|
Good Fishing is Good for Lake
County
January
16, 2004
This month, two events are taking
place 60 miles apart that will have a significant impact on the
future of bass fishing in Lake County. The first event is the
drawdown of Lake Tohopekaliga in Kissimmee and the second is the
return of the Citgo Bassmaster tour to Leesburg on January 26 thru
February 1, 2004.
Lake Tohopekaliga, Toho for
short, is arguably the best bass lake in Florida. It was on this
lake three years ago, that Dean Rojas set the all time largest
one-day 5 fish tournament catch record at 45 pounds 2 ounces. The
lake was scheduled for a draw down last year, but heavy spring rains
postponed the lowering of the lake until now. This opened the door
for Lake County to host its first major national bass tournament
since the Bassmasters tour left 10 years ago. The timing could not
have been better as ESPN had just purchased the Bassmaster
organization and millions of people watched on TV as the nations top
bass pros competed for $100,000 on the Harris Chain.
This year, the Bassmasters are
returning and Leesburg gets a chance to show off on national
television once again. Conditions are greatly improved over last
year with water levels up and water quality significantly better.
In addition, the tournament has been moved back a few weeks in the
hopes of warmer weather. There seems to be more bass in the lakes
this year and with a little luck the tournament will be a success
and anglers all over the nation will see what a great resource we
have here in Lake County.
A secondary benefit to the
tournament has been the realization by local business and government
leaders that good fishing is good for business. Years ago, Lake
County was the center of the universe for Florida bass fishing.
Dozens of fish camps lined the shores of our lakes and tourists
flocked to fish our waters. Then, in the late eighties
environmental factors supercharged by massive weed spraying caused
the bass fishery to collapse and the fishermen left along with their
dollars. Nine years ago, when I moved to Eustis, there were only a
handful of bass fisherman on the lakes and the only tournament was
the local Palm Gardens tournament each Sunday. The lakes were so
murky that a white spinnerbait disappeared in just 6 inches of
water.
Over the past 10 years the lakes
and the plant growth have started to recover, bringing back the bass
and the fishermen. The Harris Chain has the potential to be a
better fishery than Lake Toho. It just takes making good bass
fishing a top priority. Let’s hope that the Bassmaster Tournament
is a success and that a “taste of the old days” keeps the future of
our bass fishing in the spot light.
See you next week!
Captain Phil Kelley
|
