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Bassin' Is The Orlando Attraction
Thousands of lakes are available to anglers in the major metropolian area of Central Florida.
by Larry Larsen
Lakes are everywhere in the Greater Orlando area. Some say there are about 2,000 lakes, ponds and potholes. Any air flight reveals the
abundant water that pockmarks the town's real estate. The glimmering waterways of Orlando are also apparent from the ground traffic pattern which seems to circle a lake every few
blocks before continuing straight again.
Most of the waters in the bustling area, now known more for its man-made attractions than for its natural ones, offer
public fishing. Very little pressure exists, however, due to the proximity of several larger "name" lakes.
The outstanding bass angling within city limits is mostly overlooked by local sportsmen's clubs, as well as the general
fishing public. Beautiful lakes of 5 to 100 acres or more are often void of a single boat on a weekend. When I first moved to Orlando several
years ago, I could lake-hop from one to another and cover five or six small waters in a day. That opportunity still exists today and the fishing is just as good.
On a recent trip to the city, some 50 minutes from where I now reside, I
asked Doug Gilley to join me for some quick bass catching and photography. The professional angler suggested we try Lake Conway on the south side of Orlando.
Within ten minutes, we had proof that city anglers don't have to trailer a boat far to enjoy bass action.
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Most of the city's waters grow big largemouth and plenty of them. Orlando's lakes generally
have ideal pH and other water characteristics and are high in nutrients. That's reflected in the health of the bass and their forage. The abundant aquatic
vegetation on most lakes provides predators with numerous baitfish and crustacean. Most city lake perimeters still sport a "weed fringe." Fairly
rigid regulations see to that.
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The lake, like others on the small chain, yields numerous largemouth. We caught six or seven bass on plastic worms in just a half hour
and, through a culling process, selected the largest as our photography subjects. We left with plenty of time to take care
of our other business that day.pocket Orlando's landscape. It has a sandy bottom, fairly clear water and vegetation. Even
though it's almost completely surrounded by homes, the lake has substantial aquatic habitat. The shorelines are shallow and wadeable. Best of all, it also has large bass.
The Unknown Trophy Producers
The lunkers that swim in the area's waters take a back seat
to none. The occasional monster that is landed from one of the small lakes does make a "news splash" though. Few anglers in
the city even had ever heard of 40-acre Lake Rose in western Orlando until a 17-1/2 pound largemouth was pulled from it in 1985. The private lake in west Orange County gave Mike Paule
an experience he won't forget.
He was tossing a broken-back Rapala along a windblown weedline in eight feet of water when the monster hit. The lure
was cast to the sawgrass edge and the drifting No. 11 silver and black floater appeared to become tangled in grass. The 10-pound test Trilene line held as he worked the fish to the boat
without any problems.
The 28-inch long bass finally began her battle on a short line, but it was to no avail. The big female was put in the bottom of
the boat to await (and unfortunately dry out and die) weigh-in some nine hours later. It measured 25 inches in girth and was just 2-1/2 pounds short of the state largemouth record.
The angler thinks there are bigger ones in that lake and others nearby. The year prior, the lake produced a 13 pound, 5 ounce and a 12 pound bass in 30 minutes' time.
Likewise, Sunset Lake on the city's west side was relatively unknown until a mid-February bass catch which weighed 15 pounds, 2 ounces.
Neither fish was taken by anglers with sophisticated tackle or equipment. In fact, the latter was caught on a cane pole.
Another big fish lake is Lake Hart which, along with sister Lake Mary Jane, is located just east of highway 15 in southern Orange County.
Lake Hart has been a long-time favorite of mine ever since the day I caught a ten pounder (and three other bass over five pounds) from its bulrush beds on the
western shoreline. A week later, I came in second place in a relatively large bass tournament held on the two-lake chain.
Lake Hart is a beautiful 1,850 acre body of water that lies in the shadow of the
popular East Lake Tohopekaliga. The perimeter rushes hold bass year around, but those on the west and south sides offer a little more depth and bigger fish. The
canal by Moss Park and its stately oaks provide a shaded canopy to Lake Mary Jane. There, you'll usually find good numbers of largemouth in its abundant vegetation.
Mary Jane's 1,158 acres are surrounded by a beautiful pine forest. The
bountiful grass patches on its western and northern shorelines yield largemouth in the spring and fall. This is a great lake for tossing your favorite spinnerbait.
Fishing Pressure
Most of the fishing pressure on the city lakes are from occasional anglers.
Seldom do the avid bass chasers put their rigs in the smaller lakes. Small boats are often the ticket to a nice bass in the Orlando area, since many of the waters do not
have adequate launching facilities for the large bass rigs.
Lake Conway boat ramps can handle most trailerable craft, as can some of the
larger waters in the city. Lake Holden, Underhill, Ivanhoe, and Clear Lake are popular boating and fishing waters. I saw two bass over 13 pounds taken from the
latter lake in the late 1960s when I lived on its shore. Fish like those still swim there relatively unmolested.
Some of the other lakes in the Orlando area that are capable of yielding bass of giant proportions are: Gatlin, Jessamine, Catherine,
Turkey, Highland, Porter, Johns and Copeland. I once caught and released three bass over six pounds from the latter's pad fields. A rubber frog lure tricked them
and two smaller bass in less than 30 minutes from the lake that sits on the city's busiest street, Orange Avenue.
Those waters are not unique, however. Such action can be found in almost every one of the Orlando's waterways. In Winter
Park and Maitland, a chain of seven lakes offer some exciting bass action. Water skiers are the most common users of the Winter Park Chain of lakes, and both
canoers and pleasure boaters ply the shorelines, but the largemouth don't seem to mind.
Lake Virginia, the chain's southernmost body, is a busy 233-acres with a public
ramp on its shores. Numerous bass are caught along its eastern perimeter. A launch ramp on 451-acre Lake Maitland also provides access. There's plenty of
water and habitat to fish on the lake ... early on weekday mornings. Lake Mizell is one of the better largemouth waters on the chain, as is the 157-acre Lake Osceola.
I've had the pleasure to be on the pretty Butler Chain (also called Windemere Chain) over a dozen times in the past couple of years, and it is a
winner. Bass can be found on most of the 10 lakes in the chain that is partially surrounded by nice homes and always loaded with grass and cypress trees.
The chain, located southwest of Orlando, doesn't yield its bounty easily, however. The more avid angler can do very well on it during the week, but the inexperienced
fisherman may have some difficulty.
Lake Blanche is one of the chain's top largemouth producers. It and Tibet,
Chase, Sheen, Pocket, Louise, Isleworth and Little Fish Lakes are all tannin-stained from their cypress perimeters. I've normally found the stained waters on Sheen on
the southern end of the chain to be easier to catch bass in than the clear-water lakes like Butler and Down. The cypress knees, lily pads and grass edges on the
south shore and the irregular grass beds on the north side of the lake tend to hold bass. For Orlando flight and hotel availability, click here!
Editor's Note: There are numerous other waters around Central Florida that
produce big largemouth bass, as Larry Larsen found out while penning his book, "Guide to Central Florida Bass Waters." This is an excerpt from that book.
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