Bass Newbie, Help Needed Please

[Leeuwin]

Hi guys, I have recently moved to Orlando (longwood area) from Scotland, I am new to Bass fishing and was hoping you guys could help? Where I can bank fish? What techniques and baits/lures to use? Any info would help. Thanks

[Darren.]

Welcome, Leeuwin!

Florida folks will help with where. Can you give us an idea of what you already have and use for fishing?

For folks beginning, I like to recommend using soft plastics like Senkos, and such. Rig them in the wacky style, or the Texas style and cast to fallen trees, stumps and such in the water.

Wacky is simply tying the hook on and piercing a Senko perpendicular to the hook, right about in the middle of the worm. As it drops down the water column it presents a shimmy (dances a little) that bass find hard to resist.

Hooks: Gamakatsu Wide Gap Finesse in size 1 or 2 are my favorites.

Texas rigging simply hooks up the worm in the same direction as the hook. You can find all the info you could want doing a search in the forums here for "wacky rigging" and "texas rigging".

[Leeuwin]

Hi KBF, thanks for the advise I will be giving this a try as soon as I find some locations!

[CountBassula]

Welcome!

 

I've started bank fishing here in FL about 6 months ago, and had most luck with 5-6" senko weightless t-rigged, and recently with swim baits: swim super flukes in shad, pearls, or baby bass colors, green lizards and frogs, and even some 10 inch worms, all t-rigged with a 1/8oz bullet weight free floating on the line in front of the hook. Look  up my username "mvorbrodt" on this forum and you'll find plenty of posts with pics of my catches :-)

i've also had some luck with topwater lures, but not much. also, when bank fishing, most banks are carved out to be deep with a steep drop off, you'll have more luck casting along the edge of a canal withing 6 feet MAX away from the shore line; and if you're brave, cast withing inches of the shore and you'll likely hook a snakehead too :-)

 

good luck! tight lines! and i'm looking forward to posts with pics of massive fish you catch!!! FL is THE place to be for bass fishing ;-)

[Leeuwin]

Thanks for your help guys, does anyone know of any good places I can try these out?

[Tartan34]

Fairly new to the Orlando bank scene myself....but I'm finding great luck in almost every large pond/lake that is in a housing, shopping, or office development 10+ years old.  It is tough finding "natural" lakes with access from the bank, but Turkey Lake is good (will cost $3 or something).  My advice is to use google earth, and experiment or keep a rod in the car and just stop occasionally and try a spot out.  I've done that and caught a lot of pretty big fish.  

 

My most productive baits this time of year have been weightless TX rigged lizards, senkos, and trick worms.  

[Leeuwin]

Thanks Tartan34, your not from Scotland are you?

[gar-tracker]

Ill bet you golf better then any of us

 

Keep yrrr head down laddy!!!!!

[Leeuwin]

Ha ha I wish! I'm worse at golf than bass fishing!

So I found a small pond close to me, could see plenty of ( what looked like) beds and fish in them, but I don't think they were bass, they looked lighter in color almost white/gray with reddish on he tail, but I couldn't get any to bite.

Any idea's what kind of fish it was?

[Tartan34]

Not a Scot here (heritage I am though), but I believe I can answer your question. I think they were blue tilapia....and they are on beds everywhere it seems right now around town.  They won't bite anything I've thrown BUT I've found some BIG bass lurking about 30 feet away in deeper water.  Take a look at this link and pic...might be what you saw. 

http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/fish/freshwater/nonnatives/blue-tilapia/

 

Ha ha I wish! I'm worse at golf than bass fishing!
So I found a small pond close to me, could see plenty of ( what looked like) beds and fish in them, but I don't think they were bass, they looked lighter in color almost white/gray with reddish on he tail, but I couldn't get any to bite.
Any idea's what kind of fish it was?

[Leeuwin]

Yip! That's exactly what I saw, wasted a lot of time trying to get a bite, thanks again

[gar-tracker]

Their excellent eating, much better then store bought that are farm raised.

[Leeuwin]

Well caught me first decent size fish today! Thanks for all the advise guys