Why Florida should hire Texas Wildlife Management Consultants

I’ve traveled in the last 2 years all over the country and have had the pleasure of bass fishing some of the greatest fisheries in the world.

One of the treasured fisheries in all the country is Florida.  Millions of tourists flock to this state creating per the FWC a $5B economy just in fresh water fishing per year.  Fishing as a whole provides $13.7B to the state.

With these resources one would think Florida would have the absolute best of the best wildlife management in the country. That title no doubt goes to Texas, they should be absolutely applauded for their Share Lunker program which has created the worlds best bass fishery. Just last year during the Covid outbreak bass fishing has taken off in the strange cycles of weather patterns, Have produce some of the biggest bags that anglers have ever seen.

Most noted YouTube sensation Ben Milliken was caught on film fishing out of OH Ivie catching over 60 pounds for the best five fish in a single day. Including several 15 and 16 pound bass.

These kind of numbers are absolutely astounding. On the opposite of this is the state of Florida and just three years ago during the Bassmaster opener on the St. Johns River out of Palatka Florida, noted angler Rick Clunn won the event with over 100 pounds of fish in four days. His success was attributed to the vegetation around Lake George which is on the St. Johns River. One year later, all the vegetation has disappeared.

Anglers the very next year had trouble finding any sort of vegetation up and down the river.  
Florida wildlife management has decided to nuke the healthy Hydrilla grass that is so prevalent you having a successful bass fishery it has caused a downstream affect into lakes and tributaries Lake Okeechobee and others.

Just recently getting ready for a tournament at the Kissimmee Chain, once again Florida takes the nuke action on Lake Kissimmee which is causing the bass the scramble to find other cover. I’m not sure how you feel but if my house was completely stripped away there’s not much you can do, that’s how these bass feel and the anglers I’ve talk to you are very disappointed in the way Florida has managed their waters.

According to some Anglers and I’ve been here all their life it appears to me that the “Karens” also known as the forever demanding homeowners association‘s in Florida have a direct effect on the wildlife management process. Homeowners have been complaining about bass fisherman on their property or fishing near their docks, as well as the homeowners not being able to come in and out of their docs and piers.  

So the only option in their eyes is to get rid of all the grass, this is something Texas would absolutely never do. Florida needs to learn from what Texas is doing adopt the share lunker program and understand the true economy in the business that fishing brings to the state.  Florida is a great state but for bass fishing it doesn’t compare to what Texas is doing. Go hire their consultants.