Orange Lake

[fishfarm]

So how has the bass fishing recovered on Orange Lake. I haven’t fished it yet since the waters come up. Is this a lake I have to worry about hitting something where can I pretty much run any part of the lake without wearing about stumps or big rocks

[BOATS]

FWC just approved a 15.13 from Orange in the trophy catch program.

[Hez]

That is what I don't like about the Trophy Catch...I know others feel the same way. Now that poor lake will get hammered with people trying to catch huge bass.

Oh man, you better hope Manatee Mauler doesn't see this thread.

[Spanky06]

Here we go, set condition 5...….

Spanky

[joby1]

Orange has been getting beat to death over the last few months.

[Ring King]

Orange was always beat to death before the sink hole swallowed it up. Not surprising that it is done that way now if the water is back. I was down there fishing a stretch of pads on the North end back in 2012 and I was about the 5th boat in line. Terry Scroggins was coming down the line behind my son and I and boated a 10lber while filming a TV show. He was the 6th boat in line just from where I could see. No telling how many boats had fished the area that morning!

It's funny to hear people voice their dislike of "pressure" on their home lakes. It's understandable but it's not like all the fish are going to get caught because of an increase in the number of boats. The same guys that always catch them will still catch them regardless and most of the "new" pressure will be guys flustered that can't figure them out. If fishing pressure killed lakes then places like Okeechobee, the Saint Johns River, Kissimmie, Toho, etc wouldn't still be cranking out big bags year after year!

[250bassFL]

https://www.wired2fish.com/news/trop...-2019/#slide_1

Got some big ones!

[soulfisher]

https://www.wired2fish.com/news/trop...-2019/#slide_1

Got some big ones!

Thanks for the link, I remember reading the lake was ranked #1 in 2010 for 10lb bass, but by the time I got back from overseas, it was going dry. Its sad to see these lakes drain and nearly die but obviously it is overall beneficial and like a reset for them. Lake Jackson in Tallahassee would go through this same cycle and have huge fish being caught just four and five years after refill. My kids are fishing one in a neighborhood that has had water in it for six years after a 15 years of being nearly dry except for a small sink and they are really whacking them.

The quote below from the article must be a typo. I have never heard of a bass growing 3.25lbs in eight months. Even if the typo was supposed to be November 2018 that is still an incredible growth rate.
"The second-largest bass collected by FWC biologists on Orange Lake was collected in March 2017 and weighed 9.75 pounds. That bass was tagged, released and later recaptured by FWC biologists in November 2017, weighing 13 pounds."

[fishfarm]

So back to my original question. Is it a safe lake to run. Do I need to worry about any stumps or boulders or any area just to stay out of

[Whiteboat]

So back to my original question. Is it a safe lake to run. Do I need to worry about any stumps or boulders or any area just to stay out of

It is safe - just a lot of vegetation

[Gamblerman65]

I've never been there but how did the lake escape the wrath of the FWC and manage to keep the vegetation?

[BassCatBrad]

I've never been there but how did the lake escape the wrath of the FWC and manage to keep the vegetation?

Don't worry.. the FWC was busy last summer spraying the lake a couple times. Unfortunately I had the pleasure to fish it 1 time about a week after they sprayed it last summer. It was a mud pit.

[fishfarm]

BassCatBrad What do you mean by mud pit??? Not much water or just chocolate water from the spraying

[BassCatBrad]

It was a little low, I was fishing 1.5 - 2.5 feet last summer. But after they sprayed the water turned to chocolate milk.

[Chopper]

I was there last Saturday and the lake is a little muddy probably from the high winds a few weeks back. To answers the OP's original question, no you don't need to worry about stumps in Orange. You can run anywhere you want without worrying about anything. If you go through cross creek to lochloosa, you might drag bottom a time or two but you can trim up and get through there pretty easy.

[LewStulePH.D.]

So back to my original question. Is it a safe? Is it safe?

[DAC244]

Hey is that freaky ^^^^

[BOATS]

So back to my original question. Is it a safe lake to run. Do I need to worry about any stumps or boulders or any area just to stay out of

So half of your original question was ,Has the bass fishing recovered...yes as was stated. The other half about running the lake ...It is safe.

[Frogchunker]

And..it gets sprayed on a regular basis

[LewStulePH.D.]

Hey is that freaky ^^^^

Now it is burned into Your memory.. When You hear the term "Is it safe?" You will always think of that clip... (see: PsyOps)