The final draft plan for hydrilla management on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes for treatments through spring 2012 will be the focus of a public meeting Aug. 31 in the Osceola County Chambers in the Administrative Building at 1 Courthouse Square in Kissimmee.
The draft plan includes revisions based on appropriate public comments Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) invasive plant section biologists have received since last May from public meetings in Lake Wales and Kissimmee.
The meeting also will be an opportunity for the public to hear updates from the FWC on lake enhancement projects and snail kites on the Kissimmee Chain.
For more information on the meeting, please contact Ed Harris at 407-858-6170.
Credit:
Florida Wildlife Commission Press Release Joy Hill, 352-258-3426
The 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series season will open with two tournaments in Florida, but not on the Kissimmee Chain.
B.A.S.S. announced Wednesday that the Elite Series opens March 10-13 on the Harris Chain at Tavares, then visits the St. John’s River at Palatka March 17-20.
While the Elite pros won’t be on the Kissimmee Chain, the Bassmaster Southern Open series may stop at Lake Toho in 2011, although the schedule hasn’t been confirmed.
Locks on the Kissimmee Chain are closed to boat traffic through the end of 2010 for repairs, but work is scheduled to be completed by Dec. 31.
The 2011 season actually begins for Elite Series pros with the Bassmaster Classic at New Orleans Feb. 18-20.
After the Harris Chain and St. John’s River, the tour heads to Pickwick Lake April 6-9; Toledo Bend April 14-17; West Point Lake May 5-8; Lake Murray May 12-15; the Arkansas River June 9-12; and Wheeler Lake June 16-19.
Bass anglers on Florida’s renowned Lake Tohopekaliga (Toho for short) have hit the jackpot – again. Anglers are catching their limits of trophy-size largemouth bass with astounding regularity, as the lake proves and improves its reputation as one of the top-five destinations in the world for those who seek the ultimate bass-fishing experience.
During the past several weeks, local tournament anglers have discovered a veritable bonanza of trophy-size bass, as catch rates continue to heat up. One possible reason, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologists, is that the extended cold winter delayed spawning and post-spawn feeding activity.
Last weekend’s Toho Open, a one-day tournament, saw the fifth-place finisher catch a five-fish limit tipping the scales at 31 pounds, while the winners, Jerry Williams and Jessie Windsor of Orlando, netted more than 38 pounds. Mark Detweiler at Big Toho Marina in Kissimmee reported that at local tournaments hosted there on Wednesday nights, participants boasted winning totals in excess of 20 pounds.
“Big bass have shown themselves in ever-increasing numbers since last fall. I’ve been fishing here since 1983 and I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s mind-boggling,” said Terry Segraves, a well-respected professional angler who lives in Kissimmee and serves as a tourism spokesman for the area.
According to local experts like Segraves, patterning the big fish is not difficult. Early morning anglers are finding schooling fish in the 1- to 2-pound range, with some much bigger fish mixed in those schools. However, the really big fish are feeding on the edges of the deep grass beds after the sun comes up. Typically, anglers catch the big fish a few hours after sunrise and a few hours before sunset, as is the case here. However, what is unusual is that they’re also catching big stringers of trophies throughout the day.
FWC fishery biologist and avid bass angler Marty Mann believes the great trophy fishing is the result of the agency’s aggressive management of Lake Toho, the birthplace of the first large-scale drawdown (1971) to improve of fish and wildlife habitat. In 2004, the FWC conducted its most recent in a series of drawdown projects on Lake Toho.
“One of the biggest problems for sportfish is decaying plant and animal materials that build up on the bottom of a lake over time. These sediments cover and suffocate the eggs of sportfish and rob oxygen from the water as they decay,” said Mann.
Improvements to fish habitat are accomplished by lowering the lake to expose mucky sediments to sunlight and air, thus allowing sediments to consolidate into a hard substrate. In some places, crews scrape dried sediments and truck them to disposal areas. The result is a clean, hard, sandy bottom. Once the water level returns to normal, the hard bottom provides quality spawning areas for sportfish and a substrate that promotes the growth of beneficial aquatic plants, where bass can feed and grow to trophy size.
Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Tom Lang welcomed the news that the fish are biting. “For our visitors looking for memory-making experiences to punctuate their vacation or holidays, this is good news. We recommend they get here fast, because you never know when the tide may turn with the fish.”
For more information on bass fishing in Osceola County’s Lake Tohopekaliga, go to the Freshwater Fishing area of MyFWC.com/Fishing and select Fishing Sites and Forecasts, or contact the Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau at VisitKissimmee.com.
A new boat ramp just reopened to the public on Lake Hatchineha. From the looks of things they’re still doing some renovations but it’s always nice to have another ramp. There’s plenty of parking and you don’t have to drive down a dirt road meaning you don’t have to clean off all the dirt on your boat when you get home.
I had to check it out today and fished Hatchineha. Much to my surprise, I didn’t catch a single fish out of the reeds. Instead, I caught about a dozen fish doing everything under the sun. The fish were definitely biting, but nothing over 2.5 pounds. I caught my first and biggest fish about 30 minutes into the day flippin in Kissimmee grass with a junebug silver Gitem Sugar. I’ve been flippin a lot lately so I broke out a green pumpkin chatterbait with a swim senko trailer and caught a bunch swimming it next to pads. I then checked out the inside of the weed line and caught 3 fish on a frog.
All in all, I like having the new ramp and will keep it in the rotation. It’s free and open all day every day. What more could you ask for? View Larger Map
BassOnline.com is Florida Fishing largest Freshwater Guide Service, specializing in Florida bass fishing in many Florida lakes, canals and rivers for largemouth and peacock bass.
To learn more about Florida bass fishing, visit Bass Fishing Blog
LAKE WALES, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2009) – Boater Jeremy Smith of Plant City, Fla., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League Gator Division tournament on the Kissimmee River Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 28 pounds, 12 ounces. The victory earned Smith $4,271 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Clarks Hill Lake Regional Championship in Martinez, Ga., Oct 15-17, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
“Watching the Weather Channel I knew it had been cold all week. I just had a thought in my mind that the fish would pull out in deeper water,” said Smith. “When I practiced, I stuck with that idea that fish were going to be deeper and discovered that Friday before the tournament.”
Smith caught a total of eight fish between takeoff hours and lunchtime and kept the best five, culling only once. Smith said he knew that Saturday was forecast to be a nice day, and by mid-morning the weather had improved.
“I didn’t have to fish anymore, so I put my pole down and tried to help my co-angler catch his limit,” Smith said. The winning fish were caught on a Rat-L-Trap and a Yo-Zuri lipless crankbait.
“I normally don’t catch that much weight the day of takeoff. But I ran up to Lake Toho and fished in a new place. An angler before me caught a 9-pound, 2-ounce bass, and I thought he had caught the big one. But I fished it for a while longer and caught a bigger one,” Smith said.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Kyle Walters of Palm Bay, Fla. (five bass, 26-13, $2,136); John Stahl of Wesley Chapel, Fla. (four bass, 20-08, $1,424); Micah Silverman of Orlando, Fla. (five bass, 14-09, $997) and Miles Burghoff of Saint Cloud, Fla. (five bass, 14-06, $854).
Smith took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $4,271 for a 9-pound, 11-ounce bass he caught.
Scott Kerslake of Henderson, N.C., earned $2,136 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 12 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Johnny Dease of Orlando, Fla. (five bass, 12-04, $1,068); Chris Youngblood of Dunedin, Fla. (five bass, 10-13, $712); Douglas Conklin of Harmony, Fla. (five bass, 8-13, $498) and David Lepsic of Haines City, Fla. (five bass, 8-07, $427).
Kerslake earned $2,136 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 15-pound, 12-ounce bass.
The next Gator Division event will be held on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Tavarez, Fla., Feb 14.
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in each of the BFL’s 28 divisions at the end of the season advance to a no-entry-fee Regional Championship where boaters fish for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck and co-anglers fish for a new Ranger boat. Seven regional championships will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the no-entry-fee Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy, which features a $1 million purse and a top award of $140,000 in the Boater Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to a Regional Championship are eligible to compete in the Chevy Wild Card, which will also send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total of 48 boaters and 48 co-anglers advancing through BFL competition.
In BFL competition, boaters supply the boat and compete from the front deck against other boaters. Co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.
As the nation’s leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the BFL is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the Stren Series and ultimately the FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament circuit.
Total awards are based on a full field of 200 boats in every tournament.
Till next time tight lines and good fishing….
From Staff Writer Capt Todd Kersey (todd@bassonline.com)
BassOnline.com / 888-829-BASS
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BassOnline.com is Florida Fishing largest Freshwater Guide Service, specializing in Florida bass fishing in the Florida lakes, canals and rivers.
To learn more about Florida bass fishing, visit Bass Fishing Blog
