Harris - Kissimee - Central Florida Fishing Report 2024

FishinDaddy reply :

Hi Everyone,

I'm a newbie to bass fishing, less than a year, and I'm already an addict. Mostly the addiction is driven by my competitive nature, and since I can no longer compete in the other sports I love (bad knees), tournament fishing has filled a void for me.

I fished my first tourney in April this year and have fished over 20 since.

Now the reason for this post. Being new to fishing, it appears to me that I have a huge learning curve to overcome. I have learned 3 things.

1) These locale tourneys are won by the same 4 or 5 guys everytime.

2) They have been fishing these bodies of water for several decades.

3) I'm tired of getting beat by 15 lbs.

That being said, I'm going to post real, timely, reports. Locations, bait, pattern, weather, total weight, ect.... Hopefully this will help some of those like me and if you guys do the same maybe our BR family will have more success in our future tournaments.

Thanks

Lee

FishinDaddy reply :

Harris Chain out of Buzzard Beach Sat 11/17/07

It is 5 am and as I am rolling thru Howie in the Hill I notice my thermometer reading a balmy 36 degrees. Considering in the fact that 48 hrs ago it was over 80 degrees, the wind is out of the North a 10-15 mph and I don't have my coveralls, the "feels like temp" is somewhere around minus 40 degrees and falling.

I launch and discover that my '92 Johnson is as fond of the cold as I am....A little coaxing and she finally warms up and we get up on plane...this is when the "feel like temp" calculations need to be modified. I was not aware you could get frostbite in FLA.

Now for the fishing report...I have nothing to report....

Air temp...45 to 65

water temp...mid 60's

blue bird sky with a fresh cold front

spinner bait- NO

lipless crank- NO

carolina rig- NO

Shallow Canals - NO

Deep Holes - NO

In summary, 26 boats. 20 had fish, only 5 with more than 3, and 13 lbs won a tournament that normally takes 25 to win.

surfer reply :

Quote
Now for the fishing report...I have nothing to report....

That made me laugh. I was a little bit south of you in Orlando and had a realy slow day that afternoon too. Cold fronts sure make for a tough day fishing.

Bass_Cash reply :

I was fishing a lake about 45 minutes on down 441 from Buzzard Beach Ramp on Saturday morning. Sure was cold huh. Anyways, jigging spoons 20-30 ft of water worked pretty good as me and one other boated around 20 or so. Schooling size bass though. A lot of undersized fish but would have definately had a limit. I dont know if that will help for the future when u run into those conditions.

FishinDaddy reply :

Harris Chain out of Buzzard Beach Prefishing on Sun Dec 2...

Air temp 60-80

Water temp high 60's

Blue bird sky's in the morning with scattered clouds after lunch

Started the morning on the S shore of Eustis in scattered grass with a frog and spinnerbait - no luck

Moved to Dora to fish Boca's spot..no luck

Found a deep hole on the south shore of Dora...rattle trap and chatterbait... no luck

Flipped heavy grass on the S side of Dora...spooked a few fish - no luck

Found a shallow flat with bait fish on it...rattle trap and spinner bait -- no luck

Moved back to Eustis and fished north side near Haines creek

Scattered clouds moved in and i moved into the creek.

spooked a few fish flipping and moved to the middle of the creek and threw a firetiger shadrap to the edges of the grass and caught a few keepers in about an hour...decided I was hungry, loaded and went home...

bocabasser reply :

hey at least you were fishing. that is one tough chain to fish. did you see any bedding fish leeh? i have my classic on poga saturday and i am on a small limit. i saw a bunch of beds, with bucks, but no ladies. hopefully this cold front pushes the big girls in. anyway great report.

Land Surveyor13 reply :

Bocabasser if you see the males then the females are there also. There just not on the bed. Look at the direction he is facing and he should be looking right at her. Cast out that way and see if you can trigger a bite.

Jerrod

bocabasser reply :

thanks surveyor. i have seen the males and i knew about the direction he is facing, the female is near. i still can't find them. i was told to also check the nearest hydrilla or "clump" of vegetation. hopefully this coldfront that just passed, will move those big girls closer to the beds.

FishinDaddy reply :

Boca, I did not see any bedding fish, in fact I did not see any beds. The visibility was only about 6 inches with all the wind last week stirring things up.

I though I might see some, I found a shallow flat, about 3 acres of 1-2 ft deep sandy bottom, but nothing on it but some bait and a lot of gar just off in deeper water.

Poga has been tough for me. I last fished it in late Sep in a 2 day tourney. 2 days 4 fish. Wind howling out of the east at about 25 mph. I did find a small channel that had some structure not far from the 98 ramp. I will pm some gps numbers tommorrow.

Later

warmer reply :

hey lee, it looks like the kissimee chain is still fishing small... the ht3 tourny last weekend took 21lbs to win (2 day total/3 fish per day), and after that it fell off quickly to the 14's...

ive heard some schooling activity up in toho, but no size... looks like its a waiting game...

im just top-water fishing shallow and praying for cloud cover.

if you get on some good fish, i'd love to hear about it...

FishinDaddy reply :

OK, I hate this chain.....

No. I really hate this chain....

Dec 8 out of Buzzard Beach...

Weather...Absolutely beautiful 60-80

Water- upper 60's

Wind- light from the NE

Blue bird sky

34 boats

only 23 with fish

only 5 with a limit

9.97 lbs won.....9.97 lbs on the Harris Chain....where did the fish go?

6:30 take off 4 pm weigh....NOT A SINGLE BITE!

I hate this chain.......NOW IT"S PERSONAL!

FishinDaddy reply :

Warmer,

Tourney season starts on the big K at the end of Jan. I will probably start prefishing around xmas. I had been having pretty good numbers, in the 2-3 lb range on a gambler cane toad, (lane toad or peppergrass) in 3-4 ft of water, sparse kissimmee grass, in the afternoon. Look for areas that the shade just hit. Also the mouth of canoe creek, in cypress, there is a huge patch of topped out hydrilla. Plow your way into it and run the frog across the top and let is drop into the holes.

Lee

bocabasser reply :

i finished 4th. it was a 3 fish limit and i was culling by 8 am. i just couldn't find any bedding females. i fished alone, but had a great day. i must have caught 30 fish. my 3 fish limit weighed 8.64. 1st place had 11.79 with 2nd big fish of 7.9. 2nd place had 11.4 with 1st big fish of 8.7 and 3rd place had 10 and change with a 6 pounder. if those guys don't catch those kickers, i win the event. i have clewiston next month, and there has been some toads weighed in at the last couple of tournys. sorry to hear about harris. that is THE toughest place i have ever fished in florida. where is your next event?

FishinDaddy reply :

Warmer,

My 14 year old and I fish the Accent Marine team tourney out of camp mack.

As far as the shade goes think tall trees on the western bank....you have seen it many times..near deep water

warmer reply :

lee,

sounds fun, my daughter (6) and i just got fished an open @ kissimee the weekend before last... had only 10lbs, but we had a lot of fun...

i fish extreme trail, for team tournies... jan 21st is first one.

western bank? trees? seems like only a-frame's got any that would throw a shadow before weigh-in and not but for a couple months of the year... i honestly haven't paid attention to the shadows over there.

warmer reply :

ive basically been blitzing the sparse vegetation pads/thin kissimmee grass where theres sub-grass mixed in and when i get bit once i slow down and worm it...

warmer reply :

lee etc,

i went to toho today, and tooled around... didnt fish as much as look...

saw a guy spraying just north of goblets cove. lots of other spraying going on - all the flat pads everywhere are gone/dead... i loved those pads.

the water is up.

saw a large female on the bed in gin clear water, saw other early signs of beds, had a BIG toad roll on a toad...

caught dinks shallow, and caught a few chunks cranking outside hyd. lines...

no schooling as far as i could tell...

FishinDaddy reply :

To all concerned,

The idea behind starting this thread was to give at least some insight to the average Joe on what is, and is not, working in these VERY difficult Florida fisheries. What I had envisioned was "team BR" making making drastic improvements in tournament placement or just having a more enjoyable day on the water for those guys who don't partake in the lunacy that is competitive fishing. Consistent, accurate, and current data on water and air temperatures, weather and lure choices is what it takes to develop patterns. That is something that if left to our limited individual observations, would take decades to gather enough information to make any sort of reasonble conclusions. I think we are headed in that direction but this is a process that may take years to accomplish.

Everyday I look foward to reading any new information on this thread in hopes that I may gleam one more small piece of this puzzle. The first thing I look at is the number of views. With that number approaching 600, there must be quite a few of our "silent" team members out there doing the same thing. If you are one of those silent Joes, keep reading, this was meant for you. If you have anything to contribute, please do. If you don't have anything to add, at least let us know you are there enjoying this information.

As for the first few contributors, I would like to personally thank you for your insight and your willingness to share. Please keep it coming. This type of information is just not available. As you know, there are no reliable fishing reports on bass fishing in central Florida to be found anywhere. We are our best source of accurate information.

Finally, as to the **Moderator Note**. I understand that content for this forum is your responsibility and will comply with your wishes. However, it was my intention for this information to be shared. Not only with current members but with those who come after us that will have a historical fishing log available at their fingertips.

Lee

FishinDaddy reply :

Kissimee out of Camp Mack Sunday 12/23

Fished after lunch in the River Canal and the pads east of the canal.

Air -75

Water 67

Partly Cloudy with a light wind from the NE

Bomber 6a in firetiger and redbug tiki stik produced a few small fish..

Beautiful day to be out on the water..

surfer reply :

I know this isn't the Lake listed in the topic, but its close enough the weather conditions would have been the same.

Fished Farm 13 on Saturday 12-19 from sun up to sun down. Post frontal conditions.

65* air

Water was about the same

12 to 17 mph wind from the nw and nnw later

Boated 15 fish. Only 7 were over a pound with the best being 4.6 from a reed point along a straight shoreline. All fish taken on a 5 inch sinco weightless or 6 inch ribbon tail worm T-rig 1/4 oz

First time on this lake. From what I understand this is a very slow day.

FishinDaddy reply :

Thanks for the input surfer. I have changed the name of this thread so that we can include other central fla lakes.

Saddle Creek -

Fished from 8 to noon

Air 65 Water 65

Boated a 4 lb LM on the first cast, about 5 min later the wife got a 3 lber.

Also caught a Bowfin that went over 6 lbs.

Firetiger 6A and Xps shad RT. Cranking submerged hydrilla beds on points where the water drops from 5" to over 20'.

Headed to the farm tomorrow....

warmer reply :

lake toho 12/24:

8:00am: 1 3lber on devil horse on scattered hydrilla edges on south end - 6ft of water. snapped off on another.

10:00am: carolina rigging 18ft of water, north end, for a 2.5 lber

11:00am: shallow, shallow, shallow on island hyd/grass. pop R 2 lber.

11:30am: hard hydrilla edges on north end rapala dt6. 1.5lber and carolina rig black trick for another 1.5lber.

4 different patterns and 5 fish... im thinking if i were fishing tomorrow id get a big weight and a flipping stick on that hydrilla that had the bigger fish and grind grind grind.

FishinDaddy reply :

Stick Marsh Dec 25

Got to the ramp about noon - heavy overcast around 70 degrees

First time there so lots of idleing and charting bottom

By 1 pm the rain is blowing sideways out of the SW

By 2 pm no rain and dead calm

fished the E levy on Farm 13 near the middle inflow gate

picked up 5 fish in about an hour on 5" paddletails and attracted a lot of attention from the gators and moved

got 2 fish in 5 minutes at the end of the main levy between the farm and the marsh on 5" paddle tail junebug, had a 14 footer try to come in the boat chasing a 2.5 lber I had on and decided it was time to go home.

5 dinks and two over 2.5 for a total of 7 fish in about 3 hours total fishing time, would have had more if the gators were not so aggressive.

mawilson reply :

Dec 24-25 lake weir

stuck to the grass beds both days rattletraps 13fish on 24 biggest 8lbs

21 fish on 25 wind wasn't as bad to day could stay on main lake biggest 6lbs

MA Wilson

Under the Radar reply :

Tried for the Conway chain this morning, but by the time we got there the parking lot was full. So decided to hit Jasmine since was so close. Started fishing Traps & Arucu Shads. first fish came on the edge of the grass. Mostly Dinks. As we moved off shore a bit and fished the points and offshore weeds, things picked up. My partner today was just getting used to his new B/C setup. He lost 3 at the boat before he finally landed a 2lbr. Oh! me? 20 or maybe a couple more only 3 1.5's and 2 2's & 1 2.5. all in all, a pretty nice day to be on the water. Sorry folks no pics today.

Hope all of you have had safe and happy holidays, and wishing each of you a happy new year and a double digit.

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Harris - Kissimee - Central Florida Fishing Report 2024

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