Central Florida Fishing Forecasts

CENTRAL FLORIDA FISHING FORECASTS

Over time, we have discovered that fish do not read calendars or follow an exact schedule. Instead, their behavior and abundance are determined by factors such as water temperature, bait movements, and weather patterns. Similarly, fish do not pay attention to geographical boundaries as outlined on maps.

When using our regional forecasts as a reference, it's a good idea to consider the conditions in nearby regions along the East Coast or the Gulf Coast. This will give you a better understanding of what species of fish might be biting before, during, and after your fishing trip. Additionally, local fishing guides who are on the water almost daily can provide more accurate and up-to-date information on current catches.

Our regional forecast takes a broader approach and focuses on the most sought-after gamefish in the region during each season. For example, bass fishing has a longer season and can be found throughout much of Florida. In such cases, we provide more detailed information on popular and productive fishing spots, such as streams and bodies of water.

 

CENTRAL FLORIDA FRESHWATER FISHING FORECASTS

Florida's freshwater fisheries comprise more than 8,000 lakes, ponds and reservoirs, and approximately 12,000 miles of fishable rivers, streams and canals—with no closed seasons. The recreational fishery resources alone in these waters provide entertainment for more than 1.2 million anglers annually.

FISH FLORIDA EAST CENTRAL REGION FRESHWATER PLANNERS

BLACK BASS

 

BLACK BASS

Largemouth bass are found in almost every body of freshwater in Florida. With more than 8,000 lakes and other waters available, anglers sometimes face a tough decision about where to fish. The following list of Top Spots for Black Bass aims to help anglers find a quality place to catch either good numbers of bass or to catch a trophy bass.

The largemouth bass is the best known and most popular freshwater game fish in Florida. Found statewide, largemouth bass have excellent growth rates, particularly in the productive waters of central Florida. Historically known for huge bass, Florida remains an outstanding destination to catch a trophy.

When to Fish: Spring is the best time of year to catch bass, when fish move into shallow water to spawn. Spawning may occur as early as January in extreme south Florida and as late as May in the panhandle, but March and April are peak months. Most large bass are taken at this time; after spawning, many large females move to offshore areas.

Range: Although the largemouth bass is by far our most common black bass, other species are found in Florida. The smaller Suwannee bass occurs in the Suwannee River and its tributaries, and in the Ochlockonee River. Favoring rock outcrops and moving water, Suwannee bass prefer crayfish to many prey items of largemouth. Crayfish-imitating crankbaits worked through deep-water bends will attract these hard fighting fish, as will plastic worms, plastic lizards or crayfish. The Santa Fe River is another good spot, and trophy-sized Suwannee bass up to three pounds can be found in the Ochlockonee River north of I-10.

These are the sites in Central Florida most likely to be best for black bass fishing in 2023.

Lake Toho
(Osceola County)

Feature: Bass size, bass numbers

Located south of the cities of Kissimmee/St. Cloud, Lake Toho (18,627 acres) has consistently been producing good bass fishing for the past several years. During the 2022 angler survey, bass anglers caught 0.74 bass per hour, which is higher than the catch rate for many popular Florida bass fisheries. In recent years, more bass anglers have focused on fishing at Toho instead of Kissimmee as more and more big bass are getting caught in Toho. Anglers typically do well on Toho fishing offshore hydrilla edges and deeper holes within the hydrilla. Lipless crankbaits, speed worms, and vibrating jigs are popular choices around the deeper hydrilla. When cold fronts move through, anglers should focus on punching thick mats of hyacinth, pennywort, or hydrilla with Texas-rigged creature baits. During Season 10 of TrophyCatch there were 42 approved submissions at Toho with five bass over 10 pounds caught and approved.

 

Wildcat Lake (in Ocala National Forest)
(Lake & Marion counties)

Features: Bass size, TrophyCatch submissions

Wildcat Lake (467 acres) is a small lake in the Ocala National Forest off of State Road 40. The boat ramp is owned and operated by the U.S. Forest Service, and there is a $7 launch fee. Wildcat is a tannic, dark colored water lake with emergent vegetation around the shoreline but limited submersed aquatic vegetation. There is a catch and release only regulation for largemouth bass. Anglers should not expect to catch high numbers of bass at Wildcat, but there is a good chance that when they catch a bass it is going to be a lunker. During Season 10 of the TrophyCatch program there were 26 approved submissions, which is around the average number of approved submissions seen on a yearly basis at Wildcat. March through May is the best time to hook into a lunker at Wildcat. Anglers find the most success fishing with live shiners along the spatterdock pads. Swimbaits and Texas-rigged soft plastics are the best bet for artificial lures. Two fish attractor sites were also created this past year to create some offshore habitat.

Tenoroc Fish Management Area
(Polk County)

Features: Bass size and numbers, bream size and numbers, special opportunity for Sunshine Bass, special opportunity for catfish, catfish numbers

Tenoroc Fish Management Area is an 8,300-acre former phosphate mine in Lakeland, Florida which provides a special opportunity to catch several species of fish. Tenoroc is located on Highway 659 (Combee Road) and can be accessed from Highway 33, just south of Interstate 4. Call the Tenoroc Headquarters at 863-606-0093 for more information or to make fishing reservations. The area is open to public fishing four days a week, Fridays through Mondays. All anglers must check-in and out at the Tenoroc Entryway Building, deposit their valid fishing license if applicable and pay $3 for a daily fishing permit unless exempt.

With 30 lakes to choose from on the property, these lakes ranging from six to 242-acres were created years ago by draglines during phosphate surface mining operations. As a result, lake bottoms have irregular contours with depths up to 35 feet. Most Tenoroc lakes have ADA accessible boat ramps and facilities. Numerous bank fishing opportunities are also present for anglers who don’t have a boat and a few lakes even have picnic pavilions and restrooms.

Bass anglers who want to catch good numbers of fish should cover lots of area, probing deeper waters with chrome-colored lipless crankbaits and chartreuse ("Firetiger" color) diving crankbaits. Once anglers catch a few fish in a general area, it’s time to slow down and fish the area thoroughly. Plastic worms are often the best all-around lure for fishing slowly. Red shad and junebug are great worm colors. Anglers who fish submersed islands or sandbars off points will often find good concentrations of bass. In addition, many of the lakes are connected with water control structures. When in operation, bass are often concentrated in areas of flowing water and can be caught using crankbaits or plastic worms. During the spring, flipping plastic worms or crawfish imitation baits in thick cover will often produce some bigger largemouth bass.

Anglers who want to catch panfish (bluegill, shellcrackers) at Tenoroc will have several good lake choices to try. Anglers should look for shorelines with an abundant supply of woody brush, tree-tops or vegetation that are perfect locations for panfish to hide out. Anglers should also look for signs and buoys pointing out underwater gravel beds or other fish attractors on several Tenoroc lakes. Presenting natural baits (crickets, night crawlers, red wigglers, grass shrimp) under a cork and bobber or free lining them with a split shot weight on light tackle will entice a bite around structure, submerged timber, pockets in vegetation, underwater humps and deeper holes. Fishing artificial lures (rooster tails, road runners, beetle spins) can also be productive in deeper areas or near any type of structure.

Fishing for catfish in Tenoroc lakes is also popular and rewarding as channel catfish are stocked annually by FWC in several lakes. Some lakes have good naturally reproducing populations of brown bullhead as well. Fishing with a piece of chicken liver, cut bait with high oil content like gizzard shad, commercial stink baits, cheese balls and night crawlers around the deeper holes and fish feeders, if available, will produce the best action at the height of the day. Fishing with family or friends for catfish from one of the many lakes with open shorelines is a favorite pastime for many Tenoroc anglers.

FWC biologists have recently reintroduced sunshine bass to Tenoroc to provide anglers with more opportunities to catch different varieties of sport fish species. Stocked in both Derby & Picnic Lake, sunshine bass have fast growth rates and ravenous appetites, preferring to focus on small prey species such as threadfin & gizzard shad. Anglers looking to target this species with natural baits should use live shiners or minnows on a free line or under a bobber. If using artificial lures, try to use tackle that imitates the color of their favorite food items: silver or gold spoons, white and silver jerk baits, rooster-tails, jigs, and grubs that give off the “flash” of an evading baitfish. Sunshine bass like to school up and corral baitfish to the surface, so if you see feeding activity in the morning or evening hours, cast away and have fun!

 

Winter Haven Chain of Lakes
(Polk County)

Features: Bass size and numbers, crappie size and numbers, bream size and numbers

The Winter Haven Chain of Lakes consists of 26 waterbodies, tucked in amongst the city streets of Winter Haven in Polk County. These lakes offer some of the finest and most easily accessible fishing for multiple species in central Florida. Lakes in the Winter Haven Chain range in size from 25 to 2,654 acres, totaling just over 9,000 acres of fishable waters. Ample public access is available in the form of 14 boat ramps, 5 fishing piers, and shoreline fishing in city parks and public easements alongside the numerous canals which connect the lakes.

The Winter Haven Chain is known for excellent bass fishing throughout the year. The cattail stands on Lake Haines and Lake Rochelle are great for bass angling and when cypress trees are your favorite target, Lake Eloise is packed with plenty of large, beautiful trees to fish with a plastic worm. Lake Winterset has deep crystal-clear water and open water beds of eelgrass which are perfect to run spinnerbaits and gold/silver spoons through. Lake Hartridge also provides excellent bass fishing with plenty of Illinois pondweed (aka peppergrass) that is often loaded with baitfish. Lake Shipp has two public boat ramps and some great flipping opportunities for bass in the cattails along its shoreline. Nearby Lake Eloise has numerous docks, often surrounded by peppergrass, which are a bass angler’s dream to fish. Regardless of what lake is fished, they all offer high quality bass fishing opportunities and the chance of a lifetime to land a trophy-size bass. Live shiners, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and plastic worm presentations all work well in these lakes. Bass will begin to spawn as early as January and continue through April, depending on water temperatures. During spawning season, anglers should fish shallow areas near cattails, bulrush and Kissimmee grass while using lizards, crawfish and other soft plastics such as the Zoom Z-Craw in Junebug, red shad and tilapia colors.

If black crappie (aka speck) is your target, the Winter Haven Chain has plenty of fishing opportunities for them as well. Lake Eloise and Lake Shipp are excellent spots for crappie on the south part of the chain while lakes Rochelle, Haines and Hartridge are good locations on the north section of the chain. During cooler months, anglers have success by drifting or trolling live Missouri minnows or bladed jigs tipped with minnows around offshore submersed vegetation. When waters start to warm in the spring, crappie migrate to shallow waters to spawn and can be caught by dropping jigs tipped with minnows near bulrush, cattails and lily pads.

The Winter Haven Chain also has an awesome panfish fishery for bluegill and redear sunfish (aka shellcrackers). These waters offer a wide variety of habitat for both fish and anglers to choose from including bulrush and cattail stands, cypress trees, open water eelgrass beds and pondweed stands around docks. Crickets, wigglers or grass shrimp are the best live baits when fished under a float with small hook and split shot weight while small beetle spins and jigs can be productive when fished along vegetation.

 

Lake Istokpoga
(Highlands County)

Features: Bass size and numbers, crappie size and numbers, bream size

Lake Istokpoga (27,700 acres) is a large, relatively shallow lake which is located a few miles southeast of Sebring, Florida. It’s a popular winter-time destination for nonresident and local anglers due to its productive fisheries. There are several public boat ramps around the lake, in addition to numerous ramps located at private fish camps, which also have fish cleaning stations. The lake also boasts four vegetated islands (Big, Bumble Bee, Grassy, Long) and a few incoming creeks which are great locations to catch several species of fish. FWC has completed multiple planting projects around the lake within the last couple of years, and eelgrass continues to expand along the eastern shoreline.

Lake Istokpoga has long been known for its trophy largemouth bass fishing. Since 2012, over 590 bass greater than eight pounds, have been documented from the lake and submitted into the FWC’s TrophyCatch Program. Recently, tournaments have also posed great success, with many five-bag weigh-ins taking 30+ pounds to win. Anglers fishing for bass on this lake commonly use either live wild shiners or some type of artificial bait. Both types of baits can be very productive depending on the time of year. Bass begin to spawn in mid- to late January depending on moon phases and often move into shallow areas around bullrush (buggy whips), cattails or lily pads on the northern and western shorelines and around Big Island and Bumblebee Island. Fishing these areas with soft plastics, weightless speed worms and swimbaits will be the best bet during this time of year. When water temps increase after the spawning season, try targeting bass around dense vegetation such as bulrush or cattail while flipping soft plastic baits like crawfish, lizards or worms. Fishing with spinnerbaits, spoons or jerk baits around submerged vegetation like eelgrass or hydrilla can also be productive throughout the year.

Lake Istokpoga is also well-known for its black crappie (aka speck) fishery. Anglers come from all over the United States to Lake Istokpoga to fill their coolers with this tasty fish during the cooler months of the year. Most anglers fish for black crappie by drifting live Missouri minnows and grass shrimp in open water or troll with Napier deer hair jigs, tube jigs and Hal flies for schooling fish. Anglers should look for areas with sandy bottoms around bulrush and cattails while fishing minnows or grass shrimp under a cork for spawning fish. Henderson’s Cove and the north end of the lake usually produces good numbers of specks on the outside edge of the pads and grasses near deeper water. Open water areas around Big Island and the western shore of Long Island are also good speck fishing spots. The key is to keep moving around until you locate an area with concentrated numbers of fish.

Istokpoga’s panfish fishery is also tremendous and not widely known. The lake boasts nice bluegill and redear sunfish (aka shellcrackers) which often approach a pound in size. The fishing gets really good during late spring and remains good throughout the summer when a lot of the seasonal anglers have left for the year. The best method for catching these fish is to use crickets and grass shrimp under a cork for bluegill and red wigglers on or near the bottom for shellcrackers. If you catch a fish, there are likely more in the area, so stay put and be patient for the next bite. Fly fishing can also be rewarding for anglers who prefer this fishing method. Locate areas with dense bulrush, Kissimmee grass or cattails for the best action, but don’t forget to try the pads too. Fishing the shade and pads around cypress trees on the southeast side of the lake can also be productive at times.

 

Lake Weohyakapka (Lake Walk-in-Water)
(Polk County)

Features: Bass size, crappie size and numbers, catfish size

Lake Weohyakapka (aka Lake Walk-in-Water) is a relatively shallow, natural lake in eastern Polk County, just outside of Lake Wales. A public ramp is located on Boat Landing Road, on the west side of the lake. There is little access for bank fishing on the lake, so plan to fish from a boat. The lake is approximately 7,500 acres and boasts some excellent fishing opportunities for several species of fish. Although hurricanes removed all the hydrilla from the water many years ago, the lake still has large areas of vegetation for anglers to target lunker size bass. FWC biologists tag more largemouth bass over eight pounds in this lake every year than any other nearby waterbody. Pitching live wild shiners and flipping soft plastic baits in offshore stands of bulrush (“buggy whips”) in the northern, eastern and southern areas of the lake can be productive during the spring when bass are up shallow and spawning. Spinnerbaits should also produce bass in the spring and summer around grass patches. Bass have also been found in maidencane grass and knotgrass (Kissimmee grass) stands along the eastern shoreline during spring and fall sampling on the lake. Soft jerkbaits and topwater frogs are a must when fishing these areas. Although topwater baits can catch fish throughout the year, summer months offer the best action when the bass are very aggressive. Summertime is also the best time to target bass on the FWC fish attractors using spinnerbaits and Carolina-rigged soft plastics. Fish all around the orange and white buoys because the attractors are spread over a large area but be careful to avoid getting hung up on them if you plan to anchor while you fish.

Fishing for black crappie or specks can also be very rewarding on Lake Weohyakapka as there are plenty of nice fish swimming around for the determined angler. Most anglers prefer to spend their time in open water trolling or drifting minnows, jigs and spinners for crappie. Good numbers and some quality fish are caught in deeper (10 ft) areas of the lake during the cooler months and in shoreline vegetation (bulrush, knotgrass and maidencane) during the spring spawning season. Missouri minnows fished under corks or on small jig heads, as well as Hal-Flies and small spinners, are excellent for catching crappie near dense vegetation such as bulrush, cattail or Kissimmee grass. Seven fish attractor locations were refurbished with artificial brush in December 2020 and should concentrate plenty of fish for anglers offshore. Fish attractors are scattered underwater over an area of about ¼ acre in size and marked with orange and white buoys. Use caution if you plan to anchor when fishing around the buoys to avoid getting hung up on the attractors which are anchored on the lake bottom.

Lake Weohyakapka also has a relatively unknown catfish fishery. There are some nice size white and channel catfish lurking around the lake. A smaller, but just as tasty cousin, which also occupies the lake is the brown bullhead. They are very abundant and often roam around in large schools. Anglers should try fishing the mouths of creeks coming into the lake if water is flowing or around man-made canals. Slow drifting the deeper open water areas can also be productive as well during certain times of the year. The best baits to use are chicken liver, frozen shrimp, live worms or commercial stink baits fished on or near the lake bottom.

 

FISH FLORIDA CENTRAL REGION "LOCAL EXPERT" FRESHWATER FORECASTS

The following is our curated list of local freshwater fishing forecasts in Central Florida. We share links and informations from "locals" to give you the best resource to plan your next fishing excursion. Check back before your next trip for the current fishing forecasts to the area.

Kissimmee/Clewiston - Highlands Bass Angler

Polk & Highlands Counties - FWC Fishing Regional Forecasts

 

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