Bass Loading up on Canals with Current on the Kissimmee Chain

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I fished the Kissimmee Chain early this morning and the bite was definitely on today at the canal to Hatchineha from Lake Cypress. There were probably 6 or 7 boats parked in this spot and we were all catching them with the heavy current washing the bait in. There were lots of 12 to 16 inch fish being caught with an occasional larger one sprinkled in. The baits that worked the best were a drop shot rig and a rattle trap.

After a while, I checked out the small canals on Hatchineha and there was no current so I didn’t spend too much time there. I then checked out the lock on Toho and the current was too strong to fish so I decided to go into work.

Buffet Line at John’s Lake

I had to check out the current coming into John’s Lake from Black Lake after work today and it was like I jumped into a buffet. The bass were eating everything and you couldn’t go too many casts without getting bit. Most of them were about a pound, but a Ranger boat I parked next to said he got there about a couple of hours before me and caught about 30 bass with a couple of them weighing 7 pounds (probably a couple of 5 pounders).

I caught about 10 fish in an hour, all small of course, and thinkin it was about time I luck out and hook into a big one but the sky opened up and it didn’t stop raining until dark. The fishing was so good I tied up at the boat ramp and waited for the weather to clear, but it kept raining.

I’m pretty darn sure this spots gonna be a mad house during the Wednesday night tournament which I’ll be skipping out on.

Fishing on John’s Lake after Fay

I checked out John’s Lake in Winter Garden on Sunday after Tropical Storm Fay and the water has come up at least a foot and maybe two. The fishing was a little slow with me catching 3 small bass and a gar in the morning, but the waters leading to many of the lakes and coves have become navigable so I spent a great deal of time exploring some new water.

It’s a whole new chain with at least 2 more small lakes and a bunch of coves that no one could get to before. One of the neatest spots I found was not new, but the water from Black Lake is just pouring in and creating a great deal of current. I caught one small fish with a texas rigged worm there, but later I talked to my buddy Del who caught an 8 and a 3 pounder in the same spot with a drop shot rig. Why didn’t I think of that?

Really, I did try it but there were 3 boats parked right where the water was coming in. I got a little tired of fishing in a crowd and decided to try elsewhere. I guess I should have tried the drop shot a little longer. One thing I didn’t think of was that my trolling motor was spooking the fish. My buddy said that he started catching a bunch of fish after he beached his boat and after the other boat next to him dropped anchor. I’ll have to put that in the memory bank.

I probably should have also tried a split shot or carolina rig lizard or trick worm. All I know is that the drop shot and carolina rig are gonna get worn out this week.

I also checked out the Clermont Chain this weekend and water hasn’t come up an inch. Somehow there’s always a delay because the water flows in from the Green Swamp in Polk County. The delay was at least a week after the hurricanes in 2004. I’d love to check out this chain but the water’s super low still.

I definitely plan on checking out the current coming through the lock at Lake Cypress on the Kissimmee Chain. It’s sure to be good and sure to be crowded as well.

Kissimmee River Restoration Project

A List of My Tournament Rods

You need to have a lot of good rods and reels to fish tournaments effectively. I’ve compiled quite a few already, but always thinking I need a few more. The set up that I have currently is as follows:

• 7 ft medium with extra fast tip Shimano Crucial with Shimano Curado 100D spooled with 12 lb Seguar Inviz X fluorocarbon for fishing worms
• 6′6″ medium with extra fast tip Shimano Crucial with Shimano Curado 100D spooled with 12 lb Seguar Inviz X for fishing weightless senkos
• 6′ 10″ medium heavy with extra fast tip Shimano Crucial with Shimano Curado 200E spooled with 15 lb Seguar Inviz X Fluorocarbon for worms, spinnerbaits, and rattletraps (my favorite)
• 7 ft medium Shimano Crucial crankbait rod with Shimano Curado 100D spooled with 15 lb P-Line Flouroclear
• 7 ft medium heavy Rick Clunn signature crankbait rod and reel (he knows a little about crankin) spooled with 12 lb Yozuri Hybrid
• 7 ft medium heavy with fast tip Shimano Crucial with Shimano Curado 100D spooled with 15 lb P-Line Flouroclear for spinnerbaits, spooks, and Rat L Traps.
• 7 ft medium heavy with fast tip Shimano Crucial with Abu Garcia Revo STX high speed spooled with 65 lb Power Pro for froggin & pitchin
• 7′2″ medium heavy Shimano Cumara with extra fast tip spooled with Seguar Inviz X for wormin
• 7′2″ extra heavy Shimano Crucial with 65 lb Sufix Performance Braid for froggin & pitchin
• 7′ 6″ medium heavy Shimano Crucial flippin stick with Abu Garcia Revo STX high speed spooled with 20 lb fluorocarbon
• 7′ heavy Shimano Clarus with Shimano Citica spooled with 15 lb Berkley Big Game for Rat L Traps, big spinnerbaits, and Carolina Rigs

In the near future, I think I need a drop shot rod with spinning tackle for shaky heads and drop shotting. I’d also like a 7′11″ heavy flippin stick. There’s also the new Kevin Van Dam crankbait rod that’s supposed to be released pretty soon. I tell ya, it never ends.

New Curado

I think I need to start saving some money for the new Shimano Curado E reels. I own several Curado 100 D’s and love it other than the fact that it doesn’t hold too much line. You can cast it a mile and the drag is silky smooth.

The Curado E is supposed to be lighter, smaller, and hold as much line as Curado 200 D. They only come in 7.0.1 or 5.0.1 which is a disappointment since I like 6.2.1. I guess I might try the Citica which looks virtually the same.

I’ve been wanting to see one in person, but Bass Pro Shops says it’ll be a month or two before they start stocking them.

John Crews Tells How to Become a Bass Pro

Since I have no clue on how to make a living fishing tournaments, I’m using this video as a guide on the things I need to concentrate on. John Crews is a bass pro so he should have an idea on how to go about it.

The Beginning of My Bass Career, I hope

This is the first post on this blog about my quest to become a bass pro. It recently occurred to me that I’d rather be fishing than doing most anything else so I’ve decided to give it a shot. I have no idea how to become a pro but it seems like the Bassmaster Weekend Series and the FLW tour are good places to start. The entry fees aren’t too expensive and it seems like there’s some good anglers.

I just bought my first bass boat, a Triton 18×2 with a 150 Mercury Optimax and lovin it. I take it out every chance I get. The big bass tournaments in my area takes place on the Kissimmee Chain, Toho, Harris Chain, and Palatka, so I plan on spending quite a bit of time learning the waters on these lakes. I’ve spent much of my fishing time on the Butler Chain and John’s Lake, so it’s gonna take some time to figure it out.

The first tournament I ever fished was a Bassmaster Weekend Series event on the Kissimmee Chain a few months ago. I entered as a co angler and finished 20th. I caught 3 bass and about 8 mudfish. Good god I hate those things. The boater I got paired up with named Walt has become a good fishing buddy and he’s still giving me hell about all the mudfish I caught that day. The only thing I can say is he caught his share of trash fish that day as well.

I just entered a FLW event in September as a co angler in Palatka. I hope I get paired up with someone that will show me some good spots out there. At the very least, I hope to catch more bass than mudfish. We’ll see.

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