Kayak Fishing: Lake Underhill (Orlando)

Happy Monday Spacefish!

After talking about Snook Fishing at Sebastian Inlet State Park for the last two weeks, let’s reverse flow a little bit and talk about the best Bass fishing lake and roast beef sandwiches in Orlando, Florida. The lake that we’re talking about today is Lake Underhill, which many have hailed as the king of Orlando’s fab 5 – and best of all for us over here on the Space Coast, the most easily accessible! This lake sits literally under 408 which connects Titusville, and Orlando, but even if you’re coming up from Melbourne, Merritt Island, Cocoa or anywhere south of Titusville, it is a quick and easy commute up 95 to 528 etc. For me, driving from Melbourne was a 45-50 minute drive, which is about the same length of time to go to Headwaters, Stick Marsh, or Fox Lake. So without further ado, let’s dive into Lake Underhill!

Where to Launch

I launched from Lake Underhill Park located at 4355 Lake Underhill Rd, Orlando, FL 32803. This is a nice little city owned park with a boat ramp, and restrooms. I got there around 5:30 am, when I got off the water, the place was slammed, so I would suggest getting there early if you want parking. There were a lot of joggers, walkers, and bird watchers that seemed to use the park as a homebase before getting on with their endeavors. Remember this is urban Orlando, not the Fox Lake or Stick Marsh boat ramps, parking space is limited in these environments and people will go to enjoy the amenities beyond just fishing.

Topwater Report

There is really not much for me to add here, I fished topwater for about an hour. I fished a Fish, or Die Ambush Frog and a Bitter’s Buzz’n Gator and got nothing. To be fair, I had a Juvenile Alligator following me, and making very aggressive attempts at my topwater baits during most of the hour I tried in vain. I couldn’t shake this guy, and so I feel like there may have been a better topwater bite if a 4 foot gator wasn’t after it spooking everything that might make a run at it away.

Dog Days of Summer – Best Baits

As far as Bass fishing goes, we have truly entered the dog days of Summer. They are scattered around the lakes, they are slowing down due to the severe heat, and they are more finicky than they were in the springtime. But that does not mean that Bass fishing is a waste of time, it just means a different approach may be needed. For me I have always tried to go with slow moving worm presentations on the bottom. Which is fine as long as there is a bottom. Lake Underhill is covered with hydrilla, and there are a lot of areas where you can fish, so getting down there on the floor is tricky. I did find a hydrilla ditch and catch a nice one, and a few dinks with the Fish, or Die Musket (trick worm) in Philadelphia (Junebug Red). This is a fantastic bait to rig on a Mission Fishin Swivel Head like I did to bottom hop along the bottom of this hydrilla ditch, but they also fish really well just rigged weightless and weedless, bumping it through the hydrilla.

I caught my biggest fish of the day (pictured at the top), and the most total fish on a Bitter’s Skip Shad (fluke) in Houdini. The water is very clear and clean, and I would cruise along away from the shoreline looking for bait fish being chased or harassed in the vast hydrilla fields, and these were the area’s I’d target with this bait. I would throw it out, and do nothing for about 15 seconds, then I’d give it very slow twitches, and very long pauses, and go with a very slow and subtle retrieve style. Personally, I hate fishing this way. This is not my preferred style. I’d much rather run and gun, grip and rip, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

I also caught fish on the Fish, or Die Ramrod (stick worm) in Philadelphia (Junebug Red) and the Bitter’s Salty Sling (their stick worm) in Xmas. I would throw these baits out there, let them sink, give them a light pop, let them sink, so on and so forth. For the stick worms, and the fluke style baits, I fished them on a 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG Worm Hook.

I think these 3 baits, the Trick Worm, the Soft Plastic JerkBait, and the Stick Worm are 3 great baits for the dog days of summer. They are slow, they are subtle, and they provide an easy meal opportunity for a Bass that is hot, and looking to exert as little effort and energy to eating as it possibly can.

As far as addressing where to fish, this is a pretty small lake, and with the hydrilla being all over the place, these fish could be anywhere. With the amount of heat we have been receiving in Central Florida over the last few weeks, I’d start looking for bassy looking structure and cover in deeper water rather than along the shorelines.

Where to Eat Lunch Afterwards

So maybe you know about this place, maybe you don’t – if you’re still reading the report at this point, I guess you are interested enough to hear more, so let me break it down for you. This place is like Arby’s, and I mean this in no disrespect to Arby’s, because well, I like Arby’s; but this place is like Arby’s on steroids, and not just any steroids, I’m talking Sammy Sosa & Mark MaGuire in the summer of 1998 steroids. Barry Bonds chasing records in 07 steroids. They have their own special sauce, their own homemade horsey sauce. They’re roast beef is actually roasted, and it is prepared in house. It’s a family business that has been in business since 1968, and they’re still doing things the same way. Also, in a world of economic inflation, they have pretty affordable prices, which is why their line is pushing out the door, and their drive through line spills out onto Bumby Ave.

Per their website this is how they describe themselves. “Beefy King has been serving an award winning product since 1968, all starting with Freeman and Margaret Smith who created the successful restaurant and sandwich shop. Best known for its uniquely steamed hot and fresh roast beef sandwiches, Beefy King has become a landmark in Orlando, Florida and three generations have operated the family-owned establishment. Beefy King has become a tradition within Orlando. Our menu includes a mouthwatering selection of roast beef, ham, turkey, pastrami, corned beef, BBQ beef and BBQ pork sandwiches all served hot, fresh and made to order. Serving up a variety and freshness at an affordable price, our competitors just can’t beat it.”

I couldn’t say it any better myself, and highly recommend you try it for yourself if you ever go fish Lake Underhill! Go with the classic roast beef, and tots combo. You won’t regret it.

Conclusion

I’ve reported on several Orlando Bass fisheries, and they all have been places I have really enjoyed fishing, and have caught fish in good numbers. This was, to this point, the best one yet. I caught a good number of fish, with some quality Bass being in the mix as well. And of course, any fishing trip that takes place around Beefy King is going to end well, whether you catch a good number, or good sized fish, or not. I hope you have an awesome week, stay cool, stay hydrated, and thanks for reading! Until next time!