Its Official – Moving to Florida

Just got approval on the house we wanted to lease. We’ll be heading down next Friday. I am not sure if I am excited or scared death. This is literally a big move for Michelle and I.

Should be excited, they got some big ol bucketmouths down there, and we all know how easy is it to catch bass so you should have no problems.

Awesome, Mike! That is exciting. Where in FL? Think of all those invasives that you’ll be able to catch!

Get ready for the heat and humidity Pug, its a complete change from up north here. All those exotic species include the Burmese pythons they have there that grow too 16′, not afraid of snakes but watch your pets in your backyard. Keep intouch and let us know what the fishing is like there, either fresh or salt water and be careful of the venimous snakes when by any water at all.

Your ugly mug will be missed up here. But I heard the internets is now spreading through FL.

Looking forward to seeing some empty Florida stringers big guy!

Lake Mary, just north of Orlando.

Ryan, I think I just posted it on Facebook, not here, but our friends condo had this tiny pond out front. I saw Red Breasted sunfish, some small bass and plecostomuses! I counted at least 8 plecos and the they looked like they were eating the eggs in the red breasted sunfish nests (they must spawn multiple times every year). They were all pretty big too, well over 12 inches.

I also saw a school of a couple dozen fish mouthing the surface. I couldn’t ID them, but I assumed they were tilapia or similar fish.

Nick, I am excited about the bass fishing. Living in Florida and fishing for the Florida strain is a dream come true.

I am a little intimidated about ocean fishing. I have a lot to learn. I am not a big on ocean fishing, but when in Rome. The nice thing is that they have a lot of inshore salt water, which I think is a little less intimidating.

The fish I am most excited to target for the first time is Cobia. I may be a conservationist at heart, but I will be keeping many of these delicious fish if I get the chance. From what I have read so far though, without going out with a guide/charter, my best chance is a pier, and even then they are not easy to find, since I believe they are mostly found off shore. I’m going to need a cheap surf set up to start surf fishing.

The FWC has a lot of information, but there isn’t a lot of specific information. The forums I have seen are not as good as IDO either.

Think about all the close friends you’re going to find out about next January when it’s 48 below zero up here and snowing for the 19th consecutive day.

Oh, and figure out where we can do some Tarpon fishing old buddy old pal old friend of mine

Good luck to you guys and stay in touch.

Mossy, you left out alligators!

I love the humidity. We were down there 2 weekends ago. The python problem is mostly south and east of Orlando with some pockets here and there. I am more concerned with the other 4 poisonous snakes. But we will be living in a suburb, so I am not that concerned unless we go to a park. However, that being said, it will probably take some time before I fully trust letting the dogs out unsupervised. I tend to be a bit irrational with some fears, so I will wager I’ll be checking all the corners and stuff in the fenced in yard for a while.

I was hoping whatever house we got would have a healthy population of anoles, the little green lizards. My wish has been granted. I knew they were common, but I didn’t know how common. They are literally like grasshoppers down there now. This softy is going to have to get used to finding some in the mulch when I mow the lawn.

Bummer to hear. Good luck. I know the area. My parents live next door in Orange City. I have spent a fair amount of time in Florida including living in Ormond Beach for a year.

Steve Root wrote:

Think about all the close friends you’re going to find out about next January when it’s 48 below zero up here and snowing for the 19th consecutive day.

I plan on watching the weather up hear and posting some jabs this winter such as, just got done mowing the lawn, how the driveway look up there?

So far my oldest brother is already planning on coming down and my sister and brother-in-law are supposed to get a timeshare this winter from someone he worked with. We’ll see about the rest of the family. We got a 4 bedroom just so we would have a spare room for visitors.

I will definitely extend an open invitation to any IDO member that is heading to Florida. Being in Central Florida, we are not to far away from any of the vacation destinations, except the keys/Miami which is about 4 hours.

Here is one guy I would recommend for a trip down that way. Fred likes to go after trophy fish. Great guy for teaching about the fish. Little heavy on the french accent but that just adds to the trip. Fred put me on some very big red fish. 30# plus size.

http://fishing-guy.com/

Couldnt find my picture with him so just grabbed this one off his facebook page.

Good luck on your move.

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So does this mean you’ll be a Florida Panthers fanatic, Living in Florida is fine,
but I still can’t wrap my arms around southern Hockey.

No, I’ll have season tickets to Minnesota Wild games…one in Miami, one in Tampa. I’ll still follow the Wild. I plan on getting the Center Ice package.

Mike, Daytona/New Smyrna is about 45 minutes from the house. We visited it when we were down there. Saw people catching sea trout in Manatee Bay. We also saw dolphins schooling and attacking schools of fish and manatees. Pretty cool.

My cousin actually used to guide down there for Cobia. Unfortunately, I can’t ask him for advice because has serious complications from an illness.

Pug, congrats on the move and hope it all goes well. Hopefully you can find a tropical weight Wild sweater for down there…

Don’t worry too much about all that stuff that can sting, bite, mangle, or eat you down there. Most of those things are more scared of you than you are of them. With the exception of the snakes, alligators, panthers, sharks, barracudas, and the giant jellyfish, obviously, but other stuff like the spotted tree newts are really timid and only kill people occasionally.

Best of luck.

Grouse

Pug

Wanted to warn you that I was reading a fishing forum for down there and saw guy who kept talking about spam-iches and catching Walking Catfish. Make sure to avoid him goes by the initials BBK. Seems very familiar, HMMMM…

So does that mean a half off sale at the Pug house for ice fishing gear? I could use a new auger.

realtreeap10 wrote:

Make sure to avoid him goes by the initials BBK.

Not to go off subject but whatever happened to the poster formerly known as Bbk?

It’s already kind of half off. Did you see the post?

nhamm wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>realtreeap10 wrote:</div>
Make sure to avoid him goes by the initials BBK.

Not to go off subject but whatever happened to the poster formerly known as Bbk?

I believe he hasn’t returned, Unless he registered as a new user under a different name

Pug
You’re a class guy. Good luck in Florida.

I moved my wife and 3 kids to Naples on the Gulf side of Florida 10 years ago. Yes, we moved back but I have great memories and friends down there. I absolutely HATE Minnesota winters and miss the Gulf of Mexico – the new exit strategy is a place here and a place there. Oh yes, 6 months and 1 day down there to avoid state taxation…

Best of luck, there is some very good fishing in Florida – both fresh and salt water. You have to change and adapt for sure but that’s part of the fun. Tarpon, Redfish and Snook get the big billing in the spring/summer in the saltwater but Tripletail in the peak of winter is now a favorite when I visit. Largemouth – um, yeah I hear some place named Okeechobee is pretty good Have fun…

Good luck Pug. Just remember when you are fishing saltwater all those fish have nasty teeth but a jig and plastic still catch a lot of fish. I don’t think I could handle the heat and humidity but I have a lot of family down there that I only visit in the winter months

Good luck

Load up on those RipTide Mullets!

Dave Ansell wrote:

Good luck Pug. Just remember when you are fishing saltwater all those fish have nasty teeth but a jig and plastic still catch a lot of fish.

…and stay in your seat when the boat is moving.

Good luck!

-J

Good luck too you in your new endeavors. Can I suggest your new handle as flpug or sunpug.

I will always be mplspug. Except now it will be truly pronounced MipplesPug, as opposed to Minneapolis pug.

Congratulations !
So when are you and Michelle going to become cousins ?

When you let the dogs out to pee just disguise them, they will blend into their surroundings….

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desperado wrote:

Congratulations !
So when are you and Michelle going to become cousins ?

Its Florida. Not Alabama or the Appalachian mountains or Wisconsin.

Surprised no one has brought up the real danger in Florida….fire ants! Well danger might be a bit over the top, but their attacks can be real bad and thy are truly everywhere including residential areas.

Then there are the omnipresent cockroaches.