Orange Lake, FL trip (PICS!)

[Speed Worm]

So after failing an Advanced Structural Analysis exam on thursday, I decided to go to Orange Lake in Marion County and do some fishing. The weather was beautiful and I ended up catching 22 bass and a pike. Here are some pics. All caught with SPRO ArukaShad Jr. of various colors.

Sorry for the quality of the pics. They were all taken with my phone.

The boat!

First fish of the day. Small one pounder.

Tenth of the day.

This spot has bass written all over it.

Biggest of the day. 2lb-3oz (pretty dissapointing)

21st of the day. The little guy was hungry!

[Big-O]

Great looking water and glad you had a good time. That little point with the stick up looked like it should have been a producer for you...

Big O

www.ragetail.com

[Bankbeater]

Didn't that lake have a problem with a leak some years back??

[Olebiker]

Sorry 'bout the test, but is did look like you had a good time with the bass.

I believe you probably caught a pickerel rather than a pike.  Around here, the locals call them jackfish or jacks.  I don't think pike come this far south.

[George Welcome]

Chain pickerel

Conservation status

Secure

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Esociformes

Family: Esocidae

Genus: Esox

Species: E. niger

Binomial name

Esox niger

Lesueur, 1818

[Speed Worm]

Yeah. It was a 1.5 lb chain pickerel, or pike

[BossierBassHunter]

Are those boats ok to fish out of? Have you ever taken it to a lake that had boats going by making wakes or anything? if so, how did it handle them. Im needing to get a small boat, and was thinking about one of those.

Not meaning to hijack the thread, sorry. Nice catches though man

[Speed Worm]

Are those boats ok to fish out of? Have you ever taken it to a lake that had boats going by making wakes or anything? if so, how did it handle them. Im needing to get a small boat, and was thinking about one of those.

Not meaning to hijack the thread, sorry. Nice catches though man

First of all, the boat is a BPS 9' Pond Prowler, which I got this summer and have fished over 80 times since. For the longest time I looked into get a Jon boat and was mainly considering the aluminum type.

The pro's of these boats are:

1) Cheap: I spent about $700 for the boat, trolling motor and battery.

2) Stable: I put the chair in the back and fish standing up. I can jump up and down and step on the edge and the boat does not flip (I'm 6'4" and 230 lbs). Two people can fish standing up with no problem. It's got a 4ft beam and a low center of gravity.

3) Easy to get in and out of the water: It takes me about 4 mins to get the boat in the water.

4) Easy to carry around: I keep the boat in the bed of truck all year long, covered with a tarp and chained up. This is very practical for my current situation, since I'm a college student and have nowhere I can store a trailer&boat.

5) Handles waves pretty well: It rocks more than a V-bottom but less than a flat bottom aluminum jon boat.

6) Confortable: Two people can fish out of it very confortably. When sitting in the chair, you sit pretty high up.

It is the best $700 I've ever spent in my life.

[Olebiker]

Yeah. It was a 1.5 lb chain pickerel, or pike

Pickerel and pike are not the same thing.

[J Francho]

Even "pike" is too general a term, as I've heard some refer to walleye as blue pike, or just pike.  Northern Pike Esox lucius, Musky Esox masquinongy, Redfin Pickerel Esox americanus americanus, and Chain Pickerel Esox niger (as well as hybrid "Tiger Musky" Esox lucius x masquinongy) are all very different fish, with outwardly similar appearance. Pike, Tigers, and Muskies can get pretty large, Muskies attaining truly giant size.  The biggest Chain Pickerel I've ever caught went about 4 lbs.  The biggest Northern Pike I've caught was 18 lbs.  In a general sense Chain Pickerel are green, Northern Pike have light spots or bars on a dark background, and Muskie have Dark patterns on a light background.

[Pigsticker]

I thinkhe was using pike as just a term for a a fish other than bass that have teeth, I have fished in areas where they call them a toothy critter, If he had said that would you guys be telling him he is wrong?

I know guys that call pickeral pike but know completely that they are pickeral. This may or may not be this guys case but still close enough

Great fishing, that is a really nice looking lake

[Speed Worm]

Yeah. It was a 1.5 lb chain pickerel, or pike

Pickerel and pike are not the same thing.

Chain pickerel and Northern pike are two different species. But since there is no N.pike down here, ppl commonly use the term pike to describe chain pickerel. I've never caught a N. pike.

[tritz18]

Are those boats ok to fish out of? Have you ever taken it to a lake that had boats going by making wakes or anything? if so, how did it handle them. Im needing to get a small boat, and was thinking about one of those.

Not meaning to hijack the thread, sorry. Nice catches though man

First of all, the boat is a BPS 9' Pond Prowler, which I got this summer and have fished over 80 times since. For the longest time I looked into get a Jon boat and was mainly considering the aluminum type.

The pro's of these boats are:

1) Cheap: I spent about $700 for the boat, trolling motor and battery.

2) Stable: I put the chair in the back and fish standing up. I can jump up and down and step on the edge and the boat does not flip (I'm 6'4" and 230 lbs). Two people can fish standing up with no problem. It's got a 4ft beam and a low center of gravity.

3) Easy to get in and out of the water: It takes me about 4 mins to get the boat in the water.

4) Easy to carry around: I keep the boat in the bed of truck all year long, covered with a tarp and chained up. This is very practical for my current situation, since I'm a college student and have nowhere I can store a trailer&boat.

5) Handles waves pretty well: It rocks more than a V-bottom but less than a flat bottom aluminum jon boat.

6) Confortable: Two people can fish out of it very confortably. When sitting in the chair, you sit pretty high up.

It is the best $700 I've ever spent in my life.

Have one too I agree with all he said about the boat. Nice fish wish I could see the sun up north here, seen rain for 3 straight days

[J Francho]

Yeah. It was a 1.5 lb chain pickerel, or pike

Pickerel and pike are not the same thing.

Chain pickerel and Northern pike are two different species. But since there is no N.pike down here, ppl commonly use the term pike to describe chain pickerel. I've never caught a N. pike.

Colloquialisms can be tough to overcome on an international forum