Fishing The Disney World Lakes.

[MALTESE FALCON]

I'm going to be staying at Disney World in mid November. I've been trying to contact the guides, and I'm having no success. I'm trying to pack light, and wondering what baits would be most successful that time of year. Has anyone fished the Disney lakes?

 

My questions are:

 

1: Average depth of lakes?

 

2-Water clarity?

 

3-Water temperature?

 

4-Best baits, and colors?

 

Any help would be greatly  appreciated.

 

Falcon

[MCS]

Just to let know you cannot fish any of the lakes without paying for their guide services according to their rules. Even if you rent your own boat out of one of the marinas...There is also no fishing allowed supposedly in any of the canals either, but on a recent trip their we were if fort wilderness. You used to be able to fish the canals until they changed the rules, you can rent their gear and worms at the marina. But speaking with the employees many of the campers fish, but the employees will not say it is ok. Just that they see people fish all the time. If you fish in the open public areas the security will ask you to leave(like at the resorts or downtown). So I suggest sticking to fort wilderness or hitting up areas outside disney that have ponds. most retention ponds hold bass around there. But if you want I and a few others have fished their guide before and can give you info on that.

 

As for bait topwater frogs or spooks, lipless cranks, spinner baits, jigs and plastic colors would be Junebug, Okeechobee craw, blues, purples, black, watermelon, colors with gold flake. you can throw flukes, swimbaits, senkos, trick worms, ribbontails, creature baits like brush hogs or beavers all texas rigged with depending on cover and technique(E.I. a trick worm or ribbon tail I would use light like 1/16 or 1/8 oz and a hog I would throw 1/4 to 1/2 oz) That time of year is fall type weather, not too cold but cooling. Should be some good fishing for you. I don't fish that area so anything more specific I cannot tell you. But in general you would be good with frogs,swim bait like the big ez, senkos and a creature bait to pack light.

 

Good luck

[gar-tracker]

For the money they charge you would be better off getting a guide at TOHO,  a short drive away and half the price, plus you have a chance at a double digit.

 

 

On the down side the guide isn't dressed in a Donald Duck suit at TOHO.

[MALTESE FALCON]

Thanks MCS for your response. The people I spoke with at Disney said there are designated areas to fish, however I plan on using the guide service also. I like to take my own equipment because any time I used rented equipment in the past, I would have been better off with a twig, string, and a safety pin.lol

In years passed I stayed off site and had transportation. This year we're staying at Disney and won't have a vehicle. I always spent at least one day at Lake Toho with pretty good success.(Unfortunately I never got the "hog" I hoped for).

Falcon

[MCS]

Thanks MCS for your response. The people I spoke with at Disney said there are designated areas to fish, however I plan on using the guide service also. I like to take my own equipment because any time I used rented equipment in the past, I would have been better off with a twig, string, and a safety pin.lol

In years passed I stayed off site and had transportation. This year we're staying at Disney and won't have a vehicle. I always spent at least one day at Lake Toho with pretty good success.(Unfortunately I never got the "hog" I hoped for).

Falcon

 

What are the designated areas? 2 yrs ago when I did the guide you could fish in wilderness. Then we saw online last year it posted no fishing at all. But when we called for this last trip the person on the phone told us we could only rent poles at fort wilderness and theres is a little pond with cane poles at port orleans. I also read online there were designated areas only to be told not on the phone, but then like I said when we spoke to people at the park it was another story entirely. LOL I hope they backed off the "no fishing". I know there is good fishing there if you know the history of the lakes and stocking of them they have had bass in there since the late 70's. We usually stay there once or twice a year, so any info on the designated areas would be appreciated. PM me if you like.  Oh when I went out I fished the lake by the board walk and beach club, then the canal through to Epcot and a little of the lake at epcot in front of france and US. The key west, port orleans all connect to this and stay at port orleans the canals look awesome so if that is one of the areas you should have a blast. I can tell you the canal and lake were flat and soft, depth I was fishing was 4-12 feet and it had thick(not up on grass species) but it was long blades (want to call it eel grass -  definitely not hydrilla and didn't see any on that lake) that was 2-3 feets and they would sit in it mid way. Since my 4 yr old was with me we used shiners with the guide but just roll a swim bait like I mentioned around in there and they should crush it. And he told me his favorite was lure 10" ribbon tails in tequila sunrise. He PB was out of a retention pond on the side of the road tho.

[rabidsquirrel]

I have wanted to fish there for a while. Have season passes, and will probably hire the guide service to get out there and fish. There are some big bass in those lakes. 

 

I was thinking that those fish are relatively unpressured, therefore they ought to crush a swim bait. 

[rad07h]

I have fished the Disney lakes with one of their guides. They pick you up in a pontoon boat and all rods and tackle are already provided. They also have live shiners ready to go. When I went was in the fall and the bass were schooling on shad everywhere in the mouth of the canals that connect the lakes. It was a 2 hour trip and I caught several bass in the 1-2 pound range on an Alabama rig. I also caught one bass in the 5 pound range as well. It's an absolute blast as the fish are not very pressured and a little easier to catch. There are some GIANTS in those lakes I just didn't hook up with many but they are in there no doubt.

[AK-Jax86]

I wanted to do the Disney guide when I lived in NJ. Now that Iive in FL I would use an outside guide because I have transportation and the chance of the DD fish.

Let us know hiw your trip goes and post pics of the fish

[Gotfishyfingers?]

Unless you really want to fish Disney lakes, for the price I would suggest hiring a guide on TOHO, just like Gar-tracker said. You can be at the lake in under 20 minutes and your chances of catching a double digit is a lot better. Nov. 17th is a full moon to.They will be in pre-spawn/spawn stage at that time.

[MCS]

For the money they charge you would be better off getting a guide at TOHO,  a short drive away and half the price, plus you have a chance at a double digit.

 

 

On the down side the guide isn't dressed in a Donald Duck suit at TOHO.

 

Unless you really want to fish Disney lakes, for the price I would suggest hiring a guide on TOHO, just like Gar-tracker said. You can be at the lake in under 20 minutes and your chances of catching a double digit is a lot better. Nov. 17th is a full moon to.They will be in pre-spawn/spawn stage at that time.

 

Just out of curiosity why do yall say chances of a DD are better? Is it because of the guide themselves? Or DDs only live in TOHO? (j/k) but seriously I believe those Disney lakes hold some nice fish.

[AK-Jax86]

Just out of curiosity why do yall say chances of a DD are better? Is it because of the guide themselves? Or DDs only live in TOHO? (j/k) but seriously I believe those Disney lakes hold some nice fish.

That's what I was thinking MCS LOL. There are puddle sized ponds in OP that hold double digit fish. Disney being a multi billion dollar company I am sure they have put quite a few double digit bass in there not to mention any that have grown on their own.

[Gotfishyfingers?]

IMO, Kissimee chain of lakes is like Lake O, every time you make a cast there is a chance to hook a 10lber (or close to it). I'm sure Disney ponds have big  bass (less pressure) but  but I believe there are far more 10lbers in the Kissimee chain of lakes then the lakes at Disney. Plus, I'm not sure how eager a Disney guides would be to help you find the giants as opposed to a guide on Kissimee. A guide at Disney is employed by them (I think) lol. A guide on TOHO is self-employed, he also has a lot to gain by putting you on fish. No better advertisement than word of mouth. On another note, spawning season is basically here for Florida bass. There's a full moon around mid-November to. I'm sure there will be some mommas on beds or at least adjacent to the flats in a lil deeper water. Throw a prop bait in the morning then switch to shiners if/when the bite slows down.. One last thing, when tournaments are held  at the Toho marina, anglers usually have access to the whole chain of lakes (as per tourney rules). Well when they release to fish after weigh-in, usually they get put back into Lake Toho only. Since you have to go threw a lock to get out of Toho, most of those fish are there to stay.

[doyle8218]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/recreation/fishing.htm

[gar-tracker]

IMO, Kissimee chain of lakes is like Lake O, every time you make a cast there is a chance to hook a 10lber (or close to it). I'm sure Disney ponds have big  bass (less pressure) but  but I believe there are far more 10lbers in the Kissimee chain of lakes then the lakes at Disney. Plus, I'm not sure how eager a Disney guides would be to help you find the giants as opposed to a guide on Kissimee. A guide at Disney is employed by them (I think) lol. A guide on TOHO is self-employed, he also has a lot to gain by putting you on fish. No better advertisement than word of mouth. On another note, spawning season is basically here for Florida bass. There's a full moon around mid-November to. I'm sure there will be some mommas on beds or at least adjacent to the flats in a lil deeper water. Throw a prop bait in the morning then switch to shiners if/when the bite slows down.. One last thing, when tournaments are held  at the Toho marina, anglers usually have access to the whole chain of lakes (as per tourney rules). Well when they release to fish after weigh-in, usually they get put back into Lake Toho only. Since you have to go threw a lock to get out of Toho, most of those fish are there to stay.

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty much sums it up only to add I would omit Lake O for double digit bass, while its unbeatable in numbers of 8s and 9s it doesn't have the  cool water to produce the hogs like Toho.

 

While it doesn't seem like its much farther up north it is enough to give the slow down of the bass metabolism causing them to grow.

 

Okeechobees bass are fast growing, fast breeding, and fast dieing, hence the reason they start spawning so much earlier then other areas, the warm water has the in high gear.

 

 

And also as to the bass staying in one area I used to think that but they travel miles and miles, locks don't stop them like you think, they come into and out, and there brought in and out by tournaments.

 

 

As to DD bass in DW, I doubt a guide is going to find and bring you to beds or staging areas, he's programed to bring tourists to a certain area that he knows will produce numbers and lots of action, could you get one absolutely, but if thats your only real goal I would opt for TOHO, its the Hog capital of the Hog state in my opinion.

[MCS]

Thanks for the input fellas. I just wanted to hear explinations from some seasoned anglers, and I wasn't sure if you all believed there were big fish in disney or not. But I concur, especially on the part about the guide taking you to beds or staging areas, as the time I used them they were definitely gear to numbers.