Fall
Fishing Forecast: January, February, and March
for Lake Tohopekaliga (“Toho”) and
Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Florida
by Capt. A. James Jackson
A J's Freelancer
Bass Guide Service
Winter
is in full swing. If you get the right conditions, Toho can be
one of the best lakes in the country. But when you don’t
get things just right, fishing can be difficult -- and “just
right” means a stable barometer. Water temperatures fluctuate
widely at this time of the year. Before a cold front, they are
usually in the low 60s. After the front passes, they tend to
dip into the 50s. On some occasions, water temperatures even
rise into the 70s.Winter Bass Fishing Forecast
Changing
Conditions: Be prepared for changing conditions. Wintertime angling
can be feast or famine. When a cold front comes through, the
fishing can be thrown into a tailspin. But, cold fronts in February
are not as severe and occur less often than in January. Just
as fishing can be tough after a cold front, it can be incredibly
productive before a cold front. Before the front, the fish are
willing to bite on top water lures, creating potential for the
use of soft jerk baits and white spinnerbaits.
Stable
Conditions: A gradual warming trend can bring phenomenal catches.
Stable weather conditions over a period of days can culminate
in hordes of big, egg-laden females moving up to spawn, making
them easy pickings for anglers like Dean Rojas, who broke several
all-time tournament records at the historic Bassmaster Classic
held at Lake Toho in 2001. Rojas attributes his success to prevailing
conditions that enabled him to sight fish in an area known as
Shingle Creek, one of the best fishing spots on Toho. Other popular
destinations on the lake are grass fields in areas known as North
Steer on the southern end of the lake, Whaley’s Landing
on the southeast end of the lake, and Brown’s Point, which
abuts a spawning flat on the back side and is situated on the
southwest end of the lake.
First
Spawn: With the first spawn, which occurs during our winter season,
Toho’s staging areas are alive with their greatest numbers
of fish. To locate them, check out the maidencane grass fields.
Maidencane grass is the predominate vegetation near the spawning
grounds, areas having firm, sandy bottoms. The concentration
of bass in these locations sets the stage for a lot of action.
January through March is peak season for trophy bass fishing
in Central Florida -- and the busiest time of year for our professional
bass guides. Be sure to ask your guide take a photo of you with
your trophy catch.
Choice
of Bait: After a few days of good weather, artificial lures (mainly
top water baits, plastic worms and soft jerk baits) can produce
some decent catches. But, with typical winter weather patterns
continuing from the first of the year until spring, wild shiners
remain your best assurance for both good numbers and size. Keep
in mind, however, that after a cold front passes, producing bass
with either kind of bait can be difficult.
Average
Catches: Winter is our favorite time of the year for catching
good numbers of big Florida black bass. Setting your hook on
upwards of 25 largemouth bass is not unusual, and you can expect
plenty of them to be in the 4 to 7 pound range. When it comes
to the 10+ pound monsters you read about, each of our guides
sees 2 or 3 caught every week. We assure you, your bass guide
will put you on plenty of bass -- but it’s up to you to
get them in the boat! For every half dozen you land, you are
likely to lose one or two in Florida’s grassy waters.
Tips
on Catching Trophy Bass: Visit the Fishing
Articles page on our web site for my tipson locating,
hooking, and landing trophy bass in Florida’s grassy waters,
Click on one or more of the following magazines: 1) In-Fisherman
Magazine - Oct//Nov 2007, 2) BassMaster Magazine - Jan. 2006,
and 3) In-Fisherman Magazine - Feb/Mar 2004.
Hope
to see y’all soon!
Capt.
A. James Jackson
AJ's Freelancer Bass Guide Service
(800) 738-8144
www.orlandobass.com
Address your fishing related questions to capjackson@aol.com.
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