Inside the Third Base Luncheonette - "the next-best place to home," says the menu - noon-time regulars searched for a spot at the 20-stool counter. They lined up for the rapidly constructed cold-cut hoagies, the house specialty with extra hot pepper spread. ...more

September 7, 2008

Because of the Florida afternoon summertime heat, the real-time best week for fishing is during the week of the First Quarter Moon phase. This week the very early morning bite turns on in a huge way for two reasons, the day before hard rains caused a variety of foods to be washed into the lake, and little by little the lake levels rise which causes fish to move to vegetation it could not access previously. The best time to be on the lake is from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. with the peak time at 8:30-9:00 a.m.. Depending on the weather factor during the morning, this peak could be extended to near noon time. ...more

July 6, 2008

A 3:44 a.m. new moon today produces a noon-time bite and your best chances of hooking into that trophy bass or filling your limit of crappie. All the moon events occur this month between the hours of 2 and 4 a.m., meaning the largest daily feeding migration happens at that time. The best we can hope for is that some of the largest fish in the lake feed again from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or the weather favorably influences the fish enough to either hold off feeding during the night or feed heavily during a daytime falling barometer. ...more

February 7, 2008

TAMPA - On his lunch break Friday, Rob Lowry crouched by a small beagle and pointed the camera of his cell phone. The photo was on its way to his wife as Lowry pondered taking the dog home to join the family's dachshund. It didn't sound like his wife would be a hard sell. "If she sees a dog, she'll want it," he said. "If she was here, we'd already have three." ...more

January 18, 2008