Lake George

Closest Town:  Georgetown, Florida

Lake Size:  46,000 Acres

Lake Notes:  Specializing in Largemouth Bass, Bluegill and Shellcracker.  Connects to St. Johns River.  Average lake depth of 10 ft.  Lake George has extensive vegetation that provides excellent habitat for bass. Wade fishing in eelgrass with plastic worms fished on the surface, and other top water artificial lures, is productive. Fishing with live shiners is an excellent method for catching trophy bass during the spring spawning season.  Hot spots on the lake include Juniper, Salt and Silver Glen spring runs on the western shoreline. In winter and early spring, look for bass to congregate at the jetties on the south end of the lake. Casting deep-diving crankbaits near old dock structures along the northeast shore and off Drayton Island can also be productive.

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Lake Toho

Closest Town:  Kissimmee, Florida

Lake Size:  18,810 Acres

Lake Notes:  Specializing in Largemouth Bass, Bluegill and Shellcracker.  Known for producing large amounts of Trophy size bass.  Most anglers targeting trophy bass use live golden shiners during early spring.  Shiners are fished inshore near native vegetation or topped-out hydrilla .  Plastic baits (worms, crawfish and lizards) flipped along grass edges, hydrilla, and bulrush will also catch quality-sized bass. Spinnerbaits, soft jerkbaits and chugging baits can also be very productive at times.  Both Texas-rigged and Carolina-rigged plastic worms, and rattling crankbaits, top the list of favorite lures during warmer months of the year.  North Steer Beach, Brown’s Point and Goblet’s Cove are popular fishing spots on the lake.  Fishing in Shingle Creek and St. Cloud Canal can be outstanding when flow is present through these tributaries.  Eight, man-made fish attractors hold good concentrations of fish in deeper areas of the lake during the summer.  Part of the Kissimmee Chain of lakes.

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Lake Kissimmee

Closest Town:  Kissimmee, Florida

Lake Size:  34,948 Acres

Lake Notes:  Specializing in Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Black Crappie and Shellcracker.  Expansive stands of native aquatic grasses at Philadelphia Point, North Cove and Brahma Island provide anglers with cover to flip plastic baits or slow-troll golden shiners for spawning bass during the winter and spring.  Rattling crankbaits, soft jerkbaits and Texas- or Carolina-rigged plastic worms fished in open-water or along edges of vegetation are productive during summer and fall.  Fly fishermen have good success wade fishing along the miles of shoreline on Lake Kissimmee.

 

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Lake Tarpon

Closest Town:  Tarpon Springs, Florida

Lake Size:  2,534 Acres

Lake Notes:  Specializing in Largemouth Bass, Bluegill and Black Crappie.  Blue Tilapia, Catfish and Sunfish also caught.  Lake Tarpon is regarded as one of the foremost sport fishing lakes in Florida.  Anglers are most successful flipping or pitching plastic worms along canal and bulrush edges. Offshore bass fishing is productive for anglers who fish around ledges, humps, coontail, and eelgrass beds. Popular lures offshore include shad-imitating jigs, crankbaits, jerkbaits and topwater baits. Fishing with wild shiners and live shad is also effective.

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Lake Walk In Water

Closest Town:  Alcoma, Florida

Lake Size:  7,532 Acres

Lake Notes:  Specializing in Largemouth Bass, Bluegill and Black Crappie.  National reputation as an outstanding spot to catch largemouth bass.  The lake also produces many trophy bass exceeding 10 pounds each year. A 15- to 24-inch slot limit regulation and a three-bass daily bag limit are in place to help maintain quality bass fishing.  Anglers may keep three bass per day, either under or over the protected slot range, of which only one bass greater than or equal to 24 inches is allowed.  Typically, the best technique to catch trophy bass is to drift live wild shiners over hydrilla weed beds in the northern half of the lake.  Soft jerkbaits, lipless rattling crankbaits, and plastic worms also produce bass in areas of offshore hydrilla.  Angling techniques may have to be altered during 2005 because the 2004 hurricanes temporarily cleared most of the hydrilla from the lake.  Pitching live wild shiners and flipping soft plastic baits in the bulrush (“buggy whips” or “round rush”) and cattails in the northern and eastern areas of the lake has been successful.  Spinnerbaits should also produce bass in the bulrush and cattail stands.  Bass were concentrated in these areas during the fall.  Remaining hydrilla beds in the cove south of the boat landing will hold good numbers of fish as well.  Topwater lures are also productive, particularly chuggers or the walk-the-dog types of baits.  Although topwater baits catch fish throughout the year, summer months offer the best action when schools of bass roam deep-water areas.  Bass should become less concentrated on the shoreline as off shore hydrilla beds grow back through the summer.

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Deer Point Lake

Closest Town:  Panama City, Florida

Lake Size:  5,000 Acres

Lake Notes:  Specializing in Largemouth Bass, Bream and Shellcracker.  Deer Point lake is best known for its shellcracker fishing during the spring using earthworms as live bait.  Although largemouth bass fishing typically slows down during the winter months in Deer Point Lake, it picks up again in mid-February and March, and becomes red hot in April and May.  Anglers unfamiliar with Deer Point Lake should try fishing for largemouth bass in the old creek channels of Bear, Cedar, and Econfina creeks with plastic worms, diving crankbaits or rattletraps. Bayou George and the flats area at the confluence of Bayou George and Deer Point Lake are also popular largemouth spots. Also, try targeting docks and boathouses along the creek channels and at the mouth of Bayou George. Anglers should exercise extreme caution during boat operation due to the tremendous amount of flooded cypress stumps and snags found in the lake.  Connects to Gulf of Mexico.

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Lake Okeechobee

Closest Town:  Okeechobee, Florida

Lake Size:  448,000 Acres

Lake Notes:  Specializing in Largemouth Bass, Bream, Black Crappie, Speckled Perch and Okeechobee Catfish.  The largest lake in Florida and 2nd largest freshwater lake located completely within the US.  Average lake depth of 9 ft.  Lake Okeechobee covers land in Glades, Okeechobee, Martin, Palm Beach, and Hendry counties.

 

Florida Bass Fishing Tips

• Throw topwaters only when the water is at least 60 degrees and the sun is not visible or bass are schooling.

• Wait 2 seconds before setting the hook with a topwater.

• Fish shallow early and late and on cloudy days - fish deeper on bluebird days.

• Fish tight to cover on sunny days - cover more water on cloudy days.

• Throw single hook lures around heavy wood cover - throw treble hook lures whenever you can get away with it.

• Use a medium to light rod when fishing with treble hooks - use a stiffer rod for single hooks (worms, jigs, spinnerbaits).

• Use dark colors at night.

• Use brighter colors in murky water and on dark, cloudy days.

• Use colors that don't stand out in clear water and sunny skies.

• Use bigger and noisier baits in murky water.

• Work a bait faster in clear water.

• Use unweighted baits only in calm, shallow water.

• Use heavier baits in the wind, deep water, or strong current.

• Big baits catch big fish, small baits catch more fish.

• Match the size of the bait that the fish are feeding on.

• Use 20# or heavier line for fishing jigs and worms where big fish are present - use lighter lines for all other purposes.

• Work a crankbait in about 1/2 the depth the bait is designed to run.

• The lighter the bait, the more line you should leave out when casting.

• The percent of how full you fill your baitcasting reel is about equivalent to the percentage of your maximum casting distance. For instance, if you fill your spool 100%, your maximum casting distance is 100%. If you fill it 80%, you can only expect to throw it 80% of its' potential. Likewise, if you fill it 50% full, you can likely throw it to the end, which is about half the distance you could get if it was full.

• Bass prefer long and skinny over short and fat - they prefer snakes over turtles.

• Rising water is better than dropping water.

• West wind is better than an east wind.

• Cold fronts will shut the bite down when the water is cold.