The Florida Fishing Experts
Specializing in Florida Bass Fishing on all of the Florida Freshwater Lakes.

By Bob Wattendorf, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Saturday January 31st, 2009

If you are like me, you’ve probably heard, “You should have been here yesterday; the fishing was great,” more times than you can count. And if like me, you’re tired of that phrase, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has come to the rescue.

FWC biologists continue to give anglers the best advice on the location of some of the sweetest honey holes to cast a line in Florida. That means you might be the next one bragging about a whopper of a day spent fishing.

Fisheries biologists used a variety of clues, including the recent fishing history of various lakes and rivers based on creel surveys, Big Catch angler-recognition records and electrofishing results. They also evaluated habitat conditions, water flow and young-of-the-year survival from the previous year to suggest the top destinations for 2009. Lists of the best places to go for bass, crappie, bream, catfish and stripers are posted at MyFWC.com/Fishing/Forecast. In addition, regional biologists check with local fishing guides and bait-and-tackle shops quarterly (January, April, July, October) to get insights into how major fisheries are producing and what anglers are using successfully on a variety of lakes and rivers throughout the year. The same Web site will give you access to that information, along with local contact numbers for up-to-minute updates.

Here’s a brief overview of the sites FWC biologists are recommending to the angling public for 2009, but remember at any day the bite can be on in a different time and place – from a small community pond to 470,000-acre Lake Okeechobee. With over 7,700 named lakes in Florida and 12,000 miles of fishable rivers, streams and canals, you’re never far from an opportunity to relax and wet a line – time that is always well spent communing with nature.

Site
Size and Counties
Featured species
Apalachicola River/Lake Seminole
106 miles, 37,500 acres; Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Liberty
striped bass, channel, flathead and blue catfish

Blackwater/Yellow rivers
58 miles; Okaloosa, Santa Rosa
striped bass

Choctawhatchee River
96 miles; Bay, Holmes, Walton, Washington
striped bass, bream, channel and flathead catfish

Clermont Chain of Lakes
11 lakes totaling 8,692 acres, Lake
channel and white catfish

Crescent Lake
15,960 acres; Flagler, Putnam
crappie

Deer Point Lake
5,000 acres, Bay
bass

Eagle Lake
541 acres, Polk
sunshine bass

Escambia River
231 miles, Escambia
striped bass, channel, flathead and blue catfish

Everglades conservation areas 2 and 3
210 square miles; Broward, Dade, Palm Beach
bass

Haines (Haynes) Creek
6 miles, Lake
channel and white catfish, bullheads

Lake George
46,000 acres; Putnam, Volusia
bass

Lake Harris
13,800 acres, Lake
bream

Lake Istokpoga
28,000 acres, Highlands
bass, crappie, bream

Lake Kissimmee
35,000 acres, Osceola
bass, crappie, bream, channel and white catfish, bullheads

Lake Marian
5,700 acres, Osceola
crappie, bream

Lake Marion
2,990 acres, Polk
crappie

Lake Monroe
9,400 acres; Seminole, Volusia
bass

Ochlockonee River
300 miles; Franklin, Gadsden, Leon, Liberty, Wakulla
channel, flathead and white catfish, bullheads

Orange Lake/Lochloosa Lake
12,550/5,700 acres, Alachua
crappie, bream

Lake Osborne/Ida Chain of Lakes
356 acres, Palm Beach
sunshine bass

Lake Panasoffkee
4,460 acres, Sumter
bream

Lake Talquin
8,800 acres; Gadsden, Leon
striped bass, crappie, bream

Lake Trafford
1,500 acres, Collier
crappie

Lake Tarpon
2-500 acres, Pinellas
bass

Lake Weir
5,685 acres, Marion
crappie

Lake Weohyakapka
7,500 acres, Polk
bass

Mosaic Fish Management Area
1,000 acres, Polk
bass, bream

Rodman Reservoir
9,500 acres, Putnam
bass

St. Johns River
310 miles; Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, Volusia
striped bass, channel and white catfish, bullheads

St. Mary’s/Nassau River
90 miles; Baker, Nassau
striped bass

Suwannee River
213 miles, Suwannee
bass, bream

Tenoroc Fish Management Area
7,300 acres, Polk
bass, crappie, bream

West Lake Tohopekaliga
18,810 acres, Osceola
bass, crappie, bream

Grab a friend or relative and try out one of these sites, or investigate a local water hole to create your own list of top fishing destinations. Then pass it on to whoever will listen and let them know the fishing was great – yesterday. Always remember: A bad day fishing beats a great day at work.

Till next time tight lines and good fishing….

From Staff Writer Capt Todd Kersey (todd@bassonline.com) – BassOnline.com / 888-829-BASS

Today was another good day of peacock bass fishing with Elmer Branson from Louisiana. Elmer drove all the way down from Orlando, Florida today, just to go out and do some serious peacock bass fishing. When we met up I told him he was going to get his arm ripped off today, he laughed and said, “I’ve heard that one before.” He just laughed with me when we started in the canal system, he could not imagine fishing like this!

I was a little concerned once we started fishing, as it was a little slow at first. The water had dirtied and made the areas much harder to fish. But as the day went on and we moved around to different locations the peacock bass started to come up to the shorelines. Now the fight would begin, we caught a mess load of fish from 3 to 5 pounds. Elmer was surprised at how hard the peacock bass fights, especially because he fishes for small-mouth bass.

When it was all said and done, Elmer turned and said, “my arm does hurt a little from fighting these fish, but is still attached” as we both laughed mostly about the ones that got away!

Looking forward to seeing Elmer in 3 months again.

See ya real soon,

If you are visiting South or Central Florida for work or vacation and want to experience the best bass fishing that there is to offer then please give us a call. We can be reached at (888) 629-BASS or email us fishing@bassonline.com

Capt Brett
bretti@bassonline.com
888-629-2277
www.BassOnline.com
www.hawghunter.net
www.bassauthority.com
www.flpeacockbass.com
www.basson-line.com

Day two with the Rinaldi Family was a adventure, it started off in the Florida Everglades . Which turned out really bad , “I know fishing guides are not suppose to say that, but tell the way it is,” The recent rains from tropical storm fay have just got the bass in the Everglades all spread out with all the water that has fallen.

When we got to our first location, I saw immediately how much the water has came up in the Everglades. So, I said “I have something better then the Everglades right now.” We headed to a private lake that we have and ended up catching really nice bass, “like the one in the picture to the right!”

We also had a fantastic day of peacock bass fishing and few tarpon which the boys had a great time with and so did I. It was great to watching everyone, especially the boys catching fish all day long.

Thanks once again to the Rinaldi family, the trips just seem to keep getting better!

See ya real soon,

If you are visiting South or Central Florida for work or vacation and want to experience the best bass fishing that there is to offer then please give us a call. We can be reached at (888) 629-BASS or email us fishing@bassonline.com

Capt Brett
bretti@bassonline.com
888-629-2277
www.BassOnline.com
www.hawghunter.net
www.bassauthority.com
www.flpeacockbass.com
www.basson-line.com