Toho or Kissimee in early December?

Headed to Orlando sometime in early December and staying within 20 minutes of each. Recommendations on which? Patterns for that time of year? Is the spawn going on that early? Guide recommendations? Thanks in advance TFF!

Yes, there can be some spawners in December, but typically not very many. I never liked fishing spawners that much as they are not "all about food" like the pre-spawners are. You want them hungry, thinking food constantly, so that when your crawdad drops in front of them they eat it without hesitation.

I love both lakes, but have always considered Toho more of a trophy lake and Kissimmee as a numbers lake. I've never had a 100 fish day on Toho, for instance, but have on Kissimmee.

If you're fishing with a guide, most any in the area fish both lakes. They'll know what's going on at each and typically steer clients to where they will be happy customers. They'll push you to fish wild shiners. They are not cheap, but it can be a very fun thing to do for a change.

I don't see how you can be 20 minutes from either lake if you are talking about driving from where you sleep to either lake. This is because of the remote access distance between the two (West of Yeehaw Junction on Hwy. 60 vs. up the turnpike from Yeehaw Junction).

I lived in S. Florida for 20 years, and fished from the Everglades to Orlando, btw.)

We're staying 5 minutes from Roland Martin's place on Kissimmee. Okeechobee may be an option also. Don't want to live bait fish. Anyone ever fished with Tom Mann Jr?

Kissimmee would be my choice. It will have far less pressure than Okeechobee due to Okeechobee's proximity to SE Florida's large population. The north end of Lake Okeechobee is overrun with it's huge snowbird population by December, and many are there to fish every single day, though a lot of them do crappie fish.

He knows the lake intimately, water is stained in Okeechobee but the flippin bite and swimbait bite will be awesome in that time frame. Okeechobee has been fishing better than Toho this month. The big girls will be out on both spots

Lake Kissimee is a haul from Toho by boat or car,

This.. Here are some of the fish that bubaque has been catch this fall. Get in contact with him fivebites; you want be sorry.

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/12489064/#Post12489064

Thanks guys. Been to Orlando several times but never got to fish the area. Stoked!

I live 5 mins from Grenada boat ramp on Toho. I would fish Cypress or Hatch myself (will be there all weekend). Really depends on how you want to fish. If you want to get a little crazy and punch hyacinth then head to kenansville. The ENTIRE lake is hydrilla, pads, and hyacinth grass. its a nightmare to troll through but any pitch could be a 10+. Okeechobee will be fun in december. they have started moving back up but the lake is full of water. you can pitch and flip for days and never scratch the surface lol. The lake in the post above is pretty fun. Stick Marsh, Garcia, & Kenansville are not heavily fished but the lakes are loaded with big fish. Toho is 30 mins from Orlando. its 30-40 mins to lock through and get to Kissimmee. Stick marsh, Garcia, Kenansville, & okeechobee are all 1.5-2 hours from orlando.Bring the big rods and good luck! hope you slay em. shoot me a PM and ill help however i can.

Cool Atta! We're staying at the Star Island Resort which looks to be about 5 miles from the Big Toho Marina. We are two blocks from Lake Cecile. (Any fish in there? That's right by my hotel room for morning sneak away while the wife's still asleep!) There is a Toho and an east Toho as well. So we are much closer to Toho than Kissimmee. But that's no biggie. I'll drive if one is much better than the other. Talked to Mike (Thank you Donald Harper!) about maybe taking an air boat to a small lake. My info for now is that Toho has better quality, Kissimmee better quantity. He also said the Stick Marsh had much better quality fish. I have talked to a couple of guides down there, and from what I hear Okeechobie is not quite there yet. I'll let ya know how it goes. Can't wait. Never fished that part of the country. All these big Florida bass stories!

Toho is a hard lake to figure out. I’ve fished it prolly 20 times and I might have caught 5 bass. Nothing over 5. Cypress which is the next lake I have fished 3 times and have caught a ton of fish. My wife caught a 8.5 pounder our first trip there (I locked through toho after not getting a bite in 5 hours) within 5 mins. Stick Marsh is fun to fish but it’s “easy” since it’s a fish management area. The guides are right about Okeechobee. They are scattered right now. I have a classic there next weekend. If i find em I’ll pass the info along. Are you bringing a boat? If so you can put in at Big toho marina and fish toho, cypress, hatch, and Kissimmee without taking the boat out of the water. I would suggest that you do it that way. Trailing takes a while since these lakes are out of the city. If you do have a boat you should try and sneak to Garcia or Kenansville. They are tricky to run but man they are great to fish and don’t get fished like the chain does. Watch out for running over gators down here. They don’t bother you but you may get close to em Grab a dozen shiners for back up and hold on. I don’t use em but my wife and nephew always have some and they catch GIANTS!!!!

2, 1.5, & 1oz flipppin set ups 6/0 hooks
Mag ultra vibe speedworm or Gambler Big EZ with a 1/8oz weight w/ 3/0 ewg worm hook
Popping frog

That’s all you need. Make sure they are all loaded with 65 pound braid lol. You’ll have fun. It’s a sight to see. Driving the grass and reed trails are so fun lol. Shoot me a PM when you get here and I’ll let you know what’s going on.

PS. If you can put your fingers in the water then there’s gators and bass in it. What I was told when I moved here. Holds true so far.

Oh and downtown Kissimmee is pretty cool. Neat little town. Check out Ship Wreck restaurant next to Big toho marina. Oh and East Toho is a big bowl. Not to fun to fish lol