Florida Guys Check In Here.

[I.rar]

Went out  for a few hours today and the fish were on fire. Just shy of a couple dozen bass and cichlids fell victim to gambler bb cricket, roboworm alive shads and Lake fork baby shads.

Saw a monster peacock that had to be 6lb easy and it kept short striking my baby shad. It was crazy watching him come back again and again before moving out of sight. Didn't catch it but I know he's there. 

 

 

 

[DevilsAdidas]

I'm in Kissimmee through this week and have no clue where to fish. My time fishing will be limited as I'm on a family vacation but being from Ohio I had to bring poles with me. Any guidance for bank fishing quality bass would be awesome. 

[hawgenvy]

7 hours ago, I.rar said:

Went out  for a few hours today and the fish were on fire. Just shy of a couple dozen bass and cichlids fell victim to gambler bb cricket, roboworm alive shads and Lake fork baby shads.

Saw a monster peacock that had to be 6lb easy and it kept short striking my baby shad. It was crazy watching him come back again and again before moving out of sight. Didn't catch it but I know he's there. 

 

 

 

Gorgeous fish. It is interesting how the Mayan cichlids and the Peacock bass have such similar color schemes. That their native habitats overlap is, of course, part of the reason. Gotta love the blue stripes.

[mplspug]

10 hours ago, DevilsAdidas said:

I'm in Kissimmee through this week and have no clue where to fish. My time fishing will be limited as I'm on a family vacation but being from Ohio I had to bring poles with me. Any guidance for bank fishing quality bass would be awesome. 

There are 2 types of ponds generally and ponds can be your best bet for shore fishing.  Retention ponds have little emergent weeds and or structure, so you can just focus on covering a lot water.  Basically the shoreline is the main structure.  I fish these types the most because it is easier, and in the case of our HOA ponds, the fishing is better.  

Fish it at the crack of dawn.  Cast parallel to the shoreline very close to shore, I am talking within 5' of shore in 1-1.5' of water. There is a lot of bait/fry/tadpoles and they are sitting on the shoreline.  You should use buzz baits or top water to avoid the vegetation that grows along the shore.   On a good day, before you even make a cast you'll see the splashes and wakes of that bass pounding the shoreline.  Another good sign is shore birds.  If they are concentrated in one area and not randomly scattered, try that first.  They are picking off the minnows the bass are scattering when they attack.

The other ponds, at least the ones I am used to, have a lot of lily pads along the shore.  You'll need heavy gear or it won't be worth it.  Again fish at the first hint of light in the morning and use a weedless top water like frogs, although I like using unweighted texas rigged flukes and I swim them on top of the water through the openings and channels of the pads.  

You can fish the other parts of the days, but the bass activity will drop off significantly. The water is warm in these small bodies of water now, so the fish take advantage of the slightly cooler water in the morning.    

[stevarino]

Florida (Altamonte Springs) guy here. I have very few places to fish not being a boat owner. Just got back into it so if anyone has a good spot near Orlando for bank fishing please let me know.

[bralexander]

16 hours ago, stevarino said:

Florida (Altamonte Springs) guy here. I have very few places to fish not being a boat owner. Just got back into it so if anyone has a good spot near Orlando for bank fishing please let me know.

Hey man, the last time I fished there was about 5 years ago, but Secret lake park was very nice. All the lakes were full of bass and you can rent a kayak to fish from if you get tired of bank fishing.The lake closest to the golf course (I don't remember exactly what it was called but it is the least accessible part on the opposite side from a the "park" area) was almost overpopulated with bass. I took my kayak out there a bunch and could catch a bass every other cast for hours!  I also caught a 7-8lb one from the boat ramp over there.

Bruce

[stevarino]

8 hours ago, bralexander said:

Hey man, the last time I fished there was about 5 years ago, but Secret lake park was very nice. All the lakes were full of bass and you can rent a kayak to fish from if you get tired of bank fishing.The lake closest to the golf course (I don't remember exactly what it was called but it is the least accessible part on the opposite side from a the "park" area) was almost overpopulated with bass. I took my kayak out there a bunch and could catch a bass every other cast for hours!  I also caught a 7-8lb one from the boat ramp over there.

Bruce

Awesome, thanks for the tip! I am not sure where that park is but I am going to find out.

[Gotfishyfingers?]

Fished with a friend of mine this a.m, we hit up the alley. Water level is still pretty high and lots of current. There was zero wind first thing in the morning and it was steamy hot.. Flipped and threw topwater mostly but only managed a few on a trick worm working the ledges.. left by noon as it was getting really hot and storms were encroaching ... 

[BassinLou]

Fished MM35 yesterday from 1:30pm to 4:30pm before being chased out by a Tstorm. Managed to  boat 15 frogging. Water was clear, level was normal and there was some current running towards the South. 

[hawgenvy]

Was out this past Saturday as well, in the Alley. Bass were small and few and far between. Very hot day -- almost burnt my hand picking up a reel and my feet on deck carpeting. Caught mudfish and pickerel on jigs and jerkbait. Largest bass were on a wacky senko. Caught a few on EZ Swimmers. My topwaters were ignored.

[Gotfishyfingers?]

Wow, two separate incidents recently about gators found eating a  human body. Now a third incident in Orlando, were a gator snatched a 2 yo wading in the water with his family. I've heard incidents of them biting swimmers but these recent stories back to back are crazy.

[mplspug]

I've been saying I hate to judge in such a tragedy and not being there to know the circumstances, but I don't understand how that happens.  I don't know how far away the parent was, but how do you let a 2 year old wade in the water in Florida?   

[bostonsox2904]

19 hours ago, mplspug said:

I've been saying I hate to judge in such a tragedy and not being there to know the circumstances, but I don't understand how that happens.  I don't know how far away the parent was, but how do you let a 2 year old wade in the water in Florida?   

This is where it happened, if that tells you anything...

 

[BassinLou]

The Disney incident, was very tragic. The family was from Nebraska. Sadly, they didn't know that Lakes in Florida, and yes.. even in Disney World could be extremely dangerous with gators and other wildlife.  The little boy was wading in ankle or knee deep water at night, when the attack occurred. Very sad indeed.  

[808bass]

Fishing out of New Port Richey (Pasco County)

Been registered on the forum a while, just now getting into really posting
Anybody fish Pasco or Hernando county before?

[pondbassin101]

I caught a 5 pounder on a texas rigged Senko.

[Jonathan Ellingwood]

Hi Everyone! What a great site! I'm completely new to fishing, but I love it!  Wish I started along time ago.  Loving getting all these ideas, but I feel I'm all over the place. I'm in the ft lauderdale area and when I find and area where I can get out. I try every thing! Results are usually skunk! It's obvious it's me.  I'm learning what an awesome sport this is ! So much to learn.   

Any advice on what I should stick to would be great. I have a plastic frog set up . Crankbait set up and a medium heavy set up. 

Thanks ! 

[BassinLou]

2 hours ago, Jonathan Ellingwood said:

Hi Everyone! What a great site! I'm completely new to fishing, but I love it!  Wish I started along time ago.  Loving getting all these ideas, but I feel I'm all over the place. I'm in the ft lauderdale area and when I find and area where I can get out. I try every thing! Results are usually skunk! It's obvious it's me.  I'm learning what an awesome sport this is ! So much to learn.   

Any advice on what I should stick to would be great. I have a plastic frog set up . Crankbait set up and a medium heavy set up. 

Thanks ! 

Welcome to BR, happy you joined the sport. Take a moment and advantage on what this site has to offer. In your case, go over to the article and video section. There is TONS of information available that will steer in the right direction  on how to get started. I'm not going to lie to you. This time of year is the most challenging for us in FL. Although challenging, its not impossible to find fish. Options for you down here in SFL are: fishing at night, fish early morning or late afternoon,  during the day fish slow and/or around thick cover. I know this may not be specific enough for you, but taking this advice in conjunction with the articles and videos the site has to offer, will definitely help you land a very nice fish or two. Best of luck to you. 

[Dalde003]

On 8/9/2016 at 9:07 AM, Jonathan Ellingwood said:

Hi Everyone! What a great site! I'm completely new to fishing, but I love it!  Wish I started along time ago.  Loving getting all these ideas, but I feel I'm all over the place. I'm in the ft lauderdale area and when I find and area where I can get out. I try every thing! Results are usually skunk! It's obvious it's me.  I'm learning what an awesome sport this is ! So much to learn.   

Any advice on what I should stick to would be great. I have a plastic frog set up . Crankbait set up and a medium heavy set up. 

Thanks ! 

Don't get discouraged if you don't find any fish in Ft. Lauderdale.. i live in downtown off Marina Mile.. i drive out west to do my fishing.. Weston area.. west Sunrise also.. use google earth it is a big help.. good luck and happy fishing
 

[hawgenvy]

On 8/9/2016 at 9:07 AM, Jonathan Ellingwood said:

Hi Everyone! What a great site! I'm completely new to fishing, but I love it!  Wish I started along time ago.  Loving getting all these ideas, but I feel I'm all over the place. I'm in the ft lauderdale area and when I find and area where I can get out. I try every thing! Results are usually skunk! It's obvious it's me.  I'm learning what an awesome sport this is ! So much to learn.   

Any advice on what I should stick to would be great. I have a plastic frog set up . Crankbait set up and a medium heavy set up. 

Thanks ! 

Don't give up. Try weightless senkos or flukes on 10 pound fluorocarbon using your lightest rod, and fish slowly. August and September are the toughest months for largemouth bass in S FL, because the hot water holds insufficient oxygen, and deeper, cooler water is scarce. Things will get much better after October when the water starts to cool. Then your frog might get bit more often.  Alternatively, target peacocks, snakeheads, mayan cichlids, carp, or saltwater species.

[Garcia]

I been catching them on custom painted square bills and minnow cranks.

[Dalde003]

Went out to Browns Farm yesterday.. only threw 1 bait the entire time... A hollow body live target frog. Was getting hits everywhere. I was using 50lb power pro and throwing it over and through the sawgrass and in some spots that had a break in the grass. Caught a nice one around 745pm weighed it on the scale thought it was bigger but ended up only being 3.8. Nice place to use a frog can throw swimbait also. My girlfriend was catching them left and right with a fluke. Good luck happy fishing.

[BassinLou]

5 hours ago, Dalde003 said:

Went out to Browns Farm yesterday.. only threw 1 bait the entire time... A hollow body live target frog. Was getting hits everywhere. I was using 50lb power pro and throwing it over and through the sawgrass and in some spots that had a break in the grass. Caught a nice one around 745pm weighed it on the scale thought it was bigger but ended up only being 3.8. Nice place to use a frog can throw swimbait also. My girlfriend was catching them left and right with a fluke. Good luck happy fishing.

Thank you for the report. I haven't heard a report come out of that area for a while. Glad you were able to stick some fish. 

[hawgenvy]

Any reports on Lake Okeechobee (south end)? Going up to fish out of Belle Glade on Saturday. Rumor has it the bass are chasing baitfish in the cuts.

[BassinLou]

5 hours ago, hawgenvy said:

Any reports on Lake Okeechobee (south end)? Going up to fish out of Belle Glade on Saturday. Rumor has it the bass are chasing baitfish in the cuts.

Water was really dirty in many sections. Find a concentration of hydrilla and the water clarity was great. Water clarity was also pretty good in the trails leading to the lake from South Bay. Good luck!!