Figuring Out Florida Bass

[Jordan Finnerty]

Hi there everyone,

 

So I recently moved to Florida and I'm on the east coast of Florida so of course there's a huge saltwater scene. However, I'm trying to find largemouth bass to try and catch. I'm originally from New York and am very familiar with the fishing up there (fished my whole life, fished tournaments, etc etc.) However, I can't seem to figure out the bass down here yet, or the best places to find them. Any tips? Thanks in advance! 

 

P.S. my boat is back in New York, so I only have access to shore fishing

[Kristquinones]

What part of florida? (south, central, north)

 I've been in the Miramar aree since November so I'm kind of new too but I can mostly talk about here and alligator alley. if you're close to this area let me know.

[Catt]

We got 1 or 2 Florida boys round here somewhere just gotta figure out where @roadwarrior hide em!

[DINK WHISPERER]

Find the thickest, nastiest cover (vegetation) you can find and get after it. 

[Mike L]

Need to know where you're at on the East coast so we can help. 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Darren.]

Welcome aboard!

 

Lots of Florida members here. Stay tuned, they'll

show up soon  

[bigbassin']

Never fished around Palm Bay, but definitely a lot of nice looking bodies of water on the side of the road when driving down the interstate. 

 

As far as figuring the bass out down here, I don't have a whole lot of experience with northern strain bass, but they seemed way more aggressive and willing to hit a lure than our fish down here.  I think going from FL fish to northern strains was considerably easier than going the other way probably will be.  Got to throw the mid-range cranks, spinnerbaits, spooks, etc. that you always see people throw across the country while up north.  And the numbers were way higher than I ever expect to catch down here unless you're fishing the South Florida canals.  On the flip side, Florida bass get a whole lot bigger than in New York, and once you figure out what you're doing, you can expect to catch several fish a year larger than a lot of Northern folk's pb's.

 

Due to the fact most of the cover you''ll experience down here will be grass rather than rocks or standing timber weedless soft plastics are the norm, and what you'll see most people fishing down here.  A worm, swimbaits, swimjigs, flukes, senkos, and a topwater frog cover 99% of pondfishing here.  On the lakes punching is a big deal, but if you're only shore bound I wouldn't be too concerned with that.  As far as colors go, black and blues and watermelon are both effective, which I'm pretty sure is standard across the country.  Locally a lot of guys will throw junebug, junebug red, and junebug blue.  You'll definitely want to as well when dealing with tannic water, that color pattern has won several tournaments down here.

 

Hard baits work as well, I will throw topwater, rattletraps, shallow divers, etc. if the cover will allow it, but it's much simpler to start the day at a new spot already rigged weedless and adjusting if you wind up fishing a hard bottom/rocks/laydowns, or grass that has enough clearance to work a lure over.  Gold/black and silver/chrome rattle traps will be found in most people's tackle boxes around here, they do pretty well around the eelgrass and coontail a lot of ponds have.

 

From a seasonal standpoint, your fish should either be on beds right now, or finishing up the spawn.

 

I'd also say don't be afraid to use live bait while you're trying to find spots down here.  I used to fish several ponds that you could fish artificials all day and be lucky to catch a fish or two, switch to shiners  and your best 5 will go for 20+ pounds.

 

 

[Big Mike in Fl]

Did someone say Palm Bay?

 

 

ive loved I Palm Bay all my life, pretty well know all of the bodies of water big and small, first thing I’d tell you is around here plastics and top water reign supreme. You can find bass year round and can certainly catch plenty of quality fish from the shore. If you are indeed in Palm Bay, hit me up, I can help you out 

[Koz]

11 hours ago, bigbassin' said:

I'd also say don't be afraid to use live bait while you're trying to find spots down here.  I used to fish several ponds that you could fish artificials all day and be lucky to catch a fish or two, switch to shiners  and your best 5 will go for 20+ pounds.

 

 

^This^

[WRB]

Right now the Florida bass should be in the spawn period, maybe post spawn?

I would suggest using 6” to 9” June bug color worms Texas rigged with 3/16 to 1/4 oz sliding bullet weight in cover edges or pegged in heavier cover. Stay with the soft plastics until mid April.

You should be able to sight fish or blind cast into pockets of cover.

Tom

[N Florida Mike]

On 2/26/2018 at 8:35 PM, bigbassin' said:

Never fished around Palm Bay, but definitely a lot of nice looking bodies of water on the side of the road when driving down the interstate. 

 

As far as figuring the bass out down here, I don't have a whole lot of experience with northern strain bass, but they seemed way more aggressive and willing to hit a lure than our fish down here.  I think going from FL fish to northern strains was considerably easier than going the other way probably will be.  Got to throw the mid-range cranks, spinnerbaits, spooks, etc. that you always see people throw across the country while up north.  And the numbers were way higher than I ever expect to catch down here unless you're fishing the South Florida canals.  On the flip side, Florida bass get a whole lot bigger than in New York, and once you figure out what you're doing, you can expect to catch several fish a year larger than a lot of Northern folk's pb's.

 

Due to the fact most of the cover you''ll experience down here will be grass rather than rocks or standing timber weedless soft plastics are the norm, and what you'll see most people fishing down here.  A worm, swimbaits, swimjigs, flukes, senkos, and a topwater frog cover 99% of pondfishing here.  On the lakes punching is a big deal, but if you're only shore bound I wouldn't be too concerned with that.  As far as colors go, black and blues and watermelon are both effective, which I'm pretty sure is standard across the country.  Locally a lot of guys will throw junebug, junebug red, and junebug blue.  You'll definitely want to as well when dealing with tannic water, that color pattern has won several tournaments down here.

 

Hard baits work as well, I will throw topwater, rattletraps, shallow divers, etc. if the cover will allow it, but it's much simpler to start the day at a new spot already rigged weedless and adjusting if you wind up fishing a hard bottom/rocks/laydowns, or grass that has enough clearance to work a lure over.  Gold/black and silver/chrome rattle traps will be found in most people's tackle boxes around here, they do pretty well around the eelgrass and coontail a lot of ponds have.

 

From a seasonal standpoint, your fish should either be on beds right now, or finishing up the spawn.

 

I'd also say don't be afraid to use live bait while you're trying to find spots down here.  I used to fish several ponds that you could fish artificials all day and be lucky to catch a fish or two, switch to shiners  and your best 5 will go for 20+ pounds.

 

 

'Nuff said.^^^^

[Czorn]

I have never fished Florida but all we have here (lake Conroe) is Florida bass. Maybe that's the same??? If so look for clear water or stained water. Muddy water makes them hard to catch. Also forget everything you know about any other kind of bass. When you see that perfect spot that just has to have a big girl in it, it doesn't. Can't fish with your eyes around here. 

[Jordan Finnerty]

Thank you for the help everyone, I really appreciate it. Recently caught my first few bass including this one, which, if I had to guess was about 22" and around 7 pounds. Slowly figuring it out!

[BCline]

The last tip you need about Florida bass fishing is that you absolutely must buy a scale.  You will definitely be needing one.

[Bassfishin91]

23 hours ago, Jordan Finnerty said:

Thank you for the help everyone, I really appreciate it. Recently caught my first few bass including this one, which, if I had to guess was about 22" and around 7 pounds. Slowly figuring it out!

Nice catch man welcome to florida land of the bigguns

[Brandon Chance]

On 2/26/2018 at 10:46 PM, Big Mike in Fl said:

Did someone say Palm Bay?

 

 

ive loved I Palm Bay all my life, pretty well know all of the bodies of water big and small, first thing I’d tell you is around here plastics and top water reign supreme. You can find bass year round and can certainly catch plenty of quality fish from the shore. If you are indeed in Palm Bay, hit me up, I can help you out 

I'm in Palm Bay big Mike I could use all the help I can get. Having a hard time catching anything without a boat can't find many shore fishing places so any advice or tips would be appreciated!! 

 

[soflabasser]

On 2/26/2018 at 8:35 PM, bigbassin' said:

I think going from FL fish to northern strains was considerably easier than going the other way probably will be.  Got to throw the mid-range cranks, spinnerbaits, spooks, etc. that you always see people throw across the country while up north.  And the numbers were way higher than I ever expect to catch down here unless you're fishing the South Florida canals.  On the flip side, Florida bass get a whole lot bigger than in New York, and once you figure out what you're doing, you can expect to catch several fish a year larger than a lot of Northern folk's pb's.

 

I have also realized that northern strain largemouth bass are much easier to catch than Florida strain largemouth bass. I caught a bunch of nice northern strain largemouth bass on wire leaders as bycatch while muskie fishing and these bass seem less picky on what they will hit. Florida largemouth bass seem to be more intelligent and you usually have to work harder to catch them. I am sure lots of northerners than move down to South Florida learn this lesson and realize it is a whole different level of bass fishing down here, especially from land without a guide giving you his spots and knowledge. I tend to focus more on low light conditions when bass fishing here in South Florida, especially for big bass.

[SC53]

In Florida we fish cover, everywhere else you fish structure. That’s probably the biggest obstacle anglers face when coming here. Anything they can hide in they will and that’s where you look for them. Look for areas where cover mixes or changes, like underwater grasses against reeds or pads. 

[Topwaterdude]

On 2/26/2018 at 3:49 PM, DINK WHISPERER said:

Find the thickest, nastiest cover (vegetation) you can find and get after it. 

Do yourself a favor and invest in a good flipping stick high speed reel,65-80 lb braid,1-2 oz tungsten flipping weights, heavy duty 4/0 flipping hook,punch skirts, creature baits,bobber stop and like dink said find the thickest stuff you can find and toss it right in there.

[Mike L]

59 minutes ago, Topwaterdude said:

Do yourself a favor and invest in a good flipping stick high speed reel,65-80 lb braid,1-2 oz tungsten flipping weights, heavy duty 4/0 flipping hook,punch skirts, creature baits,bobber stop and like dink said find the thickest stuff you can find and toss it right in there.

 

Ditto

 

 

 

Mike

[soflabasser]

It is a common misconception to think Florida bass fishing is only bass fishing in heavy cover such as aquatic vegetation.There is more than just cover in Florida. You also need to know how to fish structure. The structure down here might not be exactly the same compared to what you find up north but we have structure and there are always bass next to some of that structure. Every bass fisherman needs to know how to fish both cover and structure and that can make the difference between catching ordinary bass and bass that are memorable on a consistent basis.

[LuffDaddy]

On 10/13/2018 at 8:21 PM, Topwaterdude said:

Do yourself a favor and invest in a good flipping stick high speed reel,65-80 lb braid,1-2 oz tungsten flipping weights, heavy duty 4/0 flipping hook,punch skirts, creature baits,bobber stop and like dink said find the thickest stuff you can find and toss it right in there.

"Do yourself a favor and spend $500" Lmao. Just kidding!  For real though, this is very true in Florida. They all hide out under the thick mats!

One thing I do, because I don't really have a set up for properly punching yet, is run loud, flashy baits right along the edge of those thick mats. Sometimes they shoot out to grab your bait but be ready because they usually try to bolt right back into the weeds!

[Mike L]

6 hours ago, soflabasser said:

It is a common misconception to think Florida bass fishing is only bass fishing in heavy cover such as aquatic vegetation.There is more than just cover in Florida. You also need to know how to fish structure. The structure down here might not be exactly the same compared to what you find up north but we have structure and there are always bass next to some of that structure. Every bass fisherman needs to know how to fish both cover and structure and that can make the difference between catching ordinary bass and bass that are memorable on a consistent basis.

Well said!

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Derek1]

This was a good read, I thought you guys could walk out to a puddle on the street and catch bass lol. 

[crypt]

I live in Melbourne.right north of Palm Bay. topwater,soft plastics are what you need to get started. soflabasser said it best...there are fish offshore on structure,sometimes more than you think.....just sayin.