Florida Bass 101: Why They Bite (or Don’t)
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Central Florida’s mid-winter weather has been a major story this week at the Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole. Cold fronts have lined up like staging planes coming and going at Orlando International, and it has affected the bite and the plans of Bass Pro Tour anglers.
A fickle state
“In my opinion, Florida is more fickle any other state when it comes to the weather this time of year. Right now, with the conditions we’ve had, it has been difficult for us to adjust,” said Jacob Wheeler. “That’s why so many patterns are in play this week. It’s been cold then warm, then cold and then warm. Little changes in the weather make a big difference here in Florida, more than they do in other parts of the country.”
Brett Hite lives in Arizona, but has a knack for catching bass this time of year in the Sunshine State. With tour-level wins both here and on Lake Okeechobee, he has proven that he understands fishing in the Sunshine State. He shared a similar view as Wheeler did about the current conditions and said that an improved bite is coming.
“The water temperature has been 56, 57 degrees, and in Florida, that’s no good,” Hite said. “The quality of the fishing this time of year has to do with the water temperature and the weather. The slightly warmer days (in the 70’s) are what we need to warm the water and trigger the fish to move.”
Winding vs. punching
If you’ve been watching MLF LIVE!, you can see two distinct camps of anglers: those fishing moving baits, and those targeting heavy cover. Both Wheeler and Hite feel that the conditions are causing this.
“You’re seeing offshore grass playing a role,” Wheeler said. “Jerkbaits, lipless crankbaits, swim jigs and swimming worms are all catching fish. The canals are also a factor this week because of the current and how it sets up fish. Bass are being caught many ways.”
Hite: “This week I’ve been targeting subsurface aquatic vegetation with moving baits. I’m fishing for the bass that are staging, and I’ve noticed that we have yet to see the big females arrive to these areas and are just catching the smaller males.”
Both of these anglers are in the moving bait segment of the field, but they both said heavy matted vegetation is in play this week because of the conditions.
One angler whose name is synonymous with both punching and Florida bass fishing is Randall Tharp. Fishing matted vegetation is his game, and that is what he is doing this week.
“I’m not changing my plans even though it is getting warmer,” Tharp said. “I think that bite is going to continue to get better the next two days.”
The Florida spawn
Wheeler detailed the spawn in Florida, and said it’s much different than it is in other parts of the country.
“They spawn from November to April, which sounds crazy if you don’t live here,” Wheeler said. “They spawn in waves and trickle in for months. When there are cold fronts for two or three weeks, it holds them back, and then all of those fish rush in and spawn at once. It can be pandemonium when things go right.”
Tharp echoed these statements and is sticking to the dense vegetation for this event due to the conditions.
“Florida is a little backward in that the fish move up to spawn when it gets colder,” he said. “The big ones hang offshore, but when it gets cold, they go to the mats because they are warmer and that is where bass want to be right before they spawn.”
The bass on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes are in a state of transition. They want to spawn, but Mother Nature has had other ideas. The flux of weather has affected the bite and today’s Knockout Round anglers will be making adjustments and trying to stay inside the cut line for one more day.