Two questions about Florida bass fishing

[Elkins45]

1. What’s likely to be the most productive month for fishing Florida lakes?

2. Are those big catches people post from Headwaters and the other famous lakes all taken with shiners or can you catch a similar amount of fish with artificials?

[Don51]

We get "cold fronts" continuously all winter long so it is a crapshoot. Morning lows can sometimes get into the 40's and will shut them down. Most big fish are caught with shiners because that is what the guides use. If you are going on a charter they will want you to sling shiners because that is money for them. You can also get plenty of fish on artificials and have a big numbers day. Odds of catching a lunker though do go up using shiners. 

[you]

1. For me, the best months are February and March, but it depends. The best days will be on a warming trend after it's been (relatively) cold. Rising temps will concentrate fish shallow and make them aggressive toward many presentations--classic late prespawn.

 

2. I agree with @Don51. I'm no trophy hunter, and I've never used shiners, but anecdotally this is common. Most folks I run into who tell me about catching 8-10 pounders on this or that lake say they were using shiners, either freelining or under a big float near grasslines.

[Zcoker]

Anytime is a good time. I've caught giant bass all year round down here in south/southeast Florida. Just a matter of knowing what the fish are doing on any given trip, weather conditions and so forth. But if I were to pick a favorite month it would have to be February or even March. I've caught many back to back trophy fish in February, probably more trophy fish than any other month. Not only that, it's just so nice out! 

 

As far as the bass in Headwaters go, most bigguns you hear about are taken on live shiners with the exception of a few on artificals. There's a sort of rivalry going on out there between the shiner guys and the artifical guys, one always trying to outshine the other. For the most, the charter guys fish with the shiners, like 6-12 dozen each trip but do fish the fake baits as well. Most weekend guys use artificals. The big girls can be taken off a variety of lures. Big swimbaits worked in the flats have been getting DD's lately, 7in baits, swimming shads and so forth. I know of a 13 pounder that was caught on a plastic worm. 8-9's on chatterbaits. Punching also produces some fish over 10 pounds....hold on! What all this means is that artificals do have their place and do produce trophy fish. Live shiners just make practical sense for most of those charter guys...guaranteed fish for their clients. Maybe not DD but still a ton of fish, like 50-100 fish each trip....happy campers! 

 

Other lakes have a good reputation like Placid. But if I were planning a trip down here, I'd definably have Headwaters high on my list, there or Orange Lake. Headwaters just won an FWC award (with Orange lake coming in second) for the most trophy fish recorded this year. If it were a game of odds, then Headwaters would get the nod as the best possible place to get a trophy bass right now, DD included. It's a great place but does take some getting used to. It's not like your typical lake, more like the marshy everglades, very shallow with hardly any depth change and loaded with vegetation. So it does require a bit of adaptation to fish it...not to mention an open mind! 

[TOXIC]

We go to Headwaters last week of January and use nothing but artificials.  True that most of the guides use shiners but they will also outfit you with artificials if you request it.  I wrote an article on Yamamoto’s Inside Line online magazine about our last trip to Headwaters.  You can google it.  I go over all of our baits.  Here’s a little sample of what we caught. 

[crypt]

I live 20 minutes from Headwaters/Stick Marsh. anytime of the year is a good time to be here. with that said, from November till the end of May is the best time. you can use whatever you wish. most of the guides will want to use shiners to get the most and bigger fish. I don't use shiners myself so I'm with you for using artificials. soft plastics, worms,swimbaits,anything else you can think of.as far as hard baits. traps,Baby 1 minus, spinnerbaits,buzzbaits. topwater you only need 2 baits. Zara Spook and a Devils Horse. let me know when your gonna be there, could meet ya there.

[Mike L]

Well all of the above pretty much covers it. 
Cant add much only to say that Lake Placid as @Zcoker mentioned is on fire right now. 
 

I was there last weekend and this past Tuesday and it was nuts. (all artificial’s)

 

The smallest ones were 3# and 5 over 7# all in a 5 hr span 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

On 10/19/2023 at 7:10 PM, Mike L said:

Well all of the above pretty much covers it. 
Cant add much only to say that Lake Placid as @Zcoker mentioned is on fire right now. 
 

I was there last weekend and this past Tuesday and it was nuts. (all artificial’s)

 

The smallest ones were 3# and 5 over 7# all in a 5 hr span 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

 

 

Whoa!

[Captain Phil]

Guides prefer shiner fishing to artificials because it removes much of the angler's skill from the equation and it practically guarantees fish in the boat.  Anyone can catch a bass on a shiner as long as you are fishing where there are fish.  Here in Florida, this means just about anywhere.  Although not talked about, some guides make money selling shiners to their customers.  At $20 or more a dozen, there is a significant markup and customers can't take unused bait home with them.  It is not uncommon to spend over $100 a day on live bait these days. 

 

I have fished local tournaments where shiner fishing was allowed.   Without exception, the tournament was won on artificial baits.  This is no surprise as anglers who fish artificial lures are more experienced.  There are times when fishing shiners is the only way to get a bite.  Florida bass are notorious for getting lock jaw after a severe cold front.  You can catch them flipping, but few casual anglers are skilled or patient enough.  My best customers were experienced bass fisherman.   Back when I was guiding, there wasn't a lot of information out there.   They would rather pay me than spend their time searching through 50,000 acres of water.   Today, there are dozens of guides and YouTube videos telling you where and how to fish the Chain.  

[roadwarrior]

1/08/20  ToHo

12.4 PB on a golden shiner

Hooked up with two bigger bass, but did not land either

Totals for the day (ghoti and me) 24 bass landed, 48 shiners used

[Mike L]

1 hour ago, roadwarrior said:

1/08/20  ToHo

12.4 PB on a golden shiner

Hooked up with two bigger bass, but did not land either

Totals for the day (ghoti and me) 24 bass landed, 48 shiners used

You have some of the best memories with him for sure 

🥲

 

 

 

 

Mike

[roadwarrior]

Yep, I met Gary and his wife Mary at a BassResorcce Roadtrip on Lake Fork 

and we have been fishing ever since. Most of our trips were to the White River

in Arkansas fishing with Tim "Hot Dawg" Curtis.  Great memories...

[Gator Kayser]

I live in Florida and I believe the best months are March and April. I fish 200+ days a year, and year in and year out these for me are the best months.