Lake
Toho Bass Fishing Report
Early
March 2010
I fished Lake Toho the last week of February
with my son in law Todd, we had the best week we ever had on
the lake. We missed some giant fish! We had the opportunity to
see 2 of them we missed, they were ten pounds or better. We did
catch nearly 60 fish on Wednesday. I caught a 4 1/2 pounder and
Todd caught a 5 and a 6 pounder. It was an amazing week. Toho
is a great Lake!
fish4bassman@aol.com
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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 tocapjackson@aol.com.
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