city officials in Apopka to withdraw up to 1.8 billion gallons of water a year from Lake Apopka.
If approved, the district would retain water in Lake Apopka by cutting in half the minimum flow of water that is allowed downstream through the Harris chain. Water also would be held back in another part of the Harris chain.
Water panels lock horns
The average water level on Lake Apopka would increase 2.2 inches. Several lakes downstream would drop by a third of an inch, and Lake Griffin would drop an average of 1.8 inches.
The water authority recently filed a legal petition with the St. Johns to force it to establish required minimum water flow and lake levels for Apopka and the Harris chain before allowing withdrawals.
“The Authority believes that in the absence of ‘Minimum Flows and Levels’ set by rule, decisions by the St. Johns River Water Management District concerning the management of Lake Apopka and the Harris Chain will not protect the resources of this very important area of Florida’s surface waters,” Mike Perry, executive director of the Lake water authority, wrote in a letter.
Restoration group worries
Others also fear what the St. Johns district’s proposals could do to the Harris chain.
Skip Goerner, vice chairman of the Harris Chain of Lakes Restoration Council, said costly projects to restore Lake Griffin and the rest of the Harris chain rely on historically based water flows that the district could change to allow the Apopka withdrawals. He fears that could impair restoration.
“We have spent millions of dollars and plan on spending millions more on restoration efforts using this criteria based on historic flows and water levels,” Goerner explained. “We’re very concerned about the withdrawals and [the district] holding water back from us.”
The water authority is trying to improve water quality on the Harris chain by building a $7.3 million nutrient-reduction facility along the shores of Apopka-Beauclair Canal that will remove algae-feeding phosphorus and other pollutants flowing in from Lake Apopka. If the St. Johns district restricts the minimum flow of water from Lake Apopka, it likely would decrease the nutrient-reduction facility’s effectiveness.
Robert Sargent can be reached at rsargent@orlandosentinel.com
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