CENTRAL FLORIDA REGION FORECAST
KISSIMMEE CHAIN FISHING FORECAST
How does it get any better than March in Central Florida? The weather is warming up, and we have Spring Training baseball plus incredible bass fishing, and THAT folks is a winning combination. Well, February turned out to be a better month weather-wise than was originally predicted by multiple sources. The first week was brutal then it stabilized and so did the bass fishing after that on both the Winter Haven Chains and the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. We ended up catching better numbers of fish in Winter Haven but caught bigger fish on average out of Camp Mack. So starting out in Winter Haven, we’re still working with a mix of pre and post spawn fish and that makes for great days on the water. The air and water temps should be rather stable - even though we are always subject to cold/storm front for a day or two - which will keep the fish feeding. I’m a firm believer in fishing offshore over deep vegetation with a variety of shad imitation baits. Flukes, swim baits in your favorite brand, crankbaits, and jerkbaits are all highly effective this time of year. At some point this month the post-spawn fish should start schooling and chasing bait which brings your topwater baits into play. As for fishing with shiners I’ll have a combination of wild native and domestics from 3” to 6” whenever possible and switch them up until the bass tell you what they prefer that day. Some days it flat does not matter, other days they get a little particular as to their dining preferences. Heading east to Lake Kissimmee and fishing out of Camp Mack I’m expecting a lot of great trips making lots of memories with new and old guests alike. Here, trips are a little more customized for each guest and their fishing preferences. If a client is more focused on strictly artificial baits we’ll be using a combination of hollow body frogs & soft body frogs like Gambler Buzz’n Cane Toads, Gambler EZ Swimmers, senkos, and Zoom Trick Worms. Those are all baits that are highly effective up in the jungle in heavy cover, as well as offshore over submerged vegetation. For most trips though it’s fishing offshore over eel grass and hydrilla as well as shell beds in open water. On these trips we can effectively fish a combination of both live and artificial baits. I like to give 5”-8” wild shiners swimming lessons off the back of the bay boat while guests fish with lures up front. A few of the best baits are a Spook or Spook Jr, a Devil’s Horse, jerkbaits, bladed swimjigs, and of course you have to have some flukes or senkos on hand. Please remember to Catch, Photograph, and Release the bass you catch, especially during spawning season. “Let ‘em Go & Let ‘em Grow”
I’d like to take the time this month to thank each and every one of you who took the time to write or email the Governor’s office about the use of herbicides as a means of aquatic weed control in the State of Florida. Thanks to your over 170,000 emails, the usage of herbicides was banned in Florida by Governor Ron DeSantis as a means of aquatic weed control. For all of you who Caught on Lake Rosalie took the time to write and for the Governor’s on a Senko. intervention, I am extremely grateful. Water levels are on the rise and water clarity continues to improve. Many bass spawned out in February, however, a good number of them have not. For this month you’re going to see pre-spawners and post-spawners. Either way it’s a good deal for the bass anglers because these bass are very aggressive in their feeding habits. Your best bet for March will most likely be along the edges of the Kissimmee grass lines throughout the chain. Weightless Senkos, flukes and 8” lizards are your best bets on the edges of the grass lines. Up in the grass, a swim bait on a ¼ oz. swim jig can be deadly at this time. For you live bait anglers, a dollar bill-sized shiner slowly trolled about eight feet off the edges of the grass lines will produce heart-stopping explosions. For all you crappie anglers, February was really a good month as many Crappies came in to spawn on Lake Kissimmee. For March look for the Crappie to move out to deeper water. Long-line trolling and slip cork rigs with a minnow are the methods of preference. However, I’m beginning to see the value in jigging spoons in deeper water for crappie. Bluegill and shell crackers are just around the corner, as these fish will soon be moving in to spawn. Get your bream poles and your crickets ready.
Submitted By: Capt. Scotty Taylor TMC Guide Services, llc • 855-354-8433 Scott@TMCGuideService.com • TMCGuideService.com Capt. Scott is the official guide for VisitCentralFlorida.org & Guy Harvey Camp Mack Lodge, Marina & RV Resort
Submitted By: Capt Dave Ochs Waters Edge Fish Camp • 10730 Camp Mack Rd • Lake Wales, Fl 863-589-6295
Walden Shores 5th Annual Bass Fishing tournament held at Rickert Properties Premier Waterfront 55+ Community on Saturday Feb 2nd was magnificent! Congratulations to Dale Johnson and Frank Tennity on 1st Place along with Randy Morris and Aubrey Dawson on 2nd Place & Big Bass and Cody Wilson and Howard Mathews on 3rd Place. The Johnson/Tennity Team brought in 5 fish for a total weight of 13.33 pounds, Morris/Dawson Team 3 fish for 12.03 pounds with Big Bass weighing in at 9.38 pounds and Wilson/ Mathews Team with 5 fish for 11.09 pounds. Our Resident longest fish caught contest was won by Steve Redwine with 17 % inches, he received one month’s FREE lot rent! Great job to all of our anglers!
Big Bass Winner Randy Morris
6 POLK & SUMTER | MARCH 2019 | COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM
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