Florida Black Bass Length Limit Regulations and How They Impact Bass Fishing in Orlando

At the end of June Florida enacted new statewide harvesting regulations for all species of bass. This new regulation will have equal numbers of proponents and opponents from each side arguing their points. Even though my living is based on the quality of our bass population my view on this is as objective as possible but realistically its hard to be against anything that can possibly have a positive impact on a resource.

The old regulations allowed anglers to possess 5 bass above 14 inches with only one being allowed to be above 21. Those length limits were in place for many years and the result of decimation to lakes in the state that were the result of no limits or management in place at the time. The time allowed to determine if those regulations were working was a positive in my mind especially considering we went from no limits to a limit.

During the initial regulation many things changed in the world of bass fishing, technology and social impacts from the age of internet. These impacts played more of a role in the declining success of the old regulations than the regulations themselves. Essentially, times were changing rapidly and for those of us who have lived here our whole lives it was obvious a change was needed.

Now this isn't to say people here in Orlando or the state of Florida were screaming for changes. This is where I have to applaud the state for being proactive. Yes, anglers in the state are vocal and involved but most of the time it has to do with plant management or management of an individual lake. Local anglers are predominantly tournament competitors so catch and release is popular so they didn't have much reason. Anglers who used to keep bass have moved on to crappie, bluegills and bream and aren't the type to complain.

In this case I truly believe the trend of today where anglers are influenced on where to fish based on social media, BASS and FLW tournament results which are real time. Or in the case of Florida, the best place to go for big bass in the winter was more of a deciding factor on what changes were needed.

The issue with the latter is when no one else can fish, our bass are spawning. And in no fault of those who come down to experience this, bass that are trying to reproduce are under attack at the highest point of the year. They are also in areas that make them most vulnerable. Bed fishing with shiners might be considered cheating at the worst for tournament anglers but for tourists coming to catch and eat their legal catch it's all the rage.

Can you blame them? I might not like it and definitely don't agree with it but they have been in their right to do this. Unfortunately, there have been many occasions where visiting anglers would come with 3 to a boat, catch a legal limit, (15 with 3 over 21) and take them to shore. Put them in a cooler, come back out and repeat the process. And when they come, they fish all day non stop. This process has been a factor in our trophy bass populations but to be clear, it is not the only one.

These anglers will be impacted the most from this new regulation where 5 bass can be kept with no minimum size restriction and of those 5 only one can be over 16 inches. Because of the believe that if they are spending money to catch bass, they should be able to eat their catch for a meal and get a return. And historically, keeping the biggest bass possible was part of the process.

Anytime I talk to someone about eating bass it seems that almost all agree that a 2-3 lb bass is the best to eat. But speaking from childhood experience, that isn't what happens. My family were some of the worst offenders of keeping and killing trophy bass without thought every weekend. Seeing a big bass getting filleted was not a rare thing in my house and it left an impression. Mostly because if you lived in that era and still fish as I do, you know how different times are.

The new regulations have some foundation in Ray Scott's philosophy of properly harvesting a fishery to help increase trophy bass populations. Smaller fish are always the most aggressive and make competing for food more difficult for larger bass that evolve into ambush predators as they get larger. Weeding out smaller bass has been proven to be the most successful tool for increasing trophy bass populations.

An immediate benefit of the new law will be the cost required to catch a bass if your intent to keep it. Wild Shiners have always been the best option for catching trophy bass. But now, an angler can go out and use minnows, crickets and night crawlers to catch a limit of crappie and bass at the same time. Previously the bass caught while crappie fishing would be too small to keep but now that will change. This should result in increased numbers of anglers who can keep bass compared to before the new regulations. Best of all, the increase in harvested bass wont mean a decrease in large bass numbers.

For those coming to catch a trophy, the odds have the potential to go up and best of all a trophy bass can become more of a photo op rather than a meal. Steve Boyd
Owner - Florida Bass Adventures
http://www.floridabassadventures.com

Bass Fishing in Orlando

Here is a link to an awesome video of a client catching his personal best bass using live bait. Bass Fishing in Orlando can be excellent year round but being able to use live wild shiners as a tool gives clients the opportunity to experience the excitement of seeing a big bass on the end of their line.

Big Bass Fishing in Orlando

We're coming up on that time of year when bass fishing in Orlando is purely about chasing big bass in search of a personal best trophy. It's the time of year when numbers of bass will go down but quality definitely is on the rise. Of course it's also winter time so not every day is a day that makes the hunt easy.

Our bass in Orlando can spawn from anytime in October to as late as June depending on where you are in the state. Once we get into Winter though many factors go into the bass fishing and all play into the success of a bass fishing trip. Because our lakes are shallow the seasonal weather has more of a stronger effect on each lake. Florida is only about 55 feet above sea level with almost all of our lakes being natural averaging 10 feet or less. These lakes are all heavy with shallow vegetation and perfect habitat for big bass.

Knowing that our bass spawn heavily during the winter months is one key to anglers knowing what to expect from a fishing trip to Orlando. Cold fronts rolling through bring an assortment of weather conditions in the course of a 5 day period. Potential rain, high winds before and after a front and drastic water temperature drops can all be experienced from a passing front. None of which are conditions that are favorable to catching big bass.

That is if you are using artificial lures! The exception that makes much of our trophy bass season successful in Orlando is our ability to target bass with live bait. The use of live bait for bass fishing is unique to Florida and while we do it year round it's the Winter months that it really becomes a major tool. For those that think using live bait is cheating or think it's easy, you are very mistaken.

During the winter months we can use shiners 12 inches in length and weigh almost a pound. Ever thrown a 1pound lure?  It's an experience that every client should try at least once for the experience of seeing a 10lb bass blowing a shiner out of the water.

Of course the other consideration is getting the most out of your trip. On post cold front days when winds are blowing in excess of 20 mph and water temps are dropping fishing with lures can mean a very difficult day. Live bait can mean the fish of a lifetime. That alone should make using live bait worth the trip.

An Orlando Bass Fishing Trip to Remember

The 2014 Orlando bass fishing season is underway and it has been nothing short of amazing! The cold weather is going to come but so far this winter it has been more of a wet season without the brutal cold fronts that many in the North are dealing with. A low pressure system was kind enough to park over the state of Florida and with it came 2 weeks of rain and clouds. Perfect for big bass fishing in Orlando!

George Eby was a recent benefactor of the weather and great bass fishing we are having with a trip to Lake Toho. What many in the area were not aware of was that the conditions had become perfect for the bass on Lake Toho to move up in a massive wave of spawning activity in the span of a few days. One of which happened during George's day on the water. Live bait was the bait of choice for this trip with the goal of catching his biggest bass ever. It will be a day George remembers for a long time.

The morning started out rather slow with a clouded sunrise on our first spot but after a short wait we boated our first bass of the day, a healthy 4lb bass. Soon after we made the move to our second area and not long after the bite started and it was a full on explosion of big bass. George landed his first big bass and largest ever, a long and healthy bass weighing in at 8lbs. One of the most notable things about our bass on Lake Toho has been just how clean and healthy they are and this bass was a great reflection of just how great the fishery is doing.


After catching a few more smaller bass the action heated up again with two back to back chunks. This has been very consistent for our trips with action coming in short bursts of feeding and requiring us to keep the bait in the area while it is happening. On mornings like this you never know just how long the bite will last but on those rare occasions we sometimes happen to be at the right place at the perfect time. So, it was safe to say I was happily surprised when George landed his next big bass of the morning weighing 7 1/2 lbs and putting up an excellent fight.

After a brief lull in the action we decided to hit our last spot of the morning in hopes of catching one more big bass before ending Georges Orlando bass fishing trip. The wind had picked up quite a bit making it more of a challenge in this area but with some hard work and determination were rewarded with the last fish of the day coming in at just under 8lbs.

For a guide this is what gets me up in the morning because not every day do you get to see a client experience the best day of his life on the water. But when you do it is all worth it and knowing you helped achieve what they came to Florida for is a great feeling.

At the end of the day 25 bass were caught with the best 5 coming in at 34lbs! Truly a day to remember and just what George was hoping for - a Trophy Bass Fishing Adventure!

Well, it didn't take long to get the 2014 Orlando trophy bass fishing season started with a bang! While most of America was still sleeping after the late night New Years eve party I was out on Lake Toho with Chris and his son Sam. The morning started off great with 8 bass in the first hour but nothing over 4 lbs so we moved to some other areas and actually had a very uneventful 3 hours until the last spot of the day. It's not unusual to see fish behave differently from one day to the next in Orlando because our weather and wind directions can vary greatly even in the same day.

On this day the winds had changed from the West to a strong North wind and made it possible to fish some areas that previously had been difficult to fish. We have also had areas sprayed for hydrilla opening up more fishing areas. One that I had been to the day earlier and caught a 4 lb bass while using artificials told me to come back on a day when we had live bait to see what else might be there.

The decision paid off for Chris and Sam with 12 bass in about an hour and a half with the biggest coming in at 10lbs 6 oz and another that Chris missed in the same range. It was a great way to start the New Year and a great way to finish their Orlando Bass Fishing trip.

If you are thinking of coming to Orlando for a trophy bass fishing trip I hope you will consider Florida Bass Adventures for your next outing. I guide on Lake Toho, the Kissimmee Chain and the St Johns River putting clients on trophy bass like the one pictured to the left.

www.floridabassadventures.com

Orlando Bass Fishing Report for December 2013 Lake Toho

It's the end of the year in Orlando and the bass fishing on Lake Toho has been quite remarkable considering the inconsistent weather. Generally, we can look forward to some cooler weather reaching into the 40's this time of year and water temperatures not far behind. But as is somewhat typical with the weather in Florida, nothing is typical. With water temperatures running in the high 60's on our Orlando lakes bass have been in a strong pre-spawn holding pattern without the surface feeding that is normally associated with it.

The benefit of this weather has been clients catching great numbers of bass on a daily basis regardless of the weather with the big bass for the month coming in right at 10lbs. While the fishing has been great for numbers and size, live bait is what is accounting for the best quality and size being caught by my clients right now. This is common for this time of year especially when bass begin staging for an upcoming spawn and they begin to target wild shiners which are larger and in abundance in our Orlando lakes. With the great month we have had in December clients can look forward to an excellent 2014 Orlando bass fishing season.

PROPER ROD POSITION FOR MORE BASS IN THE BOAT

Today's tip is one that is designed to increased your percentage of bass landed after the hook set. If you are a tournament angler or trophy bass hunter this tip is important because landed bass or missed bass can make the difference between a tournament win or trophy catch of a lifetime.

 

Wherever you live, more than likely you were been taught to keep the rod down especially for anglers that predominantly fish for smallmouth bass to keep them from jumping. Unfortunately, what has been passed down from generation to generation hasn't been totally effective.

 

From my observations of clients there is a strong belief that keeping the rod tip down can prevent a bass from jumping, but the reality is nothing can keep a bass from coming to the surface. Bass use the path of least resistance to determine what response is best once they have been hooked so you don't have to have a physics degree to know that if we are pulling down, the easiest path for them is up. This is true whether you are in deep water or shallow water but shallow water fish have less of a choice so they are more inclined to seek the surface. Smallmouth bass are nomadic type bass that leads to them being a stronger fish with more endurance than a largemouth meaning surface jumping to attempt to shake a hook is always a possibility.

 

So, if pulling down isn't the best option, what is? First, lets start at the hook set and what you can do immediately after. Once you set the hook the most important thing you can do is hold there for a second and feel what direction the fish is headed, the size of the fish and consider any obstacles that might be in the way. I would call this assessing the situation and it allows time to slow things down and make correct decisions and adjustments to what the bass is doing. The other benefit to taking that second is calming yourself down and in turn not begin to reel too fast or horse the fish into the boat. I can't begin to tell you how many clients I have shown that when you stop yanking the fish to the boat they actually calm down and will swim towards the boat rather than fight for their lives. It's why clients sometimes call me the "Fish Whisperer".

 

How I found out that a fish will follow like a dog on a leash was while fishing a lake here at home in about 16 feet of water. I had pulled up some line during a cast and felt it would be a good idea to get it out of the lake. As I pulled on the line I felt a slight tug and new there was a fish on. Slowly pulling up the line I could see it was a big bass. It swam almost all the way to the surface only trying to swim away at the last minute as I began to lip it. From that moment on I knew bringing fish to the boat became more of a process of staying calm in the moment and not getting carried away.

 

Now, as I said earlier bass will attempt to surface regardless of what angle you pull. The benefit of keeping the rod up is having the ability to see the line and as it begins to go horizontal, you can bring the rod down and pull the fish back into the water forcing it to swim. Then bring the rod tip back up to once again have visibility on the line. This is the action/response that should happen between the angler and fish once hooked. The fish will make a choice and it is up to us to respond accordingly. Just remember there is always more than one option to the action.

 

Getting a bass to bite your lure in my opinion is the hardest part of catching them. After learning that once on the hook my response and actions to what the fish is doing would be the ultimate factor in whether or not I end up holding them has meant more catching and less fishing. Give it a try and hopefully you will too.

STEVE BOYD
FLORIDA BASS ADVENTURES
www.orlandobassguide.com
www.floridabassadventures.com
www.laketohoguide.com