Lake Gentry Kayak Fishing

I hope everyone is doing well, and finds themselves in good health and happiness as we move forward through May and into the summer! Over the next few weeks/months I plan on continuing my quest to find Bass fishing spots that are NOT on the A list. I want to keep finding the places that do not get the notoriety, or fame (or fishing pressure) as the Headwaters and the Lake Toho’s. This past weekend I jumped onto the southernmost lake on what is called the “Alligator” chain of lakes. This chain stretches from South to North, across 192 before you get into St. Cloud. To get to my launch spot I actually took a left in Harmony, and got to drive through Orange groves and cattle farms on my way to Lake Gentry. I am a huge fan of Patrick Smith’s novel A Land Remembered and any time I have a chance to drive through, or fish in the heart of Florida Cracker Cowboy country, I am going to do it! If you have never read the book, I highly recommend it! The author passed away a few years ago, but he lived on Merritt Island – this book should be required reading for anyone living in, or moving to the state of Florida. It will totally change the way a person looks at the state of Florida, and it will only make one grow in deep appreciation of the blessing and responsibility we all have in calling this place home.

I launched from Lake Gentry Boat Ramp/Smith’s Landing located at 4540 Lake Gentry Rd, St Cloud, FL 34772. Leaving my house in Melbourne at 6:00 am, it took me 35 minutes to get there. Once you are on 192, it’s a pretty easy drive and is roughly 30 miles west of Melbourne. This is a great place to launch, there is a two lane public ramp, but there is also ample shoreline space to launch a kayak, canoe or small jon boat. There are no public restrooms or any public facilities here, it is just a boat ramp at the end of a road.

So, being that this was the first time I have ever fished there, I was only able to cover but a fraction of the lake. See the image below for a map of the path I took.

So, being that this was the first time I have ever fished there, I was only able to cover but a fraction of the lake. See the image below for a map of the path I took.

I started by fishing a Gold Devil’s Horse in the lily pads close to the ramp/launch spot. I was able to catch a few small Bass over the first hour of fishing with the Devil’s Horse, which was disappointing. I went with this bait over the Tiny Torpedo to cull out small fish and try and call in the bigger ones! Now on the way south along the eastern shoreline I fished primarily in the outside grasses. I let the wind push me down the edges of the grass, serving like a natural trolling motor.If I would catch a fish, or get a bite, or see something that caught my attention, I would hunker down in an area and start to pick it apart. I fished primarily with 2 baits. I started by fishing 15-20 yards outside of the grass, throwing a Gambler EZ Swimmer in Forty-Niner (Gold Shiner) color. I would roll this bait long the grass, letting it drop and dive into holes, I would steadily retrieve it back to me from the grass edge. This bait was productive picking up a few fish in the 1-2 pound range as well as catching another that was nearly 3 pounds. As the sun got up higher in the sky, I worked in closer to the grass, I concentrated my efforts into my favorite flipping and pitching rig, which is a Texas rig, featuring a heavy flipping hook a ⅝ oz tungsten weight, pegged with 2 bobber stoppers. I fished a new bait this week, and one that I am really high on called the Musket from a company called Fish,or Die – I will talk more about this later on in the report.

After cutting across the lake, I fished Inside and outside of the emergent grass, I also zig zagged in and out and fished different types of cover and structure including Cypress trees, Cypress knees, lily pads, reeds and grass. What I was finding was Bass in the 2-3 pound range were in the off shore grasses, and smaller Bass (dinks) were in the shallows around the Cypress trees and lily pads.

Let me start by describing a new bait company I have become a huge fan and patron of. The Fish, or Die Bait Company. Which I will add a link to below. But this small business is in their words “a company favored by the hard working blue-collar American, Fish or Die Bait Company offers an array of fishing products, to include our very own line of Soft Plastics. Were a veteran and current LEO owned small business inspired by the hundreds of “Mom n’ Pop” Bait Shops throughout our great United States, and strive for nothing other than to help those succeed on the water! Inspired by the Colonial Militia’s “All or Nothing” mentality, Fish or Die Bait Company was formed. Providing high quality products that equip the everyday angler with an affordable option for attacking any body of water, our line of Plastic Bait and apparel will give you the confidence needed to succeed when lines get tight.” https://fishordiebaitcompany.com/

The Fish, or Die “Musket” in Philadelphia caught my biggest fish of the day, and it also caught the second most fish right behind the Gambler EZ Swimmer in Forty Niner. I have already described how I had this bait rigged, but I will add that the Philadelphia color is a Junebug Red Flake type color pattern which is absolutely money here in Florida. So let me give the rundown on the Musket. Imagine a Senko had a baby with a Trick Worm, and this hybrid had a baby with another hybrid that was mixed between a Fluke and a Creature/Craw. This is what the Musket is. It makes for a great flipping & pitching bait into grass and wood because it doesn’t have much to get hung up on, but it also has the small appendages on the back, and the diamond tail, which by the way, can be split to make this bait a “fluke stick” type bait. I also fished a Musket in their Huzzah! Color pattern which is very similar to an Okeechobee Craw type bait pattern on a Shaky head, and I fished their 3 inch bug, the Sherman, on a ned rig. I didn’t catch any on the shaky head, but did grab a few off of the ned rigged bug, but they were all dinks. Next week I will be taking some more Join, or Die baits out for a spin inshore and seeing how they fair targeting Snook, Tarpon and Trout.

Outside of Fish, or Die, I fished Gambler EZ Swimmers in Forty-Niner (Gold) and their Burner Worm (6 inch Speedworm) in a cool color called “Gold Rush” which was part Green Pumpkin, part Junebug, and part Forty-Niner, it’s a great Florida color on a bright sunny day, when fishing stained tannic water. Now what did NOT work for me, Bluegill pattern Z-Man Chatterbait with a Gambler Komodo Trailer. I thought we may be at that point where the fish were really keyed in on smaller Bluegill due to the early summer Bluegill spawn, but this bait never got a bite. I also will throw the gold Devil’s Horse on this list, while I did catch fish on it early, I caught dinks on a 6 inch bait. It is not that the bait just didn’t work, it just didn’t work the way I wanted it too.

The Alligator chain…I had a hard time even finding the slightest information about these lakes online and on Youtube. Which personally is exciting for me. I thought the lake was awesome. It was natural, largely undeveloped, and I only saw 2 boats the whole day. I think some of these off the beaten path, unmentioned lakes have a lot to offer an angler, it is always nice to get out and fish in an unpressured area and feel like you have an entire lake to yourself. Depending on where you live on the Space Coast or anywhere else in Central Florida, this chain of lakes is easily accessible off of 192, and I definitely would recommend checking out Lake Gentry.

I hope you have a great week, tight lines everyone.

Until next time!