Fishing_FF

Thanks everyone for help! The Tackle Tour reviews were insightful. With the review and hearing the Curado DC is built on the Curado K platform, sealed the deal for me. My baitcasters are all Chronarches or Curado Ks, so makes it an easy choice. Thanks again!

Going to add another baitcaster for some heavy lures like glide baits and big swimbaits. It is my undertanding the Scorpion DC is predecessor to the Curado DC. The model year on the latest Scorpion DC is 2017 and the Curado DC came out in 2018. I’m seeing the Scorpion DC is $235 and the Curado DC is $250. Were any updates made during the time? Is one better than the other? Thanks!

After seeing my fellow Floridian @Mike L mention the scum frog, I decided to give them a try. I fished the original series, which I believe has a 3/0 or 4/0 Gammy hook in it, on a St Croix M and MH rods with braid. I liked the brand enough the pair of original Scum frogs I bought now have a family. The collection includes the trophy, the popper, the big/little foots. The trophy line all have a 4/0 Owner. My father-in-law fishes with me on occasion, and has used the collection of Scum Frogs I have. His preferred rod that he fishes with is a St. Croix Mojo Bass MH spinning rod that has mono on it. He has had no issues catching fish with this setup and the Scum frogs.

Nice! Thanks for the heads up!!! I have some Upton's Customs, but they are in black grape colors. Gonna have to start looking for more junebug.

Junebug in Florida? That's a secret. Here's my list of junebug plastics I have: 4", 5", 6", 7" Stickbaits (some GY Senkos and others Gambler FAT Aces) 12" Mann's Jelly Worm 6" & 7.5" Gambler Burner Worms 7" & 10" Ribbontails (Berkley Powerbait and Gambler) Gambler EZ Swimmer, Big-EZ, Super Stud, Flapp'n'Shad, BB Cricket, Why Not, Ugly Otter, and Mega Daddy. I also have junebug skirts for a bulkier Texas/weedless jig rig and for pitching/punching. Mike at Siebert Outdoors makes a junebug and black/blue combo skirt called 24/7 that I have on my flipping jigs and swim jigs.

As a primarily spinning guy, I have to say @Mike L advice is solid. I love my spinning rods. I can pitch and punch with them. However, when it comes time to grind away at an area either in search for big bass or fishing a tournament, I reach for a baitcaster. Using spinning gear for this technique is just slow and awkward.

Ha! Guess I'm not the only one. I have more luck with a spinnerbait, but after watching the success of a the MLF guys and now the FLW guys on the Kissimmee chain which is one of my home waters, I'm going to take some time to figure out the chatterbait.

Hrm....looks familiar. ?

Yes for Florida mats you'll want a 3/4oz weight or heavier to much a hole through the vegetation. For a rod, it needs enough backbone and fast tip to drive the hook through the plastic into the bass's mouth as you'll have it rigged Texas, not Texposed. A heavy rod has the backbone and tip also to turn the bass's head so you can pull him back out of the mat. Otherwise, especially with a big girl, they will bury themselves deeper where you'll lose the fish. There isn't much to punch from the shore around here as it is a vertical technique more than a horizontal one. A good MH or H rod that can handle a 1/2-3/4oz flipping jig to work reed lines would be a better technique for bank fishing. If you don't have a flipping jig, a Gambler or Dirty Jigs swim jig also works well. Both of these swim jigs are available locally. There are a couple of the bigger Orlando lakes with reed lines that are fishable from the bank. A good percentage of these also have sandy flats near them that are prime spawning areas once the water is warm enough for them to move back in.

7'4" Avid X with 50lb Sufix 832 for 3/4oz Medlock jigs 7'10" Avid X with 65lb Sufix 832 for 3/4-2oz punching setups.

Senkos don't work here in Florida, especially weightless. ? Yes, the switch can be unpredictable. I was looking at my catch log from last year 3/24/18, I had several catches that were all offshore. Then the next outing on 3/30/18, it was all plastics in the shallow grasses. One of those grass fish was a 5.8lber that hit a 4" green pumpkin t-rigged Senko. In winter 2017, I wasn't doing much offshore or wasn't catching them offshore as all my Jan, Feb, and Mar fish were from flipping and punching grass. Florida bass can start spawning in Dec, so 2017 may have been an earlier year. As we get closer, hopefully the Florida guys can give you better advice on what to pack, and worst case scenario, you can pick up baits locally.

Absolutely, I've met a few different folks from this forum. I've got a couple days at Turkey Lake booked. Usually my father-in-law goes with me, but he is notorious for bailing if it is cold, rainy, or windy. I actually had a couple from Iowa go with me as they posted on here they would be visiting Orlando and were looking for places to fish. My father-in-law thought it was too cold, so they went instead. It was a 20+ day. ?

FOP is the Faternal Order of Police. My wife is on the law enforcement side, so something I learned for her job. We also have a couple really good bait and tackle shops in the Orlando area in case you aren't able to get something, forget something, or conditions change. I've got a couple days off during the time you'll be down, may even hit a couple lakes. Feel free to hit me up when you're down should you need some help, and definitely don't pass up the opportunity to get on a boat during visit if you are able to.

Good luck @Mike L! I haven't been on Kissimmee since the beginning of fall.

Lake Kissimmee is part of the South Florida Water Management District waterways. You can pull current lake conditions from their website. http://my.sfwmd.gov/portal/pls/portal/realtime.pkg_rr.proc_rr?p_op=KISSIMMEE Here is the map which identifies the locks and spills: https://www.sfwmd.gov/sites/default/files/documents/facility_map_overview.pdf Hope this helps!

Yep, slowing down big time. The Toho tournament shows that with 1st place's 15lbs bag and 2nd place's 7lbs bag. Some good numbers from the Open being posted, but all off shore fishing. Looks like big girls that were ready to spawn and got pushed back out deep.

Of course. That helps narrow down the options. Since you'll be bank fishing, check out the FWC's Fish Orlando lakes like Ivanhoe and Underhill. I would avoid the FWC residential ponds as the bass get cleaned out pretty quick. Yes, that is about the standard rate for a 6 hour trip. That price is general for a pair on the boat though, so if you have someone to fish with, you can half your cost. If you are looking for a kayak rental, call either Turkey Lake or the Paddling Center at Shingle Creek. Those are the 2 places that rent kayaks that I am aware of. There was a vacation resort that was renting, but you now have to have a reservation at the resort to rent a kayak there now. You may also want to check out the boat rental at Turkey Lake. It is about $31 with taxes for 4 hours. Turkey Lake is the best of the FWC Fish Orlando lakes but is struggling right now due to a combination of environmental factors which has caused catch numbers to drop significantly.

Some great suggestions here. I'm about half boat half bank fishing at the moment. Two burnable baits that haven't been list yet that are in my bank fishing bag are a lipless crank and a swim jig.

Are you going to be landlocked (fishing from the shore) or bringing a boat, kayak, canoe, etc? A guide would the optimal way to go because they will know the current conditions of the lake and status of the fish. Some lakes here in Central Florida are pre-spawn while others are in a winter offshore stage. Most of the lakes are high due to some heavy winter rains, which has changed where the fish are as well. By March, the fish should be spawning or post spawn, but that also depends on weather. Last year, spawn was late March and into April, whereas other years the fish are spawning December and January. We had a strong cold front come through on Sunday with another set headed our way on Thursday and Sunday. Florida bass are more sensitive to these front, so while the water temps are right in some of the bigger lakes, the fronts and winds cause them hold off. Techniques are also going to depend on weather and where the fish are. Spawn is a great time for swimbaits and plastics. If the weather is cooler and the fish aren't spawning yet, flipping heavy cover or fishing offshore for suspended fish are the best bets. There are a lot of variables. This is the time of the year I can prep my fishing gear a couple days a head of time and then have to change it the morning of or while out on the water.

Nice! The lake is suffering as the water temp flipped quickly from the heavy cold December rains we got in the Orlando area. The lake is also high, by several feet from the rain, which is killing the grasses and pad fields. The fish are still catchable, but they're offshore, not pre-spawn like in Toho. I won't be back out there until Feb 23rd, but if I hear anything before then, I'll post an update.

The bags of plastics are all in the $4-$5 range. The dry bag goes for $19.99 if purchased separately. Both the BB cricket and crawdaddy work well for flipping cover when the fish want something smaller (than like a flappy daddy or why not) or less action (than an ugly otter or burner craw). The quick change skirts are nice, but lack the bulk of a good 55 strand punch skirt like what Mike from @Siebert Outdoors makes. I'm not a fan of the paddle tails for flipping as if I'm going to flip a worm, I prefer a true stickbait (usually a Senko, sometimes a Gambler ace).

Have you fished it within the last month? I've fished it for the last 2 Saturdays in a row, and know the catch numbers are down.

Ha! I love Gambler baits, and put down Power Baits because of the weird smell they have. The PB ribbon tails and grubs are great fish catchers for me, though.

Welcome fellow Floridian!

This! ☝️ Full size for a nice big trailer and the head cut off for small trailer or for smaller jigs.