Mann also points to the lake’s good water quality contributes to a healthy bass population. Nevertheless, Florida’s fifth-largest natural lake, located five miles northeast of Lake Placid, has consistently cranked out quality bass since a major restoration effort in the early 2000’s. As well as being a great place for saltwater fishing, the Sunshine State is also known for its big bass. The lake has multiple RV/camping sites and is home to Big Toho Marina. It is also home to various bass fishing tournaments throughout the year. Just about everybody knows that Florida’s summers are hot, which can make being outside pretty uncomfortable. Amazingly, he doesn’t have a lure sponsor. So where are the best spots and when should you go?To point you in the direction of some of the best places to go bass fishing in Florida we’ve put together a short guide that will hopefully tell you everything you need to know before you go. Lake George Lake George continues to live up to its reputation as a “big fish” lake, with catch rates of .56 fish per... 3. There are thousands of lakes in Florida where you can cast your line for bass, with many of them within easy reach of cities and metro areas.Remember to get your fishing license before you head out and make sure you know the local regulations for the specific body of water where you plan to fish. Lake Tohopekaliga, Florida 4. Locating Florida bass -- Jay Yelas, 2002 Bassmaster Classic Champion, 2007 FLW Angler of the Year. Local contact: Henderson’s Fish Camp at (863-465-2101), TrophyCatch Stats: 234 (195 Lunker Clubs, 39 Trophy Clubs). Click here for more information about this Florida fish camp. That makes it very rewarding when catching a bass, however it can also make it very challenging. Largemouth bass are found in almost every body of freshwater in Florida. He has fished for bass in Florida since he could hold a fishing pole and has caught hundreds of Florida bass on topwaters of all shapes, sizes and actions. Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in Florida and one of the largest in the United States, covering around 730 square miles with an average depth of around 10 to 12 feet.This famous lake, which is known for its excellent year round bass fishing, sits around 100 miles south of Orlando and around 100 miles north of Miami. Camp Mack's provides access to Lake Kissimmee, Hatchineha, and Cyprus Lake, for a wide variety of Florida freshwater fish. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Martin Mann has spent 15 of his 25 years as a FWC fisheries Biologist studying the Kissimmee Chain. Bassmaster Magazine ranks the top 100 Best Bass Lakes each year, split by region. Local contact: Fast Break Bait & Tackle 863-763-0973. At 15,087 acres, this flagship lake offers amazing opportunities for fishing. Common targets include lily pads, bulrush, cattails weed mats and Kissimmee grass, along with FWC’s fish attractors. It can be a good place for bass fishing because there is plenty of vegetation and cover, including submerged structures used as bombing targets by the US Navy in World War II. The lake is big, so most people don’t brave it alone; they hire a charter. Because many Florida lakes have little or no bottom contour changes, the key to finding fish here often lies in interpreting weedlines and bottom composition. The bass will hole up in inconsistent areas and are very lethargic when it comes to pursuing food. Florida is filled with water, including more than 30,000 lakes, a lot of which were created during the drainage of the state to create land for commercial and agricultural purposes, as much of the state was swampland. Of course, if you're looking for Large Mouth Bass, they've got you covered. Florida is the go-to state for bass fishermen, especially when big fish are the goal. They only call Florida the “Fishing Capital of the World” because of Lake Okeechobee. Lake George is one of the premier bass fishing lakes in central Florida. Ahh good old Florida. The Basics on Lake George, FL. The lake is around 46,000 acres and is Florida’s second largest freshwater lake. Well deserving of its Seminole name, which means “big water,” Okeechobee averages only 9 feet deep, but boasts more than 150,000 acres of productive vegetation that includes Kissimmee grass, bulrush, cattails, hydrilla, hyacinth and lily pads. Best Bass Fishing in Florida . During the spring spawn season largemouth bass are found … Florida’s Department of Environmental Regulation has recognized Windermere’s lakes as “Outstanding Florida Waters” for their high water quality and animal habitats.Isleworth, Lake Sheen, Lake Tibet, Pocket Lake, Wauseon Bay, and Little Fish Lake) and each has excellent freshwater fishing. Weed mats provide another warm-season option, so Schultz punches a heavily-weighted Yamamoto Fat Baby Craw (junebug or black/blue) through the hyacinth or hydrilla. This was the first of two planned projects intended to facilitate navigation along the Cross Florida Barge Canal (construction halted in 1971 due to environmental concerns). And no matter where in Florida you are, you’re probably not too far from a great bass fishing spot. It also features a canal that links the lake to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Of that total, the 2,000-acre Kingsley has produced the two heaviest TrophyCatch entries: Seth Chapman’s 15-pound, 11-ouncer and Len Andrews’ 15-9 — both caught in March 2015. Bassmaster releases its rankings of best bass lakes 1. Largemouth and peacock bass can be found in the Everglades but watch out for alligators and American crocodiles! Florida has some of the most spectacular fishing that you’ll ever experience from saltwater to trophy largemouth bass. To date, Lake Kissimmee has produced 497 TrophyCatch fish — 409 Lunker Clubs, 87 Trophy Clubs, 1 Hall of Famer. Also, because we have fertile soil, Lake Kissimmee has excellent habitat that is a diverse mixture of emergent and submerged vegetation that is ideal for fish spawning and fish recruitment.”. Children under 16 and Florida residents over the age of 65 do not require a fishing license. Great Bass-Fishing Lakes in Florida 1. Ditto for deep stumps. And he’s since won $2 Million dollars as one of the most decorated anglers in the history of the largemouth-rich Sunshine State. The FWC and its environmental partners drew down Istokpoga’s water level and removed over 1,300 acres of muck to allow native vegetation to germinate and flourish. The Florida largemouth bass is a larger species than the northern largemouth bass. “If there was one lake that I had to pick to catch a 10-pounder or bigger in the spring time, it would be Lake Istokpoga,” said Bassmaster Elite Series pro and Lakeland native Bobby Lane. Sailing, motor boating, and water skiing are popular too. Florida has more than 7,700 named lakes greater than 10 acres, but only a select few make the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) Top Ten Bass Lakes list. Lake Kissimmee has good soil. These include the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, Chekika Lake, Royal Palm Visitor Center area, Shark Valley Tram Road and the first 3 miles of Main Park Road.The water in the Everglades is only around 4 to 5 feet deep on average, which can mean kayaks, canoes and airboats can often be good options for getting around. In the deep water, you’ll catch them on big Texas-rigged worms, Carolina-rigged lizards and deep diving crankbaits. Lake Okeechobee – Florida Here we’ve got a 730 square mile lake rich with some of the best lake bass fishing in the country. With hundreds of publicly-accessible lakes and river fisheries, the Sunshine State offers tremendous opportunities to stretch a line with big largemouth bass. List of all of Florida lakes in freshwater for large-mouth bass and peacock bass statewide in Florida. Bass weighing 8 – 9.9 pounds earn Lunker Club status, 10-12.9 pounds make the Trophy Club and toads of 13-plus reach the prestigious Hall of Fame Club. Lake George is one of the many natural lakes on the St. Johns River. However, if you’re fishing in the Suwannee River areas, the bag limit for striped bass is only three but with a minimum size of 18 inches in length.Currently, due to a temporary suspension, you are not allowed to catch and keep shoal bass from the Chipola River, including its tributaries, but you can catch them if they are immediately released. Size Matters! One of the reasons that the fishing is unlike anywhere else here is simply because Florida is literally unlike anywhere else. Lacking current, target gaps, holes and irregularities in the emergent vegetation and dense weed mats. Though far out of the top-5 in terms of quantity, Kingsley Lake in North Central Florida easily claims the quality title. But it can also be a great place for bass fishing too, with a third of the park being water with plenty of waterways to explore.The Everglades Water Conservation Area 3, just off of Alligator Alley and not far from Fort Lauderdale, can be a good place to fish. With there being around 7,800 natural lakes, there are countless fishing opportunities across the state. “Also, FWC has managed this lake and the rest of the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes aggressively over the last 50 years,” Mann said. This 35 square mile lake is jammed packed with family bass fishing action like no other! Lake Eufaula, Alabama/Georgia 6. Based on data from the past four years, the following lakes made the cut. Rattling lures (silver, gold, and Tennessee shad) tempt bass during summer and fall as baitfish school in open water areas along the north end of the lake. Length to Paddler Height Explained, How To Paddle A Kayak – Strokes & Techniques Explained. Fished with Justen Dec. 14-16 with my best friend. St. Johns River, Florida 8. Generally considered Florida’s oldest and highest lake, Kingsley perches on the eastern slope of Trail Ridge, the first part of Florida’s peninsula to emerge above sea level in the Pleistocene era. A 100-yard wide rim canal circling the lake, along with several secondary canals and cuts yield hundreds of miles of fishable water. The home of a few of the world’s greatest competitions (Bassmaster Elite Series, FLW Tour), Okeechobee is nearly 450,000 acres (730 square miles) of bass fishing paradise. Look at the Top 25 Best Bass Lakes of 2019 for the Central, Western, Southeastern and … There are plenty of boat ramps and access points all around the lake, with bass fishing charters and boat rentals in several locations, including in both Okeechobee City at the northern end of the lake and Clewiston at the southern end. March and October are prime months for cooler weather and lots of bass, but January through April can be lights-out with fish spawning in bulrush, cattail and other vegetation over sandy bottom. About 65 miles north of Orlando and about 30 minutes east of Ocala, Lake George is on the eastern edge of the Ocala National Forest. What About Licenses, Permits And Regulations? How to Fish It: Flipping/pitching Texas-rigged plastics or jigs with craw trailers is one of the top techniques on the Big O. If you are looking for a trophy-sized bass all year long, Lake Toho is your destination. 2) Lakeland Lakes: While lots of large Florida lakes get notable publicity for giving up bass, it’s likely more lunker largemouths are caught by more people from small, virtually unknown waters. The lakes surrounding Eustis are some of the largest in the state, including the namesake of the chain, Lake Harris. How to Fish It: Productive tactics include flipping dark-colored soft plastics (red shad, junebug) into patches of emergent vegetation and pockets of submerged vegetation, working topwaters and jerkbaits around the edges of hydrilla beds or pondweed and targeting points and holes in weed mats with weedless frogs. Lake Seminole is too big of a player in the largemouth bass game to even be contained in one state, as Florida shares this lake with Georgia. How to Fish It: Flipping Texas-rigged worms or pitching craws and beavers is hard to beat, but keep a frog, spinnerbait and swim jig on your deck. Winter bass fishing in Florida is tough. Lake Okeechobee That three of the biggest bass tours in the U.S. will make 2012 stops on Lake Okeechobee says volumes... 2. For most of Florida, it rarely gets cold. South, Central, North Florida and Panhandle Florida. Of your five bass, only one can be longer than 16 inches. “You’re not just going to get one or two good bites a day; you’re going to get 10-15 quality bites a day about any time of the year.”. Part of the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, Lake Tohopekaliga, known locally as Lake Toho, has plenty of access for fishing and boating, with one being in downtown Kissimmee, where there’s a public boat ramp and fishing pier. Description: Translated, its Seminole name refers to ancestors who died on the lake when fierce winds roiled its vast expanses of relatively shallow waters. At the lake’s south end is the 3,528-acre Crescent Lake Conservation Area, which provides water storage for the lake and protects wildlife. You will need a freshwater fishing license for these waters but if you’re in saltwater areas closer to the Gulf Coast, you will also require a saltwater license.It’s also worth noting that using live or dead bait is forbidden within the park. How to Fish It: During summer months, most of the bass seek cooler temperatures in the deeper waters of the river channel, although early mornings and late afternoon may find them roaming shallow flats. Gainesville, Fla., touring pro Bernie Schultz suggests visiting anglers should take along lures … Florida statewide regulations allow you to take no more than five black bass, which includes largemouth, spotted and Suwannee bass. Bass-friendly habitat includes expansive native grass communities (maidencane and knotgrass), lily pads, bulrush, cattail and hydrilla beds. Pay particular attention to river channel turns, as these are natural bass magnets. Here we go, the 7 best Florida bass lures. “We have good food availability, good habitat and good water partly due to mother nature and partly due to FWC management practices that preserve it even though it is under stress from human encroachment.”. Do You Need A Florida Fishing License For Bass Fishing? When it comes to fooling bass on the surface in Florida, Lane’s topwater tips and picks can help you fulfill your Florida topwater dream. "All through 2013, even in the summer months, it was taking 30 to 35-pounds of bass in a five fish limit to win those little weekly club tournaments out of Camp Mack," says veteran guide Reno Alley of … Lake Toho is located in Kissimmee, FL. Here are some tips on lure selection, presentation, and location for landing the elusive winter bass. We caught 148 bass, with the largest over 8lb, 7lb 10oz and a bunch of 6's and 5's. When runoff from heavy rains send voluminous flow through the lake, current at the canals and tributaries can spark a hot bass bite. “Because we have fertile soil, Lake Kissimmee produces a lot of food from zooplankton, insects to forage fish. So have fun and let us know how your Florida bass fishing trip goes. Frogs, vibrating jigs and flipping jigs also produce in and around the mats. Stretching 19 miles, Rodman holds vast areas of flooded timber (some emergent, some submerged), shallow wood cover, hydrilla and milfoil beds, eel grass and large rafts of water lettuce and hyacinth. As well as being a great place for saltwater fishing, the Sunshine State is also known for its big bass. Everyone has their favorite fishin’ hole, but to fairly rank a top-5, we sought relevant perspective from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s TrophyCatch program (www.Trophycatchflorida.com). Its world-famous bass fishing makes it a popular lake for fishing tournaments. Rodman Reservoir, Florida 2. LAKE KISSIMMEE The southernmost link in the Kissimmee Chain, Lake Kissimmee is a 34,948-acre lake located 40 miles... 2. Fortunately, extreme drought conditions in 2006 and 2007 exposed vast areas of lake bottom and allowed new vegetation to take root. Lake Toho is one of Florida’s largest lakes and is renowned as one of the best fishing places in Florida for catching trophy bass. Frogs, walking bits, poppers, spinnerbaits and vibrating jigs also produce, but day in and day out, you can’t go wrong flipping/pitching vegetation with plastic crawfish or beaver style baits. Terry “Big Show” Scroggins won his first bass tournament in Florida at the age of 12. Get the Top Stories from Florida Sportsman Delivered to Your Inbox Every Week, These are some of the best florida bass lakes to fish. Review of Fish Orlando Trophy Bass Guide Service. The lake’s tributary streams headwaters to the Everglades ecosystem. With more than 8,000 lakes and other waters available, anglers sometimes face a tough decision about where to fish. However, if you can brave the conditions, summer can actually be a pretty good time to catch bass in Florida. I look for places where the hydrilla thins out into patchy, scattered clumps. Located in Central Florida, Lake Kissimmee covers almost 35,000 acres and is known for its great bass fishing. It’s best known for its largemouth, striped bass, and sunfish, and it has an average depth of approximately eight feet.. This selection of bass fishing lures will cover just about anything that you’ll come across in Florida. This allows bass to grow fast and increase survivorship. Most Popular Lakes in Florida top 10 rated by angler popularity and success, not by size, fish size or demographics. That’s especially true near the town of Lakeland, where small 50- to 1,000-acre lakes dot the landscape like craters on the moon. It’s known as the fishing capital of the world and for good reason. Furthermore, most anglers release trophy fish so they remain in the system for additional opportunities and reproduction. The Florida fishing experts rated lakes It is the second largest lake in the state (46,000 acres) and is 18 miles northwest of Deland and 29 miles east of Ocala. Description: Covering 730 square miles, the Big O is Florida’s largest lake and the second largest body of fresh water in the contiguous United States. TrophyCatch Stats: 348 (285 Lunker, 61 Trophy Clubs, 2 Hall of Fames). Located to the west of Florida’s state capital Tallahassee is Lake Talquin, an 8,800-acre reservoir. This was a tough one to come up with because there are so many good lures out there but the 7 that I’ve chosen are consistently better producers of giant Florida bass than any other lures that I’ve found. Like many other states and locations, spring can be one of the best times for bass fishing as this is often when the pre-spawn happens, which means bass are heading closer to the shallows and should be actively feeding.But in Florida, particularly South Florida, spring can often come early, with the pre-spawn often beginning as early as January. Lake Toho is known for its trophy bass and covers 23,000 acres, giving you plenty of space to fish. This inundation plus severe wind damage decimated emergent vegetation, while turbidity blocked sunlight long enough to kill most of the submerged plants. Kayak Paddle Length – What Size Do I Need? The mouth of Shingle Creek, St. Local contact: Big Lake Toho Marina (407-846-2124), TrophyCatch Stats: 221 (193 Lunker Clubs, 28 Trophy Clubs). By that criterion, Lake Kissimmee is the hottest bass lake in Florida right now. Most of the locations you picked are in North Florida, Try fishing in the south end for once( not the keys where every tourist flocks to) That’s where the Best Tarpon and Snook fishing is…..By the way we do have Lake Okeechobee to, where some of the best bass fishing is. Stick Marsh previously earned that honor year after year, but other lakes are finding their place on the big, pass map. Florida’s subtropical climate means that the opportunities for fishing are just about non-stop. Seminole is a 38,000 acre lake located on the state’s northern border near Chattahoochee. Temperatures will usually start to cool down during the fall, which can mean bass start actively feeding again in preparation for winter. Kayaking In Cleveland – The Best Spots For Paddling. Crescent Lake in northeastern Florida stretches over 15,960 acres and is best known for its beautiful scenery and clean water. And, of course, a live shiner fished under a popping cork is a can’t-miss for big bass. A reservoir for potable and irrigation water, Okeechobee took a beating during the 2004 hurricane season when three major hurricanes pushed massive amounts of water into the system (briefly as high as 18 feet). “Think of a rich, loamy soil and how that grows crops better than say a sandy, well-drained, sterile soil. While there is no minimum length for largemouth bass, other black bass species need to be longer than 12 inches in order to be kept.For striped bass, white bass and sunshine bass, the bag limit is 20, with no more than six being longer than 24 inches. 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