Fishing in florida or california

[soflabasser]

On 10/23/2017 at 12:05 AM, jmcarriere said:

If one was yo plan a week vacation to go to either Florida or Cali tp go trophy fishing which state would you choose and when would you go. Time frame would need to be 2nd week of may to labor day

 

I would strongly recommend Florida, especially if you want to target big Florida strain largemouth bass in its native habitat and have much more species of fish to catch(both in freshwater and saltwater). 5-7 pounders are relatively common if you use the right techniques and lots of Florida fishermen catch +10 pounders every year, with many of them over 13 pounds(especially in Central/Northern Florida). We recently had a young man catch a +16 pounder in Central Florida, so our bass fishery is very healthy when it comes to big bass. You can check TrophyCatch catches and see for yourself the hundreds( if not thousands) of fishermen that catch trophy size bass. The Everglades is a amazing fishery with very good for numbers of bass. I have had several +100 bass days there from land in the Everglades and I know several boaters who have had +200 bass days when the conditions are right. The fishing is only getting better in Florida since our state highly regulates trophy bass and the vast majority of bass fishermen release the bass they catch.

[BassB8Caster]

2 hours ago, soflabasser said:

 

I would strongly recommend Florida, especially if you want to target big Florida strain largemouth bass in its native habitat and have much more species of fish to catch(both in freshwater and saltwater). 5-7 pounders are relatively common if you use the right techniques and lots of Florida fishermen catch +10 pounders every year, with many of them over 13 pounds(especially in Central/Northern Florida). We recently had a young man catch a +16 pounder in Central Florida, so our bass fishery is very healthy when it comes to big bass. You can check TrophyCatch catches and see for yourself the hundreds( if not thousands) of fishermen that catch trophy size bass. The Everglades is a amazing fishery with very good for numbers of bass. I have had several +100 bass days there from land in the Everglades and I know several boaters who have had +200 bass days when the conditions are right. The fishing is only getting better in Florida since our state highly regulates trophy bass and the vast majority of bass fishermen release the bass they catch.

hard to argue with this. A day trip on the everglades would be pretty amazing. Peacock bass would also be a trip to remember. 

[Mike L]

Stick, Rodman, Toho, Istopoka, the Glades and of course the Big O....

 

If you're willing to fish in 90+ deg weather while running from pm thunderstorms, but knowing in the back of your mind that any pitch or flip can be your dream fish, then this is where you want to be.

Time of the year be da**ed

 

You may have to work a little harder but a wise man once said....

"The hard is what makes it great"!!

 

 

 

Mike

[soflabasser]

7 hours ago, BassB8Caster said:

hard to argue with this. A day trip on the everglades would be pretty amazing. Peacock bass would also be a trip to remember. 

 Butterfly peacock bass are by far one of my favorite freshwater fish to catch and they are worth traveling for. They fight much more than a equal sized largemouth, smallmouth, muskie, and most freshwater fish I have caught in my travels. The only thing that can top a butterfly peacock bass pound for pound in freshwater is probably the speckled peacock bass in South America that can surpass 30 pound in weight and are often caught over 20 pounds.

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, Mike L said:

Stick, Rodman, Toho, Istopoka, the Glades and of course the Big O....

 

If you're willing to fish in 90+ deg weather while running from pm thunderstorms, but knowing in the back of your mind that any pitch or flip can be your dream fish, then this is where you want to be.

Time of the year be da**ed

 

You may have to work a little harder but a wise man once said....

"The hard is what makes it great"!!

 

 

 

Mike

 

Those are wise words indeed. That quote comes from a movie named ''A League of their Own''. The quote is ''Its supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The Hard...Is what makes it great''. This is true, at least for many of us who enjoy catching trophy bass in highly pressured waters that most people give up on.

[BassObsessed]

Looks like Florida is winning the poll. Iv'e caught big bass in Ca. and Fl. but would pick Fl. for the fact like mentioned that you can catch a 10+ in any given pond or lake and there is no shortage of them that's for sure. This DD was caught in a neighborhood pond in central Fl while on vacation.

[Soulfisher]

If you end up deciding on FL, there is a fast and furious shad run during the month of may in the middle St Johns that  you would have a legitimate shot of a 10lbr- if you fished that pattern.  Then i would go to Kissimmee and or neighboring lakes with a lot of tungsten and 65lb braid.

 

  

[Roden.drew99]

Hopefully you find yourself coming to Florida. There are endless opportunities no matter where in the state you decide to fish. If i had to suggest a somewhat hidden gold mind it would be lake harris and little lake harris. Although it is popular to those who live around here outsiders dont seem to think much of it. Its  great lake to fish and experiment on. Good luck

[Mike L]

36 minutes ago, Roden.drew99 said:

Hopefully you find yourself coming to Florida. There are endless opportunities no matter where in the state you decide to fish. If i had to suggest a somewhat hidden gold mind it would be lake harris and little lake harris. Although it is popular to those who live around here outsiders dont seem to think much of it. Its  great lake to fish and experiment on. Good luck

Agree

The whole Harris Chain is kinda overlooked except for you locals up there of course. Eustis has always been my favorite, just don't get up there enough. 

 

 

 

Mike

[JustJames]

Maybe it is a little too late since OP might have made a decision but I wish I were in FL fishing for those exotic fish and giant bass. I'm in SoCal private lake with a lot of big bass BTW.

[12poundbass]

Northern Michigan for big, mean, hungry, and frequent smallmouth. ?

[WRB]

There are 3 states that have over a 30% chance of catching DD largemouth bass; California, Texas and Florida because of population of Florida strain LMB. Your odds are higher during pre spawn and spawn between January to April. Including Texas as a choice improves you odds. The problem is your time frame, unless night fishing or paying to fish in a private like Camelot-Bell in Texas. 

Tom

[jmcarriere]

5 hours ago, WRB said:

There are 3 states that have over a 30% chance of catching DD largemouth bass; California, Texas and Florida because of population of Florida strain LMB. Your odds are higher during pre spawn and spawn between January to April. Including Texas as a choice improves you odds. The problem is your time frame, unless night fishing or paying to fish in a private like Camelot-Bell in Texas. 

Tom

Yes i know my time frame sucks but because of my job the summer months from the end of april til the end of aug is when i can take time off

[WRB]

The big bass behavior, the DD you are looking to catch, tend to suspend during the days and move into feeding areas at dust as the boat traffic stops and the ecosystem shifts gears for nuacturnal prey like crawdads. Trying to catch big bass not interested in feeding is nearly impossible after the spawn cycle. You spend the day looking for big suspended marks and the night catching those big bass.

Tom

[dropped shot]

id say cali if youre trophy hunting and like throwing hudds or dropshots only, but for quantity go to florida, theres a lot more water there, you can stop pretty much anywhere and fish. not saying theres a lack of fishing in california, but theres ponds everywhere in florida with a ton of big fish, and then you have the big o...

[WRB]

California is very long state running 1,000 north to south, it's 3 states combined with very different climates, high density population along coastal areas and rural agriculture small towns. With 1,000 miles of coast the ocean fishing opportunities are unlimited.

Very diverse terrian from redwood rain forest, bone dry deserts, high alititude mountains and fertile agriculture growing valleys. 

Southern Cal where live retired has excellent Smallmouth and largemouth bass fishing, very little public land with ponds and horrible traffic, not a place for a rural setting.

Central Cal has a few cities, mostly rural small towns with Paso Robles a potential location with several very good bass lakes nearby.

Northern Cal has 2 big cities San Fransico and Sacromento with the same horrible traffic as SoCal. The difference is NorCal is mostly rural and has world class bass fishing and lots of lakes, rivers and ponds, plus the delta. Hard pressed to find better weather or fishing opportunity.

I wish more people would move away, that will never happen due to the ideal weather. To say California doesn't offer great bass fishing is simply naive.

Good luck with your search for a retirement community that suits your needs.

Tom

[dropped shot]

4 hours ago, WRB said:

California is very long state running 1,000 north to south, it's 3 states combined with very different climates, high density population along coastal areas and rural agriculture small towns. With 1,000 miles of coast the ocean fishing opportunities are unlimited.

Very diverse terrian from redwood rain forest, bone dry deserts, high alititude mountains and fertile agriculture growing valleys. 

Southern Cal where live retired has excellent Smallmouth and largemouth bass fishing, very little public land with ponds and horrible traffic, not a place for a rural setting.

Central Cal has a few cities, mostly rural small towns with Paso Robles a potential location with several very good bass lakes nearby.

Northern Cal has 2 big cities San Fransico and Sacromento with the same horrible traffic as SoCal. The difference is NorCal is mostly rural and has world class bass fishing and lots of lakes, rivers and ponds, plus the delta. Hard pressed to find better weather or fishing opportunity.

I wish more people would move away, that will never happen due to the ideal weather. To say California doesn't offer great bass fishing is simply naive.

Good luck with your search for a retirement community that suits your needs.

Tom

Thats exactly whatd Id say if i wasnt too lazy to type that much. Socal has HUGE bass in almost every body of water big or small, and most lakes have teeners. The issue is the fishing pressure. I caught my first bass ever on private property near Fresno in the sierra foothills, and theres great bass fishing there with not a lot of pressure. Cali is definetley more diverse than florida its apples and oranges.

[Chefster]

Try Paul bailey  for clear lake guide.