# Winter in Florida so far



## talltim

This is the third winter we have spent in Florida on the same lake in lake placid about 2 hrs south of Orlando, and every year the lake fishes total different. I was excited to get here this year to fish last years waypoints of deep weeds I had found only to find they had put a bunch of grass carp in the lake, and there is no grass to be found. So brake out the trolling rods and start covering water, and between the off shore brush piles and the schools of fish that are holding in spots that I have no idea why they are staying there to skipping docks ( not my favorite way to fish) I have managed to put 208 bass in the boat so far. Most have come on the drop shot and have been in the 1 to 2lb range the few bigger ones I have got have been on the deep swimbait or the docks the largest so far being 5.2 lbs, but I'm not complaining it's been sunny and in the 80s almost everyday. I know there are some really big fish some where in this 3800 acre lake, and with a little more than 3 months left to chase them I'm still hoping for a real big one. Merry Christmas to all my ogf friends back home.


----------



## sherman51

ain't lake placid where the crocks live??? LOL.
sherman


----------



## Saugeye Tom

talltim said:


> This is the third winter we have spent in Florida on the same lake in lake placid about 2 hrs south of Orlando, and every year the lake fishes total different. I was excited to get here this year to fish last years waypoints of deep weeds I had found only to find they had put a bunch of grass carp in the lake, and there is no grass to be found. So brake out the trolling rods and start covering water, and between the off shore brush piles and the schools of fish that are holding in spots that I have no idea why they are staying there to skipping docks ( not my favorite way to fish) I have managed to put 208 bass in the boat so far. Most have come on the drop shot and have been in the 1 to 2lb range the few bigger ones I have got have been on the deep swimbait or the docks the largest so far being 5.2 lbs, but I'm not complaining it's been sunny and in the 80s almost everyday. I know there are some really big fish some where in this 3800 acre lake, and with a little more than 3 months left to chase them I'm still hoping for a real big one. Merry Christmas to all my ogf friends back home.
> View attachment 225973
> View attachment 225974


Sunny......80s.........banned from ogf...


----------



## HappySnag

talltim said:


> This is the third winter we have spent in Florida on the same lake in lake placid about 2 hrs south of Orlando, and every year the lake fishes total different. I was excited to get here this year to fish last years waypoints of deep weeds I had found only to find they had put a bunch of grass carp in the lake, and there is no grass to be found. So brake out the trolling rods and start covering water, and between the off shore brush piles and the schools of fish that are holding in spots that I have no idea why they are staying there to skipping docks ( not my favorite way to fish) I have managed to put 208 bass in the boat so far. Most have come on the drop shot and have been in the 1 to 2lb range the few bigger ones I have got have been on the deep swimbait or the docks the largest so far being 5.2 lbs, but I'm not complaining it's been sunny and in the 80s almost everyday. I know there are some really big fish some where in this 3800 acre lake, and with a little more than 3 months left to chase them I'm still hoping for a real big one. Merry Christmas to all my ogf friends back home.
> View attachment 225973
> View attachment 225974


get few bandit 300,good lure,easy to fish with,and catch all kind fish.


----------



## sherman51

keep us up to date on your florida exploits. are you planning any saltwater fishing?? i'll be down there in feb for my annual ice fishing trip. but I usually just fish saltwater. a few yrs ago we found a spot at a bridge that has great fishing for black drum. but we catch a lot of other fish. we get mangrove snapper, sheep head, redfish, and a few fish we cant name. we catch these fish on live shrimp. we also catch pin fish for bait to fish for snook and grouper. we do get a few of them but the grouper is really hard to get to the boat. they keep getting buried in the rubble on the bottom and we cant get them out. or they just cut our line on the rubble. good luck on your fishing while your down there. and enjoy the warm weather.
sherman


----------



## talltim

Sherman, we used to stay 3 weeks on the gulf to do some salt water fishing. I really enjoyed that, but did not like the crowded towns over there. So now we are in this small town more like back home, and the boat is parked right outside the door. Great way to pass the winter. Good luck on your saltwater trip, look forward to your reports. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE


----------



## sherman51

merry Christmas tim. and wishing you a great new yr.
sherman


----------



## afishinfool

My folks lived in the town of Lake Placid for 20 years..Placid has some nice large mouth but go fish Istokpoga for the big fish..and you cant go wrong with shiners.


----------



## talltim

Afishinfool, we are living on lake June in the town of lake placid I have fished istokpoga many times, but it is way down from what it used to be. One of my best friends lives on the that lake and he has been coming over here to fish. Still getting a lot of fish ended the month of December with 371 bass, still have not found the giant yet, but getting some nice ones mixed in with the tons of 1 to 2 pounders. A lot of the fish have great colors and markings. Happy new year and GO BUCKS


----------



## talltim




----------



## afishinfool

talltim said:


> Afishinfool, we are living on lake June in the town of lake placid I have fished istokpoga many times, but it is way down from what it used to be. One of my best friends lives on the that lake and he has been coming over here to fish. Still getting a lot of fish ended the month of December with 371 bass, still have not found the giant yet, but getting some nice ones mixed in with the tons of 1 to 2 pounders. lot of the fish have great colors and markings. Happy new year and GO BUCKS


TT, send me pm..would like to know where at Lake June..have you fished Lake Placid yet? Give it a try and also give what the locals call "Cemetary Lake"..I know it holds some big fish, friend of my Mom caught her personal best LMB out of it..12lbs.


----------



## sherman51

talltim said:


> View attachment 226783


nice fish, keep the pictures and stories coming.
sherman


----------



## talltim

Had my best day so far yesterday. Skipping docks in the morning for 3 hrs and got 19 largest was 3.12lbs. Then had a friend over in the afternoon for some drop shotting, found a big school of 1 to 2 pounders in 18 fow we never left that spot and put 50 more in the boat. This is the lake we are staying on and the best fish of the day.


----------



## sherman51

your breaking my heart with all the pictures of sunny florida and big fish. i'll be down there for some saltwater fishing in the fort pierce area next month. good luck and enjoy the weather.
sherman


----------



## polebender

Very nice! That's a great day of fishing! Congrats! But I know you really miss Ohio! We got a couple inches of snow yesterday and the temps are in the teens! Sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your vacation!


----------



## afishinfool

talltim said:


> Had my best day so far yesterday. Skipping docks in the morning for 3 hrs and got 19 largest was 3.12lbs. Then had a friend over in the afternoon for some drop shotting, found a big school of 1 to 2 pounders in 18 fow we never left that spot and put 50 more in the boat. This is the lake we are staying on and the best fish of the day.
> View attachment 227246
> View attachment 227247
> View attachment 227248


Sounds like a good day...been trying to convince my wife to move down there, either around Sebring or Lake Placid but not having much luck..good job..keep posting your pics.


----------



## PapawSmith

afishinfool said:


> Sounds like a good day...been trying to convince my wife to move down there, either around Sebring or Lake Placid but not having much luck..good job..keep posting your pics.


Haha, my wife is about demanding we get a place down there, somewhere. I want nothing to do with the tourist areas like Orlando or most any of the way too crowded coastal cities, and I would prefer more south than central or north. We have taken periodic short trips down checking different areas, most recently the Harris Chain area around Mt Dora which was cool, and the Lake Placid area is next in our plans. Although I have been on Okachobee I know little about that region, and after watching this thread and seeing Tall Tims pics and good words about the area I'm feeling a bit excited about it.


----------



## afishinfool

PapawSmith said:


> Haha, my wife is about demanding we get a place down there, somewhere. I want nothing to do with the tourist areas like Orlando or most any of the way too crowded coastal cities, and I would prefer more south than central or north. We have taken periodic short trips down checking different areas, most recently the Harris Chain area around Mt Dora which was cool, and the Lake Placid area is next in our plans. Although I have been on Okachobee I know little about that region, and after watching this thread and seeing Tall Tims pics and good words about the area I'm feeling a bit excited about it.


Well the good thing about that area is,there is never a shortage of houses for sale or lakes to fish..goodluck.


----------



## BMustang

Will be down doing some bass fishing in Lake Worth last week in January.


----------



## HawgHunter

I have a house in Davenport, Florida, just north of Lake Placid. Love the area and close to I4 in case you want to get somewhere. Fished the area quite a bit when I was down over Christmas with NO luck. Of course I was stuck fishing from public piers because my boat is still up here.


----------



## bassin mickey

Really doesn't matter if they are hitting or not---- the weather has been awesome


----------



## Lewzer

You have to get over to Stick Marsh/Farm 13. They built a new reservoir (Fellsmere) last year and began the filling process. Matthew filled it up when it went by last fall. Fellsmere is not open yet but Stick Marsh/Farm 13 has been for a number of years. We been fishing it since the '90's.
Do it now before it becomes too commercial. 
If you are there at the right time, the bass fishing will blow away any other lake in Florida. Catch and release only on all black bass.

http://archive.tcpalm.com/news/shap...34299848-86c0-0867-e053-010000-381585851.html


Here's an article by Hugh Crumpler. Good to see he's outta jail.


http://hugh-crumpler.com/fellsmere-reservoir-bass-fishing


----------



## bassin mickey

A local tourney today---a few blocks from our condo. Mighty nice.


----------



## sherman51

nice bunch of bass.
sherman


----------



## bassin mickey

sherman51 said:


> nice bunch of bass.
> sherman


I am a lot better fisherman down here.


----------



## sherman51

bassin mickey said:


> I am a lot better fisherman down here.


ain't we all, LOL. I go to visit my sister and brother n law and enjoy the warm weather. and the fishing is just a bonus. NOT!!
sherman


----------



## Doboy

LOL,,,,,,,,,, Allow us to help! ;>)
http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/27.92071,-80.187492,27.531716,-80.917397_rect/10_zm/


----------



## sherman51

I would love to own a home down there but the wife doesn't care much for Florida. and our kids and grandkids lives here and we can only stand about a month away from the grandkids, LOL. the wife has been going with me but this yr I'm going to have to go alone. she don't mind it to bad once she's down there but she hates the trip.
sherman


----------



## Doboy

Same deal with me Sherman,,,, the wife HATES heat & bugs, & 2 days away from the G-kids is too long for her! When we/I rent that NC OBX house, I'd like to get it for a MONTH,,,,, but I can't find ANYONE who would like to stay for the second week! BUMMED

Hey Micky,,, I'm sure you checked out all of the monthly rentals that are available?
There's two of us who are really interested in buying something down South,,,, 'coastal',,,, but so far, considering the up-keep/ headaches, and the LACK of vacation time,,,, we're far better off renting a huge house that sleeps 20, for say $1,500 a week, or $5,000 a month. We usually rent a house with a HUGE lot for parking multiple trucks, boats, trailers,,, and a ICWW launching ram, & dock out back!
For $5000 a Month,,, once a year,,,, that's like a no-brainer.
Now, if I had more family & friends that shared my interests,,,, I'd buy in a heart-beat!
Just saying,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, lol,,, that's why I'm ALWAYS looking for a gang of guys to tag-a-long!


----------



## bassin mickey

Hey Doboy--don't hesitate too buy now if you can. I kick myself in the butt for not pulling the trigger when I was younger. Situations change as time goes on. The kids & g-kids move up and on. The property is only going to get more and more expensive down here. I finally decided I was not going to sit on a Ohio snow pile anymore.
See ya on Hoover--but not until April.


----------



## lawrence tracey

Going to Bradenton 1st week of February.... Suggestions on fishing locations?
Im doing a headboat out of Johns Pass 2 afternoons... but looking at some spots on shore or local lake spots. Any species... just like to catch fish.. ! All Info appreciated... TIA


----------



## sherman51

don't know that area but I'm going to port st lucy the 2nd of feb for a month or so. good luck down there.
sherman


----------



## lawrence tracey

Sherm... what fish do you look for... shore fishing probably...


----------



## sherman51

we mostly fish from a boat that I tow down. but have done a lot of shore fishing and bridge fishing without a boat. we target anything that bites. but mostly fish with live shrimp for black drum, redfish, sheep head, and mangrove snapper around bridges. then we use sabiki rigs and catch pin fish for bait. we just find a shallow bay and bait the rigs with small pieces of shrimp and cast it out with about 1/2 oz sinkers. we take up the slack in our line and keep the line tight so when we get a hit we know it. we use a heavy sinker on some heavy duty rigs and fish for snook and grouper with the pin fish. we've caught some monster snook and grouper on the pin fish. the pin fish are hard to keep alive. we use an aerator and bucket to keep them alive until we can get then in the water.

if you think you might want to go out fishing with us and want to make the trip to port st lucy just contact me. I have a 17' tri hull boat and there is 2 of us fishing out of it. we just go out to the bridge and anchor down and fish straight down beside the boat. we get up at 5 am and try to hit the bait shop around 6 am then go try to catch pin fish. the boat launch is right next to the bridge we fish. the best of luck to you down there.
sherman


----------



## talltim

Thought I'd up date the progress on lake June. Still having a lot of good numbers days, the big fish still have not come shallow to spawn , or if they have I haven't found were they have come to. Talked to my neighbor who was bluegill fishing this morning in 20 fow with a cricket and got a 7lb bass. Maybe I should change my method. I took a friend from Ohio out this morning, and with the drop shot and swimbait we put 30 in the boat the best one was right at 3lbs. The weather continues to be outstanding sunny and low 80s almost every day. The fish counter is up to 664. Hello to all my ogf friends and think spring.


----------



## sherman51

great update 13 days and i'll be on my way to port st lucy. cant wait for some of those 80's. keep the updates coming.
sherman


----------



## lawrence tracey

Sherm... its about 175 miles across..one way.... but thanks for the offer. Im
going to call bait stores down there.. see where the abandoned bridge spots are... to get some deep stuff going.. and maybe try local parks for some shoreside stuff.
Question to you/obviously an old hand at this.. ... what license should i get...? And how many rods do they allow?

My longer term goal is to have a boat down that way.. buddy in Atlanta.. brother in SC.. maybe theyd let me store a boat. I had one yrs ago.. in Punta Gorda... Having a boat in Fla... thats living.!


----------



## freddie55

talltim said:


> Had my best day so far yesterday. Skipping docks in the morning for 3 hrs and got 19 largest was 3.12lbs. Then had a friend over in the afternoon for some drop shotting, found a big school of 1 to 2 pounders in 18 fow we never left that spot and put 50 more in the boat. This is the lake we are staying on and the best fish of the day.
> View attachment 227246
> View attachment 227247
> View attachment 227248


how's the crappie fishing on that lake ?


----------



## sherman51

lawrence tracey said:


> Sherm... its about 175 miles across..one way.... but thanks for the offer. Im
> going to call bait stores down there.. see where the abandoned bridge spots are... to get some deep stuff going.. and maybe try local parks for some shoreside stuff.
> Question to you/obviously an old hand at this.. ... what license should i get...? And how many rods do they allow?
> 
> My longer term goal is to have a boat down that way.. buddy in Atlanta.. brother in SC.. maybe theyd let me store a boat. I had one yrs ago.. in Punta Gorda... Having a boat in Fla... thats living.!


sent you a pm.
sherman


----------



## talltim

All the crappie fisherman seem to fish at night with lights over the deep water in the lake. Some nights from our rental house we can see four or five boats, they say its very good fishing I'm just not set up for it . I have caught a few drop shot fishing for bass that were good size.


----------



## afishinfool

Istokpoga for crappie..jig pole, 10' to 12' and a 1/32 to 1/16 jighead with a tube skirt...up in the grass. May be coming down for 2 weeks in 2 weeks.Stay in Lake Placid but fishing Istokpoga exclusively for crappie.


----------



## talltim

End of the month update. After several days of high winds and cold temperatures ( for Florida) and not being able to get out on the lake, finished the month off with 27 yesterday afternoon and 17 more this morning. Big fish yesterday was a 3.4 and today was a 4.7 that put the fish counter up to 768 for the first two months down here, but still no real big ones. Friday we move over to a friends house on istapoga to dog set while they are on a trip so hopefully I can find one of the big girls in that lake. A friend got a 8.15 over there the other day. That's it for now hello to all my ogf friends.


----------



## sherman51

great update tim. i'd be happy with the 17 in a day. but 27 is great. theres a little pond in tn that I sometimes get to fish. but we only fish it for a couple of hours in late afternoon until its almost dark. we usually catch around 25 to 30 between the 2 of us. but haven't got the big girls to hit yet. but they are there. we see them hit the top of the water just out of casting range. and its in late may when we fish it. 1 more day and a wake up and i'll be on my way to port st lucy. keep the pictures and updates coming. I just checked the weather for psl and its showing upper 70's to low 80's the next 10 days.
sherman


----------



## talltim

Yea, Sherman you should be hitting the weather just right. Looking forward to your reports. Have a safe trip down.


----------



## talltim

Boy it is good to be back on lake June, after spending 2 weeks on lake istapoga and only catching 4 bass in 5 trips out , first morning back over here was able to put 34 in the boat. Nothing real big 2.5 lbs was the largest, but sure bets going 2 hrs between bits. The day we had to move over to istapoga I had a good pattern going here and hated to leave, that morning I had got a 3 a 3.5 and a 4.6 . Now our dog setting duty is over, I can get back to looking for the real big girl that is in this lake somewhere.


----------



## sherman51

great to hear your still at it. the weather has just been awesome since I got down here. not getting anything near the numbers you've been getting. but enough to keep us coming back. and we've caught some nice fish. I don't know if its the warm weather or what but the black drum just isn't in the place were fishing. I don't even remember how long we've fished this spot and I've always done good on them.

you take care and keep the pictures coming. and a little info on how you caught the fish on that day would be nice.
sherman


----------



## talltim

Sherman glad you are enjoying the weather, it's been amazing this winter. The big fish day all the fish were caught skipping a green pumpkin and pearl senko under docks with deep water under them. Todays fish were caught on a ledge in 16 fow with a drop shot and zoom green pumpkin 4" worm or a swimbait.


----------



## Saugeye Tom

A couple from the big o last week...he got 125


----------



## Saugeye Tom




----------



## fastwater

Saugeye Tom said:


> View attachment 230809


Sure makes a fella homesick.


----------



## PapawSmith

Saugeye Tom said:


> A couple from the big o last week...he got 125
> 
> Live shiners?


----------



## Saugeye Tom

no sir. he refuses to use live bait whopper ploppers for 90 % of the fish. took all the trebbles off and put 5 ought hooks on them a pc of rubber worm to make it more weedless


----------



## talltim

Tom tell your friend congrats on the nice bass, and way to think outside the box on the modified whopper plopper, I'm going to have to try that. Ended the month of February good on our lake took a friend from church out yesterday and we got 38 off shore must on drop shots and 4 inch swimbaits. If you like throwing swimbaits and haven't tried the new gamakatsu superline swimbait head you need to, a little pricey, but no glueing and a great hook. This morning I got 12 including a 5 pounder on the drop shot , that was fun. Fish counter is up to 955 with one month to go before we head back to Ohio


----------



## Saugeye Tom

talltim said:


> Tom tell your friend congrats on the nice bass, and way to think outside the box on the modified whopper plopper, I'm going to have to try that. Ended the month of February good on our lake took a friend from church out yesterday and we got 38 off shore must on drop shots and 4 inch swimbaits. If you like throwing swimbaits and haven't tried the new gamakatsu superline swimbait head you need to, a little pricey, but no glueing and a great hook. This morning I got 12 including a 5 pounder on the drop shot , that was fun. Fish counter is up to 955 with one month to go before we head back to Ohio


after this trip he swears bye it Ill get a pic from him of the bait


----------



## Saugeye Tom

talltim said:


> Tom tell your friend congrats on the nice bass, and way to think outside the box on the modified whopper plopper, I'm going to have to try that. Ended the month of February good on our lake took a friend from church out yesterday and we got 38 off shore must on drop shots and 4 inch swimbaits. If you like throwing swimbaits and haven't tried the new gamakatsu superline swimbait head you need to, a little pricey, but no glueing and a great hook. This morning I got 12 including a 5 pounder on the drop shot , that was fun. Fish counter is up to 955 with one month to go before we head back to Ohio


tim sorry about the slight hijack of the thread did'nt want to start a new one


----------



## talltim

No problem glad to see other jump in with there winter fishing down here. Here's a couple pictures from the last two trips


----------



## PapawSmith

Saugeye Tom said:


> no sir. he refuses to use live baiy whopper ploppers for 90 % of the fish. took all the trebbles off and put 5 ought hooks on them a pc of rubber worm to make it more weedless


No live bait for us either. 125 in a week is sick and normally those kind of pigs are only pulled by charters with shiners. Going to have to try whopper ploppers and some new spots.


----------



## Saugeye Tom

PapawSmith said:


> No live bait for us either. 125 in a week is sick and normally those kind of pigs are only pulled by charters with shiners. Going to have to try whopper ploppers and some new spots.


he said he would send me a pic of the rig when he got home this evening


----------



## Saugeye Tom

wopper plopper rig


----------



## talltim




----------



## talltim

Sorry about that don't know why those did not post yesterday.


----------



## bassin mickey

Two beauties right in front of our condo. March should be a great month down here.


----------



## Saugeye Tom

hogzilla


----------



## talltim

Well our time here in Florida is winding down, less than 3 weeks until we head back to ohio. Still getting lots of bass, and still struggling to find any real big fish. The off shore drop shot bite has dried up, and now them seem to have moved into the 6 to 8 foot of water range, and holding on clam beds. This plays right into my love of throwing swimbaits, they seem to want it slow just ticking the bottom with a 1/4 oz head and a 4" swimbait have been using the new strike king rage swimmer with good results. In a 4 day stretch put 106 in the boat all on that bait, with most of them being 1 to 1.5 pounds. About every 20 fish you get a good one. Still a lot of fun the fish counter is up to 1165 for the winter. Looking forward to some crappie and walleye fishing when we get home. Come on guys get it warmed up before we head that way. Very nice fish bassin mickey.


----------



## bassin mickey

Tim---nice bass in my and your report, I'm behind the camera not behind the rod. Got a few more weeks--really looking forward to spring and Hoover. All Buckeyes are a lot better bassin guys down here.


----------



## Saugeyefisher

Thanks for sharing your experience with us,I enjoyed it.
Lol an how bout you bring some warm weather up with ya.


----------



## talltim

Finally found a small patch of grass to fish this morning, the first that I have found this year. Slow rolling a swimbait across it put 32 in the boat, most were 1 to 2 pounds, but this one went 7.14 lbs. Heading home two weeks from today hope it warms up a little before we get there.


----------



## talltim

Final report from sunny Florida pulling the boat in the morning to get it packed to head north. That grass patch was very good to me over the last eight trips out took almost 200 bass off of it. The 7.14 was the largest, and the largest of the winter down here for me. Ended up fishing 81 times in the 4 months we were here always in the morning from 7:30 till noon. Finally number on the fish counter was 1433 with most of them being 1 to 1.5 pounds but some bigger ones mixed end. Best winter weather wise we have ever had down here no rain ( the lake has dropped a foot since we got her) and mostly bright blue skies.see you all in Ohio real soon.


----------



## Mi-Mic-Kay

Great post enjoyed ready them! Have a safe trip Tim.


----------



## fastwater

As MMK posted, thank you Tim for taking the time posting and letting us enjoy your trip with you.
Don't forget to bring home some of those good Fla. oranges with you and...be safe.


----------



## Roosted

Thanks Tim for all the Bass pictures and texts you sent me all winter. It was interesting watching that fish counter go way up with all those bass . Have a safe trip coming home and I look forward to fishing with you when you get home .


----------

