Florida Freshwater Fisheries Offices--Kissimmee

KISSIMMEE FISHERIES FIELD OFFICE

Kissimmee Fisheries Field Office
1601 Scottys Road
Kissimmee, FL 34744

Phone: 407/846-5300
Fax: 407/846-5310
Manager: Mr. Tim Coughlin
Email: Tim.Coughlin@MyFWC.com

The Kissimmee Field office covers the entire Kissimmee chain-of-lakes, including Tohopekaliga, East Toho and Lake Jackson.
KISSIMMEE NEWSLETTER (These are in Portable Document Format, Click Here For Instructions): November 2001. November 2002 (Toho Drawdown Highlights); October 2003. August 2004. July 2005.

OVERVIEW
This project covers the entire Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, which form the headwaters for the entire Everglades system. The upper part of the Chain originates in Orange County with lakes Hart (1,850 acres) and Mary Jane (1,158 acres) and continues south through lakes Center (410 acres), Trout (273 acres), Coon (148 acres), Lizzie (792 acres), Alligator (3,406 acres), Brick (616 acres), East Tohopekaliga (11,968 acres), and Gentry (1,791 acres). These lakes are acidic with tannin-stained and bass fishing on the upper Kissimmee Chain can be tough for the uninitiated. In addition, personnel located in Kissimmee work with the Aquatic Habitat Enhancement Section to coordinate Conservation and Recreation Lands (CARL) management.

Most of the project's efforts are centered around the lower Kissimmee Chain which is comprised of lakes Tohopekaliga (18,810 acres), Cypress (4,097 acres), Hatchineha (6,665 acres), Jackson (1,020 acres), Marian (5,739 acres), and Kissimmee (34,948 acres). Almost all are shallow, have hydrilla and due to regulated water schedules need constant care to remain productive fisheries. Lake Toho is currently scheduled for a drawdown in 2003 (see flier in PDF format, 69 kb).

Without the natural drought-flood cycle muck builds up on the bottom of lakes. Personnel on this project developed the lake "drawdown" technique in the early 1970s. Drawdowns are one of the most successful fisheries enhancement tools available in freshwater lakes. The basic premise behind these restoration efforts is that Florida's lakes naturally evolved to undergo seasonal high and low water regimes. This allowed the lakes to flush out excess nutrients and for the edges to dry out compacting the sediments and allowing aquatic vegetation to germinate when the areas reflooded in late spring and summer. This cycle helped to maintain the habitat and produce dynamic year classes of bass. As people moved into central Florida, however, they insisted on engineering solutions to provide a more static water level ensuring water supply for drinking, irrigation and navigation, even during the dry season and to prevent flooding of homes built in the natural floodplains during the wet season. As a result, the lakes began to fill in and age at an accelerated rate.

Muck removed with dozers Drawdowns seek to emulate the benefits of a natural lake by allowing approximately half of the lake bottom to dry out for about three months, normally during late winter and spring. If possible, excess quanitities of muck are physically removed with bulldozers and excavators during this period to restore the natural sand bottom that provides the best spawning habitat for sunfish (bass, crappie and bream). The material is either removed to upland areas where it is spread as a nutrient-rich soil supplement, or piled up within the lake to create wildlife islands that form habitat for alligators, birds and other animals.

Quality habitat restored by a drawdown When the lake refills, aquatic plants in great diversity germinate on the firm bottom providing critical habitat for fish. These vegetated fringes create substrate for invertebrates to live and feed on, which in turn are a food source for juvenile fish and species such as bream (bluegill, redear sunfish). In addition, the plants give the young fish a place to hide and avoid predators while they are growing. Still other benefits of the plants include the oxygen that they generate during the photosynthetic process and when their roots are firmly established in solid groud (not muck) they help prevent wave erosion around the edges of the lake.

CARL
Conservation and Recreation Lands are purchased by the Department of Environmental Protection for the state using funds derived from document stamps on property, and severance taxes on phosphate. The lands selected for conservation have unique natural areas, endangered species, unusual geologic features, wetlands, significant archaeological or historical sites. Lands acquired under the program are maintained as parks, recreation areas, wildlife management areas, wilderness areas, forests and greenways. This project works on some of the major aquatic areas purchased in the Kissimmee Chain using CARL funds, such as Lake Jackson.

Take Me Fishing.org is a great general information site for recreational anglers and boaters.

Florida Fishing Capital of the World--Great Resources, Responsible Management