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Anybody got anything to report on the bite at Orange Lake? I'm headed down there Wednesday (day after tomorrow) with my grandson. He wants to do some single pole jigging in weeds and pads. I'm more inclined to long line trolling. I plan to pick up a half pound of minnows at Hawthorne Bait and Tackle. Weather looks to be really nice...sunny, light winds.
Weather been rough. I spoke to another fisherman that is quite accomplished and that made me feel better about my poor results. He said they will be on the bed until next Wednesday. Something about a full Moon. I was unable to follow along properly.
Good luck.
Life got in the way so I'm gonna head to Orange Lake Thursday instead of tomorrow. Glad to hear they may be bedding. Never have had that opportunity with crappie.
I fished Orange two Friday's ago (the 12th) and kept 16 fish that were between 10 and 11.5 inches in length...nothing big. I probably threw back at least that many dinks. I had to work for them. They came from open water pockets near the shoreline, but not right up against it or in the weeds.
Thanks. I'm gonna head down in the morning. Got the boat loaded and ready. I'll post a report here when I get back.
Well, I was snake bit at Orange Lake today. I got on the water about 9:30 am and finally caught a keeper crappie about 3pm on grass shrimp. That was it. I tossed it back. I tried every way I could think of to no avail. When I was taking my rig out, I spoke with two older gents who had caught a 50 fish limit. They told me they were fishing near the "sink hole" near the south boat ramp. Their method: using just a minnow on a gold hook with a small bb shot and a small float. They told me they were dropping the minnow in the holes in the hydrilla. And for what it's worth, there is a lot of hydrilla around the lake. Also it looks like the dock between the two ramps at the Marjorie Rawlings launch is serviceable. It is no longer roped off.
kinda fries you to go all day with diddly then get a couple of guys who have boxes bulging with crappie? but sure they are on that lake all the time or ones around there all the time and know the lay of the lake. Now you have more information for next trip.
You are right in that there is a lot of hydrilla in the lake right now. That has caused me to change how I fish that lake compared to several years ago. I fish mainly casting jigs under floats.
It was frustrating trying to maneuver through the mats of hydrilla. They choked up my outboard and my trolling motor struggled. l finally gave that up and tried to stay in open water but the bite wasn't there.
When you have weeds of any kind making it tough to get around often a long pole is more practical in a shallower area. fighting vegetation off your TM all the time wears you out.
I went back to Orange Lake on March 9th and got skunked again. I fished from 10a-3p and caught two decent crappie, 12", in the shallow edge brush and that was it. Also at the ramp, a large water oak fell and is partially blocking the right boat ramp.
Don’t feel bad about the skunk smell. The hydrilla mats were everywhere and I searched and searched open water and never saw a fish show on sonar. I like the lake but really the hydrilla is too much hassle for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by SWAMP FOX