Bass Fishing Orlando, Florida

Orlando 67 Days of Smiles – Stacey and Kyle are a couple life long friends and are now friends of ours. Originally from Michigan now residing in New York, they enter a promotional contest offer by Orlando and won the whole thing!

As winners of the Orlando 67 Days of Smiles contest Stacey and Kyle have gotten to experience just about every attraction in Orlando. Our goal was to bring the Orlando Outdoors to Stacey and Kyle, so what better way then to experience the two most impressive indoor and outdoor activities in Orlando, World famous bass fishing with Florida’s largest fishing guide service “BASSonline Fishing Outfitter” and to shop till you drop, with the World’s largest Hunting and Fishing retailer, “Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.”

The excursion started by meeting at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World at 5:45am. We all know how important it is to look the part, so after distributing the FREE hats and shirts Bass Pro graciously offered. We headed off to one of Orlando’s most popular big bass lakes, Lake Toho world famous for producing trophy bass. We knew in the back of my minds, even if the fish didn’t bite the beautiful scenery and wildlife would leave a stunning impression.

When we arrived at the lake everyone genuinely sounded and looked very excited to get started. After the guides put the boats in the water and everyone toured the Big Toho Marina, off we went in the boats where the real adventure was just about to begin.

Once we arrived at our first location, it took no time at all before the first fish was reeled in. That one came from the guys boat, yes it was the guys against the girls for now. After several more fish were caught the kidding back and forth escalated to lots of laughter. Thankfully all went as planned, the fish bit and the bald eagles flew overhead as if they were watching the whole thing. Bass were caught by everyone and yes some fish were missed(Stacey) but it was all in fun and part of an Orlando Outdoor adventure that everyone will  never forget.

Till next time tight lines and good fishing….
From Bass Online Staff Writer
BassOnline.com / 888-829-BASS

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Dear BASSonline,

Sorry it took so long to write, but occasionally they actually expect me to work while at work!!!

I just wanted to say that our trip on Lake Toho on 6/8/09 was Wonderful!!!  Captain John Leech is amiable, knowledgeable and seemingly blessed with an unending supply of patience.

High, bluebird skies turned off the morning bite, so we left the water about 9:15 AM with a return time of 3:00 PM.
John was so nice that he even picked us up at the Wal-Mart where we got stranded waiting for a cab!!!  Mr. Leech put us on fish that afternoon – I wound up with a Great 5lb LMB and a really nice 3.5 lb’er.  My son, Patrick, after much instruction from John, caught a couple of small bass along with a 20lb Catfish!!!

While on the water we got to see Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Gallions and Vultures.  We also witnessed a Bald Eagle force an Osprey to drop his catch and then pick it up in mid-air!!!  All in all, we had a fabulous time – John got us on fish, we saw wonderful pieces of nature and got a chance to bond with some “guy time”.

I would wholeheartedly recommend “Bassonline – Central Florida Guide Service” and especially Capt. John Leech to anyone who wants an enjoyable and educational experience in the pursuit of the wily and elusive Large Mouth Bass!!!

Thanks again for all your help!!!

Best Regards,
Jim Gorta

From all of us at BASSonline, Thank you Jim!

We appreciate your business and look forward to fishing with you again.

From Staff Writer   Lori BASSonline) lori@bassonline.com
BassOnline.com / 888-829-BASS

On February 27, 2009 I took Robert Gartelman from Maryland out on fishing adventure. The day produced quite a few fish with the big fish of between 7.5 and 8 Lbs  best 5 over 26 lbs.  Lake Toho is still producing the best of the trophy bass.

Work could wrap up today on a $7.3 million project that dredged dozens of canals on troubled Lake Griffin.The massive effort — one of the biggest ever handled by the Lake County Water Authority — started in 2005 and fell more than a year behind schedule. Officials might call it finished today if they tour the lake and find that contractor E.R. Jahna Industries completed all the requirements of the dredging.

Crews removed more than 340,000 cubic yards of muck and sand from the bottom of 43 canals around Lake Griffin, disposing that material at a former muck farm on Griffin’s north side. The goal is to improve access so that residents along the canals can get their boats to the lake even when water levels are low.

That will be important when the St. Johns River Water Management District moves ahead with plans to increase seasonal water fluctuations to improve the health of Lake Griffin. One concern, however, is that Griffin and other parts of the Harris Chain of Lakes are near historic lows, and experts say it could take from months to a year or more before this area gets enough rain to bring lakes back to normal levels.

Another concern is how the St. Johns water district will handle the proposed change in water fluctuations on Griffin.

Water levels among the Harris chain are controlled by a series of locks and dams. During summers, Griffin typically is dropped up to 9 inches to prevent flooding of waterfront properties during seasonal rains.

Now that the canals are lowered, officials want to allow Griffin to drop a foot or more. That could help the large water body recover by drying out large portions of mucky shoreline and helping establish aquatic plants essential for fish habitat.

That is the plan that prompted the canal-dredging idea more than three years ago. But now the St. Johns district has a plan to allow city officials in Apopka to withdraw up to 1.8 billion gallons of water a year from Lake Apopka.

If approved, the district would retain water in Lake Apopka by cutting in half the minimum flow of water that is allowed downstream through the Harris chain. Water also would be held back in another part of the Harris chain.

Water panels lock horns

The average water level on Lake Apopka would increase 2.2 inches. Several lakes downstream would drop by a third of an inch, and Lake Griffin would drop an average of 1.8 inches.

The water authority recently filed a legal petition with the St. Johns to force it to establish required minimum water flow and lake levels for Apopka and the Harris chain before allowing withdrawals.

“The Authority believes that in the absence of ‘Minimum Flows and Levels’ set by rule, decisions by the St. Johns River Water Management District concerning the management of Lake Apopka and the Harris Chain will not protect the resources of this very important area of Florida’s surface waters,” Mike Perry, executive director of the Lake water authority, wrote in a letter.

Restoration group worries

Others also fear what the St. Johns district’s proposals could do to the Harris chain.

Skip Goerner, vice chairman of the Harris Chain of Lakes Restoration Council, said costly projects to restore Lake Griffin and the rest of the Harris chain rely on historically based water flows that the district could change to allow the Apopka withdrawals. He fears that could impair restoration.

“We have spent millions of dollars and plan on spending millions more on restoration efforts using this criteria based on historic flows and water levels,” Goerner explained. “We’re very concerned about the withdrawals and [the district] holding water back from us.”

The water authority is trying to improve water quality on the Harris chain by building a $7.3 million nutrient-reduction facility along the shores of Apopka-Beauclair Canal that will remove algae-feeding phosphorus and other pollutants flowing in from Lake Apopka. If the St. Johns district restricts the minimum flow of water from Lake Apopka, it likely would decrease the nutrient-reduction facility’s effectiveness.

Robert Sargent can be reached at rsargent@orlandosentinel.com

From Staff and Wire Reports
BassOnline.com
888-629-BASS (2277)
www.hawghunter.net
www.bassauthority.com
www.flpeacockbass.com
www.basson-line.com

Thanks to almost 8″ of rain or more during the month of June, freshwater fishing around Polk County is surprisingly good for panfishing anglers. July Fourth weekend, brought 50-fish limits of combined shellcracker and bluegill were common on area lakes this weekend.

Many families were out fishing for the holiday, fishing was better for everything including bass. Some families went no farther than their area lake, except for the city’s fireworks show on Friday night of coarse. But for those who plan to hit the lake for this weekend, there’s a solid bite going on for shellcracker and bluegill.

Limits of the tasty panfish are being reported at six different lakes -Eloise, Kissimmee, Marion, Pierce, Rochelle and Saddle Creek Park. Anglers at Crooked Lake and Lake Arbuckle are icing down 15 to 20 before the daily thundershowers force them off the water.

Polk County received 7.65 inches of rain in June, and much of that fell on the Kissimmee Chain also.

With the influence of the new moon on last Friday pulling the bream up shallow to spawn this week, action should continue into this weekend.

From Staff and Wire Reports
BassOnline.com