All fishing reports are exact. We will not exaggerate fish totals or weights to gain your business. All large fish are weighed on a Boga Grip.
It was another fun week of fishing and laughs with long time customers. This time of year I cut my trips back to 6 days a week to sneak in a lake or beach day with my wife. Nice to have a day to sleep in and have some family fun and recharge the batteries, but man oh man is the fishing really, really good. This week we had right at 280 bass swung over the side of the boat! Here is some of the fun: Had new customer Dariel McKinnon in for a short morning trip and caught 37 bass topped by a beautiful bass at 9-1/2lbs. Next had long time customer Mike Galbusieri and we had a fun day with Mike boating 38 bass topped by a fat and sassy 8lber! Also had return customer Rusty Rhodes and pal in to do some fishing and the boys caught 59 bass to 7lbs 10oz. Long time customer Vaun Cummins made it in for another trip and the boys boated 45 bass topped by a fish that went 9-1/4lbs. Last but certainly not least I had long time customers Carroll Proffitt and Phil Kickliter in for two days of fishing and the boys caught a WHOPPING 101 bass! The first day the boys boated 48 bass with 3 fish at or above 7lbs and also caught 9 and a 9lb 2oz studs! The second day they boated 53 bass to 7-3/4lbs! Thanks everyone for the fun and the memories as we swing into such a fun season!!
Fishing continues to be strong! Here’s some of the highlights: Customer Rob Morelli wrapped up his epic couple of days (after boating that massive 13lber) by catching 28 bass topped by yet another double digit that came in at 10lbs even! Next up had Scott and Glenn Puckett in for 3 days. Day 1 the boys caught 36 bass to 8lbs 14oz. Day 2 the boys boated 37 bass topped by bass weighing 8lbs and one that came up just a few ounces shy of being another double digit at 9lbs 14oz! On the final day the boys boated 27 bass to a respectable 7lbs. That was a 3 day total of 100 bass! Next up was customer Jeff Rode and on day 2 of their trip boated about 25 bass to 9lbs. Last, but certainly not least, we had new customer Luis Toyens and family in for their first trip with us and the family boated 27 bass topped by fish weighing 7, 8 & 10lbs!!!! That brings the total number of Double Digit Bass so far this season to 42! And the total number of trophy bass (8+lbs) to 188!!
Fishing is exploding and ANOTHER MONSTER!!!! Man I love this time of year! Some fantastic trips in the last week!! First one I’m gonna tell you about is the one on Wednesday 4/10! Had return customer Rob Morelli and pal in for a few days. We had to cancel yesterday due to bad weather, but after Wednesday I doubt he cares!! Rob caught the bass of a lifetime!! A couple hours into a fun trip he set the hook and after a short battle she jumped about 20 feet from the boat and sent us all into a panic! We boated her and she was a beautiful 13lbs even!! This fish was an incredible 30-1/4” long and 18-1/2” in girth. She was massive and again one of the longest bass we’ve ever boated! Rob and friend boated 33 nice bass in total. This is the 12th “Hall Of Fame” Bass boated by our folks!! We had some other great trips this week. Had the Ezdon Party in for a few days and on Day 1 the guys caught 28 bass topped by bass that weighed 10lbs 1oz, 10lbs 12oz and 11lbs 1oz. Day 2 the fellas got 32 bass with two at 8lbs and a 9lb 14ozer! Then I had new customers Patrick and Raechal McHale and the couple boated 37 bass topped by a couple bass between 7-8lbs and a long and lean 9lber. I then had Randy Beebe and pal in for two days. Day one the guys boated 26 bass topped by a 7lber and two 8lbers. Day two the guys got 34 bass topped by bass weighing 8-1/2 and 9lbs! Then we had new customers Nathan O’Donnell and family in for a days fishing and they boated a really nice 33 bass to 9-1/4lbs! Folks the fishing is just going to get better! That brings the total number of Double Digit Bass to 40 and the total number of trophy bass to 181 so far this season!
Told Y’all We Were Just Getting Started!!!! Read all the way to the end for some eye popping numbers! Finally rolling into one of my favorite times of year: POST SPAWN! The chaos of the spawn, crowded lakes and seasonal guys starts to dwindle, the lakes become more quiet and the fishing EXPLODES and boy oh boy is that starting to happen! Have had a lot of fun trips in the last two weeks or so since my last report and an absolute PILE of trophy bass!!!! Here’s some of the fun memories from the last couple weeks!! Well how do you top off catching that personal best 10lb bass????!!!!, SIMPLE! Just go ahead and catch one in the teens!!!! That’s exactly what Zac Johnson did! Not only did he catch a 10, but then minutes later proceeded to catch a massive 13lb 1oz post spawn SHE-BEAST!!!!! The pictures I took honestly don’t do this fish justice. She was an incredible 30 inches long and 20 inches in girth and this was post spawn!!!! Maybe the second or third longest bass I ever caught and if she had been full of roe and fat, and caught maybe a month or two earlier, may have been high 14 to low 15lbs! Zac and friend boated 31 beautiful bass in all. Next up had some of my Georgia guys Mickey, Andy and co. Well Andy was the star of the show! The boys boated 41 bass total topped by bass that went 7lbs 8oz, 8lbs 2oz, 9lbs 4oz, 9lbs 6oz, 9lbs 10oz and 10lbs 1oz!! With Andy getting 5 of the big ones. The 5 best went a very nice 46lbs 7oz! Next up we had the Puckett’s back and 2 of the 3 guys got their personal best! The boys caught 58 bass!! Topped by two double digits, with Scott getting his PB 10lber and Tim getting his PB 10lbs 6ozer!! Next we had Scott Rich and his son-in-laws Gareth and Mark! Had a fun trip with these guys getting 48 bass total to 8lbs, 8lbs, 9lbs and 10lbs 3oz! Henry McNatt made it in for another trip and he and his father boated 27 bass to 10lbs! Next we had Jesse Knight and crew in for a day’s fishing and the guys hammered them catching 40 bass to 8 & 10-1/2lbs! Next was Pat Cassidy and friend and they had a fun day catching 22 bass to 8-1/4lbs! Next day we had Ken Saveley in and he got 24 bass to 8lbs! Next up was the James White party and they boated 20 bass with an 8 and 8-1/4lber! Last but certainly not least we had new customer Rhett Parkerson in and it was one of the lower numbers day but he still boated a magnificent 9lber!!!! Now for some crazy stats!! My fiscal year (when my season starts and when it ends) is October until the end of September. Starting again on October 1st. So far this season (Oct. 2023 to April 4,2024) roughly 6 months I have personally done 169 guide trips and customers have boated 168 trophy bass (8+lbs)!!!! Pretty crazy numbers! We have put 36 double digit bass over the side of the boat!!! With 23 bass between 10-11lbs. 6 bass between 11-12lbs. 6 bass between 12-13lbs and one bass weighing 13lbs 1oz!!!!! Can’t wait to see how this year plays out, as we’re basically half way through my fiscal year with roughly 6 months to go. So many things pointing to it being an incredible year and will be curious to see if we can approach the incredible 2021 season where I had 70+ double digit fish! I believe this season has that kind of potential as we are now heading into a time that we really look forward to! All bass handled with care and released, weighed on a Boga Grip according to IGFA and TrophyCatch Florida standards and weights reportedly honestly. Now that crazy season is over I can stop sand bagging the reports and start sharing some more of these great memories a little more often!
BIG BASS SMASH FEST!!!! I scaled back the reports in the last month to try and stay under the radar. But man oh man what an absolute blast it has been since my last report about 3 weeks ago!!! While like everyone else, we have had days where we battled the elements, we persevered and it has truly been one of the funnest seasons in recent memory and an absolute trophy bass smash fest!! We have had scores of big bass over 10 pounds with a great deal of them between 11 and 12-1/4lbs!!!! The biggest since my last report is Jason Price’s 12lb 4oz HAWG that he boated on light tackle! The fishing went from 15-30 per day to a great deal of the trips producing 30-40 bass per day in the last week! With us being on the verge of another Full Moon, the next week should be exciting!
TOUGH WEATHER, PERSISTENCE, BIG BASS AND A WELCOME WARM UP! Guys I know I keep saying it, but never have I seen a more insane weather year! The changes are so rapid from warm, to cold to rainy that it’ll keep your head spinning. These poor fish literally don’t know what to do! Zoom in on picture 2 of this report. That was taken yesterday and as you can see the water temps yesterday at 9am had dipped into the 40’s ! THE 40’s!!!! Almost unheard of around here! All you can do is show up every day and grind away. The good news is that we have still slugged out good days in spite of this weather insanity! This week we’re due to see a much needed and appreciated warm up with temps even getting up to the mid-80’s in a few days and based on what I’m seeing I believe the fishing is poised to EXPLODE! Once the water temps jump into the 60’s look out! They are there and hungry! Both Rodman and Forest lakes are producing well! One trip that unquestionably stands out is first time customer Steven Michael whom we took to a Forest lake on one of these freezing days and he and a friend boated 44 bass topped by a behemoth 12 pound fish!! He also caught other bass weighed over 7 and 8lbs! Another trip I had customer Greg and Dale Stewart in for a few days. One of the days when it was super rough weather we decided to delay the start to 10am. We wanted to fish during the heat of the day to give ourselves the best shot and it was a good call! The cold outside didn’t bother the bass as Greg boated back to back 9lbers in the first hour or so of the trip! Topped that off with several other nice fish and a great 3 days! You just have to go out there with the dogged determination to work hard and do your best under these insane conditions and sometimes it can really pay off! Bring on this warm weather!!
I have NEVER in all my years of guiding and being on the water seen a more manic weather situation than is unfolding this Winter! The never ending fronts that roll in every couple of days, coupled with the amount of precipitation we are getting in what is supposed to be our dry season is just mind boggling! Yesterday it was warm and rained on us all day, today there is a freeze warning and again maybe tonight, Thursday is supposed to be decent, then Friday warm again and rainy, then Saturday and Sunday freezing again!! It’s just rinse and repeat every couple of days! I know this is an El Niño Winter but it’s absolute insanity!! These poor fish don’t know if they’re coming or going. The water temps have pretty much remained in the 50’s, which is cold by Florida standards and can’t even imagine what they’ll be now with these freeze warnings! Crazy thing is that the fish continue to bite right through all this madness and we continue to slug out good days in spite of it. The fish are beautiful, healthy and full of eggs. They just need a break from this weather!!!!! Trips on Rodman have produced 18-37 bass recently with lots of great fish to over 10lbs! I had Wes Cleaver and his dad in for a few days and they boated 37 the first day, 31 the next and on the final day we got poured on and ended up doing a short trip. But it was warm that day and the water temp jumped up to 63 degrees and the big girls bit well that day. They boated 22 that day but ended up with fish weighing 7lbs, 7-1/2lbs, 8-1/4lbs, 9lbs 10oz and 10lbs 2oz! Total of 90 bass in those three days with tons of good fish! Forest lakes have also been producing well with between 32 and 57 bass per day in this last stretch with some bass topping the 8lb mark. The fish are there, hungry, beautiful and fat and sasssy. They just neeed a freaking break in this weather!!!!
The magic is starting to happen, but man oh man this weather!! We’re getting into that time of year when the bass are full of eggs and are starting to look like gorilllas! But my goodness in all my years of fishing I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a crazier Winter weather pattern! We are in an El Niño weather pattern which is supposed to be cool and wet and man that couldn’t be more accurate! This is supposed to be our dry season!! The fish are there ready and willing to be caught, but it’ll go from being sunny and clear one day to storming with high winds and freezing the next. There is literally a new front that rolls over us every other day. These poor fish don’t know if they’re coming or going! We’ve battled cold, red water for the last few weeks with water temps in the mid and even low 50’s most of the time. But the good news is even through the cold and fluctuating water the fish are there, big and biting! When the water temps get in the 60’s the bite explodes!! The numbers caught has admittedly slowed from the 30-60 per day we were catching a few weeks back to more like 15-30, but the size has went way up! A good number of the fish pictured with this post were between 9-10lbs! I’ll trade numbers for big fish any day! Into this new year we go!!
