In the fall, bass go on a feeding binge, eating as many baitfish as possible. Some of the best bass fishing in the nation takes place on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. Each year, the lakes produce numerous fish in the 10- to 14-pound range.
The massive chain spreads across nearly 100,000 acres of wetlands at the headwaters of the Everglades south of Orlando. The Kissimmee River connects all the lakes.
The word “kissimmee” comes from the Calusa word for “long water.”
Lake Tohopekaliga anchors the northern section of the chain closest to Orlando. Locally known as Lake Toho, or West Toho, the lake covers 18,810 acres.
Nearby, East Tohopekaliga—also called East Lake—covers about 13,550 acres. East Lake can provide outstanding fishing, but boaters must launch directly into it from St. Cloud. A water control structure blocks boat access from East Toho to West Toho.
Lake Toho borders the town of Kissimmee and receives the most pressure to produce bass, but it can churn out monster largemouth. Most of the lake runs less than 12 feet deep, but anglers can find some holes that drop to about 25 feet deep.
West Toho connects to Cypress Lake through a locked canal. The Toho water level stays about 3 feet higher than in the canal. Lined with rocks and offering deeper water than most of the lakes, the Toho-Cypress canal holds big bass.
Cypress Lake covers 5,500 acres and connects to the 14,500-acre Lake Hatchineha through the Kissimmee River. The river then flows southward into the 34,948-acre Lake Kissimmee. A lock at the southern part of Lake Kissimmee marks the end of the chain. The river eventually flows into Lake Okeechobee, another lake legendary for producing giant bass.
Vegetation dominates the cover throughout the Kissimmee Chain. Huge expanses of floating grass mats clog many coves. Along the shorelines, Kissimmee grass, also called maidencane, and bulrushes growing in shallow water create excellent habitat and good places to catch big bass.
For fishing such thick vegetation, many anglers drop weedless jigs into the Kissimmee grass or run soft-plastic frogs over the top of floating vegetation. Rigged with no weight and the hook point inserted into the plastic body, frogs can go through or over virtually any entangling cover. Big bass explode through the vegetation to blast frogs, sometimes engulfing grass as well.
“For fishing a frog, I reel it across the lily pads or grass,” says Shaw Grigsby, a professional bass angler from Gainesville. “It’s a tremendous way to fish Florida lakes throughout the year. It’s a very simple bait to use, but it’s a bait that can produce some big fish. Bass come out from under the lily pads or grass beds to eat it.”
For the biggest bass, try live shiners. Wild river shiners make excellent bait. Suspend 6- to 10-inch live shiners under floats or free line them near grassy edges. Any cast in this sprawling wilderness system could produce the bass of a lifetime.