Fishing has begun

[cpeuban]

I was Lake Okeechobee last week for a bass tournament and then headed for West Palm Beach to do a little saltwater fishing with family.

Caught this nice dolphin, almost 20 pounds. Great fight, 10 minutes or better. It jumped 2 feet out of the water three times in a row.

Tasted great too. Weater in south Florida was great, sunny and 80 degrees when I left yesterday. Came back to blizzard.

http://www.hunt101.com/img/094629.jpg

[Rattle-m-up™]

nice fish chris!

[Gary R]

BASS TOURNAMENT?!!!! Oh my.

[Cutter]

Chris,

I take it you were there for the FLW event?? If so did you cash a check??

[cpeuban]

I did cash a check, but not from fishing the tournament. I work for FLW as editor for FLW Outdoors Magazine. So I was down there interviewing anglers and taking photos.

If any of you guys are bass fishermen and haven't visited Okeechobee, it is a crazy place. There are places that cattails, reeds and other vegetation go on as far as the eye can see. It's extremely shallow. The lake starts at a couple feet and gets deeper by ONE FOOT for each MILE that you go out from shore. Then, when you get to the middle of the huge lake, you can't see land in any direction. All kinds of waterfowl, gators, and other critter constantly flying or swimming by or making all kinds of crazy noises. An expereince that can't be matched anywhere else. And the bass fishing is GREAT.

[CDay]

My grandfather had a place there on the canals that go to the lake. It is some good fishing that is for sure bass and crappie. I used to fish there every year up till I went in the service.

[MountainBuck]

The locals there don't call them crappie, they call them Specks. And the big brim they call Shellcrackers. Never figured that one out. Also saw some of the biggest alligators there I have ever seen. Caught some nice bass Balloun fishing with 8-10" shiners. It was a different experience, but I loved it. Still have a great friend that lives at Palatka, who fishes it regular. He also fishes the Bass tournament circuit there, His name is Mike Peterson, Don't know if he was there during this tournament or not, I'll e-mail him to see. The Bass he has mounted is unbelievable. He has a stringer of 10 mounted with the largest 14 and the smallest 10 (Not all from Okeechobee), but he has lived there a long time. His mother lives in Dardenelle, He was base stationed near there while he was in the navy and then retired there.

[ January 29, 2004, 10:31 AM: Message edited by: MountainBuck ]