It’s hard to believe that the month of January has come and gone so quickly. It seems like it was just yesterday we were celebrating the New Year and waiting on the bass would catch the “love bug” to get into their spawning patterns. I was smacked in the face with the old adage: Be careful what you wish for! This has to be one of the coldest Januarys in recent memory and I for one am ready for spring and warmer weather. Hopefully, winter won’t last more than just a couple weeks.
The majority of the lakes here in Polk County and Central Florida had major temperature drops in just a very short time frame. The continuous cold fronts that hit the area dropped some lakes 8-13 degrees in a relatively short time frame and “hurt” fishing on some lakes that are not deep or protected.
Now that February is upon us and hopefully bringing traditional spring weather we can dream of that true trophy fish. This is one of my favorite months of the year to fish. Most of the bigger bass we’ve brought aboard either personally, with friends, or clients have been caught in February. There is a great mix of prespawn, spawning, and post-spawn fish moving back and forth across the flats and it makes for some fantastic fishing.
Here in Winter Haven on the South Chain we did very well despite the cold fronts. I love fishing deep clear water as it’s how I grew-up and it’s my comfort zone. I can tell you that there are only a few primary baits that will be within arms reach for most of the month: a fluke or senko, a popper, a craw or lizard with a 3/16 or 1/4oz tungsten weight, and swim jigs. And I said “jigs” in the plural because I will have 3 different ones tied-on, at a minimum, in different colors from a bluegill/shell cracker pattern, to a native shiner black & gold color, plus a watermelon red. You’ll find fish from the deeper eel grass and hydrilla all the way up to shore.
When fishing out of Camp Mack’s River Resort on the Kissimmee Chain I’ll have the same variety of baits on deck with a few additions. I’ll add a heavier flipping stick and compact punch bait, a Zoom horny toad, and a Gambler EZ Swimmer as a “search bait.” A big key for finding fish is locating baitfish around hydrilla or pads with deeper water nearby.
Please practice “Catch, Photograph, and Release” so that others, and future generations, can enjoy our wonderful resources.
Submitted By: Capt. Scotty Taylor
TMC Guide Services, llc • 855-354-8433
Scott@TMCGuideService.com • TMCGuideService.com
Capt. Scott is the official guide for
VisitCentralFlorida.org & Camp Mack’s River Resort