Its Official – Moving to Florida

Being near Orlando, you’ve got some phenomenal saltwater options on both the gulf and ocean-sides. A few years ago we hired Capt. Jim Ross to fish us through the Banana River/Mosquito Lagoon area near Cocoa Beach. Though the fish weren’t ultra-cooperative that day, a day in the boat with a good guide out there like Jim would really shorten the learning curve. He was pretty forthright about how he fished different portions of that system according to weather, time of year, migrations of fish, and spawn cycles. Lots of moving parts with the saltwater gig, but there’s usually some species going most times. Not to mention, they eat better than bass!

Good luck with the move, and start scouting turkeys. Florida is home to the Osceola (a.k.a. – last leg of my grand slam!).

Joel

What the? I had no idea there were sub species of North American Turkeys.

Salt water fishing from the shore seems quite intimidating. It’ll probably be a while before I purchase a surf rod. I’d probably look like a tourist with my cat rods on a pier. I think I’ll ease myself in with a little intercoastal waterway fishing.

At some point I will probably do some sort of deep sea or charter trip on the ocean. But initially I am going to familiarize myself with some freshwater fishing.

Part of the plan is to get a boat by the end of next summer.

The bulkhead is in place. What a pain in the dupa. I keep telling myself the unload will go easier, because packing it in you have to plan on where to put things. However I won’t have the helpful hands of my family. We do have friends though, but one of them has medical issues, so I am not going to put him in a position that jeopardizes his health. I hope he isn’t stubborn about it. I just have to remind him that I need him healthy so we can be “gone fish’in” as he says. Should be pretty fun taking him too, since he claims he has only caught 1 fish in his life! I might be able to better that…maybe.

Thanks again to everyone for the well wishes.

Good luck on your new adventure.

I made a large move like that once upon a time, albeit not south. It was exciting at first, but as the months and years went by, we missed friends and family being close. Ultimately, we missed the “little things” you take for granted living in your home state. We moved back home, no regrets.

mplspug wrote:

I just have to remind him that I need him healthy so we can be “gone fish’in” as he says. Should be pretty fun taking him too, since he claims he has only caught 1 fish in his life! I might be able to better that…maybe.

Thanks again to everyone for the well wishes.

Sounds like you both have something in common

He might be better off if Michelle Takes him Fishing.

I’ll definitely miss family and friends. I’ve accepted that. As I have mentioned before I have lead a sheltered life as far as just going other places. And as a youth when I visited my brother in Jacksonville I fell in love with the place.

We have a large enough place to accommodate friends and family if they choose to come down. I hope that is enough incentive to see most of them once a year. However I have a nephew in AK, a niece who lived in HI along with cousins. I just kind of feel like it is my turn, you know, before it is really my turn.

The long term plan, God willing, is to retire down there and buy a lake home in Minnesota so we can split our time in the future. Man, if I could just come up with the next great app or website.

Dutchboy wrote:

If you need a place to leave / park the truck for a while get in touch with me. I have room in the back in a fenced area. BK has my cell number.

Good luck with the new adventure!

Again thanks for the offer Brian. My brother and I figured something out. He’s going to park it at a neighbors until the excavation is done.

In my previous posts, I include IDO members, both the ones I have met in person and those I have not, as friends. But just like family I will be in touch, in fact to most of you it will be like I never left. I apologize for that in advance.

If anyone plans on coming down and are interested in intel or maybe a lesson in pier fishing or whatever, let me know. I’ll probably have befriended someone down there who I can hook you up with. To clarify though, room and board is only for close friend…

Pug,

Congrats on the move! Florida is AWESOME fishing! I normally get down each year for a week during the middle of October or the first part of June for a family vacation along the Gulf coast. Our usual spot is Sanibel Island near Fort Myers. My experience with surf fishing is this. DO NOT HESITATE! lol

The worst thing you would have to worry about is if you do any night fishing and that isn’t too common unless, like me, you target sharks. (yes I admit I am that crazy) The Spanish Mackerel, Ladyfish, Snook and Jack Crevalle will keep any surf fishermen busy most days. Bright colored and shiny lures or a basic slip-sinker rig with shrimp or bait fish will work for ya. Common bait fish around there are numerous, and can be caught with cast nets from shore at early morning or late evening as the sun is on the horizon. Also, most of the fish you can legally keep are allowed as bait, though saltwater game fish may count against your daily limit. Similar to catfishing I suppose.

My recommended tackle is no lighter than a MH spinning outfit with at least 20-30lb MONO line. Braid will get torn to shreds on the sand, shells and rocks. Also clear mono is a good idea as bright colors attract Spanish Mackerel which will bite off the line quite often. Circle hooks from 1/0 and up are all I use depending on the size of fish I am after. I have plans to order some 18/0 and 20/0 circle hooks for shark fishing in the near future.

If you are after Cobia, yes a pier is a good spot to start. They are not the most commonly caught fish in that kind of spot, but there is occasional windows of time where certain locations can have a hot bite, so do some internet searching. One thing to do is check the local Craigslist posts for fishing gear. Used gear is not uncommon and usually kept in decent shape, but check it as salt and sand are a NIGHTMARE on reels, I just tore apart and rebuilt my Penn Senator 9/0 and three days with liberal fresh water rinsing had it still full of salt and sand. A Penn Senator 4/0 or 6/0 would be ideal to go after the Cobia, as would a large spinning outfit, they are powerful fish and an Abu Garcia 6500 C3 is considered tiny for the ocean.

I can try to upload some pictures of my catches off the beaches of Sanibel, but my last trip there didn’t result in many sharks, mostly Jacks, Ladyfish and Mackerel. Oh and if you get a chance, hit up local bait shops, they will give you the advice for the area and most only carry what has been proven to work very well for their immediate area. On Sanibel, my choice is Whitney’s Bait and Tackle.

Have a good time down there, maybe I will try to head down and escape the hard water this winter if I get the chance!

Dang – I enjoyed your perspective on the Wild…

Best of luck! Nice to see people still chase their dreams! Kurt

Wow, thanks for the information riverbank!

Don’t worry Kurt, I’m getting the center ice package and I am a lifetime member here.

PS Tuffy is going to enjoy his retirement here. He lays in the sun a lot outside. He loves the heat which is crazy.

The other dogs, despite thick coats seem to be adjusting well too.

Also our cat who rarely goes outside has been hanging out on the porch.

If you are in the central florida are be sure to get some bass fishing done at Lake Toho. A great lake for some trophy bass. Some great inshore fishing as well on the coasts if you are targeting red fish

If I help out today I have been given the green light to check out some lakes tomorrow. Its actually been so crazy I haven’t given it any thought yet. I’ll probably go chat it up with a local bait store or two before I do any pond scouting.

The one small lake by my house may only be accessible from the east tip along the walking trail. I am begining to wonder if many of the ponds and small lakes I see on the google maps are in accessible because the are surrounded by gated communities and private houses.

In any event, here’s a couple more pictures.

The slugs are big and look different down here. They are adapted to the point where apparently they don’t have to hide under rocks during the day and can expose themselves in the shade. Their slime is hard to get off your fingers. Kind of like when you get rubbery caulk on your fingers.

The tree frogs are a bit bigger too. This guy has made the front window frame his home. He’s gone at night and comes back to sleep in the exact same spot each morning.

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Forgot to mention rats. Of all the things you guys warned me about, not a peep about rats. Apparently the fruit trees in the neighborhood attract them. They aren’t in the house or anything. They scurry down the middle horizontal brace on our fence at dusk. The neighbor says he has traps but hasn’t had a problem since he has 4 dogs now.

Nothing beats a hall pass. Enjoy your free time.

I’d rather wait until everything’s is in its place. I don’t have problems with hall passes unless I am slacking on my chores.

a gator in the back yard would probly keep the rats away

Please change the title of the thread to…

Im taking my talents to south beach…..:-)

did the neighbor ever mention finding one of these in his traps ?

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mplspug wrote:

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.

That’s awesome. Congrats. We are very jealous and may see you down there in a few years.

My dad loves those bucket mouths down there, but that’s of no interest to me. You won’t have the best saltwater fishing on the Atlantic side, but you still have salt water fishing. The gulf side will be a bit of a drive for ya, but well worth it. Either way, I’m still jealous.

However on the Atlantic side you’ll have access to Dorado fishing (the best tasting fish on the planet). That’s awesome!

Our plan is NE of Tampa. Trinity/Clearwater area.

We’ll leave a light on for you.

I’m not big on saltwater fishing, at least I wasn’t, but I kind of am feeling it now. Strangely, it seems like there may be more public fishing opportunities there.

Took a walk down the path this morning and checked out the local ponds. I sure hope we are part of the crossings subdivision or I may get arrested.

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Neighbor Joe says yeah we can fish the lakes. I’m still not convinced. Its the master part. Apparently Crossing Master residents pay two HOA fees. However I’ll take my chances at some point. Still haven’t gotten a license or put the poles together. I’m visiting Bitters Bait Shop first for some Intel.

Aside from that, we are pretty much settled in. Being a nature boy just expiring the backyard has been interesting. I can’t wait to get out to some state, federal and local parks.

Yesterday we got hit with our first torrential rainfall. Now we know why there are drains in out backyard and no basements. And the lightning was wicked. We also no why the storm drains in the street are so large.

It is a lot more exciting now we have moved into the house.

Sorry if I am boring you, but I have to ” talk” to someone. The ladies are tired of the lizard talk.

Visited the south end of lake Greenwood. Its in the shape of a Y. Lots of turtles including what I think are red ear and softshells. I thought I spotted a baby gator, but after seeing the softshells I think it was a softshell. Those turtles in the picture are about twice the size of painted turtles, if not more. I even saved one crossing the road.

The lake sure looks bassy.

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One thing cool down here is they have a weekly 1 1/2 hour fishing report show. It only talks about saltwater fishing though, at least the 2 that I have watched. They cover 9 regions and talk to boat captains on the phone. They don’t just talk about off-shore fishing though, they do cover in-shore and bank/surf/pier fishing.

FIFR

Glad to see the move is working out for you.

I just have one thing to take care of. I hope to announcement that soon, then I can start actually posting about fishing instead of lizards.

Florida. The gift that keeps on giving to this nature boy. Talked this guy into a photo on our fence.

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Well it seems no matter where they are located, they are still butt ugly.

Get to fishing already jeez! We want to see some FL bucket mouths on the bottom of our pages.

I’m close to landing a gig and then I can lift the moratorium on fishing. Business before pleasure.

mplspug wrote:

Florida. The gift that keeps on giving to this nature boy. Talked this guy into a photo on our fence.

You didn’t need to move to FL to find opossums!