O utd or S ort m an(scof ntinue on page 28) that the business genius HIenof mpahy orthe needy or ry Ford understood: If manuReporteven because of any poten- facturers don't pay enough
 R epo& tially greater administrative ef- for their employees to buy the
 By Rchad M ga fciecy bu inseadbecuse product they make, eventually
 By ichrd ugathey've been losing elections, the entire economy will grind to
 "If you look at the demograph- a halt.
 ics of the country," said this The same applies to our now
 EAT ii isPe chcrass GOP strategist, "Republi- service-oriented economy: If
 Col W e the isSpe kle Pe ch im e cans have a vested interest in a motel housekeeper can't afFreshwater fishers rejoice! getting more of these folks into ford to dream of ever taking her
 Speckled perchi, or crappies as the middle class because that family to spend the night in a
 they are commonly called, are helps get votes. What the party motel, the American Dream is
 presently ready for the pick~- has been missing are some cre- dying. And the way to solve
 ings. Speckled perch, or black ative ideas." that problem is not to subsidize
 crappie, are one of the favorite I11 agree with that. Also Marriott, but to pay adequate
 cool-weather targets for fresh- missing: a heart. And brains, wages and let the worker decide
 water anglers. at least enough to figure out how to spend her paycheck.
 Crappies spend much o f that poor people and stupid That is individual -choice; that
their time in the deeper waters people aren't 'necessarily the is personal freedom and per-'
of lakes and rivers feeding on Nsame. Rubio continued to dem- sonal responsibility, and those
small fish. However, as they onstrate his brainpower, saying are the attributes that we say
prepare to spawn during the that he was opposed to an in- we admire. As Jesus declared
cooler months of the year, they crease in the minimum wage long ago, "The laborer is worthy
move closer to inshore struc- because "raising the minimum of his hire."
tures. As the temperatures wage may poll well, but having
reach 62-65 degrees Fahren- Speckled perch, also known as crappies a job that pays $ 10 an hour is Finally, I was thrilled to use
heit, specks migrate to shal- bruhCutapoiae closLke(70arsnot the American Dream." Just the new Crosstown/l-4 link
 boroug County appoxiate toheoos Laeu5i05aces tell that to the millions who last week. I've wanted it since
loer inWargwe lneTheril ly six miles east of Brandon, 1 between Gainesville and Oca- work for less. Just see how the 1980s, when I routinely nhest winl lare oniers.teres, mile south of State Route 60 on la) many of them would decline a dropped. off my daughter for
inth wilned onal crustaesh Turkey Creek Road. The park, Lake Weir (5,685 acres, south wage hike because it doesn't Girl Scouts in Brandon, rushed inesets fannd smalses. wth maintained by the Hilisbor- Marion County) live up to their dream. to the completed parts of the
nhestis, anedb maes withgrve ough County Parks and Recre- Instead of raising the mini- Crosstown Expressway, hurthr tails, areom madeph vr orae ation Department, has facilities Lake Griffin (10,000 acres, Lake mum wage, our junior sena- nied through downtown streets or8 mueyotoms inap ets ofbt for fishing, boating, canoe rent- County) tor proposed "federal-wage to get to 1-4, and then went on
al-8 feet.he rappdshautu-e al, picnicking, camping, hiking, Lake Monroe (9,406 acres, near enhancement" for low-paying to the Westshore area for meetally gathe runplsd trutrees and swimming. The reservoir Sanford) jobs. In other words, don't give ings of the school board's Citisuc asbrsh ils, ea tres was impounded in 1970 and
and rocks. isvr oua, ihapoi West Lake Tohopekaliga the money to the worker, but zen Advisory Committee at JefLih-t-ltaitger is vaery ope-uare w ith aproi-i (880ars ot ftect rather to his boss. Use federal ferson High School. I so wished
ligtht-to-ncestrayto geac is mt1 n-ure ilo (18,810sacressuhof)ect tax dollars to subsidize the al- for a link from one high-speed
 alltht i ncesar tocach tors annually. Medard Reser- oKiime)ready rich corporation that un- road to the other and now,
these feisty scrappers. Bright, voir is a fertile and productive Lake Kssimmee (34,976 acres, derpays its employees. Most much later, we finally have it. 1/ 16-oz.- 1/S-oz. jig or Hal- impoundment with extensive, east of the city of Lake Wales) of these companies hire part- The road also will be a great
thescs lrue itoes Ditoneur irregu lare hreie Bottomr Lake Marian (5,742 acres, timers to avoid paying benefits, boon to Thor, zas cargo tr-ucks the Mscsre minosor Drift- conturs ofll thk are averyair Osceola County, east of Lake but even if someone works 40 going to the port no lrwj~r will sig beo lawihaKsime hours a week at the current roar down its historic streets.shipblwafot iha depth of 9 feet and maximum fdrlmnmmwg f$.5 Pes eebr ota
#4 hook and small split shot, depth of 33 feet. Kissimmee Mosaic Fish Management Area feder minimurmae o k 7.25 Pleasremember, too, hato are good tools to locate them. gasburh(ugywi), (1,000 acres, southern Polk anhortehadmhwrk tiscnruinwsprtf
Depth is important as crappies and cattail are the predomi- County) ou toar $20awedr$500 tesigfeda tiulus packag te
gather at the same level on the nant vegetation. Sunshine bass Tenoroc Fish Management a h y napbear dotmi ecrsgeh opulu u of thewhnDb a
water column, so experiment (striper hybrids) are stocked Area (8,300 acres, Polk County) is thet inescpae bsotto lie prashdnt of a '08ewenrDubypewas until you find the school. Once on a regular basis and chan- at, fo fdepiteag Rubi'sapopo- present nuThato eelp spenlocated, the boat can be main- nel catfish are very audn. Lake Weohyakapka (Walk-in- fort, "fedreral-wuaeanhace ingas continue to hel Tam-ese
tained at the productive site The many ledges abndbart Water) (7,800 acres, east of en herestofos iaedquca 's gecoinom -trandrato addeeds
 unti thy sop ibbing (Rts)witin he ainbod of Lak Waes)wages. A recent study of the -- on 1-275. And why shouldn't
 Specks are some of the best- the reservoir are productive for Lake Arbuckle (3,800 acres, fast food industry showed that we help ourselves to this montasting freshwater fish around all species, but key in on the east of Frostproof) McDonald's costs us almost ey? After all, a large portion of
these parts. While not large shoreline grass for largemouth Lake Marion (2,990 acres, east $1.3 billion in public assistance it comes from the visitors who fish, some can get up into the bass in winter and spring. For of Homnes City) to its underpaid workers, with clog our roads. We owe it to
2-pound class. The state record safety purposes, due to the the smallest such amount be- ourselves to invest in our future
stands at 3.83 pounds convoluted nature of the reser- Lake Istokpoga (28,000 acres, n $125 million to employees and theirs.
 No matter the size, once fil- voir, there is a no wake restric- near Sebring) oing eCeas.B h. uulig14
leted and skinned they are best tion (idle speed only) on boats. Lake Trafford (1,500 acres, And that says nothing about was a big factor in ending povserved lightly floured with salt For more information, contact southeast of Fort Myers, in in- the uncollected revenue that erty in the Ozarks. And the and pepper added to the mix. the FWC Southwest Regional mokalee) these workers would put into federal Army Corps of EngiJoined with a batch of hush Office at 863-648-3200.. Limits for crappie are set at the treasury if they were mak- neers constructed a series of
puppies and grits, crappie fil Your FWC services provide a generous 25 fish with no size ing enough money to pay taxes. dams that made the Arkansas lets are hard to beat. a list of some of Florida's best limit, unless otherwise speci- And the products they would River navigable. Like the WPA
 Crappies longer than 14 places to catch speck. They in- fled. buy from if they could afford money in the 1930s that built
inches* or heavier than 2 dlude: Start your year on a positive them. We so desperately need our treasured Bayshore, the
pounds qualif for a Big Catch Lake Taiquin (8,800-acre reser- note. Catch a mess of specks. to re-learn the lesson of the world's longest sidewalk, these angler-recognition certificate. voir, west of Tallahassee) BE A GOOD SPORT! Roaring Twenties, the lesson programs work.
Look at the FWC site (www.
BigCatchFlorida.com). Youth
under 16 years of age can participate with an entry longer
than 10 inches or heavier than
1.5 pounds. Easy registration
makes people eligible for both Tim e For A Hom e
Big Catch and Trophy Catch,
which rewards anglers forMo t a e
catching, documenting and releasing black crappies 14 inch-W
es or 2 pounds, largemouth Wehryuaeedytbyuido
bass heavier than 8 pounds Wehryuaerayt ubido
and other species. Registration refinance, this could be a good time to consider
will provide entry into a draw- .-,v.ahoemrge.Tedcsncncmewt
ing to take place in October, uncoeany no winage hat meisortgagoe roram
2014, for a Phoenix bass boatunetit.Kongwamrggepgas powered by Mercury. are available and having a trusted partner can
 In Hillsborough County, set you on the right path.
specks can be found at Edward Medard Park. Formerly Wer eet el.Cl Smria (tdyt
known as Pleasant Grove Res-WerheethepCalU meinktdyo
ervoir, this 770-acre reclaimed get the information yOUl need with a partnership
phosphate mine within Edward Uyou can rely on.
Medard Park is located in HillsNOTICEF OF SqALE