Florida, January recommendations.

[Fishing Rhino]

My wife and I are discussing renting a place for the month of January in Florida.

Looking for advice as to where I can find some decent fishing, and perhaps someone to fish with while we are there.

I'll be bringing my Nitro Z7, and would look forward to meeting, and fishing with some members from the area where we will be staying.

Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  It's tough to beat local knowlege.

Since my wife does not fish, there will be an empty seat or two on my boat when I do hit the water.

We are looking to escape the cold for that month, so we are thinking about staying in a place from I-4 south.

[JohnnyBigger]

you cant beat the kissimmee/toho area

[salmicropterus]

you cant beat the kissimmee/toho area

X2 Check out Grape Hammock area of Lake Kissimmee and there may be some rental housing up near Camp Mack. Up toward Toho in the city of Kissimmee, there is probably a rental agency for winter rentals.

[Under the Radar]

As time gets closer, let me know exactly when & where you will be here. I'm north of Orlando a bit but I'd like to get together while you're down here. Maybe I can take you on the St. John's River one day.

Nick O

[Fishing Rhino]

Thanks for the replies.  It was the area I was considering.  It seemed to fit the bill.

My wife doesn't fish..............yet, so it's an area with plenty of other things to do.

The St. Johns River is something I would enjoy.  Will send a pm in the next couple of weeks.

[Under the Radar]

Tom,

Here are a couple links to 2 active guides in the area. You can follow their reports going back a couple of years to kind of get a feeling for the area and action for that time of year. Of course no warranties written expressed or implied..

Fished West Toho yesterday with a buddy. A couple on wild shiners, but most on spinner baits, Silver minnow spoons in gold & pichin' to the Kissimmee grass and bulrushes.

Had worse days & had better.

Nick O

uh oh forgot the links  .. doh

http://www.reelreports.com/captains/eddie-bussard.html

I've fished with Eddie, and over the years have found his reports to be the straight stuff.

Tim I've not fished with.

http://www.reelreports.com/captains/tim-fey.html

[FD.]

Tim Fey's reports are right on. Although he usually fishes Johns Lake and the Conway Chain.

If you want to stay on the water, then I would vote for Camp Mack. Kissimmee, Hatch, Cypress, Toho all within 20 minutes of the ramp.

campmack.com

The only problem is when the weather is up, fishing on the chain can be tough.

If you are staying off the water then look for something in the Lake Wales area. That put's the K chain, Winterhaven chain, Crooked Lake, Istokpoga, Stick Marsh and several HUNDRED other smaller lakes in play. Depending of cold fronts and wind direction, I can point you in at least a safe and comfortable direction.

PM me a couple of weeks out with your location and what lakes you want to fish. I don't get out as much as I want but I have a lot of friends that get me good info.

PS Plan on several back up lakes.  Some the my most miserable moments in life involve Toho in January.

[RoLo]

I've been a year-round resident of central Florida since 1998.

If I were asked to name the slowest bass fishing month in central Florida,

I'd name January without hesitation. Florida-strain bass react more negatively

to cold water than northern-strain bass, where cold is a relative term.

(I also lived 50 years in New Jersey). In January, it's not unusual to strikeout

with hard baits, soft-plastics and live shiners, all on the same day.

Kissimmee / Toho the Best Bet??

I live just minutes away from Camp Mack and Grape Hammock.

We've caught our fair share of lunkers from these waters,

but there are many smaller lakes in central Florida that blow-the-doors off

these over-hyped, overworked waters. Even the FWC admits that the Big-K

ain't what she used to be, and that Toho is ready for another muck-scraping.

As for the Stick Marsh, the Florida Wildlife Commission eliminated this water

from Florida's Top Bass Waters.

Roger

[Catching]

If you want to Drive down to Miami, hook up with Capt Shane Procell, he has a unique fishing spot that is good that time of year.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

FWC's top spots for 2010.

http://myfwc.com/Recreation/FW_sites_topbass.htm

That most certainly doesn't take into account some of the hidden areas that rarely get fished, kind of like the places that Shane gets into.

[Bassn Blvd]

You have several board members living in my area who are very experienced at fishing, be it bass or saltwater species.

Look me up if you make it to Palm Beach County. We can go to lake Okeechobee and Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge. We can also fish a 75 acre private shell rock pit where we'll catch more bass in one day than you'll catch in ANY public lake in Florida. Biggest so far is 9.13, average is 2-5 pounds. Most in one day is 141 in 7 hours between 2 people. I also have a 19' Tracker we can use.

The only draw drawbacks to Florida fishing in January is the wind and occasional cold front. The wind can be 17+ mph with gusts up to 25mph for several days and some years we experience severe cold fronts. I can generally work around the wind and still catch fish but the cold fronts can shut the fishing down for a day or so.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Gotta agree with Bassn about the people down here. I've learned a bunch from some of the local guys on the forums about freshwater fishing. Also have to agree about some of the private pit lakes. Some are better than others, but almost all of them are good fishing. I wish the lake I lived on had a 9.13 swimming around in it. I'd say the 2-5 average is very possible. Theres one lake a short drive from me that is loaded big fish. A lot of the lakes are electric only (at least in my area), so charge the batteries.

If you manage to get far enough south and want to try something different, you can always go chasing Peacocks in some of the canals. I've caught some big fish in the lake down by Miami Intl. Airport.

[SirSnookalot]

If it were me I'd fish for something I don't normally catch when I go on vacation.  Good bass are pretty easy to catch in January, I get 5-6# walking the shore in my backyard.   I'd head south and go for peacocks or to the keys for some inshore saltwater.  Around where I live the saltwater bite is slow in the winter.

[Dockhead]

January certainly can be tough fishing. It is hard to even get on the water some years if you only have weekends. But since you are staying for a month, you can pick your days and go out during a warming trend.

Of course last year there were no warming trends in Jan., but hopefully this year will be more mild.   

If you end up in the Kissimmee area you might want to hit Southport Park, at least to ramp. It is on Toho, but on the opposite end from downtown Kissimmee.

The only overnight accommodations are for rv's, but there is a contingent of bass anglers that stay there every year for an extended period (around Thanksgiving to March). They are a wealth of information and they don't mind sharing it. Some of them come from around Florida and some from further north.

They can definitely show you the way.

If you end up around Camp Mack area don't forget about Lake Walk in Water.