Florida canals for LMB

[TheRodFather]

Hey guys, down here on vacation with my in-laws, there are two canals that form the back of their property and my FIL built a deck on top of two pontoons and put a trolling motor on for buzzing up and down the canals. Last year we were down here it was heaven, walk out to the deck or get on the pontoon boat and start catching largies  (long as the alligator wasn't sunning himself on the deck).

 

This year though I have been fishing for two days and had nothing but a Gar take a swipe at a spinner bait.  What the heck is going on? Last year it was senkos pitched towards shore or lay down palm trees.  The water is badly stained, like 3 inch visibility, so I switched to a spinner bait for some flash and vibration, but still no luck.

 

Any thoughts?

[Wurming67]

We have had record amounts of rain it's Disturbed the whole system

[TheRodFather]

Bummer............what other options do I have in the Port Charlottesville area to catch some fish from the bank?

[Wurming67]

If you mean port CHARLOTTE Google fishing Frank's he's got alot of great info for Southwest fishing.

[TheRodFather]

Oops, yes autocorrect got me.  OK, will check that out, thank you!

[Mike L]

Go to Webb Lake.

Take Rt 41 south through Punta Gorda, turn left on Tuckers Grade Blvd the lake will be on your right. 

There are some small marl ponds you can fish also, but I'd fish the lake

 

Coco Plum canal

Rt 41 north through North Port, turn right on North Port Blvd and right after the bridge

 

 

 

Mike

[TheRodFather]

11 hours ago, Mike L said:

Go to Webb Lake.

Take Rt 41 south through Punta Gorda, turn left on Tuckers Grade Blvd the lake will be on your right. 

There are some small marl ponds you can fish also, but I'd fish the lake

 

Coco Plum canal

Rt 41 north through North Port, turn right on North Port Blvd and right after the bridge

 

 

 

Mike

The coco plum canal system is the canal that my in-laws place sits near. They are just south of coco plum between two of the smaller canals coming off coco plum. I have fished the minor and major canals around their house that produced for me last year.  But no luck so far, the water is very low and quite stained.

 

I met a guy at fishing Frank's that put me onto some ponds, caught 3 or 4, several over 4 pounds, which, for a guy from PA are hawgs

 

 

Thanks for all the help guys

[Mike L]

If you go to the canal where I said, to the left of the ramp there is a flat that drops off about 6ft to a rocky area all the way to the shore. 

It's about 30yds out. 

 

Also, if you talked to Robert at Franks I know where he sent you. Go there at sunrise and throw a popper of your choice. 

There are some serious fish in there. 

 

 

Mike

[TheRodFather]

I was talking to Frank, then he introduced me to a local that gave up a spot or two. It was next to a business and despite a lack of signage, an employee told me I couldn't fish there. I had caught 2 real nice fish a couple average fish by then though.

I will check out the canal in North Port tomorrow morning, thanks again!

What is this spot that Robert and you know

[Mike L]

16 hours ago, TheRodFather said:

I was talking to Frank, then he introduced me to a local that gave up a spot or two. It was next to a business and despite a lack of signage, an employee told me I couldn't fish there. I had caught 2 real nice fish a couple average fish by then though.

I will check out the canal in North Port tomorrow morning, thanks again!

What is this spot that Robert and you know

 

Check your pm

 

 

 

Mike

[soflabasser]

The bass are still biting well across South Florida, you just have to try different techniques until you find the right one that works on a particular day.

[TheRodFather]

22 hours ago, soflabasser said:

The bass are still biting well across South Florida, you just have to try different techniques until you find the right one that works on a particular day.

I was catching some quality fish at a pond that a local sent me too, but anything connected to a canal, and even the ponds to a lesser degree have such a stain to the water it's hard to imagine the fish can even see a lure. Last year I could pick out beds on the shoreline of the canals. This year visibility is like 3inches.

 

What is causing that? It's my understanding that decaying organic material releases tannins that stain the water. Did the drought earlier in the year expose a bunch of underwater vegetation which then died from lack of water, then the when the rain came it covered all the dead vegetation back up and now it's decaying?

[SFL BassHunter]

We literally had 2 weeks of non stop rain here in Florida. They are pumping loads of water out of the canals. That is attributing to the visibility change you are referring to. Water is churning up sediment constantly. 

 

The fishing in the canals has been tough. The water rise issue plus the 100+ degree days is making for some difficult fishing in some places. I have a few ponds that have completely shut down. The bass are just not active even when throwing something like a senko or uvibe.

It's just a matter of being out there at the right time when they decide to feed and the window for that may be small. 

[soflabasser]

On ‎7‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 11:48 PM, TheRodFather said:

I was catching some quality fish at a pond that a local sent me too, but anything connected to a canal, and even the ponds to a lesser degree have such a stain to the water it's hard to imagine the fish can even see a lure. Last year I could pick out beds on the shoreline of the canals. This year visibility is like 3inches.

 

What is causing that? It's my understanding that decaying organic material releases tannins that stain the water. Did the drought earlier in the year expose a bunch of underwater vegetation which then died from lack of water, then the when the rain came it covered all the dead vegetation back up and now it's decaying?

 

 

  Sorry for not responding sooner, I haven't logged in for a couple days. The water in the canals can have decreased water visibility for many reasons, such as increased water flow from recent heavy rains, increased sediment in water from all the extra water moving in the canals, increased algae in water from nutrient rich water and warm weather, etc. High water levels does not mean bad fishing, there are plenty of people doing extremely well these past 2 months, so the bass are still biting well across South Florida. I have lost count of all the 18-22 inch largemouth bass I have caught as bycatch these past 2 months while targeting peacock bass and bullseye snakehead and I am certain I could of caught much bigger bass if I where to specifically be targeting largemouth bass. I tend to fish around sunrise, sunset, cloudy/rainy conditions, at night ,etc during this time of year and avoid fishing in late morning/early afternoon.