Freshwater fishing near Tampa, FL

[USF BULLS]

Came across this board on the Internet and thought I would join. So far I have been real impressed! I was wondering if anybody had any tips for fishing around Tampa (freshwater). It's been quite a while since I've been able to do any fishing and am trying to get back into it. Thanks!

[Gangly]

There are a few very informed fisherman on this website that reside in Florida. For the rest of us members, it would be helpful to know what types of water you will be fishing (shallow, deep, clear, muddy, etc) and at what times you will usually be fishing to best answer your question. Please try to provide a little information about the bodies of water that you are looking to fish and I bet that a lot of the members here can most likely provide you with some very useful information! Glad to have you aboard!

[USF BULLS]

Sure thing.... For the next few months I will be in Brandon.... We are moving back to Sarasota at the end of summer. Bedard Park used to be a great spot, but the reservoir is currently dried up for repairs. The only other spot I know of is the Hillsborough River. We took a canoe trip a couple weeks ago and I saw bass, catfish, and all sorts of fish. There are a few shallow spots and a few deeper spots, but I would say it averages about 3 ft deep or so... There are also a few clear spots, but I'd say the majority is pretty murky. Like I said, I'm a bit of a novice right now so any tips/help is appreciated!

[Chuck7]

you will need to get a hold of Rebel Hog...He's from that area and has fished it alot. I'm from lakeland ..30 miles down the road. I only have one decent local lake to fish . { Where the water is crystal clear..decent bass action and clean plump pan fish.} I'm keeping this lake a secret .It has very little pressure and the lake is gorgeous. Bascially our lakes are getting alot of pressure and because of over spraying of hydrilla 2 lakes have seen magor fish kills. The mistake they made was spraying in the morning.The oxygen level is at it's lowest in the morning. Also, when plant life is destroyed it has a terrible chain reaction.One of our management areas { Tenoroc} used to be of the top 10 bass fishing places in the state of FL. It's only 2 miles off of I -4. I'll share this one secret. The best lake is Lake 5 ..When you go to the boat ramp it's wall to wall duck weed and hydrilla. 99% of the fisherment cuss and rurn around and leave. { - ; DON'T DO THAT!! dock your little jon boat and paddle about 100yds..after you take a right the lake is clear and you will have yourself a low pressure top water honey hole..From the dock the average fishermen doesn't have that knowledge.It looks like a huge jungle. The water is clear brackish water and the fishing is decent.

Most guys with nice rigs drive to the following serious lakes and are catching serious fish..they are
Lake Kissimmee
Lake Toho
Lake Iscopoka
lake Ocachoobee