Florida, known as the fishing capital of the world, is really for a good reason. Florida has some of the most breathtaking fishing experiences that you can be offered. You can easily catch saltwater bass to trophy largemouth bass.
One of the reasons that bass fishing in Florida is unique from anywhere else is simply because Florida is literally unlike anywhere else in the world.
While the rest of the country fishes have many similarities with bass, Florida’s shallow grassy ponds and lakes can be a test for those who have never gone fishing here. (Read Best Small Battery for Trolling Motor)
It is so noteworthy that even watching videos or reading articles on how to catch bass that isn’t specifically made for Florida can be of no help.
With hundreds of publicly-accessible Florida bass fishing lakes and river fisheries, the Sunshine State of Florida offers immense good chances to stretch a line with big largemouth bass.
This citizen-science program awards fishermen for recording and letting out trophy bass of 8 pounds or heavier.
Bass weighing 8 – 9.9 pounds earns Lunker Club status, 10-12.9 pounds are considered part of the Trophy Club, and toads of 13 pounds or larger reach the reputable Hall of Fame Club.
Based on data from several studies over the past years, the following lakes made it to the list as best lakes in Florida for fishing bass.
Rodman Reservoir
Situated south of Palatka, this 3,845hectare reservoir was made in 1968 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a dam made from compressed clay with a four-gate spillway covering the Ocklawaha River.
This was the first out of the two organized programs that would intentionally facilitate passage along the Cross Florida Barge Canal.
Extending up to 19 miles, Rodman Reservoir holds extensive areas of swamped emergent and submerged timber, eelgrass, and large rafts of water lettuce and hyacinth. In summer months, the bass bulk seeks cooler temperatures in the river channel’s deeper waters.
During early mornings and late afternoons, Bass fishes may be found wandering shallow flats. In-depth, you can catch them using big worms, lizards, and some crankbaits.
Lake Okeechobee
Extending over 730 square miles, Lake Okeechobee is Florida’s largest lake and the second largest freshwater body bordering the United States. Well worthy of its Seminole name, meaning “big water,” Okeechobee is around 9 feet deep.
However, it has over 150,000 acres of flora plantation. A 100-yard wide rim passage circling the lake, along with respective secondary canals and cuts, yield hundreds of miles of fishable water.
A reservoir for drinkable and irrigation water, Okeechobee, took a hitting during the 2004 hurricane season when three major cyclones shove huge amounts of water into the system even as high as 18 feet.
The flooding with severe wind destruction brought about by the hurricane-damaged emergent vegetation. Turbidity obstructed sunlight long enough to kill most of the submerged vegetation.
Luckily, extreme drought conditions in 2006 and 2007 exposed vast lake bottom areas and allowed new vegetation to happen. When heavy rains and cyclones came back in 2008, the new plant growth started to emerge.
Turning over and throwing Texas-rigged plastics and jigs with craw trailers is one of the top chosen methods on the Big Okeechobee.
Lake Kissimmee
The southernmost linkage in the Kissimmee Chain, Lake Kissimmee is a 14,143hectare lake located 40 miles south of Orlando and 18 miles east of Lake Wales.
The habitat comprises high-priced communities that include maidencane, knotgrass, cattail, lily pads, bulrush, and hydrilla beds.
The lake has yielded 492 Trophy Catch fishes — 401 Lunker Club fishes, 82 Trophy Club fishes, and 1 Hall of Famer. Martin Mann, who is a fishery Biologist, has spent 15 years studying the Kissimmee Chain.
Mann pinpoints the lake’s healthy water quality contributed to a superior bass population. Moreover, most anglers release trophy fish to stay in the system for reproduction and balance the food chain.
Fishing in Lake Kissimmee requires some topwater activity, specifically a rowdy buzz bait fitted with a trailer hook.
You can’t go wrong turning or tossing plants with plastic crawfish or beaver kind of baits. Also, for fishing beginners out there, it’s recommended that you bring the best fish finders for the money as well as fish finders for kayaks so you’ll have an easier time catching fishes.
Lake Istokpoga
The Seminole name Istokpoga refers to predecessors who died on the lake when strong winds roiled its vast area of proportionately shallow waters. Even so, Florida’s fifth-largest native lake, located five miles northeast of Lake Placid, has consistently increased quality bass since its major refurbishment effort in the early 2000s.
Housing 11,207hectares with an average depth of about 6 feet, Istokpoga showcases a lineup of shallow flora comprising of hydrilla, spatterdock, bulrush, cattails, and peppergrass. March and October are top-tier months for cooler weather.
High-yielding schemes include flipping dark-colored red shad and June bags into covers of arising vegetation and pockets of submerged vegetation, working top waters, and jerk baits throughout the edges of hydrilla beds or pondweed, and focusing points and holes in weed mats with weedless frogs. (Read Best Marine Speakers)
Clattering baits include silver, gold, and Tennessee shad, which tempts bass during summer and fall as baitfish schools in open water areas along the lake’s northern end.
Conclusion
The most vital and most pertinent bass fishing tip is to place your bait where the fish are. To achieve such, you have to find cover on the body of water you are fishing. A cover comes in many different techniques, including lily pads, boat ducks, grasses, rocks, and woods.
Anglers must remember that Bass fishes are fond or hanging around the covers because they think they can hide while waiting for their prey.
A remarkable experience will indeed be added to your memory when you get to uncover the beauty of these lakes. Indeed, catching a Bass fish in these lakes will be a great bonus.
Fishing in lakes in Florida is undoubtedly one of the best things you can add to your bucket list.
