# Planning a trip to Florida



## Socom (Nov 3, 2005)

Hey guys, 

Me and a buddy are in the very beginning stages of planning a trip down to Florida this summer for some bass fishing. Was hoping maybe some of you could share some advice if you have made a trip down there.

We plan on going late summer, either the end of July or the middle of August for about a week. don't really have a specific destination set but we would like to hit at least two lakes. Going to have to rent a boat down there, don't really want to haul my boat across the country especially if gas goes up like they say it will.

We also kicked around the idea of staying at campgrounds at least part of the time to save money. We have a budget of a little under two grand for the trip. 

Hoping to tie into some of those big Florida bucket mouths!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks


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## ranger175a (Apr 20, 2011)

My advice would be stay out of Florida an summer. It is suffocatingly hot.If you want to go to there try November through March.


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## Flippin 416 (Aug 18, 2005)

I can recommend Camp Mack's as far as amenities go. They have cabins and park models you can rent. It's right on the Kissimmee chain so you have allot of water to cover. It will be hot as mentioned.....we fished out of there two years ago at the end of March and we used mostly soft plastics but experimented with wild shiners.....it was a blast and I would like to head back sometime.

Here is a link to Mack's

http://www.campmack.com/


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

I'd try the St. John's river area. Now would be a great time to go. Summer is hot and sticky.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

One more vote for another time of year. July/August in the Fl, especially the southern part, is *brutal *hot. The freshwater fishing can be tough too, because of the water temps. I can&#8217;t imagine staying in a tent when the night time lows are around 80 and 90% humidity.


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## Socom (Nov 3, 2005)

Haha, I don't have to imagine how hot it would be down there in a tent. I have spent time overseas in some of the hottest, miserable places I could imagine. Kenya was particularly bad with the worst humidity I have ever experienced. And the middle east is pretty hot too.

Anyway, that time period is about the only time we can make this work, so it will have to do. 
Thanks for the link and I will have to look into the St Johns area too. 

I know they are probably rare, but any of you had an experiences with alligators or snakes down there? I keep hearing about those Burmese pythons they keep letting into the wild.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Not sure about pythons and such, I don't think you'd have to worry about them as they normally wouldn't be dangerous to people. Gators on the other harn, are as thick as skeeters in some places. You do need to be mindful of them.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

I am headed down there next Friday the 16th. We camp and fish all over the place. This year we will be doing the old standbys of Stick Marsh/Farm 13, Blue Cypress, Garcia and a few others in the area I don't want to post.
We are also going to try a new lake this year that we haven't been on before called Lake Istokpoga.
What lakes we fish depends on the weather, wind and local reports when we finally get down there. We just use our 14' aluminum deep V boat and camp for free in various places that we found over the years.
Don't be afraid to stop and hit all those retention ponds that you see all over right next to the roads.
They can hold some big ones.
You might want to hit the canals around Miami for the peacock bass. that is on our bucket list in the next couple of years. 
Fishing the oyster beds off of the St Pete./ Clearwater area for trout is fun too if you can time it right.

A 2 grand budget will treat you to the high life. Our budget is around 500 hundred for the week and most of that goes for gas.


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## Flippin 416 (Aug 18, 2005)

I've always wanted to check out the stick marsh!!! You gotta take some pics!


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

Check out my gallery. There are a bunch of Florida pics there. Two 10 lb bass from the nursery at Farm 13. A space shuttle launch when we were on Toho. Copperhead (bluegill) from Garcia. All the bass boats in a lock between Toho and Cypress during the bassmaster classic tourny.
Fun times.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

Fellsmere Grade






























The Nursery























Shuttle







launch when we were on East Lake Toho. Not the big Toho.


Garcia copperheads


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## Socom (Nov 3, 2005)

Thanks for all the replies and pictures. Can't wait to actually get down there and tie into some big ones. I have always wanted to go after seeing all those fishing shows where they go down and seems like a 4lb bass is a disappointment. (it would be my biggest to date lol)


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## brownsbacker (Oct 20, 2011)

Florida is brutally hot that time of year. However, big fish can still be caught. I fished Kissimmee with a couple friends in late August a few years back and we caught a two 7lbers and a 9lber. We stayed at Camp Lester which is right beside Camp Mack. If you decide to fish Kissimmee and stay at Camp Mack I would head straight out of the canal onto Kissimmee and the turn left and take the "pig trail" to the NE side of the lake. We caught all the fish on artificial lures in the evening. One thing you should consider is fishing with golden shiners. Fishing with shiners is slow and it takes some patience but the first time you have a big bass chase and hit a shiner on the surface you will be hooked. Shiners can be expensive (I've seen 20$ a dozen for wild shiners) but if your looking for a double digit there is no better bait. Again if your after a double digit fish go with LARGE shiners 6-8 inches. I've spent a fair amount of time fishing in North Central Florida with shiners so pm me if you want more details about spots and techniques.


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