Do You Fish in South Florida (Lake Ida or Loxahatchee Refuge L-40 canal).

[splais]

So I'm getting desparate. Life long bass fisherman who moved from AZ to FL 3 years ago. Been ocean fishing this whole time until just recently when had to sell big boat. Figured to go back to my roots and do some bass fishing, so bought an 18' flats boat and went out to give it a try. I've been to Lake Ida 2 or 3 times and the same to the Loxahatchee Refuge L-40 canal. It has been a complete bust. Five or six trips and I've caught 1 bass, thats it! I must qualify this a bit. I am a catch and release fisherman and only use artificial bait.


So if you are someone who fishes in these areas please PM so I can give you my phone and we can talk about it.

[FishWhisperer.]

I went down to lake Ida 2 years ago. Very cool fishery. Caught some peas in the canals throwing brightly colored jerkbaits. Caught a few largemouth on topwater. While I was there it appeared to me that everyone fished the canal system. Only boats I saw in the lake we're catching bait.

[Lou22]

Went to Ida for the first time last weekend and did pretty good, all our catch were on artificial's. We were one fish shy of an exotic grand slam, and caught a few decent bass to boot. To the OP, PM me if you want to chat.

[billycal]

The loxahatchee Refuge water level is really high right know and that makes the fishing really tough. I launch out of the north end (20 mile bend boat ramp) and they are dumping water into the refuge so its dirty and high water just kills the bite.

I will say that you should try the flats on the south end of the refuge when the water is this high. If I go fishing there this Saturday that is where I would try.

[ScottOz]

The loxahatchee Refuge water level is really high right know and that makes the fishing really tough. I launch out of the north end (20 mile bend boat ramp) and they are dumping water into the refuge so its dirty and high water just kills the bite.

I will say that you should try the flats on the south end of the refuge when the water is this high. If I go fishing there this Saturday that is where I would try.

100%. When the water is low you can go with a wacky rig w/blk/blu senko and catch 50+ in 4 hours. Right now its tough.

[wrat]

I live 10 min from lox (20 mile bend) and the water is HIGH that makes the fishing out there lousy, and they are pumping water in which dirties it up and makes it even worse, the osbourne chain canals including
Ida, Osbourne and Clark all have quality fish of several kinds Peacocks, Bass, Knifefish , Cichlids with the typical things effecting the fishing feel free to PM me