Fishing Lake Ida in January

[Christiano_Outdoors]

I'm going down to Florida from New York in January and wanted to do some fresh water fishing, I will be staying not too far from Lake Ida and was wondering if the fishing is okay in January. Any tips on what I should use to catch some bass there. Also I heard that there are some peacock bass there, would love to catch my first on Lake Ida.

[SFL BassHunter]

Your fishing experience may be determined by weather. Our bass can be very finicky. If it get's cold (for florida standards) for a few days you may find bass become lethargic. Gotta drop the bait right in front of them and fish slow.

Peacock fishing in Jan may not be the best. Also depends on weather. A massive cold front could cause a pea kill off or at the very least they will become lethargic as well. For peacock find structures, especially if the temps drop a bit. You may find them up against rocks, bridge pilings, and that kind of stuff. For peacock you can try smaller lures. Inline spinnerbaits work, smaller jigs, small jerk baits. Keep these baits moving, they are more aggressive than largemouth and in my experience tend to back off when a bait or lure stops moving. They can also be caught with 4 inch stick baits or flukes if you work them in a jerking motion. Also peacock sometimes don't strike the first, second, third, or fourth time you throw a bait their way. If they aren't very active or interested in what you are throwing but you know a pea is there, just keep trying. Eventually you'll upset them and can make them strike just because you annoyed them to that point. A good way to tell they are getting annoyed is if they slap your bait, or push it without biting it. They are territorial.

I've fished Lake Osborne which is connected to Ida by a canal. Caught bass at Osborne and seen peacock. I've also gone to Ida but didn't fish it. Saw several peacock, lots of other cichlids.

 

I'm sure others will chime in with a bit more experience than me. BTW if you plan on bank fishing, Lake Osborne will have more bank fishing area than Ida.