Late November in South Florida - what part of the cycle are we in?

[snake95]

Heading to Naples area.  I am confused about what to expect the bass are doing.  Fall transition? Pre spawn?  Something different?

 

Thanks guys!

[FryDog62]

I usually don't get there until Jan 1 ish... by then they are just starting to think about pre-spawn. Are you pond fishing? The Tilapia usually stage first, then bass. 

[snake95]

46 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

I usually don't get there until Jan 1 ish... by then they are just starting to think about pre-spawn. Are you pond fishing? The Tilapia usually stage first, then bass. 

Same here, and often in late February when they are all over the place.  

 

Yes I am bank fishing ponds and canals - no boat this trip.

 

Thanks for the insights.

[Dwight Hottle]

Prespawn. Believe it or not some bass start bedding in late Nov, early Dec. Not the norm but it does happen with very small numbers. 

[snake95]

16 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

Prespawn. Believe it or not some bass start bedding in late Nov, early Dec. Not the norm but it does happen with very small numbers. 

Thanks Dwight, that is much appreciated.  

 

So I guess the same prespawn baits and methods as anywhere (from the bank?).

 

And... I assume a good time for big ones?

[Dwight Hottle]

1 hour ago, snake95 said:

Thanks Dwight, that is much appreciated.  

 

So I guess the same prespawn baits and methods as anywhere (from the bank?).

 

And... I assume a good time for big ones?

 

Yes sir

[geo g]

I fish south Florida all the time and one thing that will determine what you can throw will be the vegetation.  Especially from the bank it will have to be weedless and as light as you can get it to keep from hanging up on the sandstone rock walls.  Another tip is to wear leather boots especially in higher grass.  We have things that can hurt you down here especially when bank fishing.  
 

alligator alley on the west side of Naples should be hot that time of year.  There are two college campus with lakes you can fish in Naples.  Have fun and watch where your walking!  Large commercial areas usually have lakes that provide fill.  All have bass, and all connected to the drainage system through culvert pipes.

 

Spawn anytime from November to April.  They sometimes spawn several times during one year.  Without extreme seasons they have flexibility.  Down here it’s more wet season vrs. Dry season, welcome to the tropics!

[snake95]

Just to report back, I fished ponds and a little bit in one of the canals - 4 mornings in a row.

Caught several small bass - never skunked except last morning when I had a bass on a rage toad at about 6 am in the dark, but lost him.  No bites in the canal.

 

I mostly tried fishing close to shoreline reeds.  

 

Best success was a purple trickworm with a light (1/8 oz) bullet weight, and a fast-moving Lucky Craft lipless crank in shad pattern.  

 

Also did well tossing a Z man TRD ned rig in Drew's Craw in areas where I saw signs of small baitfish.

 

Spinnerbait/kietch swing impact fat got hammered in a pocket in the reeds.

 

No luck with weightless senkos or rage tail cut R worms with a bullet weight.

No luck on waking baits, poppers, or buzzbaits.  Nothing on hard swimbaits.

 

I felt like the themes for this trip were fast and vibrating lures for a reaction bite, or deeper finesse.  

 

No monsters this trip, but overall success wasn't bad.  Thanks for the tips, guys.

 

[Lech]

Try a different species.

Bass fishing in Florida is dead. Been dead for the last 15 of the 18 years i have lived here.

They are either over fished, or poor water management.

Either way same end result.

Not even worth spending money on a license.

The only place here I know you can do well is Feldsmear near stick marsh.

I fish near Ocala and there is ZERO chance to catch any bass at all.

The last 4 times out on the boat nothing, not even a bite.

Mud fish city.

 

[Dwight Hottle]

Obviously a loser troll. 

[snake95]

I agree.  Weird.  I am a weekend angler who beats the bank on my annual trips to Florida and always catch bass - often in very heavily developed areas.  In fact my best luck has been in a narrow canal in front of a big grocery store and Dunkin’ Donuts with a 6 lane road on the other side of the canal. I’ve had passerby in cars yelling and cheering as my son hoists bass out of the canal.  I can’t imagine someone calling bass fishing in Florida “dead!”

[grampa1114]

So lets talk about the Caloosahatchee for a minute. I moved here in January and the only bass I've seen were in holding ponds. There is little discernable vegatation on the flats and few , if any, bass out on the drop off. Must I go past the locks to catch decent Bass? Can I get an honest opinion from a Bass fisherman, please. 

 

[Mike L]

Ok let’s talk….

Where exactly are you fishing “holding ponds”?

What “drop off’s” are you referring too?

 

There are a thousand places in that lake you can catch fish.

I was sight fishing beds last weekend. 
There are tournaments there out of all 4 sides on any given weekend. 
 

Is it tough fishing sometimes? Sure

Weather this time of the year has a great impact on results no matter where you go but there are fish to be caught. 

Tell us where and how you fish and I’ll try to point you in the right direction. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[grampa1114]

I mistakenly referred to the wrong body of water as I should have said the Caloosahatchie. Does it make more sense now? d**n old Yankees don't even know where they are... Sorry