Osborne Chain-of-Lakes

This is the time of year anglers in south Florida can expect largemouth bass to move to shallow areas as the spawning peak arrives, January/February/March. Fish the outside edges of vegetation with top water baits in the early mornings and crank baits or plastic worms later in the day. Anglers should target patches of eel grass and changes in bottom structure for best results. Areas along piers or sea walls will also tend to hold fish. Other spots to try for largemouth are the deep holes located in the northern and middle sections of the lake during cooler days. While water temperatures are cool, fishing during day break and just before sunset typically will be the most productive times for sunshine bass. Live shiners free-lined in deep holes are often excellent producers, as are fresh shrimp fished in areas such as the 6th Avenue pass that can funnel migrating fish. Black crappie (speck) fishing will be best around the fish attractors using live minnows or jigs. Nice-size channel catfish can be caught using chicken liver or live worms. On warmer days bluegill can be caught using grass shrimp, crickets, small jigs or beetle spins. While cooler weather persists fishing for catchable sized non-native fishes such as Peacock bass and Mayan cichlid will be limited and not provide much action.