We have a couple of tournaments coming up in Florida — an Open on the Harris Chain this week and an Elite Series tournament on Okeechobee later in February — so I thought this would be a good time to talk about Florida.
I’ve spent my whole life fishing the big bass state. The bass aren’t as finicky as some anglers think but if you’re going to follow our tournaments as an informed fan, or if you want to catch some of them early in the year like it is right now, you need to keep a few things in mind.
The starting place is the weather.
Florida bass, unlike those that live in deeper, colder lakes, are weather sensitive. That’s especially true in January, February and March. Florida bass will move very quickly when the temperature changes or the wind changes.
The water temperature might be 60 or 61 on one day but then shoot up to the high 60s after only a few hours of warm weather. That’ll move them shallow, and I mean right now. Obviously, the opposite is true if the air temperature drops.
The wind is big, too. We all tend to think that the wind is our friend. That’s true in most places but it’s not true early in the year here in Florida. In fact, it’s just the opposite. The reason is that wind keeps the water from warming up. Warming water tends to trigger the bite. Cooling water does the reverse. Don’t be afraid of calm, still days when the water looks like a pane of glass.
Another thing to think about is that bass at this time of the year will tend to group up on the outside edges of the vegetation, and outside means towards the main body of water. Sometimes they’ll be right on the edge but at other times they’ll be way out, away from it in fairly open water.
I use a lipless crankbait to find these schools of early season bass. My strong preference is the Yo-Zuri Rattl’n Vibe. I start tight against the vegetation. If that doesn’t produce, I move out farther and farther from the edge.
There’s nothing special about my color choices. If the water’s clear I go with natural colors. If it’s dark, I go with darker colors or with something bright. If the water’s in between, my colors are in between.
The last thing I’m going to mention is how you relate to the sun. In my opinion you should always have your back to it. I know that conventional wisdom says that’ll put a shadow on the water but I don’t care.
I want to be able to see what’s happening under the surface and facing away from the sun is one way to do that. You never know what you might see if you look closely — big bass, forage, holes in the grass and just about anything else that’ll help you catch them. This’ll be a lot easier if you invest in a pair of Costa Del Mar sunglasses.
Keep these basics in mind. They’ll help you understand Florida bass fishing.