STARKE LAKE: Largemouth bass should be done spawning and will have moved into deeper water. Try the fish attractors (marked with a yellow FWC buoy) with a Texas-rigged plastic worm or shaky-head jig/worm combo. The fish attractors are listed on a topographical map, which can be obtained by emailing or calling the Fish Orlando office (see contact information above). Also look for schooling activity first thing in the morning as the bass in the open water chase shad. A small shad-imitating crankbait will work, as will small jigs with shad bodies. If the water temperatures remain below 80 degrees try fishing some of the submerged eelgrass and peppergrass growing in five to ten feet of water. Lipless crankbaits, soft jerk baits (fished slowly), Carolina-rigs and wacky rigged trick worms are good baits to try. An area where the submerged vegetation connects to deep water is usually best.

TURKEY LAKE: Like Starke Lake, largemouth bass here should be done with spawning. Try the deeper pads, grassy bottlenecks and main lake points with lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits and soft jerk baits (flukes). Also try four inch Texas-rigged plastic worms, Carolina-rigs with finesse plastics and deep diving crankbaits on the fish attractors (marked with a yellow FWC buoy). The fish attractors are listed on a topographical map, which can be obtained by emailing or calling the Fish Orlando office (see contact information above). If water levels are up and water temperatures are still at or below 80 degrees, look for the fish to stay inside the emergent grass and be susceptible to soft jerk baits and topwaters.

Due to deed restrictions there is no public boat access on Turkey Lake, but the FWC, the City of Orlando and Bass Pro Shops have teamed together to provide a Boat Loaner Program where four Bass Tracker Boats are available for rent for only $15 a morning (7 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., Thurs - Sun). Call the City of Orlando’s Bill Frederick Park at 407-299-5581 to reserve a boat.

LAKE UNDERHILL: Bass fishing should be good this quarter although construction associated with expansion of the 408 toll road may make the experience less than peaceful. Working the edges of the hydrilla with a weightless seinko or Texas-rigged plastic worm should produce a bass or two greater than four pounds. Topwaters that walk the dog (i.e. Zara Spook, Sammy, etc.) can be productive along these edges first thing in the morning or right before dark.

IVANHOE: Try fishing for bass on the numerous drop-offs around the lake with wacky rigged plastics or fluke juniors pegged with a small weight (1/32 or 1/64 oz) approximately two feet above the worm. In the first part of the quarter most of the fish should still be relatively shallow (six to eight feet) with a movement deeper (8 – 12 feet) as the weather turns warmer in May and June. Schooling activity is also a possibility, especially around the aerator diffusers. The diffusers are easily found by the bubbles coming up from the bottom. A Rat-L-Trap or other shad imitating crankbait or lure fished quickly will usually catch the schoolers.

CLEAR LAKE: Hybrid striped bass fishing slows down this quarter and the channel catfish action picks up. Liver fished on the bottom around the numerous dredge holes should provide good action for channel catfish up to ten pounds. The dredge areas are listed on a topographical map, which can be obtained by emailing or calling the Fish Orlando office (see contact information above). If the dredge holes do not hold fish try fishing the mouths of the numerous canals associated with the lake.

URBAN PONDS (Barnett Park Frog Pond, Bear Creek, Lake Island Park, and Santiago): Because the URBAN PONDS are put-and-take channel catfish fisheries and channel catfish are a warm water species, this quarter is usually very good. Try fishing chicken liver rigged on a #6 or #8 hook around the “Baited Fishing Area” signs. Night crawlers and wigglers are a good second choice for bait. Although channel catfish are the management focus of these small ponds, some decent largemouth bass fishing can be had in Bear Creek using small plastic worms and jigs thrown first thing in the morning. Because of their abundant small bream, the URBAN PONDS are also a good place to take a kid to catch their first fish. A small piece of worm or biscuit dough fished under a small float is usually all that’s needed. Once again focus your efforts around the “Baited Fishing Area” signs. Santiago has recently been hurt by illegal cast netting and cormorant predation so focus angler effort on the other three URBAN PONDS until it can be restocked.


 

Until next time remember, “knowledge, not luck, is the key to consistent fishing success.”

Fish Orlando! “We’re bringing quality fishing to families”