Lake Monroe in Central Flroida - St. Johns River

[Dom S.]

Hello,

I am fairly new to Bass fishing having moved to Florida from NY about 8 years ago.  I do fairly well at local lakes near me in Port St. Lucie.  I rented a boat 2 weeks ago with my Brother on Lake Harris in Central Floruda.  I had never been there before and we didn't even get a bite.  I was hoping to be more prepared for our next trip, which is this Saturday, the 8th of August on Lake Monroe.

If anyone out there has any ideas or hints on what we can do please reply to this post.

I hope in time that I can be as helpful as some of you are!

Thanks

Dom

[etommy28]

first off, harris is tough people who have fish there many thimes will zero from time to time. on monroe, it has soem water flow so fish the pads early with frogs, then move tothe edges or grass lines with trick worms, sencos,and texas rigged curly tails.

[mrlitetackle]

Im in orlando and dont have much info for you on Monroe, as i have never fished it..........

but,

i did live in Jensen all through highschool, and im sure your familiar with that little town

if your willing to make a slight drive from the PSL,

i can lead you to some quality bass fishing in that area.......

...that is if your willing to get hasseled from time to time by some pesky rangers ;D

[FD.]

Don't feel bad about Harris.  I hate that chain.  I have fished it many, many times and have never had a great day.

I would look for moving water and then heavy vegetation in 4-5 ft of water.  Frogs early and then pitching the heavy stuff with a blue fluke or blue black jig.  All 3 of these baits resemble a blue gill and that is what the bass have been keying on lately.

[b@ssman]

St Johns can be hit or miss as well.  I believe there was just a shad spawn I was out yesterday and there were bunches of pods of small bait moving around the river at the mouth of Monroe.  Look for the bait and the schoolies should be around.  Water is still up and moving with the recent rains. Where are you putting in at?

[Dom S.]

You guys are awesome.  Thanks so much.  We're renting a boat and putting it in in Sanford at 6:00am.  I love the early morning for fishing.

When you say to use frogs, do you mean live frogs or artificials?  Sorry if that's a amateur question.

Mr Lite, I normally stya close to my house and enjoy the calm of some small lakes near me but I would love to find some nice bass producing lakes.

I am going to write down the lures you all mentioned and try to make sure I buy them before I leave.

Thanks again guys.

[SoFl-native]

frogs= soft plastic buzz style frogs or hollow body frogs

buzz frogs= zoom horny toad, gambler cane toad etc.

hollow body= spro frog, snagproof frog etc.

[Dom S.]

I rented a boat on Lake Monroe with my Brother, Saturday (the 8th), can you take a minute and give me your opinion??

I reserved the boat 6 weeks ago and called the Marina several times.  On each occasion I asked him about the fishing and he was very informed.  He also told me the GPS would be "marked" with where to fish.  

We got to the marina at 5:50am and the first thing out of the guy that was there's mouth was, I'm not a bass fisherman so I don't know where to send you!  No one had been out fishing on the boat so there was nothing marked on the GPS.  He was not sure how everything worked and did not turn on the livewell so all the live bait I bought died rather quickly.

The boat was great but we did not know where to fish.  I used some of the advice from this site and looked for rivers running into the lake with some current.  Even found a little lake about 100 yards into the woods with the smallest of passgae ways to it.  Unfortunately we did not catch any bass, crappie or bluegills.  My brother did catch a Garr, about 10 lbs.  That was exciting but for the $400+ I spent I really would have liked a bass.

Lake Monroe seems like a great lake for fishing.  I am going to pay for a guide to take me and my bro at the end of this month.  Any suggestions?

Dom

[Under the Radar]

PM sent

[Dom S.]

I have made a reservation with a guide on lake Monroe for my next trip.  The link to the map is great.  As I said in my earlier posts I really liked the lake and the guide I have been talking to, Eddie, sounds like a super guy.  He told me it's the slowest part of the year and he even said "Save your money and go in the Spring"  but I want to go now AND in the spring.  Sounds like a pretty honest guy.

My trip is for the 12th of September.  Looking forward to it.

I am still looking for some good places to fish in Port St. Lucie if anyone has any ideas?

Thanks

[mikey16]

well monroe has been shallow latley so i hope that boat is small find holes or try the OLD powerplant and barge dock other than that pads in the morning find deep wholes and shiners by the I-4 bridge where the river flows into monroe

[Under the Radar]

and shiners by the I-4 bridge where the river flows into monroe

mikey16, actually the river flows OUT of Monroe @ the I-4 bridge.

just a minor detail.  

Nick O

[CFFF 1.5]

Actually, in most of the river right now the water is up. The water is about 2 ft above normal for this time of year over the past couple of years. Lake Monroe is a great fishery at the right times. The east side of the lake can be good as well as the flat that opens up into Debary Creek. The water quality will play a big part in this though. The best times for this lake are the Winter and Spring.

[roch1]

I am sure this is a bit late but I have had a lot of good catches on Lake Eustis, it is one of the Harris Chain of Lakes. My Parents own a vacation home on the lake so I am usually down there a few times a year.

Dead River connects Lake Harris to Lake Eustis and has held some really nice fish. In fact the fish in my picture is one I caught this year on Eustis. We usually fish from 441 heading north along the Dead River. Just outside of the river into Lake Eustis you will find a canal mouth about 400 yards up. All along that mouth both north and south we have killed them there as well.

We have caught fish on everything from soft plastic (worms, toads) to spinnerbaits, crank baits and such.

Hopefully this helps although I know you were talking about Lake Harris but Eustis in right next door.

[Phishn_Phool]

Do yourself a favor and go to Palatka.  My second advise is to contact Preston Clark at prestonclark.com and not only will you have the best guide on the river, but maybe the best in Florida and one of the niceist guys anywhere....John