EricBev

Yeah I here ya man. I got burned last year as well. I am now waiting for the ice to melt so I can get out there The cooling lakes will suffice for now. I may head to Braidwood tomorrow. Yeah Ill be at Lesalles opener on Wednesday. Probably at about 4am so I can actually get a decent spot in line. Ill probably be by myself. I need to try and heal my wounds by catching some fish.

Yeah tell me about it guys. I spent the whole week in Camp Mack getting beaten down by cold temperatures, relentless northern winds, and rain. I packed 6 pairs of shorts in my bag and not one of them made it out into the sunshine. In fact, I am glad than I had brought some cold weather gear because it sure got a workout! Going across the water at 65mph at 6am was bone chilling to say the least. Monday the 1st was the one nice day we had all week and it was sunny and calm. I was able to get down to a t-shirt and jeans but that was as good as it got. Even then....the bugs around the grass on a breezeless day are insane! They came in swarms of about 15 million a piece and were all in my face and driving me batty. Every single other day that we were there was definitely less than satisfactory. The general consensus at the camp, from what I could gather, was that the fishing sucked....Especially on Kissimmee. The wind made anything other than anchoring extremely frustrating and the cold temps and lack of sunshine sure didnt help the mood. There were quite a few shiner fishermen in the camp that couldnt even get bait. I am not sure if the stores were buying them up or the cold weather had them hiding safely away from cast nets or what but it seems all forces were against us fishermen. This is the second year in a row that I have gone down to central florida with high hopes of catching a trophy bass. This is also the second consecutive year that I have been beaten down by weather, and to me, horrid fishing. Everybody keeps telling me that shiners are key to a HUGE bass but I refuse to catch fish that way. You would think that the smaller fish, male or female, would still be semi-active and biting. These lakes are suppose to be full of bass right? I tried fishing slow, fast, horizontal, vertical, in grass, in pads, in bullrush, through hydrilla, in dark water, in clear water, dead sticking, ripping, flipping, pitching, cranking and everything in between to get a few bass and a few pickerel out of 5 days of hard fishing. I am not asking for a 10lber every day or even a 5lber... but going a whole day at a time without pulling a bass over the side of the boat is down right demoralizing! I do not consider myself an "expert" fishermen but I can hold my own pretty well. In hindsight, catching dinks all week would have been great compared to what I went through! There were some good fish on the scales the day of the tournament and it make me wonder what the hell I was doing wrong. I know these people are most likely locals with tons of lake knowledge but it still doesnt help me. I pry for any knowledge that people can give me, but they rarely tell me something I dont already know. I guess I am going to have to suck it up and get a guide for a day or two next year to see what I can learn. :'( The two best fish... they were both 18.5 inches and 3lb 6ozs. Both were caught on Monday, on Toho, one on a huddleston weedless golden shiner swimbait in about 4ft of water and the other was caught on a Karu Vibraspin, also in 4ft of water. The first was caught near North Steer and the other around Big Grassy Island. Sure wish I would have gotten a few more! Does this look like clothes one should be wearing in March?! in Florida?! Any tips or words of encouragement would be very much appreciated. My fish catching ego has taken a good beating.

I wish I would have had that kind of success during my trip! Good job man!

That is a monster bass! Awesome fish!

I sure hope so. After a rather frustrating outing during our first visit I was crossing my fingers for a shot at redemption. Last year the bait shop owner told us about "How people caught soo many bass" the week before we arrived and how "nobody was cathing anything" during the week we were actually there! I would like it to be the other way around for us this time! I will remain optimistic till the fat lady sings... but a stable thermometer sure would have eased my woes!

Well I figured a 10-15 degree drop and nightly lows near freezing could put a damper on things. You would know better than me as I have only fished the area once before and am not experienced on how the fish down there react to cold. It was my understanding that anything near freezing is a bad thing. Please tell me that things are going to be ok! I just wish it would stay 75 from today till the day I leave.

Sorry Tboydva I am not from around the area maybe one of the others can chime in and give you some information. Al it appears the weather has taken a turn for the worse and the temp is going to drop again.... Its showing a drop from Wednesday to Thursday and low of 32 for the 25th...thats a little disheartening..but it looks like it may warm back up before we arrive...I only hope that it stays nice for the remaining week and that the fish are active. I know fishing early in the year in florida is either feast or famine but two years in a row of cold front fishing might turn me off of coming down when the seasons are changing. Only time will tell.

Thanks guys. You two do the same. Towing a 20ft boat all that way is always a pain but slow and steady wins the race. I can already see myself gazing at the tripometer.....watching every agonizing mile tick away......Just kidding... We share the driving duties so its not all that horrible. I dont think anybody actually enjoys being stuck in a car that long but we make the best of it. Its the means to a wonderful end. Plus, the new tow vehicle is miles ahead of the last one as far and comfort, space, and pulling prowess are concerned. Too bad you werent a week earlier Tim. Me you and Al could have our own BassResource party consisting of beer and charred mammal. Windsor.....*whew*..... and I thought I had a drive!

I wish I could tell you that I know all the secrets but that would be a lie. I have never fished the K chain at all or stayed at Camp Mack. I have 75 or so days on Okeechobee and half that many on Istapoga(still can't spell it) but never been to K chain or Toho. I have not been to Florida since the trio of hurricanes a few years ago, so there may be a big learning curve for us. The last few years we have made our winter trip to Santee-Cooper instead of Florida. One thing I have learned is fishing shiners offers a great deal of forgiveness. However very expensive. We will probably trailer our boats to several other lakes in Central Florida as well. But I intend to fish shiners exclusively the entire trip and have not ruled out a little speck(crappie) fishing. If we run out of shiners or the bass won't hit then I'll start crappie fishing. Although we hope to catch a lot of bass we are truly after one or more picture fish. In my home waters you are lucky to catch one 5lb fish in a days fishing. In Florida any bite could be the fish of a lifetime and I believe you improve your odds fishing shiners, and it makes packing tackle much easier. No matter what we do it will be a blessing to be in warmer weather. This has been the coldest winter I can remember and it seems to snow every d**n day. At least we don't have to shovel as much as you have had to do. Look forward to seeing you there.............Al PS- I'm 62 years old and the excitement starts to build weeks before one of these trips. I hope that never changes. Well at least you have some pretty solid experience fishing similarly constructed waters around the area. I really hope the weather behaves itself. I would love to put a couple nice fish over the side of the boat. I am getting the boat into the garage tomorrow and starting its final preparation. I plan on tearing down all my reels and oiling and greasing them as well. Then all I have to do is spool them up and start packing stuff away. The days are passing by quickly now. The big drive is on the horizon! *crosses fingers*

Good stuff Al. I am also staying in the hotel part of the camp and it appears I will be seeing you there. Look for the black Yukon Denali and the blue/mica Ranger 520vx with a 225 optimax. You ever been to Camp Mack before? Are you at all familiar with the waters? Tell me that you have been fishing down there for 15 years and you know all the secrets. 8-) I am have been getting increasingly excited for this trip as of the past few weeks. I am more than ready for some sunshine and bass fishing. I am sick of this cold weather already.

I will be headed down there in 10 days. Staying in Camp Mack from the 28th till the 7th. We stayed there last year and our trip was also beaten up by a cold front. I can attest to the friendly and comfy atmosphere of this camp. I enjoyed my time there. It appears our trip this year may fall perfectly on a nice warming trend. After all weather they have been having down there, we may have just lucked out! One can only hope mother nature will be kind to us. If anybody have any suggestions on locations, techniques this time of year dont be afraid to chime in. I will be fishing Kississime and Toho all week.

Hey everybody. My name is Eric and I have been fishing since I was 4 years old. I started fishing for bass maybe 5 or 6 years ago but have really gotten serious with it in the past 2 years. I live in a decent part of Illinois for fishing having 3 power plant lakes, strip mines, and rivers all only a short drive away. My boat is a 2002 Ranger 520DVX and also fish from shore at ponds, wade in creeks rivers, and have been recently looking into getting a tube/pontoon for some real good honey hole fishing. I look forward to sharing my experiences, stories, and information with all of you. Thanks for having me!