LAKE WEOHYAKAPKA
Moving north, water levels are again a concern. But unlike the situation on the Big O, additional water won’t change the current productive patterns on Weohyakapka, better known as Lake Walk-In-Water.

“Our fish normally start spawning here in February, and spawn up through early April,” said veteran guide Dick Loupe. “In years past, the normal pattern was for the fish to move up into shoreline maidencane, bulrushes and cattails to bed, and then drop back to the nearest offshore hydrilla patch between the spawns.

“That won’t be the case this year.” The major reason is that there is no hydrilla left. The hurricanes of 2003 and ‘04 uprooted much of it. That, in itself, wouldn’t be too bad -- Mother Nature would replace it. But in this case, she wasn’t allowed to.

“Once the hurricanes knocked out the hydrilla,” explained Loupe, who lives on the lake and operates Southern Outdoorsman Guide Service, “the state came in and sprayed aggressively to keep it from coming back. They were very successful, because you can’t find any -- anywhere.”

Considering that Walk-In-Water was well known for lush offshore hydrilla beds that held a lot of bass, that might seem to be a negative. It’s not. The bass haven’t left, they just shifted habitat. It’s still not uncommon to catch 20 to 40 of them a day. You just have to do it differently than when the lake had hydrilla.

“The only offshore cover in the lake now,” Loupe continued, “are pencil reed patches in 3 to 4 feet of water. Those are key areas for bass that are not actively spawning. Those bass that are spawning will be looking for shoreline maidencane, bulrushes, and cattails in depths of 1 to 3 feet. It’s not a lot of cover, but the bass are still there, and this just makes it easier to find them.”

Lower and clearer water also dictates that tackle be downsized. Gone are the 40-pound casting rigs, big shiners and large floats that were effective in hydrilla. The current “hot shiner” rig is a 7-foot spinning rod spooled with 12-pound monofilament line. A 3/0 hook with a 1/8- to 1/4-ounce bullet weight sinker slipped onto the line above it completes the rig. Shiners in the 4- to 5-inch range are lip-hooked and tossed out to lie on the bottom around the outside edge of pencil reed beds.

Loupe noted that even though the shiner isn’t doing a lot of swimming, the bass will find it.

Those who are fishing artificial lures are also advised to downsize their line. Texas-rigged worms in the 7-inch range in hues of June-bug or red shad are deadly. But when working the outside edges of cover, many anglers find a Carolina rig with a 1-foot leader and a 1/4-ounce weight is a better bet. It covers the water more quickly, and the short leader lets the worm achieve a deadly swimming motion.

Topwater plugs in a gold or shad pattern can be effective during the early-morning hours. But don’t overlook floating/diver minnow lures like the Rapala, Bomber Long A, or similar plugs. Whether twitched on top or worked a foot below the surface, they often out-produce noisier baits.

In maidencane areas, especially early in the morning or late in the afternoon, a 1/4- to 3/8-ounce spinnerbait can be deadly when slow-rolled through vegetation patches thin enough to allow the lure to pass.

When the bass are bedding along the shoreline vegetation edges, sight-fishing with lighter lines and compact crawfish-type soft-plastics is a sure way to tangle with some heavyweight largemouths.

“It’s a different lake than it was in years past,” Loupe argued, “but it’s still one of the top lakes in the area.”

CROOKED LAKE
Water woes complicate things on many central and south Florida lakes, but Crooked Lake that lies just west of Frostproof isn’t one of them.

“This is an unusual lake for this area,” offered long-time guide Reno Alley, “in that it has a lot of deep water and it is pretty clear. There are holes that go down 30 feet, and a lot of water in the 15- to 20-foot range. That’s a great refuge for bigger bass, and January is one of the easiest months to find them.”