Central Florida Bass

[Eric Montes Polk FL]

Hey everyone. Been a while since I've been in here. I've been reading several forum posts. Alot of cool info on this site. What I'm looking for is info on local lakes , ponds etc. I haven't been able to do much fishing lately. Been kinda out of the loop. Work has been hectic with a newborn to boot. The passion for fishing never dies. Everyday I wish I could fish for a living. As I drive by lakes I scout big bass holding locations. It's a disease I swear. I always have a pole in the truck. Never get the chance to do any damage. Gonna be slowing down my grind a bit to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I'm thinking about going back to trophy hunting. I haven't grabbed the lips of a beautiful double digit girl in over a year. I see new lures and techniques being used now. Not sure if applicable to my area. My questions are... What's the BIG new thing. Lure wise. Retrieve. New info on bass habits??? I've spent alot of time targeting high pressured waters trying to pull them old girls out in the past few years. I pretty much know where they are on a body of water. Toho, Kissimmee, jesup etc... I'm wondering what's been caught recently. If you've gotten some big girls to take pictures with you I'd like to take a gander at em. Don't need your exact location or lake for that much but if u have a story , I'd like to hear it. If u know where they're at and can't get a bite??? Let me know. I might have a few tips u could try or we could meet up and try to coax em out together. Central Florida is my interests. Beyond that is just vital info we can all collect from each other. Drop a line. Let's see if we can figure some patterns or habits out. Feel free to post some pics. Doesn't have to be double digits. Anything u got over 5 lbs with a back story would do well. Tight lines y'all. Give em hell

Sry, another thing I was gonna add. I've gotten into speck/crappie fishing this last year. Tips on that are welcome as well. My brother caught one around 5 lbs. So I now have a new family record to beat. Little did he know, his fish was likely a record. He still has it Frozen in a freezer. Any way of still claiming the record???

 

[Fishing_FF]

Welcome back!

 

I can't help on the lunker hunt as most of what I'm catching is in the smaller range, less than 5lbs. 

 

I do know of a great lake for speck. It is Lake Marian in Kenansville. I work down that way. I was recently talking with a guy that has a small bait business that locals use. He said for the last couple months the bite has been on big time, and the best bait is crickets. He sells minnows and shiners, but says the crickets bring in far more fish than the other live baits. Funny thing is the crickets are cheaper too. 

 

FWC is in charge of Florida's fish records. You can find information on their website on how to contact and claim large fish that challenge state records. Here is a link to the program: http://myfwc.com/fishing/freshwater/fishing-tips/record/

I can't find it now, but I remember reading someplace on the FWC website they request the fish remain intact, placed on ice but not frozen. They also have to certify it was a legal catch by hook and line and the lake it was taken from. 

 

Good luck!!!