written by Evan Anderson

On this episode of Sweetwater, professional bass fishermen Joey Nania and Miles Burghoff finish up their stay in Florida by picking apart the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes and discussing the unique challenges around fishing for bass in Florida. “In other parts of the country there’s a really distinct winter to spring transition,” comments Nania after his day on the water, “The crazy thing about Florida is that during the winter, everything basically stays the same.” We’ll take a look at their findings and what they’ve concluded are the keys to fishing for bass in Florida.

CHANGING CONDITIONS

Because there isn’t much seasonal variation in southern Florida, the lakes there do not follow the same patterns that most other fisheries do. But the fishing conditions absolutely change, albeit less predictably than other areas.

“The one thing that’s unique about Florida fishing is that these grass lakes change constantly,” says Burghoff, “you need to know what locations have the grass set up the right way and the correct water quality. That’s where the fish will be. These fish really do roam around, they follow the bait and where the grass is growing right.”

It takes a lot of time and experimentation to really find those spots where the conditions line up, according to Burghoff and Nania. You have to pass up many spots that look good because there’s simply too much water to cover. “The majority of the time, if you just stop at every spot that looks good, you’ll never cover enough water,” says Burghoff, “The key is dissecting those grass flats and covering water to find those productive areas.”

FINDING PRODUCTIVE AREAS

The best thing to look for, according to Burghoff and Nania, is a spot with lots of thick grass that’s near a good spawning location. “You’ve got good spawning territory right there along the shoreline and then this good thick mat not too far away,” says Burghoff, describing a good spot he’s found, “so even if a cold front comes through they can take shelter pretty easily and still go back to that spot when they’re ready to spawn.”

Since most of these areas will be in pretty shallow water, you’ll want a good trolling motor to help you navigate around these thick grass mats. The Sweetwater guys use a Motorguide trolling motor on their bass boats and found great success with it. The Motorguide helped them navigate those narrow channels quietly so as not to disturb the fish.

VEGETATION TO LOOK FOR

So we know now that we want thick mats near a spawning location. But what should those thick mats be made of? “The hardest thing about Florida is that there’s so many different types of grass down here,” says Nania. You can come across plenty of sites that match this description, but they don’t have the right type of vegetation and won’t hold many fish. The key, according to Nania and Burghoff, is finding a mat with lots of hyacinth in it.

“Any time you find nice green hyacinth mats mixed in with reeds right next to a spawning area, you’re liable to catch some pigs,” says Burghoff. “It’s really the little details that make the difference,” adds Nania, “One of my favorite things to fish is the hyacinth mats.”

Nania adds a bonus tip here saying, “It’s super important to have a good pair of polarized sunglasses to help cut down on the glare and allow you to see the fish more easily.” Both Sweetwater hosts use Wiley X sunglasses and have found that they work wonders.

PUNCHING

Hyacinth mats are notoriously thick and will require some weight on your lure to penetrate down to where the bass are. This technique is called “punching” and is a favorite tactic of the two Sweetwater hosts.

“It’s really difficult to have a high landing and hooking percentage in that grass,” cautions Burghoff, “The trick with punching is that you don’t want to use too heavy of a weight. You’ll want just enough weight to get through that cover efficiently, but not too heavy that you’re going to lose some fish which does happen. The heavier you go, the more the fish’s mouth is going to open when you set the hook.”

Burghoff recommends using an ounce-and-a-half weight with a chatterbait such as a ZMAN JackHammer to get it down to the fish without losing too many of them.

To see these tips in action on this episode of Sweetwater, watch the full episode below. Follow@sweetwatertv,@joeyfishing, and@sonarfishing on Instagram for moreSweetwater content as well as@waypointfish,@waypointboating, and@waypointtv.