Pro Bass Fishing Game

[Skye Severy]

Adetailed guide to fishing for bass in the Harris Chain of Lakes and the surrounding area, including information about where to fish, maps, fishing tips, local tactics, seasonal information, local bass clubs and more. I am Captain Phil Kelley, a lifelong bass fisherman and retired tournament angler with over 60 years experience fishing Florida waters.This website unlocks the secrets of the Harris Chain with extensive information on how and where to catch our monster bass.

If you want to catch big Florida strain largemouth bass, you came to the right place. The Harris Chain is one of the most prolific big bass fisheries in Florida. I have been fishing Florida bass waters for over 50 years and the Harris Chain for nearly 40. The Harris Chain is one of the best places in Florida to catch a bass over 10 pounds. If you want to catch big bass, you need to fish lakes with big bass food. The Harris Chain Lakes are extremely nutrient rich and full of large shad, golden shiners and blue gills, all feeding a large population of huge Florida strain largemouth bass. Our bass are stocky "footballs" commonly exceeding 8 pounds with many fish over 10 pounds.

In the late sixties, bass tournaments were just getting started in Florida. I fished many early tournaments on Rodman Reservoir and the St. Johns River when the area was known as the "Bass Capital of the World". I always loved the North Central Florida area for it's natural beauty, huge lakes, great fishing and most of all it's giant bass. Having fished Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades in my youth, I was not prepared to fish the large Harris Chain lakes. With over 50,000 acres of water to fish and very little visible cover, where do I start? Fortunately, I make friends easily and over the years I was able to fish with some of the greatest local anglers on the Harris Chain. Much of the information in this website was learned while fishing with them. Unfortunately, many of these great anglers are now gone.

I received my Captain's license in 2001 and tried my hand at guiding for a time. I quickly learned what a tough job being a bass fishing guide is and that I didn't have the patience for the business. The problem was most people who hire a bass guide don't know anything about real bass fishing, they only know how easy it looks on TV. Bass fishing with artificial lures is challenging for even the most experienced anglers. I could have made a business by hanging wild shiners on a hook, but I refused to use live bait as it kills too many big fish. God made bass so that everyone could have the fun of catching them. It makes about as much sense for a fisherman to kill a bass for food as a golfer to cook and eat his golf balls for dinner.

I hope you enjoy this website as much as I did creating it. I gave up counting big bass a long time ago and want other anglers to have the thrill of catching these great fish. If passing on what I have learned helps you to accomplish this, send me a picture and I will be happy to post it on this website.

Lake County Florida Bass Fishing Harris Chain Florida Overview Fishing Big and Little Lake Harris Fishing Lake Eustis Fishing Lake DoraFishing Lake Griffin Fishing Lake Yale Fishing Lake ApopkaFishing Small Lakes Harris Chain Bass Fishing Tips

Harris Chain Bass Fishing Tactics Flipping for Harris Chain Bass Harris Chain Seasons Local Bass Clubs

Lake County Florida Boat Ramp List Bass Fishing Stories Mount Dora Florida Real Estate

Florida Lake Homes and Real Estate Harris Chain Bass Photo Gallery Contact Lake County Bass Fishing

Fishing the Harris Chain of Lakes Soft Plastic Lures for Harris Chain Bass Bass Fishing Myths Harris Chain Fishing Lessons

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Bass fishing as effectively as a professional angler starts with mastering the basics, finding the ideal bass boat (or another suitable freshwater fishing boat), and then incorporating the tips and tricks the pros use to catch more fish. Here are 10 bass fishing secrets from professional anglers who have proven their mettle on the tournament trails.

Bass eat different bait depending on the time of year. The general rule is early in the year they like crawfish, so use peach-colored patterns. In the summer and fall they like shad, so use chrome or silver baits.

Along with all of the information available about bass fishing, there is also a lot of misinformation out there. Learn to separate fact from fiction by reading this list of the Top Ten Bass Fishing Myths. And if you want to learn about bass fishing with kids, we have more tips from a professional bass angler for you in Fishing with Kids: Tips from Bass Pro Kevin Van Dam.

For the bass fishing experience of a lifetime, come fish for trophy bass with Lake Fork bass fishing guide James Caldemeyer. I guarantee that I'll do my best to give you the best bass fishing experience possible. It's my responsibility as your guide to show you what is needed to find those Lake Fork Lunkers.

Lake Fork, Texas is the place to fish for trophy bass. If you are interested in a corporate bass fishing adventure on Lake Fork, I'll arrange your trip, lodging accommodations, additional guides and give your guests a guided bass fishing trip to remember!

James, I can't thank you enough for the wonderful trip I had last Thursday! I learned more from you in 5 hrs than I've learned in almost 40 yrs of fishing. Up until catching that monster, I had caught less than 10 bass total and none over 2 lbs. Catching that monster (10.20 lbs) was the highlight of my life! I still have to pinch myself to be sure it was real, but then again, I'll have the mount from Lake Fork Taxidermy to prove it.

I'm committed as a bass fishing guide to giving you the ultimate experience you deserve! Whether you're a novice or an avid bass fisherman, I take my job as your Lake Fork guide seriously. Let's put you on the fish!

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JAMES' SPONSORSI would like to thank my friends and sponsors for all that they have done for me. Their generosity has helped me give you a quality bass fishing experience on Lake Fork, Texas!

Also bass fishing really picks up in the spring, so focusing your attention on spring bass fishing and early summer bass fishing will again increase your odds. A lot of records are broken in the early prespawn period when bass are feeding up before the spawn. They are feeding and getting more aggressive as the water warms.

Bass are most comfortable in 60-75 degree water, so the closest we are to that water temperature range, the more aggressive the fish will be. So lots of moving baits and big retrieves work well then. And the more aggressive they are, the faster you can fish.

There are probably lots of opportunities nearby for bass fishing as largemouth bass are one of the most prevalent species in the country. Ponds, streams, rivers, natural lakes, man-made reservoirs all offer good bass fishing. If the body of water has lots of color, forage and good water clarity, then you have a recipe for great bass fishing.

Seek out Cover. Bass relate to depth changes and cover. They use cover to conceal themselves as well as general feeding grounds, as cover often attracts forage like minnows, shad, crawfish and other small fish. So a lot of bass fishing revolves around cover like stumps, standing timber, laydowns, grass beds, lily pads, docks, rocks, structures like wing dams, rip rap walls, seawalls and more.

Current positions fish. If you are fishing a body of water, you can predict where bass will hide based on the current. On big river systems like the TVA, bass will relate to ends of ledges that face into the current in the post spawn and can gang up in big schools. In smaller current situations, anything that blocks or redirects the current can create eddies for bass to lie in wait for ambushing prey that washes by. So fishing current makes bass very predictable.

But around wood cover a spinnerbait is pretty snag less and if the water has good color or even muddy, a spinnerbait gives the bass a vibration to hone in on when visibility is diminished. In the spring a Colorado blade spinnerbait around shallow wood is a great way to catch big bass. Look for cover, water color and move fast from piece to piece.

Drop Shot Worms on deep clear fisheries. When fish get pressured or when they have been caught on a lot of power presentations and are skeptical, a drop shot can put a lot of fish in the boat. The key is to not move it all that much. Slow drag it until you get it up next to a boulder or stump and then work it around the cover. And then drag it along. You can also catch suspended fish by just dropping it down to them and trying to hold it perfectly still.

Fishing Texas Rigged Plastics in cover. If you want to catch a lot of bass, you should learn to Texas rig plastic worms. And then just fish them in everything. Grass, wood, docks, literally a plastic worm can work anywhere. Just cast the worm out and then with your rod, pick it up and let it fall. Take up your slack and then pick it up again and let it fall. In Winter they become a little less as effective, but jigs and craw trailers become more effective and catch the same fish.

Tie Good Knots. One of the biggest keys to bass fishing is being able to switch lures and tying good knots. Cut your lure off and try the next one but always tie a good knot and if you have caught a few fish or fished it through rough cover, check your line and re-tie another good knot. To learn all the good knots, read our best fishing knots guide.

Really a handful of lures will cover 99% of the things you will encounter in most bass fishing locales. So knowing a little about the best bass lures will take you a long way. Here is a quick rundown of the best baits and our lure guide will give you more in depth info on each lure.

Texas Rigged Plastics. Learn to Texas rig your plastics. It makes the worm or craw or other plastic snag less and that means you can literally throw it anywhere and fish it anywhere. So learn some of the staples like ribbon tail worms, craws, brush hogs, beavers, and more.

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