12 ounces of fury

This is from my Florida Everglades fishing trip last week.
I will attempt to provide a link to a video I shot of my buddy fighting an Oscar to give some perspective on why they are called "Turbo Bream". The video is short, 26 seconds, but you can appreciate the strength of the fish. He is using a 10' B&M BCJP with 10# mono.
Hope this works:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/photos/?si...fe861e80d67baf

If you had not known ahead of time what he had on the line, what would you have guessed? Probably not a 12 ounce panfish (of sorts).

great video Ray...got to put that trip on my bucket list...

Great video . Ray is that salt water or swamp water?
Never heard of an Oscar before you mentioned them a few years ago

It is fresh water Grady. These are canals that the Corp of Engineers and DNR dug through out the Everglades for flood control and, unfortunately, for commercial development.
They are beautiful fish from South America, brought here for aquariums but they get too big and people dumped them in the canals and the rest is history. They turn sideways and flash a brilliant red in the water when hooked. They have small needle point teeth, so no lipping them. Here is a close up of one I caught on a Rooty Tooty 309. They also slam a rooster tail but it is hard to get the treble hooks out of an extremely hard mouth.

Attachment 235232

Nice, I never saw one before this.

Them is some bad boys there. Thanks Ray. Looks like a ton of good times right there.

Ray, is it hard to locate them or are they everywhere in those canals? PM me some info about them because when I do retire in a few more years I DEFINITELY want to make a trip there to go fishing. Thanks for that video. It sorta set me on fire there for a minute but I know it's not possible right now for me to go there to catch some of them rod benders.:)

I agree Butch, that is a trip I have to take some day.

do they all have writing on um I see #80 on that one and some Chinese writing above that :biggrin
glad yall had a good time Ray I hope to make that trip someday also.

Man o man Ray!! What I already thought might be a bucket list adventure just became a definite bucket list adventure!!! I'm with Butch, I'd like some details of you don't mind PMing them. It'll be years, if not decades, before I can make that trip but that looks like a lot fun!!


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how do they fry up?

I've never caught one, but Tommy talks of catching them and it has me wanting to give it a try at least once. Like you, he states they are a handful once the hook is set. Thanks for sharing Ray.

My uncle told me about how much fun they were to catch. I see why now.

Nice video. That looks like a ton of fun!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by have-a-crappie-day

how do they fry up?

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They are very good. Taste is similar to bluegill. I fillet mine, but some of the guys clean the small ones whole. Both ways are pretty good.

Guys, no secrets as far as information, we stay at Roland Martin Marina on Lake Okeechobee. The resort caters to fishermen and has adequate parking for boats and plenty of electrical outlets for charging your batteries. They have a really nice cleaning station out on the docks for guests at the resort to use. They dispose of the carcasses so you don't have to deal with that. Most of the parties down there are targeting bass with some crappie fishermen. My group started out as a Bream fishing trip in the lake and we spend at least on day doing that, but got spoiled by the Oscars.
The draw back to staying here is an hour drive down to the everglades each day. Their is a ramp for the lake right at the marina, but the everglades are further down and there are not many accommodations closer.
Hwy 27 runs south out of Clewiston (where we are) and crosses I75. We get on I75 and head north to the 2nd recreation exit. (Yes, the exits have boat ramps at them)
Once you launch, pick a canal and start dropping crickets around the lily pads and hold on. We go through 5000 crickets in a week. Yep, 5 boxes of the dudes. After catching so many I started using artificial lures and had a ball. You won't get one every cast but regular enough to keep you going. I found they absolutely slammed a 1/16 oz Rooster Tail. Just about take the rod out of your hands. They will hit jigs too and I had a ball last year using a fly rod, but a fly does not last long with them. The treble hooks on the Rooster Tail take a beating too.
There are 6 of us, we get two condos which have 2 bedrooms one with twin beds, 2 bathrooms and kitchen, LR etc. Also have a washer and dryer in them.
We cook all our meals there. We have a simple breakfast and fix sandwiches from last meal and then cook a big meal at night. The cost per person this year for us was $465 each which paid for room and meals and the 5000 crickets. Gas is the biggest other expense, 10 day license is $30.
PM me is you have specific questions about the trip. It is around 540 miles for us in Lexington area going down I95.

I would love to get into a bunch of those, wow- great report.

Ray, thanks for the info. That doesnt sound bad at all other than that loooooooooooooong ride home. It's DEFINITELY something I want to do after I retire. I think me and the wife can make an extended vacation out of a trip to the glades. I'm guessing a fiberglass boat like mine can motor in the canals safely? Thx.

OK...saved the info for a few years later. Thanks.:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gabowman

Ray, thanks for the info. That doesnt sound bad at all other than that loooooooooooooong ride home. It's DEFINITELY something I want to do after I retire. I think me and the wife can make an extended vacation out of a trip to the glades. I'm guessing a fiberglass boat like mine can motor in the canals safely? Thx.

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No problem with the boat. Canals are about 15 to 20 feet deep and no logs or stumps to worry about.
On a side note, when I found my stick steer boat last year, I realized you don't see that many around anymore. There was a group of guys from Alabama down there and I think I counted 6 of the 8 boats they had were stick steer. They had two of the Royal fiberglass ones that are made in Alabama. They are the Cadillac of stick steer boats. First ones I had seen in person.

Great video. I'd love to go down there someday too.
Thanks for sharing. Glad yall had a good time.

My dad used to have a 150 gal aquarium when I was growing up. He changed over to all oscars at one point. I would drop crickets, worms, minnows, or any bait I brought back from a fishing trip in there to watch them cut up. He bought them small for about $8 a fish. But a large one like that would cost you $50 at the tropical fish store.