Florida bass fishing with shiners in Florida can be an absolute blast!. The best live bait to use of course is the wild golden shiner. These shiners can range anywhere in size from as small as four inches to what feels like 2 pounds at times. Winter time down here is a great time to use the wild shiners, as they will trigger some very aggressive strikes from bass and it can also be one of the best ways to catch that trophy bass of a lifetime.
When we get hit here is the south with a cold front, yes we do get them, and out water temperatures dip into the upper 40’s to low 50’s, sometimes bass just don’t want to chase their food. Don’t get me wrong, spinner baits and Strike King Red Eye Shads will still catch bass, as well as Senkos and worms, but to keep that bite steady for my clients we sometimes use wild shiners.
This is the perfect bait to catch some great numbers of bass, and yes you will catch your fair share of those two pound bass like in this video, but you will also stand a much better chance at the lunker bass. Most of the time we are free lining the wild shiners, hooking them thru the lower jaw and out the nostril and just pitching them to the edges of the grass beds or lily pads.
With the cooler water temperatures the bass will generally head to two areas on a lake. The first would be deeper drop offs and the other of course is tight to cover. One of the easiest ways to locate bass along the grass lines is to rig up two rods, one free lined and one with a float and just slow troll along the grass, staying about 2 foot from the grass and just move very slowly. This tactic has been very good for us as it is found us several places where we can then just slide our anchor into the water quietly and catch a ton of bass.
Remember that when the bass are feeding aggressively, hang on to those shiners that have already been hammered, as they will still catch bass for you. Just rig them thru the nose again, pitch them out there and slowly twitch them back to the boat.
Central Florida Bass Fishing has been going strong this month. Most of our trips have been done on Lake Jackson as of late and this lake has been producing some great numbers of bass, as well as some pretty good sized bass. The lake was getting choked out pretty bad with the lily pads, almost to the point is was limiting the areas we could get to but with the spaying that was done, the pads are disappearing and has opened up a lot more areas to catch these trophy bass out here.
Artificial baits have been doing pretty good. Spinner baits and red eye shads have been getting some very nice quality bass out here. Some of the bass we have started to notice some sores on their under side, classic sign they are starting to fan some beds. We have also caught a few bass that showed signs of filling up with eggs. These bass are starting to get some good sized bellies to them.
November Bass Fishing, Folks this is the time of year we really start to get excited. Cooler weather has finally grabbed a hold of us which makes things very nice when you’re out on the waters of Central Florida chasing after those trophy bass we have down here. Live wild shiners become one of the main baits of choice for many anglers, as they start that search for the big ten pound plus trophy largemouth bass.
Central Florida has the lakes that can and will produce trophy bass every year. Lake Toho being one of the main targets of many anglers, and this great body of water will yield more than its fair share of the lunker bass. Lake Kissimmee will also produce so big monster bass as well. With the main targets being grass beds and skinny waters closer to shore, as the bass are getting closer to spawn time.
October Bass Fishing in Central Florida is off the hook folks! This is the time of year when we generally get our first cool front of the year, which not only helps to bring down the air temperatures, but it will also lower the temperature of the water in our lakes. Bass fishing will be good on all of our lakes, Lake Toho, Lake Kissimmee and Butler Chain of lakes just to name a few.
Here in Florida we have year round bass fishing, which means trophy bass can be caught all year long, but your best chances are when the weather starts cooling off and the bass really start feeding up for the spawn. October is usually the start of some very good schooling action, as the bass start really feeding up on the shad and wild shiners in our lakes.
