How to fish Lake Toho during the winter
Februari 12, 2020 Kissimmee 2 photos
Bass (Largemouth)
Forelbaars

Trip Summary

It’s my favorite time of year for bass fishing here on Lake Toho in Orlando Florida. The weathers nice but more importantly the bass are biting and they’re biting allllll day. That’s right, it doesn’t really seem to matter what time you go out you’re gonna catch them. I’ve been averaging 20 to 40 fish a day on my guide trips! Some days more than that. Even after cold fronts. It’s unbelievable. I’ve been slacking on writing fishing reports simply because I’ve been fishing everyday trying to experience every last minute of this! But I’m going to make up for it with this one. I’m going to give you the complete run down on what’s going on with the bass fishing here in Orlando’s Lake Toho. To begin with the fish are in all stages right now. There’s pre-spawn fish, spawning fish, and post-spawn fish. So the bass are kinda spread out but also grouped up if you understand what I’m saying. You may have to bounce around a little bit but once you get on a group of them you’re on them and you can just sit and milk the area. As always it doesn’t seem to matter what time of year it is the best concentration of big fish (and I’m talking real big fish 8 pounds and up) are off-shore on hydrilla. That’s just always where the big girls like to be and feel safest. These off-shore hydrilla area’s tend to be best during the morning and slow up after about 9:30am. So its best to start out there then begin to move in as the day moves on and things heat up which is when the shallow spawing areas tend to work best. Same type of hydrilla that I always talk about. Good, clean, growing hydrilla that tapers down underneath the water. Now on the outside edges of the Kissimmee grass and back inside the grass you have the pre-spawn/spawning areas. This is where the most consistent bite has been. Lots of males and some fatty females can be caught here. But you can’t just go up inside any grass line and catch them. Lake Toho is absolutely full of maidencane, kissimmee grass, lily pads and reeds. It ALL looks good and it looks like you can just go down any grass edge and catch them. But if you do that you’ll quickly find out that that’s not the case. What you have to look for is the best OF the best. What I mean by that is you have to find areas of mixed types of vegetation with cleaner water. Area’s with lily pads mixed with kissimmee grass and reeds maybe with a little bit of submerged vegetation on the bottom with good water clarity. This is the best OF the best and that’s where a majority of the fish will be grouped up. Additionally any area with a good group of lotus pads (those are the one’s that are flat and float on the surface) is a good sign of a spawning area because they will ONLY grow on hard sand bottom and there always seems to be groups of fish around them at this time of year. Once you find one of these area’s you have to slow way down and completely pick apart these area’s. The fish are there you just have to slow down and figure out exactly what they want and how they want it. I watch people fish around me everyday without seeing them catch much simply because they are moving too fast. Okay so now on to what everyone wants to know… what they have been biting. Well anyone who’s been following me knows that hydrilla and jerkbaits are a deadly combination and it still holds true. For the offshore hydrilla spots both a regular 1-3ft diving jerkbait for the thicker hydrilla and a deep diving jerkbait for the deeper stuff has been the best bite. A swimjig has been the next best bite and can produce some quality fish and a speedworm is another good choice. Also on day’s where there isn’t much wind a topwater walk the dog bait has been producing fish also. Now for up around and inside the Kissimmee grass a Big easy swimbait with a lightly weighted hook reeled slowly over the top of the grass and lily pads has been the best bite and has been producing some good quality fish. Additionally a weightless fluke pitched in holes and along the edge of the grass has been the best numbers producer. Just pitch it around like you would a weightless senko and let it sink to the bottom. For some reason it’s been getting bit better than a wacky rig! But a wacky rig is another good option. Finally a lightly weighted senko flipping into thicker reeds and lily pads around these area’s has also been productive and a lot of fun! Flipping is my favorite way to fish. Due to the way the state has been managing the lake it has been fishing fantastic and you don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to fish it right now. No matter what the weathers been they’ve been biting so get out there and get you some! And if you can’t get out there yourself we here at AJ’s Bass Guides would be glad to give you the experience of a lifetime here on Orlando’s Lake Toho. Bass wishes, Capt. AJ
Arthur Jackson
Kissimmee, Florida, United States
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Want to get away from Orlando's busy streets and experience its most treasured natural resource? You're in the right place, Lake Toho is the #1 big bass lake in the state and our hand picked team fishes it full time. This beautiful lake is locat...

Other reports from this charter

Lake Toho Winter Fishing Report
Lake Toho Winter Fishing Report
December 16, 2025
We finally made it, the best time of the whole year to bass fish Lake Toho is finally here. And boy is it setting up to be a good one. With some good management by the FWC and some key spraying of some of the topped out grass on the lake, Lake Toho is setting up better than it has in years for trophy bass. This is the peak season to fish Toho mainly because of the spawn. During the months of January through March the bass on the lake begin filling up with eggs to spawn. Making the big one’s even bigger. Additionally, with the bass having “other things” on their mind, the trophy sized bass are more apt to making mistakes and are caught more frequently at this time than any other time of year here. As previously said, Lake Toho is fishing better than it has in years. Currently we’re averaging between 20-30 bass on our 4 hour charters with 6+lbers becoming very common. The spraying of the hydrilla on the lake has opened up some key areas that weren’t previously fishable. More spots to fish makes for much more consistency in the day to day fishing. The best bite, if you’re looking to get the most out of your day, is on large golden wild shiners. Live bait is by far producing both the best numbers of bass along with the biggest size day to day. If you’re looking for an artificial bite. Jerkbaits, flukes, chatterbaits, and speedworms have all been working extremely well lately in the offshore grass on the lake right now. You’re definitely not going to go home empty handed whether you choose live bait or artificials. This is the best time of the year to bass fish Lake Toho and with that being said, it’s also the busiest time of year for us. So if you did want to see what fishing Toho is all about, I would recommend reserving your day as far in advance as you can to ensure availability. Bass wishes, Capt. AJ
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Fall Lake Toho Fishing Report
Fall Lake Toho Fishing Report
September 26, 2025
Fall is here, and what comes with it? Good bass fishing on Lake Toho. As temps continue to come down, the bass are feeding more and more. Fall typically brings both good numbers of bass along with more consistent trophy size bass. They will begin to feed heavily and even start schooling on shad beginning sometime mid October and it will last through mid December. This is the BEST and most consistent time of year to catch them off of topwater on Lake Toho. With the bass schooling together in large groups and chasing bait, we tend to catch very good numbers. Depending on the days weather, 20 to even 40+ fish days are not uncommon. And if you’re using shiners, once you run out, you can usually just keep the catching going by throwing some artificials in the same area. For artificials, we’re typically focusing on offshore grass holes and shell beds where the bass on Lake Toho school up. Once you’re in one of these areas with a large group of fish, it’s usually pretty easy to catch them. A number of different lures will work, topwater spooks, whopper ploppers, jerkbaits, flukes, rattletraps, spinnerbaits, and even trick worms on the bottom will all catch fish. It just depends on what mood the fish are in. If they’re busting on top, use topwater, if they’re not wanting to surface as much, a jerkbait, fluke, or worm may do the trick. And as I mentioned earlier, trophy sized bass begin to be caught more consistently. This is because the main reason for all this feeding is to prepare for the upcoming winter time spawn. And as the fall progresses the female bass will begin to fill up with eggs until they’re at their biggest weight of the whole year. Fall is an excellent time of year to bass fish Lake Toho and it is also the beginning of our peak season for guiding. So if you’re looking to book a guide trip, it is best to reserve your day as early as possible. Bass wishes, Capt. AJ
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Summer Lake Toho fishing report
Summer Lake Toho fishing report
Juni 9, 2025
The bass fishing on Lake Toho this summer has been some of the best and most consistent we've ever seen, and it's due to some unique circumstances. We've been getting more rain than usual along with the lake having more hydrilla in it than ever before, and both have actually made for some excellent bass fishing. The water, which typically has a algae bloom at this time of year, is the cleanest I have ever seen during the summer, and the bass are loving it. Mainly because of the extra rain we've been getting, there has been a lot of water flow between the lakes keeping the water fresh and clean. We are averaging an incredible 30+ bass a day right now on just our 4 hour trips. With 40+ fish days happening multiple times a week. The bass are schooling up like crazy in the large open areas out in the offshore hydrilla, and in the areas of running water throughout the lake. Once you find one of these schools, it's just one after another. The bulk of the fish we are catching right now on our charters are coming off of shiners. With the live bait you can get in these schools and start catching. But for artificials, the bite has been largely on flukes, speedworms, and chatterbaits in the hydrilla. And jerkbaits, and rattletraps in the areas of running water, with some topwater action early. You want to look for large mats of hydrilla and peppergrass, throwing speedworms and chatterbaits around the thicker hydrilla, and flukes and jerkbaits around the thinner areas of hydrilla and peppergrass. For the areas of running water, focus on the entrances and exits where the water flows in and out of the lake. Keep an eye out for schooling fish busting on bait as the fish in these areas can move quickly and the quickest way to locate them is when they show themselves. This summer has been the best that I have seen in years for bass fishing on Lake Toho. So if you're in the area on vacation or live around here, come spend a morning on Toho, and I promise you won't be disappointed. -Captain AJ
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