Rain, rain, and more rain has pretty much described the weather we’ve had. But luckily the rain has been good. With all the rain tons of water has been flowing into the lake causing water levels to go back up to their normal levels. Which is good for your lower unit because running some parts of the lake as low as it was can be sketchy! Now that the lake is full the Core of Engineers has opened the locks on both East Lake Toho and on the south end of West Good one pulled out of moving water Lake Toho to let water out. And as always where you have flowing water you have bass stacked up in-front of those places. Both of the locks and the creeks running into the lake have been very productive. You don’t even have to move in most cases. Just anchor up and start throwing. Rattletraps, worms, and topwater (when the fish are busting the surface) have all been productive. Shell beds have also been productive for catching good numbers of bass as water flows down the lake. The outside edges of certain hydrilla patches have been more consistent for bigger fish. Frogs, speedworms, and flipping have all been productive in those areas. If I were fishing a tournament right now I’d just focus on the hydrilla patches for the bigger fish. As always at this time of the year due to the heat it has been a strict morning bite. The fish are condensing all of their feeding into this time. You’ve got about the first 4 hours in the morning until the bite all but shuts down. And to be honest I don’t want to be fishing much longer than that anyway with the heat! The fishing has been fast early morning so it’s important to get out as early as you can! If you’re in Orlando and looking to go bass fishing we’ve been averaging around 15 per day on our charters. Some days over 20 with one around 7 pounds being common. The 2 1/2 hour and 4 hour trips would be the recommended trips. Bass wishes, Capt. AJ

The heat of the summer is here on Orlando’s Lake Toho and the usual summer patterns are in full affect. Which means you can have some awesome days as long as you’re targeting the right areas… With the water temperatures rising the fish’s metabolism is at it’s highest which means that all the bass in the lake are more keyed in on their food source more than any other time of year. Matching exactly what the fish are feeding on is extremely important and can make the difference between having a disappointing day and an unforgettable one. Most day’s we’ve been catching good numbers on our guide trips and fish over 7 pounds have not been uncommon. As always with these fishing reports I like to keep things simple and get straight to the point. First let go over what area’s to target then what baits to use. The heat brings changes in water clarity. Which means finding clearer water can be crucial. The heat will also make the bass move out to deeper cooler water. But ONLY if there is sufficient cover out there for them. Because Florida lakes tend to not have any bottom structure in them at all (For example creek channels or ledges) bass will only move off-shore if there is cover present for them like hydrilla, shell beds, or brush piles. To break it down for you the area’s you want to be targeting at this time of year are… 1. Moving water: any creeks flowing into the lake or open locks with moving water will always hold fish. The water is usually 4-5 degrees cooler than the rest of the lake and the flowing water brings food to the bait fish which in turn brings the bass. Using topwater, rattletraps, and small spinnerbaits have been most productive in these area’s as the forage that these fish are eating are shad. These fish tend to only bite for the first few hours of the morning however and it is important to understand that most of the fish in the entire lake are going to condense there feeding into the morning hours. 2. Hydrilla/ Eel grass: bass can be found in hydrilla year round and with so much hydrilla in the lake right now it can be tough to find good groups of fish in it. That’s because they are stacked up in the best of the best looking hydrilla so I’m going to help break it down for you so you can find the best of the best hydrilla and eel grass. First things first if the vegetation you’re fishing does not look healthy LEAVE right away. You have to be fishing healthy growing hydrilla/eel grass. Ideally you want to find hydrilla that is actively growing out. Meaning you’re sitting off the thick hydrilla and underneath your boat on your fish finder you can see there is hydrilla or eel grass growing on the bottom under you. If you can find an area like that combined with cleaner water… you have just found a goldmine and I guarantee their is a giant group of fish living there. Speed worms, swimjigs, jerkbaits, soft plastic swimbaits, spinnerbaits, and lightly weighted worms have all been productive. Again matching the hatch is key. Keep an eye out for any sign of the bait fish they’re feeding on. If it’s bluegill use a bluegill colored swimjig or swimbait, if it’s shiners or shad use a shad colored jerkbait, swimjig, spinnerbait, or swimbait. 3. Shell beds/ brush piles: I put these two together because they fish very similar. Just like hydrilla bass live on shell beds/brush piles in Lake Toho year round. The difference between shell beds/brush piles and hydrilla though is there is a lot less of them and they can be harder to find. If you can find a shell bed though I promise there’s fish on it. Using a lightly weighted worm, senko, shaky head, or neko rig can all be good ways of catching them. To sum it up as long as you’re fishing the right stuff you can have some great day’s of fishing right now on Orlando’s Lake Toho. Bass wishes, Capt. AJ

The bass fishing is much different now than is was last year at this time on Lake Toho. That’s because the way the lake is being managed is far different from last year. Because of the issues down on the big O (Okeechobee) the FWC halted all spray operations for the state in late October. They conducted public meetings with the intention of finding out how the public wanted the lakes to be managed. What they found out was that the people wanted the hydrilla to be mostly left in the lakes. Instead of spraying it with chemicals and constantly killing it off. These fish love the hydrilla which is an invasive species and whenever it is present they immediately hop in it. Which can make for some great fishing. Now the state still understands that the vegetation must still be managed otherwise it will take over an entire lake. So they are going to attempt other methods of controlling it such as harvesting. Now what does this have to do with Lake Toho? Because all of the hydrilla in the lake has been untouched the lake is full of it. Which has made for some great fishing. When given the option these Florida fish will always live offshore. Especially the big ones. And with all this offshore hydrilla present all the fish are stacked up in it. Catching over 20 bass a day with the biggest 5 weighing 20 pounds is a common day to day occurrence on our guide trips. Focusing on this offshore hydrilla has been the key. You want to find areas of hydrilla that is still growing. What I mean by this is if you’re fishing a hydrilla patch and underneath your boat on your graph there is clean bottom and no hydrilla growing out from the patch on the bottom you’re most likely fishing dead water. Now if you’re throwing at a patch of hydrilla and you see that the hydrilla is growing out on the bottom 40ft or more than you’re in a key area. Now of course there are exceptions to this rule and there will still be fish in the patches that have stopped growing. But I can guarantee you that the much bigger groups of fish and more consistently biting fish will be in that hydrilla that is still growing. Now whats the best bite been on? If you would’ve asked me that a month ago I’d of told you throw a jerkbait and nothing else. But now that the bass are completely done spawning and for the first time the mighty jerkbait is being out produced by probably the best all around Florida bait out there. Speedworms. These stupid things catch bass in Florida year round. On just a regular worm hook with a 3/16 ounce weight, reeled nice and steadily through the hydrilla you can hammer bass. And big bass too. Just a few day’s ago I was out on my day off and we caught 17 with the biggest 5 weighing 21 pounds. But we were eclipsed by my buddy who was fishing not too far from us on the same stretch. He caught two 9 pounders! 18 pounds of bass in just two fish! All on speedworms. The great thing about these lures is there versatility. Not only can you just steadily reel it through the hydrilla, you can also kill it and work it slowing like a worm, or even rig it weightless and reel it across the top. Although the steady reel has been the best producer. So as you can see Lake Toho is fishing extremely well and with the lake being managed much differently now, it’s exciting to see what the future holds for this amazing fishery. Bass wishes, Capt. AJ

More like big bass report. Because that is what is happening on Lake Toho right now. The big girls are filling up with eggs and are out eating as much as they can before they move up to spawn. And we’ve been catching them on our guide trips. In record numbers too! Well I don’t exactly know if it’s an official record or not because we haven’t really kept track in years past. But we have more pictures of big fish from this year than from years past. So… I’m calling it a record! The collage shows just some of the fish that we’ve caught this month on our Lake Toho bass guide trips. We have been catching these fish more consistently than in years past also. The major cold fronts haven’t been hurting the fishing as much as they usually do. Now why is this happening? Well I believe that it is because of something that I originally thought was going to hurt the fishing this year. And that is the large amounts of hydrilla that the FWC has left alive in the lake. You see usually the FWC begins spraying the lake in October and killing off portions of the hydrilla in areas that are over run and areas that the bass use to spawn. This year they started spraying in October and then stopped. Only killing a small amount of the hydrilla. And because there is so much hydrilla left in the lake, these bass are hiding in this thick stuff after cold fronts and are still feeding. Which is why we are still having good day’s after these fronts. Also the bass seem to be spawning just fine with all the hydrilla they are making holes in and around the hydrilla to spawn in. So as you can tell. The pattern has been a hydrilla one. Finding good healthy and green hydrilla is the key to finding these fish. Because we have fish in all three stages right now, pre-spawn, spawning, and post-spawn, these fish are in all levels of the lake. We’ve been able to find good groups of fish out deep, on the out side edges of the grass waiting to go up shallow, and up shallow spawning. Finding what group is biting best just depends on the day. But we’ve found that the deeper bite has been the most consistent. Once you find a group of fish a weighted worm, spinnerbait, swimjig, jerkbait, or speedworm all have been working good for catching them. Look at the area and try to determine which would be best to use. So all in all the lake is fishing fantastic right now and we’ve been having some amazing day’s out there catching a lot of big fish on our Lake Toho bass guide trips. It’s been a blast. So if you want to be a part of the action contact us here. Day’s book up fast at this time of year so it’s important to get your day locked down as soon as possible. Bass wishes, Capt. AJ from Freelancer Bass Guide Service

The winter time here in Florida is widely regarded as the best time to catch that monster bass that you’ve been looking for, and it without a doubt is. More bass over 10-pounds are caught on Orlando’s Lake Toho in the winter time than any other time of year. The picture above showcases just some of the trophy bass that we caught last January, February, and March. And I don’t doubt that we’ll beat that number this year. Last year we had some unstable weather with hurricane Irma hitting us in the fall. This year the weather has been a lot more stable (aside from a few normal cold fronts) and that should make for some truly magnificent bass fishing this winter on Florida’s Lake Toho. Why are the winter months the best time for catching trophy bass here in Florida? It’s because this is when these bass spawn. It starts in late December and ends in April. Big females filled with Ten pound Take Toho monster bass eggs begin to move up into spawning flats to drop their eggs and reproduce which is called spawning. These egg filled female bass weigh an average of 1-2 pounds more and are looking for a big meal before going up to spawn and then again after spawning. With these fish having other things on there mind at this time of year it makes them more susceptible to being caught. Trying the catch these fish while they’re spawning can be very difficult. The best way to catch these bass is in pre-spawn staging area’s where these Florida fish sit and feed before heading up shallower to spawn. You can catch good numbers out of these area’s along with having a good chance at catching a truly giant Lake Toho bass. If you’ve had a warming trend where things are warming back up, artificial lures can produce good fish. I’ll go more into what lures to use in another blog. But your best bet is always to use wild golden shiners for catching both the giant bass and numbers. Those things are like candy to them and they definitely let you get the most out of your day. The winter time is also our busiest time of year here on Lake Toho. Reservations should be made as far in advance as possible to be assured that we have one of our captains available for you on the date that you want to go on your trophy Lake Toho bass fishing trip. Bass wishes, Capt. AJ from Freelance Bass Guide Service

This November here on Orlando Florida’s Lake Toho it’s been all about the numbers, numbers, numbers. We’re averaging around 20 bass per day with some day’s up over 30 on our fishing guide trips! The action has been non-stop throughout the morning. We are on large groups of fish that are feeding heavily on bait fish. These are all healthy fish in the 2-3 pound range too! We are still getting plenty of fish up over 7 pounds along with these shear numbers of bass. We’re not only getting double ups, we’re getting some triple ups right now! Catching up to 3 fish at the same time. It’s been a lot of fun, and also a lot of work for me as a guide! Constantly un-hooking bass and re-baiting up hooks non-stop. It’s nothing to complain about though! The fall patterns are starting up on Florida’s Lake Toho and the bass are feeding heavily on spawning shad. Getting themselves all fattened up for the winter time spawn. Using baits that imitate shad are key at this time. Spinnerbaits, flukes, rattletraps, and white swimjigs have been working well. Alternatively if the fish are being tough (say after a cold front) weighless senkos worked in lily pads and hard grass and hydrilla edges have been working well. Just throw it out in the pads or grass edge and let it sink to the bottom. Lift up and if you don’t feel a fish reel up and do it again. It’s a pretty simple technique that the fish absolutely love! Live wild shiners, as always, have been producing the best numbers and biggest fish. The bass are grouping up in prime cover right now on Lake Toho. Areas where lily pads, hydrilla, and Kissimmee grass are all mixed together are key to finding good groups of fish. Also area’s with eel grass (which is the flat long grass that kind of looks like regular lawn grass) and hydrilla mixed together have been holding good groups of fish also. All in all the lake continues to fish well and big numbers of fish are being caught on our Lake Toho fishing guide trips. We are having some spectacular days. If you’re in Orlando and want to be a part of the action contact us here on FishingBooker! Bass wishes, Capt. AJ from Freelancer Bass Guide Service