11-09-2009, 09:13 PM
Quote:The cool thing about south florida is that every piece of water has largemouth bass and most have peacock bass too.
Only if it's fresh water. And that's the interior, which starts only about mile or so inland.
Quote:Also, most of the canals that run through the area have both snook and tarpon because they connect to the ocean and the fish swim way inland. If you want snook or tarpon in the canals,
Tarpon are not canal fish. Snook OTOH. They'll be under many boats and piers. Sadly, mostly private. But they are in season now.
[#000000]The more I think about this:[/#000000]
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[#000000]Best potential production: Fish the intracoastal where there are bridge pilings (not all bridges have pilings; many are span), or an ocean inlet. It won’t be pretty (cars, traffic, people), but you’ll have better production than surf fishing. [/#000000]
[#000000]Pilings fishing: Shrimp (all baitshops); 25 lb test; 80 lbs steel leader; 2/0 to 4/0 hooks; 1 oz pyramid weights (tide and current). Drum, snapper, sheepshead, and reds are yours; assuming you can yank them out of the pilings. Maybe a snook if the gods are smiling. Hint: donate your first shrimp to the fish gods.[/#000000]
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Fish at nite and bring a chair and headlamp. Get a tidechart. Don’t sit in the sand spurs or the red ant hills.[/#000000]
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[#000000]Prettiest land-based saltwater fishing: go surf fish. Especially the Atlantic side, where you'll be. I think you will be able to find surf gear to rent; (piers won’t let you take their gear off the pier). Bear in mind that both suggestions are logistical headaches: drive time, parking, lugging gear, and heavy concentrations of people will all be impediments. There will be no solitude. [/#000000]
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[#000000]If you don’t have the gear for this, you might end up on a public pier where tackle can be rented, but oy!, the clientele…[/#000000]
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[#000000]If you want to avoid logistical headaches, go on a party charter: you and 20 of your closest new friends. Your success rate will be questionable, but you’ll fish off-shore. Just don’t bring a banana onboard; you will end up as fresh cut bait. Seriously.[/#000000]
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[#000000]When all is said and done, given your time and money constraints, I suggest a party charter; all you gotta do is show up, and it will give you a good feel of the type of Florida fishing I imagine you are imagining.[/#000000]
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[#000000]If you score a 20# snapper, all I want for my consulting fee is a 1# filet. Fair enough?[/#000000]
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[#000000]I was just home two weekends ago (I wet tested the Panga, Jim!), and it absolutely rekindled my love of Florida fishing.[/#000000]
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[#000000]It’s been awhile, and my memories fade. There's a gazillion lines written about the various types of Florida fishing, so take my few paragraphs with that in mind.[/#000000]
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[#000000]Have fun; I’m totally jealous.[/#000000]
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