Florida giants

[Johnpenguin]

Need to take some vacation time and I was thinking going back to Florida to try at some giants. It’s the best time for Florida giants next month? I Al also looking for someone looking to share their spots with me while I’m down there.

[roadwarrior]

Caught my PB at ToHo in January.

[Johnpenguin]

28 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Caught my PB at ToHo in January.

Where at toho? What were you throwing?

[roadwarrior]

We positioned the boat in the weeds/grass that defined a drop into slightly deeper water.

Cast giant golden shiners with a balloon out a few feet beyond the weed line and let the 

bait swim freely. I don't know exactly where we were because it all looked the same to me.

 

You need a guide.  If you want to fish artificials only, this is your man:

https://www.aeguideservice.com/

[Aaron_H]

16 hours ago, Johnpenguin said:

Need to take some vacation time and I was thinking going back to Florida to try at some giants. It’s the best time for Florida giants next month? I Al also looking for someone looking to share their spots with me while I’m down there.

 

Rodman, Toho, Headwaters, Okeechobee, many others with solid chances at a giant. I wouldn't say next month is the "best" time, but you're definitely getting into that period where some (but not most) fish will be prespawn, especially in south Florida. Jan-March is IMO the best period, but big bass can be found year-round here. Floating shiners is a great way if you have no qualms with live bait.

 

Like @roadwarrior said, you should hire a guide.

[Johnpenguin]

6 hours ago, Aaron_H said:

 

Rodman, Toho, Headwaters, Okeechobee, many others with solid chances at a giant. I wouldn't say next month is the "best" time, but you're definitely getting into that period where some (but not most) fish will be prespawn, especially in south Florida. Jan-March is IMO the best period, but big bass can be found year-round here. Floating shiners is a great way if you have no qualms with live bait.

 

Like @roadwarrior said, you should hire a guide.

I have no problem with others fishing with live bait, but to me I couldn’t have my PB be with live bait. With that in mind, what places are best?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

7 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

We positioned the boat in the weeds/grass that defined a drop into slightly deeper water.

Cast giant golden shiners with a balloon out a few feet beyond the weed line and let the 

bait swim freely. I don't know exactly where we were because it all looked the same to me.

 

You need a guide.  If you want to fish artificials only, this is your man:

https://www.aeguideservice.com/

My fishing mentor caught his PB doing exactly that.    

 

I'd have no problems catching my PB on live bait.  

[Woody B]

I used to go to Florida every November racing.  The racing ended Thanksgiving weekend but I'd not come back home until Christmas.  I fished the St Johns river with a friend of mine who lived down there several times and caught a few 6 and 7 pounders.   One time I hired a guide for Okeechobee.  I caught two 9 pounders and three 8 pounders that day.  (on shiners)

 

I also caught an 8 pounder in a canal at a race track.  

[N Florida Mike]

Fwc has a “trophy catch” program, for the biggest bass and the number of bass over 10 pounds caught that year. It ranks the top 5 lakes for that on there….

Other than that, I would echo what others have already said, and emphasize hiring a guide !!

[crypt]

anytime in Florida is trophy time..........I'm biased though.

[WRB]

November is good further south in Mexico lakes with better odds of catching DD size LMB.

Tom

[geo g]

Caught my PB at Loxahatee in late Nov in the late 80’s at noon on a bright sunny day. 11.4 lbs.  like it was yesterday!

[Mike L]

The vast majority of my 8+ fish have been from early February to late April with my PB the first week of March. 

 

From the St Johns, Toho and Kissimmee Chain to the North, East to the Stick/Farm 13 and a few others, and then South to The Lake. 

For numbers in the 4-6 lbs range I’d say now to late May. 
 

All artificial 
 

(Again, get a guide if you’re really not that experienced on any of them)

 

 

 

Mike
 

 

 

[Johnpenguin]

52 minutes ago, Mike L said:

The vast majority of my 8+ fish have been from early February to late April with my PB the first week of March. 

 

From the St Johns, Toho and Kissimmee Chain to the North, East to the Stick/Farm 13 and a few others, and then South to The Lake. 

For numbers in the 4-6 lbs range I’d say now to late May. 
 

All artificial 
 

(Again, get a guide if you’re really not that experienced on any of them)

 

 

 

Mike
 

 

 

I tried guides…had about a dozen of them…most of them never put me on any good fish and their personalities made me uncomfortable. Even had one guy call me a yankie lol 

[Mike L]

Well…

I don’t know what to tell you.
 If you’ve hired about a dozen professional guides and none were to your liking, the only thing I would suggest is to ask around who local people have hired and talk to them before you commit to see if you gel. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[Osprey39]

On 10/23/2022 at 6:58 PM, Johnpenguin said:

I tried guides…had about a dozen of them…most of them never put me on any good fish and their personalities made me uncomfortable. Even had one guy call me a yankie lol 

 

Hey there John.  I used to live 15 minutes from Lake Tohopekaliga and my PB is from Tiger Lake on the Kissimmee Chain, caught in a tournament no less so ya know it was on artificials lol.  In my humble opinion, February is the best month to go if you want a good shot at catching a 8+ pound fish.  You can catch fish of that class any time of year, but if you go to this webpage and look at the bags, you'll see they peak in February:  https://xbs.floridatournamentreport.com/lake-kissimmee-division/kissimmee-schedule-and-results/

 

If you're looking for a guide, I would recommend Chuck Pippin.  I don't know Chuck personally, but I know his reputation and it's very good.  I know he will do an all artificial trip if you want to.  Here's his web page:  https://www.chucksguideservice.com/guides.html

 

One thing I'll warn you about if you try to fish Florida lakes on your own with no prior experience, you can spend days trying to figure it out because like Roadwarrior said, it all looks good.  I would strongly recommend getting a guide so you make the most of your trip.

 

[Captain Phil]

Catching an 8 pound plus bass in Florida is a number's game.  If you want the best chance, use large wild shiners.  Your best chance fishing artificial bait is flipping heavy cover.  I have caught double digit bass on everything from 4" worms to 3/4 oz. Rattle Traps. It wasn't until I started flipping that I had any consistency.   Flipping is tedious, but it produces what you are looking for. I know good fishermen who have never caught a double digit bass, so consider that.

 

Get a guide.  Your chances of catching a giant bass on your own is minimal.  If I had one Florida lake to fish and my goal was a giant, I would shiner fish Rodman in February or March. 

[Fried Lemons]

Try hitting up Keith Wilson (k7e6ith) on IG, his page speaks for itself.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

I've found there is a massive difference b/t catching a DD Bass, and then trying to target and catch a DD Bass.

 

The majority of people who catch that fish of a lifetime do so as a byproduct of Bass fishing in general.  

 

Targeting DD Bass is not a whole lot of fun.   Agree with Capt. Phil for the most part.  Up here you don't have to flip nearly as much for pigs.  

[Captain Phil]

On 11/3/2022 at 10:47 AM, AlabamaSpothunter said:

The majority of people who catch that fish of a lifetime do so as a byproduct of Bass fishing in general. 

 

Agree.  A double digit bass can be caught anywhere in Florida.  They are not common, but they exist in just about every body of fresh water.  You don't have to flip to catch big bass.  I have seen huge bass caught with crappie jigs on a cane pole.  I caught my first double digit bass in Lake Okeechobee on a 6 inch Creme worm.  Right place right time.  It wasn't until I started flipping that I began to catch them in numbers.  Flipping consistently puts the bait in the right place at the right time.  I can go for days without a big bite.  That kind of fishing is not for everyone as it's boring as heck most of the time.  It's the 1 in 10,000 fish that gets me excited. ☺️ 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

30 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

 

Agree.  A double digit bass can be caught anywhere in Florida.  They are not common, but they exist in just about every body of fresh water.  You don't have to flip to catch big bass.  I have seen huge bass caught with crappie jigs on a cane pole.  I caught my first double digit bass in Lake Okeechobee on a 6 inch Creme worm.  Right place right time.  It wasn't until I started flipping that I began to catching them in numbers.  Flipping consistently puts the bait in the right place at the right time.  I can go for days without a big bite.  That kind of fishing is not for everyone as it's boring as heck most of the time.  It's the 1 in 10,000 fish that gets me excited. ☺️ 

Spot on correct in my view......dude on my home lake caught a 9.4 recently on a fly rod, meanwhile I'm driving myself crazy throwing big Bass baits lol.  

 

It's lonely, frustrating, and seemingly every outing it's a battle with your confidence.....but atlas as you mentioned, it's the 1 in 10,000 fish that gives me a high I can't find anywhere else in the world besides women lol.

[Zcoker]

Right now Headwaters Lake is about the best bet for a Florida Giant. And it's a zoo because of this very reason. You can fish it yourself or you can hire a guide, up to you. Those guides on that lake are pretty reasonable and always seem to put their clients on nice fish. They are busy as all can be but do list vacancies all the time. 

 

Only drawback is that most guides on that lake use wild shiners. They know what the big bass want and they also know what their clients want, which is the same thing....big fish. Yet they do offer artifical services for those who ask. There's a kinda of showdown on that lake with the local guides between shiners and artificals. 

 

As far a anywhere else, I've been catching nice ones out in the Everglades very consistently on artificals. I usually fish there at night. That's when the big girls roam. The smaller fish run and hide lol. It's quite rare to hook a fish under 6lbs out there at night. They run on average 7-11bs

 

Happy hunting! 

[roadwarrior]

47 minutes ago, Zcoker said:

They run on average 7-11bs

 

WOW!

[Captain Phil]

1 hour ago, Zcoker said:

As far a anywhere else, I've been catching nice ones out in the Everglades very consistently on artificals. I usually fish there at night. That's when the big girls roam. The smaller fish run and hide lol. It's quite rare to hook a fish under 6lbs out there at night. They run on average 7-11bs

 

So glad to hear the Everglades is still producing great bass fishing.  I fished there as a youth before Holiday Park and Sawgrass Camps were built.  Moved to Central Florida in 1997 and would love to go back to fish some day.  Back then, we fished musky jitterbugs at night.  Six to eight pound bass were plentiful.  I never caught one over ten until I came to Central Florida.  You are right about giants at night if you can stand the mosquitoes.  ☺️

[Zcoker]

30 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

 

WOW!

Yeah, it's just crazy how these big fish come out and play at night out in the glades. Really an eye opener. Seems like they just hide out during the daytime, chilling out and waiting for the sun to go down lol.