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

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/