Fishing_FF

Welcome fellow Floridian!!! just FYI, Farmpond-13 is the Stick Marsh. You might also hear Headwaters Lake referred to as Fellsmere Reservoir or simply the Rez.

Welcome fellow Floridian!!!

Welcome fellow Floridian! If you are paddling Toho, there are a pair of ramps for paddle craft only. Brownie Wise and Twin Oaks parks.

It is no secret Florida fish are moody. While I fish primarily from a kayak, I have a bunch of friends with boats that I fish with as well. All of them except one have push poles that we use (mainly during the spawn). Most also have anchors, old school claw and rope for holding on shallow/deep water structure areas because of the same idea of the motor noise.

I'm in the Orlando area, but have been off the forum for a little bit. Did you get a list of spots to try?

Ah, Pete was the regular, so you friend had a good guide that knows the areas patterns . There are a lot of doubles down there. Fair number of doubles in all of the St Johns river headwater reservoirs.

Yep, I saw his report. He has a YouTube video of his trip, too. It probably helps that he's a regular to the area with his kayak and paddle board. FWC is certifying a 11.9 pounder, which is probably more in the younder category, that caught there on the 2nd day.

You don't get the "2 weeks" response when the government says something is going to happen or change. 2 weeks is my departments standard answer. Wait for it......2 weeks. lol

SJWMD finally got everything hashed out with the 2 other groups to open the ramp. A news story came out on Wednesday with the rules for Headwaters Lake. Thursday they updated the story with an opening date of August 10th for the ramp. https://www.tcpalm.com/story/sports/fishing-boating/2020/08/06/fishing-mecca-headwaters-lake-verge-opening-powerboats/3288420001/ The kayakers are already reporting an increased presence of FWC in the area. The FWC liaison to the Fellsmere kayak group, Officer Platt said there will be a heavy presence with zero tolerance to ensure no one gets hurt. Anyone going out there, enjoy and be safe! It is some of the best fishing in Florida!

Send them an email or call them. Had a similar incident (Monday) with the label being created and never getting a UPS scan. They found the package in the shipping area. It’s on the way now.

I have the SC Legend X 7'4" HF along with an pair of Avid X 7'F" HF. I use the Legend X as a T-rig (3/8oz tungsten weight with 7-12" worms) and jig (1/2oz or more) rod. The Legend X is a stout rod, but not near as stout as the Avid X. One of the Avid Xs is my pitching and punching rod while the other I use for glide baits, A-rigs, and flutter spoons. I've thrown frogs on the Avid X 7'4" HF, but I find it is a bit overkill for a Scum frog as that stout of a rod with 65lbs braid will start to open up the hooks.

It depends.... Great answer, huh? Almost a non-answer. If it is a moving bait like a swimbait, swim jig, or speed worm, I'll throw it on straight braid (30lbs). A weightless Senko or Florida rigged beaver thrown in heavy cover is another straight braid application (30lbs unless I'm punch then it is 65lbs). Texas rig dragged or hopped on the bottom, ball and chain, wacky rig, and finesse techniques in open water or light cover, I'm going with straight fluoro in the 8-20lbs range. Previously I used braid with fluoro leaders, but due to the weak knot issues of fluorocarbon, I eliminated the extra knot to have one less failure point.

Nice! I fished Lake Virginia and Lake Mizell at the end of June. I don't remember how many I got, but it was a good trip. Everyone in the kayak group that went caught at least 5. Only problem fishing there is the parking lot fills up very quickly. I was at Lake Baldwin a little over a week ago (Monday the 13th). There was only 2 of us for this trip, but we got 22 in 4 hours. The kayak group is arranging another outing for Monday or Tuesday morning. Lake Maitland is on the list as a possibility. If you come back down, feel free to give me a shout. I can usually scrounge up a kayak or two if needed. lol

No worries. I figured you were at one of the springs up in the Gainesville area, as some of those run real deep. I know a couple lakes down near Sebring/Lake Placid run real deep, too. If you ever come up this way or want to see how to pattern a deep lake (30-40' but same concept), just give me a shout as we can hit the Butler or Conway chain. Yes, FlexPod with a gasket kit and mount on top for the screen. I was considering Lowrance, but landed a consulting position for a marine business. I spoke to the reps for Garmin and Lowrance when they came in the shop. The Garmin rep provided more feedback, seeming to want to help get his product dialed in better. I wouldn't base your decision on my personal anecdotal story.

60ft deep? Central Florida? That's some hole! If it is a deeper spring lake like Butler and Conway, your fish are going to be relating to structure. Since it becomes about structure, you've got to start figuring out the bottom. Is it sand, rock, algae/slim? What is the vegetation like? Specifically the underwater stuff like pepper grass, eel grass, coontail which is more shallow water or is there hydrilla that could grow deep (Lake Underhill the hydrilla currently has grown out to 21ft)? Our water is warm, even in the spring feed lakes, so going early or late will better your odds of catching something. As for what to throw, that is going to depend on where the fish are and what their mood is. A Senko is one of my number one baits. I'm local to Orlando, and have WS Tarpon 130X. I've got a Garmin 73SV EchoMAP Plus on it. Aside from a rudder, probably one of the best upgrades if you are looking to breakdown a lake. I've got a couple days off this upcoming weekend and into the following week if you meet up someplace to fish. I aint no expert, but I haven't been skunked this summer. lol

I spoke with Josh on Wednesday (7/1) to see how he was doing. In mid-May, he had a small electrical fire in his shop that stopped bait production for a bit. He is up and running again. However, he isn't taking any direct orders per his message. That's probably why the Upton's Custom website is offline. He said no ETA on a TW restock. The last line of plastics he poured went out to Last Chance Tackle and East County. Most were sold out within a few hours of being added to the LCT website. I like the 13" and 16" Upton's worms as the softer, custom pour plastic has more subtle action, but the Mann's Jelly Worm is also a fish catcher. An alternate source to TW for Mann's would be either BassPro or order direct from Mann's. I've also used the Gambler ER16 Worm. It's not cheap, $4.99 for a pair of them. Its a big, heavy body worm though. It doesn't need much weight (I'll fish it weightless or with 1/8oz depending on wind and current) to get it to bottom because of its design and weight. It will catch a more fish than a Mann's as the plastic is more durable. TW is out of stock at the moment, but you can order direct from Gambler. They make their baits out of their shop in South Florida, so they are restocking dealers as fast as they can make baits.

I hit the reservoir on Monday, and took this photo for you from the middle of the western section of the paddle area. It's miles of green stuff! Mostly hydrilla, but coonstail, potato duck, Kissimmee grass, lily pads, cattails, and even a little hyacinth mixed in, too. Only open areas were canals.

The speed limit question was asked at the last joint FWC/SJWMD meeting. The answer is forever, but only applies to the canal. The canal is a narrow 3 mile run to drop into the main lake. The explanation was the stakeholders don't want boats rain past either other or having a bunch of boats becoming disabled by the submerged objects (mainly citrus tree stumps, palm tree stumps, and wooden fence posts). We are already seeing an increase presence of FWC LE officers. There are a bunch of kayakers who have been going south of the border (we aren't suppose to be south of the pump house in the improved fishing area), but since there wasn't anyone out there to enforce the rule, many just ignored it. That changed with the presence of the FWC LE officer, and a bunch of kayakers have gotten tickets. If you wondering, I don't know what the official offense or how much the penalty is as I and the group I fish with have never strayed past the border. We've just heard about it at the ramp. lol Despite the misconception, spraying isn't an issue at Headwaters Lake. The only thing that has been sprayed out there in the last couple of months is the S Canal, Ditch 13, and some of the reeds. In the paddle area north of ditch 13, the hydrilla is thick and topped out in most areas except where the drainage canals use to be. As a reference how thick it is, the folks with peddle kayaks can't use their pedal drives unless they are in the canals. lol

It is a newish (flooded approximately 5 years ago) area to the east of Stick Marsh/Farm 13. The levee on the east side of Farm 13 is the western boundary for Headwaters Lake. If you walk down the levee, Farm 13 is on your right and Headwaters is on your left. The boat ramp for Headwaters is approximately 3 miles before the ramp to Farm 13.

No word yet. Ramp is done though. The road is horrendous right now from trucks hauling rocks for rip-rap repair. There is talk the ramp will open after the road is repaired and some kind of plan for social distancing is in place. Everyone is going to mob Headwaters Lake (the official name given now what everyone calls Fellsmere reservoir). The stakeholders (FMV the company that owns the land under the water, SJWMD the government agency the owns the water, and FWC the government agency responsible for anything alive in the water) all have to agree to anything before it can be done. This is why it took forever to get the ramp in, as one of the stakeholders didn't want boats there period and then another wanted "restrictions" once they agreed to boats. These signs were put up about a week ago at S canal which is where the boat ramp is located. I can update this post if you want when I hear a date of the ramp opening if you want.

This! ☝️ Hot Florida summer months are far better months for fishing than the winter period once the cold fronts start cycling through.

I pitched and even did some punching with a spinning rod for a while as all I had was spinning rods. It is more efficient (faster) with a bait caster, but the inshore spinning rod I was using had no issues.

Welcome fellow Floridian!

A company called Butler Boat Rentals provided rentals at Toho, but their website isn’t clear anymore whether they are only renting on the Butler Chain or other lakes as well. You could also call Mark at Toho Marina, and ask if he knows of anyone renting boats on the Kissimmee chain.

Welcome fellow Floridian!!!