FRESHWATER FISHING
HEADWATERS & STICK MARSH BASS FISHING
LATEST BASS FISHING REPORTS
Fire Bite @ Three Forks, Garcia & Stick Marsh
Three Forks, Garcia and the Stick Marsh are on fire right now for catching fish. The bass are schooling up on shad pods at the Stick Marsh and the big bluegill are spawning in and around the vast wood throughout the lake. When getting within any of these Shad frenzy throw a topwater plug in and around the feed. Once that it seems it is over, throw a lipless crankbait in the area for continued action.
Everything is eating on topwater in the early mornings so throw what you have confidence in for a whole lot of fun. String up your fly rod with a small popper and join in on the fun. For myself, I love throwing a fly pattern called a Stealth Bomber. This is a foam type fly which when stripped in with a short fast retrieve will dive under the water and then float back to the surface. It also has a very distinct BLURP sound when doing this.
The lake’s water temperatures this week warmed up to 85 degrees and will get hotter as our temperatures rise for the summer. Early on and early off the waters from here on out till fall arrives once again. Stay hydrated my friends.
Headwaters Lake launch ramp to be closed…
From June 10 through June 20, the launch ramp for power boats at Headwaters Lake in Fellsmere will be closed for concrete repairs, a St. Johns River Water Management District release announced Tuesday.
Read the full story from TCPalm here.
+10# @Headwaters
My customers big fish (10lb 8oz) this week came on a Zoom 8” Magnum Lizard in Watermelon Seed. Jack Gumbert caught her on 17lb Berkley Vanish 17lb Fluro (which I think was key), 3/16 weight and a 5/0 VMC Redline EWG hook.
Top baits this week for me were the Zman Jackhammers, Chug Bugs, Storm Largo Shad 3.5” and the Mike Bucca 5” Bull Gill Bone color.
I’m fishing the half ounce green pumpkin Jackhammer in areas with scattered hydrilla and in ditches. I use a 4.5” Hogfarmer Spunk Shad in green pumpkin magic. Fishing these on flats with scattered hydrilla. This week with the rising water temps a slower retrieve worked better.
I’m fishing my Chug Bugs (bone, chrome or Shad) and popping baits around Shad schools along canal edges and cut throughs that have loads of bait in them right now. I’ve also slowed my presentation down on these baits.
The Largo Shad is a new bait I’m trying out that is a fish catching machine. I’ve been rigging it with a Berkley 4/0 underspin. The 3.5” matches the hatch perfectly right now. The Pro Blue Red Pearl is my go to color but they have several to choose from. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite fish catching summertime baits.
The Mike Bucca Bullshad 5” Bull Gill in bone color is my go to swimbait. I’m fishing these along thick grass edges near deep sharp drops. Get on the Bullshad email mailing list so you can get the bait drop info. The only way to get the Trick Shad and Glides are go to a bait show that Bullshad attends or through the bait drops. Sign up at Bullshad.com
The live bait bite was great this week. The fish are moving into deeper water so the deeper canals and pits are my focus areas. As water temps continue to climb the bite will slow down as the fish go deeper. I caught them shallow this morning and then they moved deep by 10am as we landed 70 plus fish today with several over 6lbs all in deep water.
Tight lines!
Bluegill Spawn!
For me this week the better areas on all three lakes that I fish lately are where you find good concentrations of dragonflies working the waters. Both bass and the spawning bluegill are feasting on them. This pattern is best very early in the morning time till maybe mid morning. The topwater bite will last as long as the dragonflies are there. Dust off your favorite topwater lure or for the fly fishing fun tie on a small popper, boobie fly or Gurgler pattern and a 5wt rod to have a lot of fun fishing. Water temperatures are creeping into the 80’s by mid day but with the high temperatures that are predicted for this coming week, it won’t be long until we see 90 degree waters. Early on and early off the waters will be our norms for the summer.
Two Days on Garcia
I only fished Garcia for two days last week. The first day it was the day after that small front came through. With the front came some strong northerly winds and high pressure barometer so my expectations were low. My first area we fished didn’t give us the love as the prior week. It was difficult keeping the boat maneuvered through the topped out hydrilla while trying to fish but having Power Poles on the boat kept us in an area to make multiple casts before moving on. Only a couple of fish so we made a move to the north to find similar waters and we managed to do just that. There were many beds present in this area so we took our time but the bite was still very slow.
My next trip we started in the area we finished the day prior. Winds were light and the hydrilla gnats were out in full force. The bite was much better for sure. I lost two really big fish throwing a prop bait topwater lure in a bone color. When that bite slowed, I chose to throw a stick-bait soft plastic Texas rigged with a 1/8 oz. weight to keep it close to the bottom. This technique kept the bite going as well. The water temperatures are now in the mid seventies to start our days. This last full moon is now behind us but we have been still catching bass that look full of eggs so we may have a later spawn this year as years before. The water level at Garcia seems to be lower this week also. I know we need some much needed rain but I feel that Fellsmere Farms may be a contributing factor by moving waters to take care of their crops as well.
Remote Waters
Fortune favors the angler who is willing to do what others won’t, the one who forgoes ease and convenience to reach places others are unwilling to go. At least that’s what I hoped and what had my anticipation running high as I strapped my old nine-foot Hobie Sport to the kayak cart.
I have much nicer kayaks, an Old Town Predator PDL and a Hobie Pro Angler 12, but dragging these behemoths, well over one hundred pounds each, over one and a half miles through dirt and grass was too much for this old angler. To ease the burden of the long trek, I packed light with my bare bones Hobie Sport and a minimal selection of rods and tackle.
The journey to the launch was a long one, but fortunately there were diversions to break up the monotony of dragging a kayak on a cart. At various locations a creek bordered the trail, and the wider and deeper portions of the creek were loaded with panfish and bass. There were no trophies in the creek, but sight casting a small Nikko Okiami Shrimp to these abundant, cooperative, and aggressive fish was too much of a temptation to resist. Perhaps I dawdled too long. I tallied over two dozen fish, and I hadn’t even reached my destination yet.
My destination was no secret. The bank was cleared in several spots along one end of the lake to provide easy shore fishing. I imagine adventurous anglers hike or ride bikes to reach this bass fishing oasis, although not today. I had the whole lake to myself on this beautiful, sunny Saturday.
I could see why someone was willing to hack out clearings along the shore. Every opening offered bass and panfish that were willing to eat. My kayak sat high and dry as I caught another dozen fish. It would’ve been a good day if I had just fished from shore, but dropping in a kayak to access all that fertile water beyond the reach of the bank had me thinking good could turn into epic.
Fishing indeed got better once I got the kayak in the water. I started with a Nikko Zaza Leech on a 1/16th ounce Ned style jig head. This was a good combination, perhaps too good. It was one of those blessed days where fishing gets too easy and certain techniques become boring. After hits on almost every cast and numerous bass caught, I switched to a Nikko Shakey Worm rigged Texas style with a 1/16th ounce bullet weight. After a while it too was swapped out, not due to lack of success but from a desire to catch fish on something different. Next up was A Band of Anglers Loader Minnow and then a Q8 Super Baits Bullet. I think you get the idea. Many more bass came to hand, and I was now wishing I had brought more tackle so I could try something different.
It was an epic day indeed. I lost count of all the one and two pound bass, and I had a scuffed-up thumb to show for it. Bigger fish were caught. I hooked four bass in the five to six pound range. Three threw the hook and one was landed. I’d also occasionally take a break from the bass and toss the Okiami Shrimp on my ultralight where hand size bluegill would oblige.
I should point out not all my fishing trips are home runs. This latest spot was the fourth remote fishing hole I had found by searching on Google Maps. I struck out on the previous three. When you fish a hard-to-reach area, you hope the fishing success is at least somewhat proportional to the level of effort it takes to get there. The first three spots failed miserably on that accord. Those past failures made this latest success so much sweeter.
By now, some of you are asking where I was fishing. I’m not going to tell you. I’ll just say it is somewhere in central Florida, probably within an hour drive for most Spacefish Report readers. I recommend you follow the same steps I did. Scour the online maps, visit new places and embrace the grind. When you eventually find your own honey hole, bask in the glory of the moment knowing you earned every fish through diligence and hard work.
With adventurous trips like this, there is always the agonizing time when you must pack it in and start the long journey back to the truck. A descending sun and the impending emergence of swarms of mosquitoes help hasten that decision. At least I had fond memories of the day dancing through my mind to ease the drudgery of the long trek home.
Top Baits this Week
Top baits this week for me were the Zman Jackhammers, Chug Bugs, Whopper Ploppers and the Mike Bucca 5” Bull Gill Bone color.
Zman Jackhammers
I’m fishing the half ounce green pumpkin Jackhammer in areas with scattered hydrilla and in ditches. I use a 4.5” Hogfarmer Spunk Shad in green pumpkin magic. Fishing these on flats with scattered hydrilla.
***I’ve been trying the new Zman EVO chatterbait and had some success but I’ve had 5 of the blades separate from the bait and it just falls off while retrieving the bait. Needless to say, I’m sending the remaining ones I have that are still in the package back to TW and buying Jackhammers. I wrote Zman and I’ll let you folks know what they say.
Chug Bugs
I’m fishing my Chug Bugs (bone or Shad), Whopper Ploppers (bone or Shad colors) and popping baits around Shad schools along canal edges and cut throughs that have loads of bait in them right now.
Mike Bucca Bullshad
The Mike Bucca Bullshad 5” Bull Gill in bone color is my go to swimbait. I’m fishing these along thick grass edges near deep sharp drops. Get on the Bullshad email mailing list so you can get the bait drop info. The only way to get the Trick Shad and Glides are go to a bait show that Bullshad attends or through the bait drops. Sign up at Bullshad.com
The live bait bite was great this week. The fish are moving into deeper water so the deeper canals and pits are my focus areas.
Tight lines!
Fantastic Fishing on Headwaters & Garcia
Gotta love this weather for us anglers this past week. Fishing on Headwaters and Garcia was fantastic! The topwater bite for me still isn’t showing the love that I expected but talking to others they had a different story and said they threw it all day and caught fish. My one lure on Headwaters still is a small suspending jerk bait(Yo Zuri 3D Fingerling) throwing in the pot holes throughout the hydrilla flats. Still wind is your friend here.
Garcia fished like the Good Ole Days for me and my long time friend this past week. We did manage to get several on topwater but this bite died quickly. I tried my jerk bait but no luck. My last choice of lure was the key to success as after 3 casts and three fish my friend changed over as well. We never moved more than a hundred yards in an area all day long. This was simple worm fishing 101. Junebug and Red Shad were the colors that were the best colors.
Going back again this week but bringing my Ferris to try for a personal best if the fish are still there.
Saturday @ Headwaters
The S Canal was clear at 1pm today.
Top baits this week for me were the Zman Jackhammers, Chug Bugs and the Mike Bucca 5″ Bull Gill Bone color.
JT and I had a blast fishing together yesterday and filmed an episode of JT Kenney’s Florida Bass for next season. It will be a good one for sure. We caught a bunch of fish on Jackhammers and we landed a giant Florida Trophy catch fish too, which was awesome!
I’m fishing the half ounce green pumpkin or golden shiner Jackhammers in areas with scattered hydrilla and in ditches. I use a 4.5″ Hogfarmer Spunk Shad in green pumpkin magic or TN Shad. Fishing these on flats with scattered hydrilla or along ditches with hydrilla lines.
I’m fishing my Chug Bugs and popping baits around Shad schools along canal edges that have loads of bait or out on sparse hydrilla covered flats.
The Mike Bucca Bullshad 5” Bull Gill in bone color is my go to swimbait. I’m fishing these along thick grass edges near deep sharp drops. Get on the Bullshad email mailing list so you can get the bait drop info. The only way to get the Trick Shad and Glides are go to a bait show that Bullshad attends or through the bait drops. Sign up at Bullshad.com.
The live bait bite was great this week. The fish are moving into deeper water so the deeper canals and pits are my focus areas.
Tight lines!
No Shiners Needed @ Headwaters
Only one day at Headwaters this week. We fished a newer area than the last couple of weeks prior but the water had the same structure, submerged hydrilla with open holes surrounding the matted out areas. It was pleasantly windy 15-30 mph out of the southeast. I was able to throw a topwater lure for a short while but then the winds made it impossible to keep throwing it.
The next several hours it was worm fishing. My plastic of choice was a 10” Red Shad ribbon tail worm. It wasn’t long before I caught my best fish in a really long time. She weighed in at 8.4 pounds. My friend that I fish along with made a cast in the same area once we got our pictures and stuff and hooked another really big fish but this time she came out of the water for us to see the worm came flying out of her mouth. I would guess she was the same but maybe heavier than mine. All in all it was a great artificial lure day. NO shiners needed to catch fish here!
By the end of the week I heard the one side of the ramp was completely blocked by floating vegetation pushed in by the southerly winds. We have one more full moon for our spawn to take place and more than likely it will be over until next year. This week the winds will be much lighter and our days warmer too.
Lake Baldwin (Orlando)
Lake Baldwin
Happy Monday Spacefish!
Last week I had a chance to get over to Orlando and fish another lake in the urban jungle that I have never fished before – Lake Baldwin. This lake is located on the NE side of town, which makes it an easy commute from the Space Coast, roughly an hour from Melbourne, so if you are a north end of Brevard person this lake is roughly 40ish minutes away, which depending on the times of day, make it more conveniently located than other places for Bass fishing. I was excited to go check this lake out, as over the last year this is the 7th different Orlando location I have covered on Spacefish. One thing I like about the Orlando lakes is the fisheries are all a little bit different, and compared to the St. John’s River lakes, Headwaters/Stick Marsh, and Fox Lake, it is interesting to fish in an urban area.
Where to Launch
I launched my kayak from Lake Baldwin Park, located at 2000 S Lakemont Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. This is a really nice park, and also holds a single lane boat ramp, as well as nice restroom facilities and picnic tables. When I talk about launch spots, sometimes I ask myself why I provide commentary on the parks and places I launch from, for those that know me well on a personal level I sometimes talk just to talk, I do love to talk. However, on this trip the forecast looked sketchy and I always bring a backpack full of clean clothes and deoderant so if I ever get pouring rain, like I did on this trip, I can change into clean clothes afterwards. My hour drive home was much more pleasant from having the ability, and the facilities to get cleaned up and changed in afterwards.
Fishing Report
Lake Baldwin is almost a perfectly symmetrical circle, there are some deep holes throughout the lake. There is a lot of eel grass under the surface, and some lotus pads in patches along the shorelines, and there are reeds along the banks of the lake. I was able to catch a handful of fish in the lotus pads, but most of the fish caught were in hanging out in the eel grass and the magic number for water depth seemed to be around 4 or 5 feet. I didn’t have a crazy good day in terms of the total number of fish, but a big part of this was weather. I was on the water at daybreak, but the wind picked up early, and it drizzled off and on all morning, but the rain and wind really picked up later in the morning, I caught a nice fish in the 5-6 pound range but was having so much trouble with on the water navigation and poor visibility in the heavy rain I ended up getting out of it and letting it pass over, once the bigger rain band passed through the sun came back out and but the wind was still a little on the stiffer side, but I was able to get back out and catch 7 fish in the 2 hours after the rain, I caught 6 fish before I was driven off the water. All in all, I was there for roughly 6 hours, but in terms of actively casting and retrieving it was more like 3-4 hours of actual fishing. After the rain cleared up I had another chance to catch a quality fish, but ended up getting taken down into the eel grass and the fish came unbuttoned. Also, pictured below is an area that was my biggest hotspot of the day, it featured a depth contour where shallow 1-2 feet quickly dropped off to 4-5-6 feet within one cast’s distance, I was able to catch roughly half of my fish in this one spot, think the wind blowing water around this point of the reeds also contributed to the hot bite at this spot as well.
Nice Bass Came Off in the Eel Grass
Lake Baldwin Hotspot - Water Wrapping around a Point
What Worked – Topwater
The morning conditions were perfect for the topwater frog, overcast skies, intermittent rain, and choppy surface due to wind. I fished the Hendrix Voodoo Frog in OG Green, I used the popping version so that I could make the bait chug and splash and cause more surface disturbance than usual. I also threw around a topwater, walk the dog style plug and caught 2 very small dinks, but I was not able to effectively work this bait in the choppier water, or in areas where the lotus pads were thick, or in areas where the eel grass was topped out to the surface. I ended up catch 3 total fish on the Hendrix Voodoo Frog.
Lake Baldwin Largemouth - Hendrix Voodoo Frog
Lake Baldwin Bucket Mouth - Hendrix Voodoo Frog
What Worked – Swimbait
The Fish, or Die Minutemen in Bugle has been a good swimbait profile, and color for me for the last few months. The color is like a Green Pumpkin with Purple Flake, but due to the windy conditions, combined with rain and largely overcast skies, I added a little twist with a gold underspin to add a little extra flash and vibration to get more fish keyed in on the bait. I was able to catch 4 fish on the combination with 2 solid chunks coming on this presentation. The key was finding areas where thick, topped out eel grass gave way to a ledge or drop off, the fish seemed to be keyed in on ambushing smaller baitfish on the drop offs from 2ish feet of water to 5ish feet of water, so I was casting up into the shallows and retrieving this bait into deeper water.
Fish, or Die Minutemen with a Gold Underspin
What Worked – Speedworm
Of course this would not be a proper Bass fishing report if I didn’t talk about speedworms, I made some tweaks and adjustments here as well…just kidding I threw the ole faithful – Zoom Junebug Red, on a 3/16 oz Texas Rigged Tungsten, pegged at the hook. I caught 4 fish, all on the smaller side, all around the lotus pads. So nothing to brag about, but this is Florida, the speedworm is always tied on, and the speedworm almost always produces something.
Speedworm in the Lotus Pads
Ok, so first off, it was a fantastic morning for topwater. In the first hour or so of daylight I caught 4 different species of fish, and one human finger, and ended up catching 9 total fish, in the world of artificials, that’s about as good as it gets as far as action goes. So as far as the “good”, this is my good. None of the fish were of trophy size, but man, it is fun when the fish are hitting topwater and you can go out and have a numbers day on top. The picture at the beginning of this section was my last topwatwer fish of the morning, a fun sized Sea Trout, and here below is my first Snook, and the one that also led to the bad and ugly.
Conclusion
It was kind of a wacky day for me with the weather, but it was a good day of fishing nonetheless. I caught a nice quality 5-6 pounder on the frog, and a dozen other fish to keep the numbers up and make it a fun outing. My only regret was catching my biggest Bass of 2024 in the driving rain, and instead of taking my phone out, relied on my GoPro for images, and they came out kind of crappy, but hey that’s life (and fishing) and the cold hard truth is, without the heavy rain, that fish probably sees in the the calm clean (clear) water that Lake Baldwin is known for, that this is an artificial and would stay away from it due to being in that lake for years and probably having a hundred topwater frogs thrown at it before. So the rain giveth, but it also taketh away.
Thank you for taking the time to read my kayak report this week – I’d like to thank Kayaks by Bo for being our paddle partner on our weekly adventures. If you are wanting to go test drive a new potential kayak, make sure you check out Kayaks By Bo in Titusville, the only place you can try before you buy!
I hope everyone has a fantastic week! Stay safe, be happy, and catch lots of fish! Until next time…
Headwaters Bass Report
The S Canal was clear at 2pm today. Top baits this week for me were the Zman Jackhammers, Bass Assassin RSB worms, River2Sea Whopper Ploppers and the Mike Bucca 7” Trick Shad Bone color.
When fishing the Bass Assassin RSB worms I’m fishing them on 22lb fluro or a Fluro leader with a 6/0 EWG hook with an 1/8th oz weight. The best colors for me were the Gooseberry or Green Pumpkin. The wind blown points around bullrush or cuts have produced well.
I’m fishing the half ounce green pumpkin or golden shiner Jackhammers in areas with scattered hydrilla and in ditches. I use a 4.5” Hogfarmer Spunk Shad in green pumpkin magic or TN Shad. Fishing these on flats with scattered hydrilla or along ditches with hydrilla lines. I’m fishing the Whopper Ploppers 110 size in these same areas in bone or Shad colors.
The Mike Bucca Bullshad 7” Trick Shad in bone color is my go to swimbait. I’m fishing these along thick grass edges near deep sharp drops. Get on the Bullshad email mailing list so you can get the bait drop info. The only way to get the Trick Shad and Glides are go to a bait show that Bullshad attends or through the bait drops. Sign up at Bullshad.com
The live bait bite was great this week. Three dozen shiners only lasted about an hour.
Tight lines!
