35 Kayak Fishing Trips

[FlatsNBay]

Spot 14: C54

The C54 is a canal between the Stick Marsh and the Sebastian River and has water control structures at each end. It is not known for fishing as there are several other more popular lakes nearby. The canal is a frequent destination for high school and college rowing and crew teams and people come from all over the country to practice and compete at the canal since it has high banks and is usually protected from the wind. I've fished it a bunch by boat but this is the first time in the kayak. I like the canal because many techniques work there.

Habitat:

A deep canal with depths in the 12' to 13' range. Sandy sloping banks with cattails. Sometimes there can be some awesome hyacinth and water lettuce floating mats, but not this time. Water color is dark and can get very dirty when they are moving water.

Launch: A concrete ramp that ends into sand. You can easily launch a bass boat during normal to high water level conditions. When the water is low, you have to back up into the sand so I would recommend a 4 wd for launching a boat during that time.

Result:

Fun day. I caught a bunch on topwater. After the topwater bite died, I switched to a fluke, deep diving crankbait, and a 10 " worm and caught fish on each. I even caught a few flipping a jig. Ended the day with 24 bass with the biggest around 3 lbs.

Will I be back? You betcha! Fun place and the quality is usually pretty good.

Score (out of 100): 90

[Capt. BassinLou]

Nice haul of bass! Thank you for sharing.

[FlatsNBay]

Spot 15: Grand Canal (saltwater)

My brother in law and I tried the flats in front of the Grand Canal in Satellite Beach and a little bit of the canal system. I've fished the area years ago when I had my flats boat and it's usually good for trout redfish and snook.

Habitat: A large shallow flat with sporadic patches of grass starting to come back. The canal system consisted of docks and mangroves.

Launch: There are 3 sand launching areas on the south side of Pineda Causeway. One is large enough and deep enough to launch a small boat or skiff.

Result: I caught the first fish of the day, a nice 3 pound trout that smoked my topwater walking bait. It was a great fight. A few minutes later, I had another explosion on my topwater. It was a mangrove snapper! Pretty cool catching a snapper on top. We caught a few more trout here and there and they were mostly small. I had to call it quits early. Fun area.

Will I be back? I'd try it again. It's got potential.

Overall Score (out of 100): 73 Not bad but not great either.

[big g]

Flats thanks for spending the time to share your journey.  Its a great summery of these water bodies, and the pros and cons of going there.  You are getting the most out of that pond hopper.    

[FlatsNBay]

Spot 16: Lake Gentry

Lake Gentry is in Osceola County and is a lake between the Kissimmee Chain and the Alligator Chain. I've fished it twice before in the boat and did fairly well and was excited to check it out again by kayak.

Habitat: Lots of Kissimmee grass, bullrush, pads and some hydrilla. It reminds me of the Harris Chain only with dark water. It looks good! Canals on the north and south side are blocked by water control structures.

Launch: There is one paved boat ramp on the north end of the lake but is pretty shallow and mucky. If the water level is down, launching a full size bass boat is tough. No problem for the kayak, easy in and out.

Result: I started in one of the canals and caught a couple on a spook. I skipped my frog into a culvert pipe and KABLOOSH! A swing and a miss, dang it! I caught a couple on a fluke in the canal and then headed back to the lake. I found a good swim worm bite casting into open areas around Kissimmee grass and then finished up with a couple of swim jig fish. I had to call it quits early due to an approaching thunderstorm. Ended up with 12. Fun place!

Will I be back? Yep, I've caught some decent ones there before so I know that they're in there.

Overall Score (out of 100): 82

[Capt. BassinLou]

 Bummer on the frog, miss! Appreciate these reports!

[FlatsNBay]

Spot 17: Alligator Chain (Trout Lake)

The Alligator chain of lakes is near St. Cloud in Osceola County. It is known for more of a recreational chain of lakes than for the fishing. One of the local bass clubs has a tournament once a year there and most participants struggle to catch fish. There are some good fish in the lake so I was hopeful.

Habitat: Dark tanic water with lots of pads, reeds, and Kissimmee grass. It looks good.

Launch: a concrete boat ramp with plenty of deep water. It's an easy launch for most boats and kayaks.

Result: I went directly across the lake to the mouth of a canal. I started with the popping frog and had a 6 pounder come shooting into the air to hit the frog but unfortunately totally missed it.  A few casts later in a different area, I had a giant hit from a big bass on the frog but once again, it totally missed the frog. Tried changing colors and switched to a regular frog but the fish just weren't committing. I had a few hits on a swim worm and went back to the area of the big fish hits and saturated the area with a variety of baits. I fished my way back to the ramp. On the way, I had several blow ups on the swim worm in the pads and each time they missed the bait. It was one of those days...Skunk City!

Will I be back? I don't think so. It's a far drive for me for a tough fishery.

Score (out of 100): 68. Tough place but it has a few fish.

[FlatsNBay]

Spot 18: C54 West

The C54 is so long, I found a spot to launch so that I could fish the west end near the Stick Marsh. I'm very familiar with the area as I've fished it a number of times by boat.

Habitat: Dark water with shoreline cattails and brush. There was quite a bit of water lettuce floating in the canal which made fishing a challenge. Deep water with depths dropping off quickly to 12'.

Launch: A steep grassy area that allowed for an easy launch was about a 50 yard cart from the truck. Pulling the kayak up bank was tough but doable.

Result: I started with a nice topwater bite on a popper. After 10 fish I switched to a variety of baits including a lipless crankbait, DT6, jerkbait and 10 inch worm and caught fish on each. The wind started ripping straight out of the east which made boat control tough. I called the trip early with 19 bass with most being in the 2 pound range. The biggest went 3 lbs. Fun spot.

Will I be back? Yes Sir! Fun spot with decent quality.

Score (out of 100): 90

[Capt. BassinLou]

Fun outing! Thanks for sharing, Steve.

[FlatsNBay]

Spot 19: C Creek (Brackish)

C Creek is an urban paradise and consists of a creek off of the Indian River. It starts in saltwater in a very busy area and then transitions to a winding creek full of lush vegetation. I'm very familiar as I used to fish it a bunch when I had my flats boat. Sometimes I would catch bass, other times snook. You never know what you are going to tangle with.

Habitat: Stained water, lush shoreline with docks and trees.

Launch: There is a nearby boat ramp and also a kayak launch but I used neither. I wanted to cut down on the paddle so I launched at a grassy spot at a waterfront park. Easy.

Result: I started with a Rapala Skitter Walk topwater and worked my way up the creek. First fish of the day was a nice 2 1/2 pound bass and then a small snook. A little while later a funny thing happened. I had a blow up on my topwater with a nice little tarpon. I fought it for a short time and it jumped in kayak and landed in the net! The fish with the net flopped out of the kayak into the water. I reached down and grabbed the net. The tarpon was still in it!

A short time later I had an explosion on my topwater. It was a big snook! I set the hook and it was fish on! That big sucker drug me all over the place! I got it next to the boat and it took one last run breaking my 30 lb. test leader. Dang it! Finished up with another bass, snook, and tarpon on a Savage Gear shrimp along with a few Mayan cichlids. Fun day!

Will I be back ? Oh yeah.

Score (out of 100): 85, fun brackish water spot!

[big g]

Interesting trip, sound like a fun place to fish.  Congrats    

[FlatsNBay]

Spot 20: Teneroc Fish Management Area (Waterlou)

This one wasn't on my original list because it's kinda far but I had the chance to visit Teneroc for the first time. With 29 intensively managed lakes to choose from, I picked the Waterlou Trail because it's primitive launching only. It is a maze and has a marked paddling trail throughout the lake.

Habitat: A maze of islands and vegetation. It's a fishy looking place. Bullrush, cattails, pads, trees, and stumps in dark tanic water.

Launch: A very steep primitive gravel ramp. Launching was easy but dragging the kayak and cart up the gravel ramp at the end of the trip was tough.

Result:

I started with a Berkley Swamp Lord popping frog and quickly caught 2. The bites were few and far between and the hits that I got, they were slapping the frog and not really getting it. I found a little moving water coming in and quickly racked up my total on a white fluke. It was fun. I started to see fish schooling on shad out in open water. I moved to them and cycled through different baits until I figured out what they wanted. A small jerkbait flat tore them up. It was awesome! Ended up with 30 total and quit around lunchtime. It was a blast.

Will I be back? Yes! I have 28 more lakes to try!

Score (out of 100): 91. A long drive but worth it!

[FlatsNBay]

Spot 21: Teneroc FMA (Shop Lake)

I had big plans on fishing a different lake at Teneroc but due to the high winds after a cold front, I selected Shop Lake because it is a long winding lake with high banks. The lake is limited to 4 boats, trolling motor only.

Habitat: Steep banks, drop offs, and tree lined banks. The water is dark brown green water with depths I found down to 20 feet.

Launch: A modern concrete ramp.

Result: The cold front presented very challenging conditions. Air temperature was in the upper 40s with water temperature dropping to 64. I cycled through a variety of baits for a while without even a sniff. The first hit that I had came between two points in a neck down type of area on a Berkley Stunna 100 jerkbait. As soon as I set the hook my fg knot snapped! Dang it! I should've retied long ago after catching a ton of fish on the same leader. That clued me in to searching for other narrow neck down type areas of the lake. It worked resulting in 3 solid fish on a drop shot and jerkbait. It was tough! Back at the ramp, I spoke with another boat with 3 anglers in it and they said that they got skunked. I guess 3 wasn't so bad.

Will I be back? I'd like to try it again in better conditions.

Score (out of 100): 75 . Tough but promising. I know that they school on bait in the warmer months.

[Capt. BassinLou]

You definitely do not have a shortage of spots to fish Steve. Despite tough conditions your still catching them. WTG! Thank you for sharing. 

[FlatsNBay]

Spot 22: Stick Marsh

I am very familiar with the Stick Marsh as I've fished it before many times by boat. This was the first time in the kayak.

Habitat: Dark tanic water. The FWC did a big planting project during a recent drawdown but those areas are in the extreme South end of the lake. Lots of trees with scattered shoreline vegetation.

Launch: A nice concrete ramp made launching a breeze.

Result: On the water at sunrise and bumped into another hardcore kayak angler from Orlando. He was a real nice guy and was in a tricked out Hobie with a trolling motor. I started out in the north section of the lake and couldn't get anything going. I moved into a backwater area and first pitch into a mat resulted in a nice 3 pounder. A short time later I caught another one flipping. The bite fizzled out so I moved locations. I found a nice flipping bite and caught a couple of 4 pounders along with a few more in the 2 1/2-3 lb. range, all fattys! Just as I was thinking that I haven't lost a fish, I went 0 for 3 on the next few including a giant that wrapped me up in the vegetation. Dang it!!I switched hooks and went back to catching a couple more. Ended up with 8 and was off the water at 1130. Fun bite!

Will I be back? Yes!

Score (out of 100): 80. Excellent quality.

[Capt. BassinLou]

Fun outing! Thanks for sharing!

[big g]

WTG Flats, always fun when you know your next catch could be a DD!  Have a great Christmas my friend!

[FlatsNBay]

Spot 23: Conway Chain (Orlando)

The Conway Chain of Lakes in Orlando is well known for winter bass fishing. Colder temperatures cause the shad to ball up creating an excellent opportunity for bass to school and feed on them.

Habitat: Urban fishing with houses and docks. Very clear water with clarity easily down to 12-15 deep. Lots of eel grass and  peppergrass with water depths to over 30' deep in some places.

Launch: Only 2 public launches on the entire chain. I intended on using the kayak launch at Warren Park but found that it wasn't open until 8 AM. Plan B was to launch at the Randolph St. boat ramp. It is a nice paved ramp with limited parking. It would be tough finding a parking spot on a busy weekend.

Result: On the water at sunrise and first cast with a spinnerbait resulted in a bass. I caught another on the spinnerbait and then found some schoolers hitting shad. My small jerkbait was the ticket and I caught a bunch on it. I moved around and caught some on a jighead minnow and jerkbait and ended up with 21. Biggest went 1 1/2. All small but fun anyway.

On the west side of Little Lake Conway I found the sunken school bus that they conduct dive training on. I caught one on it in the deep water. See pic. I sat over the bus so the depth finder reading looks like a longggg school bus.

Off the water at 1130 due to a headache.

Will be back? I'd try it again in the winter to try and find some more schoolers hitting shad. With multiple lakes on the chain, fishing area is limited by kayak. A boat would be better.

Score: 80. Fun clear water but a little bit of a drive for me.

[Capt. BassinLou]

Appreciate the report thank you.

[FlatsNBay]

Spot 24: Headwaters Lake

I'm very familiar with Headwaters as I've fished it quite a bit by boat. I've also fished it a few times by a borrowed kayak years ago before it was opened to boats and it was epic. This was the first time in the Old Town.

Habitat: Tons of hydrilla and ditches. During much of the year the hydrilla is topped out on the north end near the kayak launch. It dies off some in the winter.The water clarity was clear in some places and very dirty in others.

Launch: The kayak launch is located on the NW end of the lake and accessable from the Stick Marsh parking lot. About a 50 yard cart from the truck to a muddy launching area. Not bad.

Result: I chose Headwaters because the weather forecast had favorable winds of 5 MPH out of the NW. Of course the forecast was wrong! It was blowing 15 to 20 out of the north, definitely a challenge in a kayak. A cold front blew through the night before plummeting temps to the 40s.

On the water at sunrise. It was very slow going with the post cold front windy conditions. First fish was a skinny 2.5 pounder on a fluke. I picked up another on a chatterbait while I was getting blown all over the place. I found a nice mat of hyacinth and picked up the flipping stick and went to work. I pitched a Riot baits Fuzzy Beaver into the middle of the mat, jigged it 5 or 6 times and then felt a little tic. I set the hook and the fight was on. After a short battle, I landed a nice 5 pounder. A short time later I picked up a 3 pounder on the Fuzzy Beaver.

It was very difficult to fish in the windy conditions so I called it a little early. Ended up with 4, but decent quality.

Will I be back? Sure.

Score (out of 100): 82. Tons of fishing pressure now but decent quality.