Lake Kissimmee Bass Fishing Reports

MotherNature · June 28, 2004, 12:03:57 AM

this should be a good thread. Post your fishing reports here...

dusterjim · February 24, 2005, 06:37:15 PM

Caught a 11lb 4oz hawg on Tuesday in Lake Kissimmee. It was going to be my last cast of the day. I had caught two smaller fish at 730 am and fished until 1230 without a nibble and then wam! on my last cast. She went for a 8" Producto Tournament flapper tail worm, Junebug color. She was in open water about 4 feet deep. No bed.

I called my wife and had her meet me at the ramp with my scales and a camera. I think my wife was more excited than me. We took four pictures and weighed her and then sent her on her way to lay them eggs. What a beauty.

I'm going back to that area tomorrow with my friend and see if we can come up with another big one..

Jim

Mike Cork · February 24, 2005, 06:40:55 PM

Awesome

Congrats

You will have to let us see the pic. If you have trouble getting it on the site just email it to me and I will work it for you.

Pferox · February 26, 2005, 10:55:58 AM

Hey duster Sharon and I were down by the music park in your town last week fishin in the river.
I was wonderin' where did you put in at Camp Mack's or the State Park, are they in the pig runs yet?
I've been so buisy spec fishin over at marker 9 that I havn't even thought about bass fishin yet.
That's pretty bad huh?
Have you ever fished Lake Easy, that and Buffum are probably my favorite fishin spots.
I'm still fixin my boat from the hurricane so I have to hitch rides to boat fish.
Anyways that sounds like a good trip hope this week is just as good.

dusterjim · April 10, 2005, 05:44:33 PM

Wife and I fished Kissimmee River south of St rod 60 on Saturday, April 9. We caught about 10 fish between the two of us. There was a tournament locally and the guys were struggling.

I went back to the river on Sunday and caught about 20 fish. Biggest was 4 lbs and all were keepers. I lost 2 very big fish. I was fishing plastics in the lily pads very ssssllllooowww. Best day of fishing I have had in several years. Going to try them again tomorrow and see if the pattern holds...

DusterJim

Mike Cork · April 10, 2005, 06:18:11 PM

Thanks for the report, sounds like you had them figured out pretty good, do you know what the water temp was?

dusterjim · April 11, 2005, 08:16:56 PM

Mike,

Water temp 75. The ambient air temp reached 84 today. Two or three days like that and no rain and the water warms up quick.

I went back to the river today and caught 8 very nice fish. Largest was a 5 lber. Had a strike on my third cast and missed that fish. Caught the 5 lber two casts later.
I'm saying to myself..this is a good omen..5 cast and a 5 lber... Caught two other fish around 4 lbs and all the other were two to three pound range. Missed at least 10 others. Very hard to get a good solid hook set in the lily pads. Fish take you down to the bottom and around the pad stalks. They don't break the line just pull the hook out of their mouth. I use Yo Zuri Hybrid green 15 # test line on my worming rod. You could pull your boat with this line. It doesn't break...

Going to Lake Kissimmee tomorrow if there is not too much wind. See if my pattern holds up there.

I'll keep you posted..

DusterJim

Mike Cork · April 11, 2005, 11:45:11 PM

Thanks for the info, here in Louisiana if we have a hard core pad pattern going we switch to the braided lines. You have to pause just a split second before setting the hook because there is no stretch but the reason we switch is when a bass makes a run in the pads that braided line will cut threw the pads instead of wrapping up in it. Just a thing we do

dusterjim · April 12, 2005, 07:09:46 PM

Another stellar day on the river. Wanted to go up on Lake Kissimmee but the wind picked up early. Caught 5 nice fish. Biggest around 5 lb , 2 around 4lb and the other two were 2-2 1/2 lbs. Once again, lost about 6 in the pads. Only fished for 3 hours today. Did a big bad yesterday. Was getting ready to come in..put all the rods away, lures back in the boxes, turned off the front sonar and was ready to come in. Startyed the big motor and started to get up on the plane and water came spraying over the bow. Forgot to pick up the trolling motor. Dumb ass...

Stopped the big motor, went up front and pulled up the trolling motor. Everything looked ok!

Today when I attempted to use the trolling motor on medium to high it would go back and forth and vibrate real bad. Lifted the motor out of the water and looked real close..Shaft was bent...

Dumb ass!! I'm sure we all have done that at some point in our fishing careers.. Never had bent the shaft before.. Going to get it fixed tomorrow and get back on the water Thursday with the wife. All in all though a great day..

Hoping the good fishing continues.

BTW..I had Pro Power braid on my worming rod at one time and did not like it at all. Would not re-wind in an orderly manner and would overlap when re-winding. Just didn't like the line. Went to the Yo-Zuri Hybrid and really like it. I use the Pro Power on my 7ft All-Star Shimano Chronarch sf combo for crankbaits. Can throw it a mile and cover a lot of new water when looking for fish. It seems to re-wind ok on that combo.

Caught one of the 4lb fish today on a Bagley's Fat Cat SunPerch crankbait! First time ever on that old lure..

Nuff ramblin..tight lines to you'll.

DusterJim

Mike Cork · April 12, 2005, 09:46:21 PM

Yep I have done that myself didn't hurt the motor though. I tell you what did though. I let my oldest daughter drive the boat a couple years ago and while idling to the open water she drove the boat straight into a cypress tree. Idling now she got scared and didn't know what to do. I was straightning tackle and didn't see it coming. If she would have just even slightly turned the wheel we would have only glanced it but NOOO we had to hit it dead on and because the trolling motor ever so slightly sits off the edge of the bow it bent the shaft

Anyway, great report and hope to hear you are back on the water soon

dusterjim · April 18, 2005, 08:59:02 PM

Monday, April 18

Haven't been fishing the last three days due to high winds( 15-25 MPH) from the North. This wind brought down cooler air and dropped our water temps 7 degrees. From 75 to 68.

Fished the Kissimmee River again today. Excellent day. Caught 3 fish within the first 10 casts...First fish a nice six lb'er on the 3rd cast. Wow I says to myself..Goin be a good urn today. Two cast later I caught a nice 4 lber. Couldn't believe it. I did adjust my presentation and fished very slow due to the temperature drop. Way back in the lily pads and very slow on the retrieve. Painfully slow...The lure had to fall deeper in the pads to get a strike. It worked. Caught the 3rd fish on about the 10th cast and it was around a three lb'er. After that things slowed down for about an hour. I was drifting down the river with the strong current. About 8:30 in picked up another two fish in the 2 1/2 to 3 lb range. Caught the last two around 11:00 am. In between I lost about 10 fish due to them taking me deep in the pads. One of them was very big. All in all a great day...Winds picked back up but not as bad as the last few days.

I'm going to Lake Istopoga tomorrow and see how I can do down there. They been catching em pretty i hear. Winds are supposed to be from the East at 5-9 mph tomorrow. That will work...I'll report back tomorrow night...

DusterJim

Mike Cork · April 18, 2005, 09:16:03 PM

Those must have been some cool winds to drop your water temps like that, good job on the adjustment in presentation to keep the bite going

Looking forward to your report tomorrow. I will make sure there is a thread for that lake.

dusterjim · April 22, 2005, 03:09:12 PM

Thursday April 22

Back to the river today....Very, very foggy early...Cool night 57 degrees, water temp 74...Put in and idles down the river about 1/4 mile from the lock at State road 60..

First fish in the boat weighed about 6lbs. after about 5 casts. Caught 4 more fish that first 90 minutes. They all weighed around 4 lbs. Lost 3 other large fish due to bad hook sets. Caught another 3 fish between 1030 and 1130. Wish this had been a tournament day...22-24 lbs with the first 5 fish! Cha-ching...The river's hot...

Wife and I are going back tomorrow...I'm trying to get her on a big fish...She tries
hard but fishing from the back of the boat is a added challenge...She won't fish from the front because she doesn't like working the trolling motor. She prefers to be chauffeured!!

Keep you posted...

DusterJim

Mike Cork · April 22, 2005, 10:44:52 PM

Hopefully they will still be biting and you can put here on one of those great fish. Awesome report, keep them coming. I don't know if I asked you this before but do you belong to a club?

dusterjim · April 24, 2005, 04:48:06 PM

Mike,

Haven't joined a club here as of yet...I only moved back down to Florida 2 years ago. Been busy get all set up and selling my place up north. All of that is behind me now and maybe I will look for a club.

April 23....Wife and I went to the river today...Only caught 5 fish...but did manage a 7 libber. Wife caught a nice 3 lb'er and made her day...She also lost a couple other ones..Fish turned off at around 930!!! We fished for another 2 hours without any major success...A few small fish...

April 24, ...I went back to the river this am. It rained here over night and a cold front blew in..Morning temps 50 degrees and a 20 mph wind...Brrr...I got to the dock at 635 and questioned my sanity...but I still put in...Ran down the river about 3/4 of a mile..I had a following NW wind pushing me down the river...By 700 I had my first fish...Nice big female around 8 lbs. By 715 I had caught 4 fish including another 7 lb'er. WOW...I didn't figure I would catch anything with the cold front and the wind. By 8:30 had caught 9 fish...Absolutely unbelievable...Then they shut down... Couldn't buy a strike for the next 1 1/2 hours. Around 1015 I got another hook up with a big fish but lost her in the weeds.

I had a first happen to me today...Actually caught a 7 foot alligator on a hook. Wasn't trying!!! I simply made a cast to a spot in the lily pads and swish..the water boiled and man I thought I had a world record bass!! I keep my drag pretty snug because of the pads but it will still slip if pulled hard enough...This bad boy took me down and the drag was singing...Then it stopped..I didn't know what I had hooked. Thought maybe a big turtle or maybe a big catfish.. I pulled up on the rod and cranked in some line until the critter broke the surface..I Couldn't believe my eyes...This gator was big...I waved my hands and yelled at him..hoping he would break my line..Back to the bottom he went..I pulled him up again and this went on for 4 or 5 times..Finally I cut the line and let him go...I worm with Yo-Zuri hybrid 15# test. This is some kind of tough line...That is why I use it...I honestly could not break that line this morning...If you have never used it, give it a try...I guarantee you won't be dis-sappointed...I only used it on my worming rod...

Quite a day though...When I got home and told my wife she asked how come I never put her on these big fish?

I get no credit at all...LOL

These was a tournament being fished on Lake Kissimmee and the river...Those guys were not catching a thing...I told two of the guys fishing the tourney where I had caught the large fish..Maybe they could get lucky...When I came up the river to the dock I saw those two fishermen and they still had no fish...Oh well...

Going back to the river tomorrow and hopefully the Lake if the wind dies down...

Keep you posted and tight lines to everbody..

Mike Cork · April 24, 2005, 06:47:32 PM

Wow, I need to come visit you and get in on some of this action. And that is one serious testamony for a fishing line

I don't know that I would have pulled it up a second time though

So what color do gators like

dusterjim · April 25, 2005, 08:13:44 PM

Mike,,

Green....

April 25,,

Went back to the river today...Even colder than yesterday 42 degrees...Thank goodness no wind..but some serious fog again..I idled out of the dock area into the river and just used the trolling motor down the edge of the river...Caught 4 small fish from 700 to 1000..Tough morning....Had a hook up with a big fish but lost her..Couldn't get a good hook set...She was heavy...Fog lifted around 800 and what a beautiful day. Wind picked up at 0930 and at 1000 I gave it up...

What makes fish tick anyway??? Maybe the cold front finally took its toll and drove them down to warmer water. The water temp was 71 degrees though. Strange feeling when you catch a fish and go to remove the hook and the fish feels warm!

I'm going to try the Lake tomorrow if the wind lays down...

Keep you posted and tight lines to you..

DusterJim

Mike Cork · April 25, 2005, 08:45:30 PM

Sounds like you were totally post front this morning, where you were still in the front the previous days. I tell you what though catching fish like you are I wouldn't worry to much, they'll be back

dusterjim · April 26, 2005, 12:48:29 PM

April 26,,,Tuesday

Back to the river this morning. Wanted to go to the lake but too foggy. Put in at 615 and ran 6 miles down the river to a section of lily pads and Kissimmee grass. Caught 12 fish, 2lb avg, from 0645 to 0930..No big fish or strikes this morning. This was a great day for fun fishing but would have driven you crazy if in a tourney. 5 fish would have only been about 10-12 lbs...

Would not get it done in a tournament.

Wind picked back up at 0930 and was 20-25 mph from the southeast...Two foot swells on the river...Not fun fishing..Tough to just stay in the boat...Wouldn't want to take a chance of falling overboard in the river with all those BIG gators cruising around...

Going to try and get into the lake tomorrow...

Tight lines to you,

DusterJim

Mike Cork · April 26, 2005, 05:52:01 PM

Wow if the river was that bad the lake must have been crazy

Still catching some really good fish though

dusterjim make sure you swing by the Tuesday Contest and get a few posts in

we have a lot of great prizes to give away and I would love to send one your way

http://ultimatebass.com/lbf/index.php/topic,3704.150.html

dusterjim · April 28, 2005, 08:28:00 PM

Thursday April 28,

Wife and I went to the river this afternoon around 330 pm..Kinda windy but put in and ran down the river to my hot spot. We started fishing around 345 pm and strikes were hard to come by. We stayed with it though and by 5 pm we would get a strike here and one there. I landed a nice 4 lb,er...Broke my worming rod bringing the fish to the boat..It just snapped! Same rod I caught that gator on the other day... Maybe I cracked it when I was messing with the gator..Anyway,,next thing I know a boat goes by us and causes a wake as usual. Next thing I know my wife is yelling that she has a BIG fish on..indeed she did.. She was fighting that big girl all around the boat. Finally got her close enough to net. She went about 8 1/2 lbs!!
Bigger than that fish I caught earlier in the week. Was my wife excited...She went on to catch 2 other keepers before we quit at 730...I ended up with 4 for the afternoon..Nice enjoyable afternoon with the wifey..I was really happy for her..She fishes so hard and sometimes gets shutout.. It's hard always fishing from the back of the boat..Great day though...Got her hooked for another month or so...

Supposed to be pretty warm, 87 degrees tomorrow with just a little wind.. Going to try the lake if that holds...

Keep you posted...and tight lines to you...

DusterJim

Mike Cork · April 28, 2005, 08:33:53 PM

That's awesome, you were just saying the other day that you would love to put her on a big fish

WTG

Tell her I said congratulations!!!

Good luck on the lake, you don't seem to do as well out there, but I imagine the wind is much more of an issue

Pferox · April 29, 2005, 04:02:08 AM

Hey Dusterjim,
Congratulations on the great day, and also congrats to your wife for the great catch!
Are you puttin in at the lock on 60?
If so are the gates still open and water runnin fast?
I am plannin on goin catfishin this weekend and was thinking about going over to the locks there on 60, but if the water is slowed down it isn't usually worth the trip.
Good luck today.

dusterjim · May 01, 2005, 09:35:37 AM

I put in on the South side of the locks.. They have closed the gates down significantly...Water moving at normal pace last 5-6 days...Fishing is still really good in the river...It slows down during the heat of the day.. Picks back up as the sun goes down...Fish the grass points and shady spots under overhangs...Everyone of them holds fish...Just got to be patient and slow down...

People complain to me all the time that there are NO fish in the river!!! Huh!! Wonder what those things are I been hooking??Water temp is all most 80 degrees...

Back to the ramp at the lock..I put in below the lock and then lock thru to go into the lake.. I don't like the ramp above the lock... Just a little to steep for my set-up..

Boat goes in easy but is more difficult to drive on...

Good luck and tight lines..

BTW..Caught 9 fish Friday morning...3 over 4 pounds...All by 930 am..

DusterJim

Pferox · May 01, 2005, 07:59:16 PM

Good deal, I have been shore fishin since the hurricanes still workin on my boat, I was north of the locks a few weeks ago during the drawdown, caught lots of stuff too big for what I had, but it was fun.
Sounds you are having great luck on the river, I have caught a few bass there myself, sometimes they will be right in the middle of the river even. And I agree that river is slam full of fish ya just have to know where to get em.