basslovr

There is a gentleman by the name of Jerry Bischoff that is a member of my bass club that can hook you guys up. He guides on Lake Tarpon in Clearwater. He can be reached at jbclg4@yahoo.com. Tell him "Double D" sent ya!!!!

Thanx for the info gentlemen....Will be leaving out friday morning, scout the lake friday afternoon, then be hard at it around sunrise on saturday. Buggy Whips......Here I come!!! Tight Lines!!!!!

Next weekend is our clubs "top ten" classic on Lake Istokpoga and I'm in. Would anyone be so kind as to share some information on what color plastic baits are hot on this lake right now? It would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!! Tight Lines!!!!!! 8-)

Not sure how far you are willing to travel, but.... Lake Rousseau/Withlacoochee River is chocked full of stumps and trees and has some monster bass in it. You have to be very careful though, cause you could lose your bottom end very easily. As long as you stay in the channel you are ok., but once you venture outside of that I would use trolling motor only.

Anybody got anything to report about Lake Panasoffkee lately? Got a tourny there next week (the 21st). Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Sarcastically speaking.....you couldn't have made this post a few days earlier.....my tournament was on the 21st.....you posted on the 22nd The winning weight at our tournament was 11 lbs 7 oz......He caught ALL 5 of his fish on a "rage tail craw in blue green color". So you were right on that one......Just wish I had had that suggestion before I went, then maybe that would have been me instead of him. I will definitely keep that in mind for the next time we fish that lake....knowing florida bass though, by the time we do, they will be on to something else (just my luck). Thanks again for all the tips guys

My club fished our tourny on Crooked Lake today. It was pretty chilly to start out the day....around 38 degrees. Lake level was about 4 to 5 feet lower than the last time we fished it which was back in June of last year. "Blue bird" skies. Wind changed directions 3 or 4 times before dying down a bit around 1 pm. Winning weight was a little over 11 lbs. Winner caught all his fish (5) in about 8 ft of water flipping isolated patches of Kissimme grass with a Rage Tail Craw. His was the only limit. Only two others weighed in more than one fish. :-[ Not even many dinks were caught, and there are usually quite a few of those caught. :-/ Other baits used to catch fish were red eye shads, "black" and "june bug red" trick worms, and wacky rigged senkos.

I absolutely did not keep her...she went back to lay her eggs. I only had her out of the water long enough to have the picture taken. There was another guy fishing right down the way who was glad to help me out with a cell phone photo!

another pond beauty from Clearwater, Florida....7 lbs 10 oz. caught her on a fluke about 2 hours ago....she went airborn three times....cut my finger pretty bad on the braided line....I should know better.

I live across the bay from Tampa in Clearwater....been here for 25 years. Yes, the "traffic is terrific"...yes, there are strip centers all over...yes, it gets really hot in the summertime...YES, it is warm in the wintertime ;D....and yes, there are a lot of "transplants" here. There are also some MONSTER bass and they can be found in just about any pond you find. There are also several hundred if not a thousand lakes within a coupla hour drive.... It aint all bad....just like any place its' got its' ups and downs. The bass fishin is like it is anywhere......some good days, some not so good, some bad. But you can find lots of places to go and you can go in shorts and a t shirt just about year round!! ;D

thanks again for all the tips guys....warmer, you said fllippin.....does it matter what I flip? Got the other two covered no problem. I use zoom trick worms with pretty good success rates, and like to throw gambler frogs, also with pretty decent success. I usually don't use those colors but am always open to trying something new. thanx again!!!

I'll trade you.. its -1 and snowing like crazy here in Michigan. We now have recieved almost 8 feet of snow this season with 2 months of snow left to go We are heading down to Clearwater in May and I am hoping to take a rental car and find a pond or two I can stop at to catch a descent size bass. Any suggestions??? If you are familiar with Clearwater at all, look for a place called the Countryside Community Center. There is a small pond accessible to the public from the community center property only. Comdos surround the remaining part of the pond and is private property. The pond is very deep in places up to 20 ft. My personal best from here is 7.5 lbs on a junebug red Zoom trick worm fished Texas rig with a finishing nail in the tail for weight. There are ponds everywhere but most are surrounded by homes and considered private property. The above mentioned place is the best that I have found although I am sure that there are more.

I guess that depends on what you consider relatively close. The best place that I know of that has decent bank access and good quality fishing is a place called Walsingham Reservoir in Largo. You can fish from the bank all the way around it and you won't be wasting your time wondering if you will catch any fish. It is a catch and release only impoundment when it comes to bass. My personal best at this site is 4.5 lbs, but friends of mine have caught even bigger up to 8 and 9 lbs. So there are definitely fish there. 12615 102nd Ave. N. Largo FL 33778 Phone: 727.549.6142 http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/maps/color/location/walsingham.pdf This map will give you an idea as to where it is located in relation to St. Pete Beach. Welcome to Pinellas County and good luck with the fishing. Hope you enjoy your stay!!!

I know you guys probably get tired of folks asking whether anyone has fished this lake or that lake and what is good and where the fish are at and all but... First question....do those questions say anything about the quality of fisherman that person is? Does a "seasoned veteran" ask these questions, or is he able to go to any lake and be able to "figure it out" on his own? I mean, I am a "member" of b.a.s.s. and I get the bassmaster magazine, and read all the articles about cover and structure and all, but it seems to me that those lakes that they talk about are all north of Florida. We don't have "creek beds" running through most of our lakes, or points, or road beds, and etc. Where can an "up and comer" find information on how to fish Florida lakes? Of course, being a "non-boater" in our club also puts me at a slight disadvantage I guess, since I have no say so as to where I fish in a tournament. And I don't get the opportunity very often to fish other than in our tournaments. I've got a tackle box full of every kind, size, and color of crankbait (both lipped and lipless), topwater this, spinnerbait that, and a bag with every size, shape, and color (each of which is a dilemma all its own) of plastic whatchamacallits there is. I don't want to carry both bags with me as this "clutters up" the back of the boat and sends a wave of chuckles through the ranks of boaters. How do I decide on what to take and what to leave behind? Does is just come down to changing your lure every 20 to 25 minutes until you "get lucky" and tie the right one on? Or does it take spending hours and hours and $$$ and $$$ (neither of which I have been blessed with) til you learn it by process of elimination? That being said (or asked)....., has anybody fished Crooked Lake lately.......? Thank you in advance to all you guys who are willing to take the time to share your knowledge and expertise with us novices.

anybody done anything on Kissimmee lately? Got a tourney comin up and would like to know any info. Not that I have a whole lot of choice where I fish since I am a non-boater, but a little help on what they are bitin on these days would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah, I was the original asker of that question and never did learn where to contact him. I was told that it was hit or miss finding those maps unless you visit bait shops in the vicinity of where you are wanting to go fishing. Not sure where they (bait shops) get them, might wanna ask when you find a place that carries them. :-/ Iffen ya find out, please do share the info.... Thanks in advance 8-)

Ok, Arbuckle report.......What a beautiful lake. And its a fishing lake too. No water skiiers, no jetskiiers.....a nice change from most other lakes our club has fished. 15 fished....15 caught fish......LOTS of fish. Only 13 weighed anything in. Most fish caught were around 13 inches. But give it time. These were some of the scrappiest fish I have ever caught. fat, healthy, scrappy 13 inch fish. When they grow up, boy are they gonna be a blast. Oh and by the way, I won the tournament with only 3 fish....total weight 6.06. my biggest was 2.15. big fish of the tourney went 3.07. Caught all mine on Bass Assassin "Twitches"....red shad color. All in all a great time....Must have caught 20 to 25 fish in an area about 30 yards long and 15 yards wide. Look forward to going back next year..... Tight Lines Everybody!! ;D

Across the bay in Largo is a place called Walsingham Resevoir. Good catches come out of there on a regular basis and you can walk around 95% of the lake.

I have heard that Fay has made Lake Arbuckle "fishable" again, so our club is gonna fish a tourney there. Can anyone shed any light on methods for this lake. I notice on Google Earth that there only a few homes with only a couple of docks on the south end of the lake. Again, any info that could be shared would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the responses guys. I know there are a lot of clubs around the state with tourneys comin up and we certainly don't need any added pressures on the resource. Tight Lines!!!!

There was a report on our local news channel of reported fish kills in central florida due to excessive rains from Faye. Can anyone verify or dispute these reports? :-?

Clearwater here....fish ponds mostly, although I am a non boater in a draw tourney club here and once a month I get to fish lakes from Crooked in Polk County to Harris and Panasoffkee in Lake County, and naturally Tarpon too since it is right up the road. 8-) Tight Lines Everbody!!!!

Yeah, I too would say that he is definitely hooked for life. My biggest ever bass is that same size and I was 24 when I caught it. I'm 48 now and haven't caught another one that size (only a 7.5er since). Hope he gets another one just like it or bigger sooner than I have. The kids are our fishing future. Great Job little man!!!!!

Any recent reports from this lake? Got a tourney comin up in a few weeks and was just wonderin if anybody had fished this lake lately and could share some info on where fish are holdin or patterns or anything.

Love them small ponds here in Florida too.....catch most of mine on zoom trick worms in june bug red, red bug, and watermelon red and "chatter" style baits. On average catch more biguns than dinks.....I do much better on ponds than I do bigger bodies of water. Don't know if it is a pressure thing or what but small ponds get my vote any time.