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Highlands Today

Bass Thriving But Crappie Feel The Heat In Istokpoga

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By Douglas  Carman | Highlands Today

Published: February 14, 2008

SEBRING — Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has rated Lake Istokpoga as one of the top 13 spots in Florida for catching black bass.

Istokpoga and the other 12 on the list were chosen by fish biologists, "based on local experience, creel surveys, (electro-fishing) data and the site's ability to handle fishing pressure with adequate ramps and fishing access," a press release from FWC states.

This was not news to Dave Douglass of S.O.S. Florida Lakes, who said the lake was "one of the best ones in the world for bass," in an interview before the bulletin came out.

It didn't surprise Henderson's Fish Camp manager Dennis Rutledge, either. He added that the hydrilla has helped the lake in that aspect.
"I'm sure it's probably one of the top lakes with everything going on," he said.

Fish Biologist Steve Gornak said the unusually warm winter has made bass fishing even better at the lake. Bass are more active feeders in warmer water during the winter while they are spawning.

But it comes with a trade-off, and Gornak said the crappie fishermen will feel it. Those fish, he explained, tend to congregate close together during extended cold snaps. In warmer weather, they're harder to find and harder to catch.

It was weighing hard on Edmund Waldron's luck as he complained that the specks were simply not biting in any of the lakes he has been fishing lately.

"From my memory it's the worst that we had in my life and I'm 86 years old," Waldron said. "The only thing I can tell you is that things are just so bad."

Bass fisherman Bob Stanley heard a lot of bad stories from his crappie fishermen friends, but he's been faring a lot better. Although some of the lakes can't be reached by his boat anymore because of the drought, he could catch at least 10 fish in a trip, and he fishes three to four times a week both near the coasts and in the local lakes.

"I don't think there's a time recently where we really had a bad day," Stanley said.

Rutledge disagreed with Waldron and Stanley's views on crappie fishing. He reported several crappie fishermen going through his camp carrying "bucket loads" of crappie.
"It's a good lake. You just have to hunt for the fish," Rutledge said.

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