Summer Fishing Spot: Florida Largemouths, lake Walk-In-Water
Bob McNally 07.26.16
The Indians named it Lake Weohyakapka. But for ease of pronunciation, locals call it “Lake Walk-In-Water.” Fishermen in the know, however, call the spot one of the best bass fisheries the Sunshine State has ever seen. Even the state fisheries department recognizes the lake south of Orlando and Lake Kissimmee as one of the most remarkable big bass fisheries Florida has had in recent years.
Veteran bass guide Johnny Doub wished fervently that his late father and well-known guide, Dave Doub, was still alive to witness the bass fishing available on 7,500-acre Lake Weohyakapka.
“Dad wouldn’t believe the kind of bass action can have,” Johnny says shaking his head. “Kissimmee is great during draw downs, and so was the Stick Marsh. And all those years dad and I guided bass fishermen on Rodman Reservoir, Lake George, and the Ocala National Forest were fantastic. But I’m telling you, Weohyakapka is the best big bass lake I’ve ever seen.
“The numbers of 8 to 12 pound largemouths Weohyakapka produces is absolutely incredible. I’ve had days of slow-trolling wild shiners when a guide party and I have caught over five such huge bass, including three fish each over 10 pounds.”
Such talk about big bass on a public lake smack in the heart of Florida and near major tourist centers may sound like hyperbole, until it comes from someone like Doub, a guide with over 20 years of big fish experience. Doub says best fishing is spring and fall, but he catches huge bass for clients right through the summer months. Key to the lake’s big bass productivity is hydrilla, big beds of it in deep water, 6 to 9 feet down. It’s full of bait and big bass. And when hydrilla beds are big, green, and healthy (with no spraying from state or local agencies) bass fishing is spectacular at dawn during summer.
Special regulations are in effect for bass harvest from Walk In Water, but most sportsman release big bass anyway, after a photo or two of the fish to prove the catch.
