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

Summertime Bass Fishing in Orlando, Florida

It's late August and typically a time when anglers in other areas of the country are having trouble locating bigger bass. Fortunately, here in Orlando the summer season can be very exciting especially during the first few hours of the morning. Florida Bass Adventures clients Bee and his 10 year old son Kevin Xiong found out just how good Orlando summer bass fishing can be during their day which was spent fishing Lake Toho.

Bee and his son Kevin from Minnesota chose to spend a day bass fishing with us during their Orlando vacation and hopefully catch some big bass. Bee had mentioned during our initial conversation how much his son would be looking for to the trip to Lake Toho. As Bee put it, Kevin often can be found fishing from sunup to sundown trying to catch bass back home. These trips are my favorite to do as a guide because kids are the future of our sport so being able to help mold their desire to continue fishing is an awesome opportunity for me.

We started out the morning meeting at the ramp to Lake Toho and then heading out to our first spot of the day. Not long after anchoring the boat and putting our bait into the water Kevin hooked up with his first bass of the day. Shortly after taking photos and releasing the first bass Bee set the hook on a nice 4 1/2 lb bass that put up an excellent fight before coming into the boat for more pictures. For the next 40 minutes Bee and Kevin continued to catch bass that were all above 4 lbs with the largest being a healthy 7lb bass that Kevin caught. This was his biggest bass ever leading Kevin to say that Lake Toho was definitely his favorite place to fish.

It is very rewarding to hear the excitement kids get when they are out for a day with us and Kevin definitely was enjoying the success of his day. Trips to Costa Rica catching Mahi Mahi didn't come close to how good this day was and before the trip was over Kevin was asking his Dad when they would be coming back to Orlando.

If you are unsure of what to expect when coming to Orlando for a day of bass fishing take a look at the awesome memories Bee and Kevin will go home with from their day. Bass fishing in Orlando is a year round opportunity with great weather and big bass that our lakes produce. Lake Toho is minutes from Orlando area theme parks and definitely should be at the top of anyones list when considering a bass fishing trip.

Florida Bass Adventures has been guiding clients to trophy bass in Orlando since 2003 specializing in trophy bass fishing on Lake Toho. For more information or to book a trip visit our site. Trophy bass fishing is all we do so feel free to take a look around and see what we have been up to!

http://www.floridabassadventures.com/

Sincerly,

Steve Boyd

Florida Bass Fishing in the heat of the Summer

This blog covers Florida Bass Fishing in August but it doesn't matter where you live because it is hot everywhere. There is a huge majority of anglers that avoid the lakes this time of year because they feel it is too hot to catch big bass. This can be such a huge mistake for anyone that follows this way of thinking because fish need to feed and the only adjustment that is needed this time of year is when to chase them.

For some in other areas of the country fishing at night is their best option in the Summer but not necessarily here in Florida. There are people that fish at night on our lakes and there are big fish that are caught but it isn't the best time to catch big bass here. Our lakes are shallow compared to other areas of the country which is an important factor for succesful nighttime fishing. Early morning and late evening by far are the best times to go bass fishing in Florida as our big bass follow this feeding pattern throughout the Summer months.

Just a few days ago I caught a beautiful 9lb Florida Bass at 8:00 a.m. and then went on to catch a 5 pound bass and then a short while later another in the 6lb range. My 5 biggest bass for that morning was 24lbs all before 10:00 a.m. This is why it is important to get out there and go fishing because in Florida we always have big bass which can be caught with the right adjustments.

If you decide to pursue big bass this Summer be sure to get on the water at the best time for your area and fish hard and be efficient when it is the peak feeding time. If all goes well hopefully you will land the biggest bass of your life!



good luck,
Steve Boyd

Steve Boyd runs Florida Bass Adventures Guide Service in Orlando Florida. http://www.floridabassadventures.com/

The Fall Orlando Bass Fishing Season

It's the end of September and there are signs of Fall all around us with cooler weather from the fronts that are coming from the North and bass that are biting extremely aggressively. It's exciting for me to have my clients experience this type of bass fishing as we transition from Summer to a Fall pattern.

Fall bass fishing in Orlando generally brings us heavy feeding from bass as they chase baitfish on the surface and feed much longer throughout the day. Because of the cooler air temps and cooler water temps lure options are quite diverse as the morning bite is consisting of rattle traps, topwater frogs and soft jerkbaits. Later in the day we are switching to texas rigged worms.

Water quality throughout Orlando area lakes is awesome as we have excellent water levels and current flow in most lakes keeping water clarity very high for this time of year.

Moving into October the Orlando Bass Fishing forecast is for continued feeding with air temperatures stabilizing below 90 degrees. Current in Orlando lakes will begin to taper off as we are not getting as much rainfall as we were with the hurricanes.

For more information on booking a trip visit www.floridabassadventures.com