basslovr

ordered me some of these......just waiting for delivery.....sounds logical....bass eat just about anything that swims.

Having been a member here for a couple of years, I know that most of you folks are "big time" fisherman (meaning, for the most part, you all have mechanically driven boats). Well, I have been recently introduced to kayak bass fishing and absolutely love it. I am wondering if anyone here knows of any SMALLER bodies of water in the west central Florida area that have PUBLIC access for kayaks (boats with 250 hp motors and kayaks don't mix too well). Little out of the way places work for me too (I have a JEEP). Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Don't know anything in Tampa, but if ya wanna come over to Clearwater, I got a coupla spots I could share with ya.....

I am with Salmi...never seen a swimbait rigged like that.....gonna have to give that a try.

I didn't know Zoom made a 4" trick worm....I knew they made a finesse worm, is this the same thing? junebug red is a very good color.....one that I did not have when I fished Walk-in-water.....could have made a difference.....I won't get "caught" without them again. Where were you fishin Johnny? Tarpon?....I live just down the road from there.

Well, I said I would give you guys a report, but unfortunately I have nothing to report. I threw just about everything in my bag and I did not get a single bite all day long. I threw rattle baits and chatter baits and spinnerbaits. I threw frogs, flukes, worms, and "beaver" baits. The only thing I caught was an owl who picked up my frog and got it wrapped around one of his legs. He was freed unharmed by the way. I guess it just was not my day. We fished the canals, the bulrushes, the docks, and padfields....nothing. Not sure if I will ever go back there again. Lots of great looking water and I know there are fish there....we saw a few bedding fish....but talk about discouraging......I don't think I have ever been to any lake and not gotten a single bite. I have been bitten and missed fish and not caught any....but this is the first time I never got a bite.

thank you for the information and tips....I'll be heading to the lake on saturday and will definitely let you guys know how I do...... Tight Lines!!!!

Is bullrush another name for buggy whips?....also what should I be using?

I have an opportunity to fish this lake next weekend for the first time ever. Anyone have any tips they would like to share. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

This is my latest catch at the "pond" I was telling you about.

Just a sample of what can be found in ponds and lakes around Clearwater, Florida. Caught this one on a Zoom trick worm.....junebug red....with a finishing nail in the tail for weight. Caught at about 4 in the afternoon on the outside edge of a grass mat casting parallel with the bank. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 8 oz.

Must concur with the rest of us Floridians....plenty of us here....plenty of fish in this state. If you fished a different lake every day, you could not fish every one in a lifetime. Come on down.....the fishin's fine.

There are quite a few of them as a matter of fact. Finding one that is not surrounded by homes is a little bit challenging, but if you can....cast a ZOOM trick worm in there with a nail in the tail as a weight and hold on. Take a look at Clearwater on Google earth and you will find a lot of little lakes and ponds around. Most if not all of these gems have big fish in them. It is advisable to practice catch and release in them because most of them are fed by water run-off from surrounding neighborhoods, so the fish are probably not good to eat. If you are bringing a boat with you, there is always Lake Tarpon. Lot of people don't like the lake and say it is a hard lake to fish. It can be at times, but lots of people catch lots of fish from there on a consistent basis.

Hey Josh, check your message board.....look at the top of the site page and you will see whether or not you have messages....I sent you one concerning your question......check it out....

How very sad indeed. My heart and prayers also go out to the family and friends of these two....May the Lord comfort them as only He can.

Ok, we had our night tournament out on the lake last night, and boy was it tough.....only 8 out of 20 caught fish.....1st place was 4 fish for a little over 6 lbs. Big fish of the tournament was 4.4 lbs. caught at 10:30 pm on a chrome n blue sexy shad (my boater). I blanked. only one bite and my drag was too loose, so I lost her. See the correlation there? The fish we "found" earlier in the week were not where we found them, or if they were there, they didn't want the same thing as they did the first time.

fished Alligator Lake yesterday (monday) from 7 am til about 2. Was there probably 3 hours too long. Had no luck towards Ruth Eckerd...didn't catch anything until I turned around and went east towards the canals and homes......caught 8 fish altogether. 4 "keeper" size with the biggest about 2 pounds...all caught on Zoom junebug finesse worms texas rigged with no weight. Went home when little black algae balls started floating to the surface. Did see some surface action that had to be good size chasing baitfish.....would like to go back when the weather turns a little.

Does that retirement place allow you to park there legally, or did you have to "sneak" in?

I pass it all the time, but how do you get in there to fish it? I don't know anybody that lives on it and there seems to be a fence most of the way around it.....It does look like a good fishery....

Sorry darlin, the only time I fished that lake was about 25 years ago....I wouldn't be much help even if I remembered where exactly it was that we fished.....congrats on the wedding and good luck.

Thank you sir....monday is my birthday and I'm takin the day off from work to go fishing. My brother is letting me borrow his kayak and that sounds like a good place to go. I live only a few minutes from there and have wanted to fish there again. I'll let ya know how I do. Thanks again for the info.....

Thanks for the tips guys..... "I fish Lake Tarpon , but don't have much luck there. I do much better at Alligator Lake in Safety Harbor. Zoom Junebug lizard works best for me there. " Alligator Lake huh?...I fished there once and didn't have much luck...It's not a very big place....I fished behind the homes around the docks.......used zoom worms and Berkley centipedes...caught a couple but not any size.....where do you fish when you go there?

Anybody fish Lake Tarpon lately that is willing to share some information? It will be greatly appreciated....

Can anyone shed any light on this fishery for me besides the fact that there are a couple of million stumps there. Everybody seems to tell me to watch out for the stumps but can't tell me much more than that. A couple of folks said to avoid the lake altogether and just fish the Withlacoochee. We have a tournament coming up on the 18th and from what I hear this will be the first time our club has fished a river/lake in over 15 years, so most of the members don't have a clue. Any information that could be shared would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!! Tight Lines!!!

It didn't go very well for me at all. Being a non-boater, I had very little say so as to where we went. We saw like 12 or 13 American flags, so wasn't sure which one you were talking about. Went across to Henderson's cove and stayed there toooooo long. My boater was not the most proficient angler when it came down to boat control. I only had two bites the whole first day. Caught nothing. The second day was a little better. I had one bite and caught the fish. 3 lbs. 2 ounces. So for two days of fishing I had three bites and caught one fish. I flipped, and flipped, and flipped some more, but couldn't buy a bite. I caught my one fish on a spinnerbait. Saw a couple of guys flippin the same thing I was and they had a limit by 10:00, so I guess I need to work on my technique or something. :'(