Alligators in the Florida Everglades

Okay, while the Everglades is not actually on fire…the large-mouth bass in the Everglades are in every sense of the word biting like they are.

I had out the Leung family all the way from Pasadena, Ca. It was Raymond, Monica and there daughter Melissa all here for a family wedding, Christmas, New Years and fun family time. One of the things on there list was to better understand the Everglades, it’s history, it’s future and what’s being done to help the vast ecosystem.

I really enjoyed the task at hand, being a big part of the conservation efforts here in South Florida it was my pleasure to answer all of there questions. We did also bass fish for several hours catching over 30 fish and taking plenty of pictures. Raymond had an amazing camera, it stopped birds in there track at full speed. A zoom len that was capable of almost anything you could imagine.

We had a great time, discovering over 25 different birds. Having an up close and personal conversation with a Florida alligator. We had discussions that exposed the flaws in life, as we see it of coarse. As well as the perfections that are commonly overlooked, these are not only things that the Everglades seems to stand for but more importantly make you think about!

  Florida officials have agreed to new terms for a land deal with the largest U.S. producer of cane sugar to increase the availability of water storage and flow to the vast Everglades wetland. The new agreement, subject to approval by the South Florida Water Management District, includes the purchase of more than 180,000 acres from U.S. Sugar Corp. at a price of $1.34 billion. The agreement is a step down from terms announced in June, which included transfer to public ownership of 187,000 acres and all the sugar company’s assets, including 200 miles of railroad, a state-of-the-art sugar mill, sugar refinery and citrus processing plant for $1.75 billion.

…The new terms include a lease-back of the land for $50 per acre, for a period covering seven crop cycles. The sugar mill, refinery and citrus processing facilities, railroads, office buildings, equipment and the Gilchrist County citrus nursery will remain the property of U.S. Sugar.

…The 180,000 acres, one of the largest environmental land acquisitions in U.S. history, are needed by the South Florida Water Management District to protect Florida’s coastal estuaries and better revive, restore and preserve the Everglades. The land will be used to reestablish a part of the historic connection between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades through a managed system of storage and treatment areas. This is expected to reduce the potential for harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee to Florida’s coastal rivers and estuaries when lake levels are high.

  Recreational stakeholders and Environmentalists were pleased with the outcome of negotiations. … “This is just the shot in the arm we need to improve the health of one of America’s most treasured, but troubled ecosystems. Floridians on both coasts will be able to say goodbye to damaging freshwater releases that foul up the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries, and the continuous abuse of Lake Okeechobee. Which has sat idled in the middle of all of this with a silent voice taking all of the abuse.

Till next time tight lines and good fishing….

From Staff and Wire Reports

BassOnline.com

  We went to a new location today for Phillip, but an old one for me. This is one of the great things about South Florida., there’s lots of water and fisheries everywhere. This was one of the coldest days we have had this year, we started the day throwing top water baits. The key to the bite was working the lure very slow, due to the cold front you would think the fish would have not hit top water…well they did!

 The first fish we caught was 4 pounds, so I told Phillip to change his bait to what I was throwing. It worked out pretty well, he caught a very chunky 2 pound largemouth right away. As the day moved on, we moved around a lot and had action all day. We caught over 50 fish,  40 of them where peacock bass and the other 10 were a mix of largemouth bass and snakeheads.

If you are visiting South or Central Florida for work or vacation and want to experience the best bass fishing that there is to offer then please give us a call. We can be reached at (888) 629-BASS or email me…

Capt Brett
bretti@bassonline.com
888-629-2277
www.BassOnline.com
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www.bassauthority.com
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www.basson-line.com

 Southwest Florida, at first glance, doesn’t sound like a fresh water angler’s paradise. The region only has a handful of natural lakes and only one, Lake Trafford in the farming community of Immokalee is accessible to the public. There are many other lakes in the region but, they are all made-made rock pits or water retention areas for the numerous housing and golf course developments. Most of them are stocked and offer excellent largemouth bass, catfish and panfish fishing. But, some of these are located on private property, fishing can be restricted to residents and their guests. If in doubt, assume the lake is private and ask for permission before wetting your line.

Don’t construe the shortage of natural lakes and the restricted use man-made lakes with a lack of places to fresh water fish. Southwest Florida has hundreds of miles of drainage canals containing tons of fish. There region has three major canal systems: Lehigh Acres, Cape Coral and Golden Gate. Certain parts of each system are locally famous for good bass and panfish fishing. Each system has a few boat ramps, some bridges to fish from and plenty of areas where you can fish from the banks.

Driving around the region you will also notice that there are drainage canals along many of the major roads. Don’t overlook these as possible fishing spots. If there is a safe place to pull off the road, stop and give it a try. You will see people doing this every day and they usually are catching fish.

This part of the state has year-round largemouth bass and panfish fishing. Most of the bigger bass are caught during the cooler months when the fish are more actively feeding and at their peak bedding time. Panfish, including bluegills and redear sunfish will almost always bite a worm, cricket or small minnow.

Black crappie, preferring colder waters, aren’t as prevalent in this part of the state. Lake Trafford has the best crappie fishing in the region with the winter month being best. Oscars, exotic fish that are working their way into southwest Florida from the Miami area, can be very abundant in the freshwater canals, particularly along the US 41 canal in eastern Collier County. Catfish, mudfish and several species of gar are also common freshwater residents.

From Staff and Wire Reports
BassOnline.com
888-629-BASS (2277)
www.hawghunter.net
www.bassauthority.com
www.flpeacockbass.com
www.basson-line.com

  Today we had the pleasure of taking out Mel Taylor from Weston, FL which is with the Channel 10 news team. He contacted our service at www.bassonline.com  to setup up a fishing trip, he was especially interested to see if we could teach him how to use artificial lures.  He seems to fish often, but with live bait.

 We only had a short 4 hour day, so I had to work fast to bring Mel up to speed. We touch on several techniques, but caught most of our fish on a shaky head rig with an awesome new bait from JDC Bait company. Because of our policy, NO FISH-NO PAY, Mel knew we had a few fish with his name on it, which left him to fishing worry free. By the end of the trip Mel caught at least 5 fish on artificial baits and he learned a great deal.

Mel, is hooked and is looking at his schedule to come back this month!

If you are visiting South or Central Florida for work or vacation and want to experience the best bass fishing that there is to offer then please give us a call. We can be reached at (888) 629-BASS or email me…

Capt Brett
bretti@bassonline.com
888-629-2277
www.BassOnline.com
www.hawghunter.net
www.bassauthority.com
www.flpeacockbass.com
www.basson-line.com

Today I fished with the Wilson family, Sandra and Anthony Sr & Jr.. They decided to experience the Everglades because of the wildlife as well as the fishing, so I had a few spots in mine to do just that. One of my favorites is Holeyland!

Sandra was a great sport and let the boys get started bright and early to ensure the morning bite. A morning bite is exactly what we had, all the while the boys were so pumped up to catch fish Sandra (aka Mom) sat back with a look of confidence like she know something..that the rest of us didn’t.

The first fish of the morning Sandra started with a nice 4lb largemouth, what a great surprise to the boys. But not as much as the next two she boat, which were both between 4 and 6 lbs. As we moved around they all seem to catch a fish or two, even a couple of bowfin and gar were caught which they seem to enjoy quite a bit.

The day could of ended with and it would of been a success, but leave it Anthony Sr. to leave his mark in the Florida Everglades with trophy largemouth bass just over 7lbs on the scales.

Really enjoyed this family, for there first time bass fishing I thing we can call it a huge success!

You can also read my Everglades blog here!

Tight Lines,
Capt Tony (954) 205-2535
(888) 629-BASS
tonym@bassonline.com
www.bassonline.com
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Today was a very special day. It was a young man’s birthday, his name was Hagan. He turned 10 years old today and let me tell you, he’s a very good fisherman. His casting capabilities would make some adults jealous.

Today fishing with him was his sister, Cameron. Who was only seven years old, could fish and cast very good as well. With them today was their grandfather, Charles. They fished all day with artificial baits only. It was a great thing to see these kids casting and catching all on their own.

I sure enjoyed spending the day with all of them, they were very well mannered and nice to be with. The fishing in the Florida Everglades was pretty good with nice steady action. No giants, but some nice quality ones. Man, I have got to tell you, “there’s nothing like taking a kid fishing.” And we all should remember one thing, that they’re only a kid once. So, don’t miss the chance to a take your child fishing.

You can read more about my fishing trips by visiting out Everglades blog!

Good fishing,

Capt Mark Shepard
marks@bassonline.com
(863) 673-4966 cell
(888) 629-BASS
www.bassonline.com
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www.basson-line.com
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  Today I had the enjoyment and pleasure of fishing with Anna & Alex from Southern Brazil. Why was this trip was so special, well other then the bass fishing being outstanding. It was there honeymoon and while staying in Ft Lauderdale, they decided to go fishing with us at bassonline.com.

 Alex is very good fishermen coming from Brazil, where he said “the bass are so small and hard to catch.” Today, would be a different story as Alex started off by asking for a bait-casting rod & reel, I said, “are you sure”, he replied yes. Once I handed him our GLoomis rods I seen his eyes get big, followed by a smile of excitement. He proceeded to throw topwater lures, after the first couple of cast I realized Alex was going to have a good day. His accuracy was awesome, and precision long cast continued to pay off cast, after cast.

Anna, on the other hand became Alex’s own personal photographer and laid in the sun most of the day. Alex, had a great day in the Everglades, catching around 50 Florida largemouth bass all by himself using a variety of artificial baits on a 6 hour trip. Not only were there large-mouth caught today, but he had the enjoyment of capturing 6 Florida Peacock bass also! 

It was a fun filled day on the water with these two, even with a language barrier you knew they were happy by the huge smile on there faces.

Tomorrow the honeymoon couple is off to Orlando, to visit Disney and Universal studio. With Florida bass fishing in there blood now, they are going to take two more days to go bass fishing with Bassonline.com while in the Orlando area.  One day on Lake Toho and the other on the Butler Chain of lakes. I know they will have a great time with our guide.  

Anna & Alex, enjoy the rest of your trip and have a great time on the remaining days of your honeymoon.

If your in the area of the Everglades in South Florida and would like to get out and experience true Everglades bass fishing at it’s best! Remember, we also offer fishing in the Orlando area as well as Miami for the hard fighting Peacock bass.

Give me a call or email,

I look forward to talking fishing with you!

Tight Lines,
Capt Todd
todd@bassonline.com
888-629-2277
www.BassOnline.com
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Today May 9th, we had out several boats on a corporate outing for Barnes & Thornburg, a highly rated attorney group from all over the United States. It

was time for these guys to sit back, relax and catch some big old Florida largemouth bass in the Everglades and that’s exactly what they did!

As most corporate outing, we have to build the fishing trip around the business meetings and today was no different. We started around 2 pm and fished till almost dark. The day started a little slower then I would have liked, but did it ever finish strong. While we did catch several nice bass on plastics baits and topwater plugs the trophy Florida bass wanted a shiner.

The number of big, big bass were unbelievable, with all of the excitement we don’t have a count on the overall numbers of fish. But by the pictures it should give you a good idea of what we were catching. The biggest was over 7 lbs with several others over 6 lbs.

If your on a corporate trip or simply a vacation with the family and would like to get out for a few hours give me a call, Capt. Tony Masiello on my cell (954) 205-2535 or contact the office (888) 629-2277. You also can visit our website @ www.bassonline.com