Best Florida Lakes To Target Winter Trophy Bass

If you wish to catch that once-in-a-lifetime trophy bass this winter, you need to visit one of Florida’s renowned bass fisheries. Throughout Florida’s mild winters, heavyweight largemouth bass lurk in the shallows and become easier to catch.“We just really don’t have a winter,” says Florida pro Shaw Grigsby. “When everybody else is having freezing weather the bass here start spawning in late October at Okeechobee and the spawn in this state can go all the way into May. We just have some really good lakes with giant fish that come shallow in the wintertime and that is what makes the fishing so good.”Here’s a look at Grigsby’s favorite destinations for catching huge Florida bass in the winter.

1. Lake Okeechobee:

“It is an incredible lake with lots and lots of vegetation,” Grigsby says. “You can catch fish in the heavy cover or on the edge of the cover and you can catch them in the open holes or on topwater.” He notes the fishing is amazing in December and remains good throughout January and February. His favorite lures for Okeechobee bass are the Strike King Sexy Dawg topwater bait, Ocho stick worm, 1/4-ounce Hack Attack Heavy Cover Swim Jig and Rage Bug.

2. Lake Istokpoga:

“It is a big round lake with lots of vegetation and is very similar to Okeechobee,” says Grigsby. Early winter is also the prime time to catch big bass here on topwater lures, swim baits and flipping soft plastics.

3. Kissimmee Chain:

The four main lakes of Kissimmee, Hatchineha, Cypress and Tohopekaliga (or Toho for short) are connected by a series of canals. “I usually lump those into one,” Grigsby says. “one interesting thing is every year there will be one lake that is the hottest--some years it is Kissimmee, some years it is Toho and occasionally it is Cypress. So you kind of want to fish around each of them.” Grigsby caught his biggest bass ever (13 pounds, 6 ounces) at Toho and has weighed in 25- to 35-pound limits in Bassmaster tournaments there. The Florida pro suggests flipping the weed mats or lily pads with Strike King Rodents or Rage Bugs and running a Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crankbait or Rage Blade along the hydrilla edges to catch trophy fish.

4. St. Johns River:

“It has a number of springs feeding it with 72- or 73-degree water so it stays warm all the time,” says Grigsby. He suggests the flats of Lake George produce incredible fishing in January and the river itself turns on in February and March. The best lures for trophy bass here are topwater baits, Ochos, swim jigs and the Rage Blade.

5. Harris Chain:

“It has a little bit of everything--deep holes with ledges and drops, huge canals, shoreline vegetation and good hydrilla beds,” Grigsby says. Dead-end canals are early winter hotspots where big bass congregate to spawn. The top lures for Harris Chain bass include spinnerbaits, Strike King 1.5 Rattling Square Bill crankbaits, Red Eye Shads, Ochos and Rage Blades.