Santa Fe Lake

[BASS11]

Thinking about heading out to Santa Fe in the next couple weeks. Any tips on what to use or what part to go to?

[gatrboy53]

A-rig in the pass early.the yumbrella w/ the spinners and 2-3'' baits work best . must use small baits.

look for schoolers. they are hard to get to bite but puts you around fish.#8 shad rap is a good bet.

each end of the pass especially little lake end are some distinct drops c-rig w/ a small worm

always have a trap tied on fish it in these same areas and along outside deeper weedline in the big lake..different retrieves will be necessary to find what they want.

if weve been in a warming trend you can worm grass line. throw it up in grass pull it off and let it fall on slack line.deadstick,repeat. the stretch over on west side south of sailboat is good area.

[BASS11]

A-rig in the pass early.the yumbrella w/ the spinners and 2-3'' baits work best . must use small baits.

look for schoolers. they are hard to get to bite but puts you around fish.#8 shad rap is a good bet.

each end of the pass especially little lake end are some distinct drops c-rig w/ a small worm

always have a trap tied on fish it in these same areas and along outside deeper weedline in the big lake..different retrieves will be necessary to find what they want.

if weve been in a warming trend you can worm grass line. throw it up in grass pull it off and let it fall on slack line.deadstick,repeat. the stretch over on west side south of sailboat is good area.

Thanks man. I appreciate it.

[JellyMan]

Small creatures in the grass and up in the cyprus roots. I have seen some HUGE fish schooling and chasing bait but a KVD 2.5 did not get them to bite.

 

This is my go to lake. I have fished it 6 times since I got here in Gainesville. 2 times I did pretty decent when flipping a creature on a 3/8oz weight at the shoreline cyprus roots and cover and around the grass. The other 4 times I got skunked but I did have a MASSIVE strike on a white Zoom swimin in fluke in the grass. I saw at least 24 inches of golden greenish color roll at my bait when it hit the water.

 

All I gotta say is good luck. Try shallow and try deep. As nasty and dark as the lake looks, it's actually pretty clear. Use natural colors. Watermelon/red is my choice. I personally just stick to the shorelines because that's what I know best.

 

Pic in Avatar is at Santa Fe.

 

Here is a video of me catching nothing... 

 

[gatrboy53]

Bass11, have you ever been to lowry,on the backside of kingsley off 21 just N. of keystone.It's open everyday right now and the fishing can be off the charts especially for smaller fish.25-50 or more is not uncommon.Granted most are 12-14'' but I've seen 10+ come outta there.fishes alot like kingsley.Let me know and I can give you some spots to try.

[BASS11]

Bass11, have you ever been to lowry,on the backside of kingsley off 21 just N. of keystone.It's open everyday right now and the fishing can be off the charts especially for smaller fish.25-50 or more is not uncommon.Granted most are 12-14'' but I've seen 10+ come outta there.fishes alot like kingsley.Let me know and I can give you some spots to try.

I know where you are talking about, but I haven't been there.

[gatrboy53]

Jellyman,Ive been fishing s.f. for over 20 yrs. and it is still a lake that will frustrate me to no end at times.more times than not.In our circle it's called santa flush,and many other derogatory names.But I love the lake,it is so diverse and has plenty of above avg. bass livin in it.My strenghts also are shallow water and I fish shallow water yr. round, but if your going to catch bass in s.f. on a somewhat consistent basis you will have to move off the bank at times to even get bit.The water has come up considerabily nthe last yr. and that has put them in the grass more but because of the structure of the lake they move out alot.I'm not sayin not to fish shallow but you cant catch em if theyre not there.Right now they are feeding up on shad and fishing those patterns will be the easiest attempts to get bit.

If you are persistent to only fish shallow then dont discount the docks,and learn where the deeper weedlines are.These will be areas that will hold fish shallow when they arent really shallow.

[BASS11]

Gatrboy53 I noticed your location is in Lake Butler. Have you fish that lake any?

[gatrboy53]

yes all my life..personally,I dont waste my time there much except on july 4th at the annual big fish tx. that pays $1000.00 for first.It's a pretty little lake and at times gives up good numbers.pretty much a dink lake