Lake Trafford

The crappie bite has been pretty good early this year, though the warm weather has slowed the fishing down a bit. Crappie are best targeted in shallow vegetation right now and will move into deeper areas of the lake the closer it gets to summer. Lake Trafford is one of the few lakes in Florida that anglers still find some success targeting crappie during the warmer months. Anglers may still find success trolling jigs or drifting with live minnows over the deeper open-water areas right now too. Some anglers have also had success this winter with crappie at the spatterdock fish attractor on the eastern side of the lake, which is marked by a large orange and white buoy. Bass fishing is slowing down but look to target bass around shallow vegetation until the warmer summer months. Bass are best targeted with dark colored Texas rigged soft plastics or with large jigs. The Bluegill bite is starting to pick up near the shallow sandy areas and around some of the offshore bulrush and cattails with the warmer weather. The gravel bed fish attractor installed by the fishing pier is also a great spot to target Bluegill. Both crickets and red wigglers have been excellent baits for most anglers and some anglers are reporting good catch rates on jigs as well.

Anglers can contact the Lake Trafford Marina (239-657-2401) for additional information on current lake conditions.