Posted by Frank Tennity on December 4, 2015, 11:04 am
For Melody and I, bass season has come to an end in New York and we have traveled to Florida for the winter. Overall, the bass fishing was good this year considering the heavy flooding that happened in early June. We experienced a few days where fishing was slower than normal. Weed growth was different and the bass reacted by changing locations and depths. Thank you to all the folks that fished with our service this year, and we hope to have you back again.
My wife and I left New York for the Sunshine State of Florida on October 23. The trip went smooth until I had a trailer tire problem when we were just south of Jacksonville. I noticed a bulge in the side wall and figured the tire was separating. A quick tire change in a rest area put us back on the road and to our winter home in Lake Wales.
October 29th, I fished a night tournament with my friend, Dale Johnson. We fished on the North Winter Haven Chain of Lakes where we normally do quite well, but not having fished there for several months, conditions had changed and we did terrible. My friend was running a Triton that he had recently purchased, and it was not getting up on plane very well. I contacted Triton Boats and they gave me the height measurements that the motor should be mounted, which holes to use, and the best prop for this set up. We adjusted the motor height and ran some other tests. Now the boat planes great, with the rpms, top end and water pressure excellent. If you are experiencing problems, call your boat manufacturer for the right set up. Make sure to have your motor, jack plate and prop information ready when you call them.
November 8th, we fished a tournament on the same Chain of Lakes. We managed to catch a few good fish on toads, chatter baits and plastics. By mid morning the bite had slowed, so we moved to another lake in the Chain, culled all of our fish and upgraded our weight. Zoom trick worms worked on this lake and our total catch for the day was 15+ bass.
November 16th, we fished the South Winter Haven Chain of Lakes. Our idea was to fish a few lakes we hadn't tried before. We managed four bass in a six hour day, which was not going to help us on tournament day. Tournament day, the 22nd we went to Lake Winterset first and spent the majority of the morning washing baits. Four bass were boated with one making the 14" size limit, so we made the run to Lake Summit. It took only a few minutes to dial in the bite, and we caught another 20-25 bass. Our problem was the lack of one big fish, but we did cull up several times. A fun day anytime you manage to catch that many bass. A mix of plastic baits worked, but Zoom Finesse Worms outfished the other baits.
December 1, we went to Kissimmee at the new park by Grape Hammock. Six hours of fishing produced four boated bass and a few missed opportunities. Our presentation and bait selection changed to target bigger fish. Some adjustments are still needed, but the overall result was encouraging. Swim baits and 10 inch Berkley Power Worms both worked.
Water temperatures are dropping and the crappie bite is picking up fast. Bass are quite aggressive and willing to bite. If you are not getting bit, change lures, and if that fails, change locations. Grass offshore has been holding good fish.
Trophy time is approaching fast, so book a trip (centralfloridabassinwithfrank.com) early to lock in your date.
Be safe, wear your life vest, and maintain a proper lookout.
Frank
Re: New York & Floria
Posted by Frank Tennity on March 21, 2016, 2:51 pm, in reply to "New York & Floria"
Here it is March 21st and next month we will come back to N.Y., open the cottage and prepare for another great year. If you are able to get on the water, be sure tho wear warm clothing and by law your life vest. Things happen quick and with the cold water it can be fatal in a very short time. We have done several tournaments with mixed results. Some days the fishing has been great and some days quite slow. The largest bass so far has been an 8.09 caught by Melody. Clients have done well using wild shiners. The weather in Florida has been warm through the Fall, then switching to cold. Cold fronts with North winds have kept the water temperature quite low until the past three weeks. Many of the bass we catch have not spawned yet. Be sure to watch the coverage of the BASS Elite tournament on the St. Johns River in a couple of weeks. Rick Clunn pulled a bigger rabbit out of the hat, than Evers, when he won Classic two weeks ago. Be safe, wear your life vest, and we will see you in a few weeks.
