Fish Your Way In Florida

As soon as you decide to go on a fishing vacation to Florida,the land of big bass and warm weather, you should think of ways and means of making your trip both enjoyable and rewarding. Even before you leave on your fishing expedition, you should set realistic fishing goals based on the duration of your vacation.

The pet ambition of the majority of bass fishermen who visit Florida is to accomplish the ever-elusive goal of catching a bass over ten pounds. You must remember that this can not be your goal as it is not feasible to fish for a bass spending eight hours at the water front.

Your decision to travel to the waters of Florida is indeed a right decision, but do not forget your primary aim should be only to thoroughly enjoy fishing and not feel frustrated unable to achieve some impossible targets. Central Florida is very renowned for its great bass fishing area. There are some of the finest large-mouthed bass lakes found in Florida.

Choosing the lake to fish in Florida is quite difficult but the Florida Game and Fish commission releases every year a list of the top ten bass lakes and you should find this list helpful. This list is prepared taking into account both shock surveys and creel counts as reported by fishermen during creel surveys.

Lake George that is one of the many natural lakes on the St. John's River � situated 18 miles northwest of Deland and 29 miles east of Ocala.

Stick Marsh/Farm 13 Reservoir, the expansive 6,500-acre reservoir near Fellsmere, west of Vero Beach is renowned for trophy bass fishing.

West Lake Tohopekaliga is the place both recreational and tournament anglers flock for producing excellent fishing and trophy largemouth bass.

Lake Kissimmee, spread over nearly 35,000 acres is the largest of five main water bodies on the famous Kissimmee River in central Florida and is reputed for high quality fishing.

Rodman Reservoir, east of Gainesville and south of Palatka is a prime largemouth bass habitat covering 9,500 acres and quite popular for trophy largemouth bass.

Lake Tarpon, as is known to many in Florida, is a 2,500-acre lake that has persistently produced high quality largemouth bass fishing for years. Fishes here are 12 to 16 inches long and trophy fish are also present in considerable numbers.

Lake Weohyakapka, more familiarly called as Lake Walk-in-Water, is a 7,500-acre lake located south of Orlando and east of Lake Wales This Lake enjoys a national reputation as an excellent source for largemouth bass.

Lake Istokpoga is a fairly large natural lake in Florida and it is reported that anglers caught 124,993 bass, of which almost 55,000 were heavier than 2 pounds, and 1,448 bass were over 8 pounds.

Deer Point Lake is a largemouth bass fishing destination near Panama City. Largemouth bass fishing is less during the winter months but the season picks up in mid-February and March and climaxes in April and May.

Crescent Lake is pretty enormous and borders the east side of Crescent City on the Putnam/Flagler county line. Surveys reveal it is one of the highest catch rate areas on the St. John's River. You can expect largemouth bass up to 20 inches long and a lot of large fish weighing 8 pounds.




Please remember it may not be prudent to go fishing in Florida without the aid of a Guide. Once you have identified the right Guide, you should know from him what baits are currently working and what to carry with you. In fact, the baits that work well in Florida are only a handful and some Guides may even supply baits and tackle. Make it a point to inquire about fishing licenses as the law in Florida enjoins all non-residents to carry a fishing license.