Lake Griffin is an area that gets less pressure on the Harris Chain because many of the tournaments go out of Lake Eustis or Harris meaning you’ll lose a lot of fishing time going through the idle zone on Haines Creek and going through the locks. That being said, it is worth it to lock through especially at times during the spawn. The marsh areas and canals can be the best in the chain during the spawn. There’s also clearer water in parts here.
Click on line or bubble to get more info on the fishing hole.
Heavy Kissimmee Grass Line. Pitch/flip soft plastics in junebug, watermelon red, or redshad into thick kissimmee grass clumps near major point. Use 1/4- 3/8 oz weight. Best in springtime.
Kissimmee grass line-Heavy and scattered grass on NW corner of Little Lake Harris on point just past bridge. Use various soft plastics 1/4-3/8 oz to pitch into grass. Spawners here in spring. Just off this line is deep water and shadraps work well in the summer.
Canal in Little Lake Harris-Canal on east side, directly across from #2 location. Mouth has good Kissimmee grass for pitching/casting 1/4 oz worm or craw in junebug or watermelon/pepper worm. Canal is major spawn area in spring.
Kissimmee grass Patches-This is a great area for post spawn fish. It is NW of the Dead River and has a distinct end to the grass line just before some docks/houses. Deeper 13′ water just 50 feet out from line. Pitch worms and work outside with #7 or #9 shadrap.
Large Pad Field-Large pad field on south Little Lake Harris. Good any time of the year. Junebug trick worms, watermelon red are both good in these pads.
Ninth Street Canal-One of the best spawning areas in the spring. Some heavy bass come out of here. Use gitzits, craws, worms around pads.
Open water near reed island and point- My favorite all around spot. Very dependable. To find it, there is a channel marker near a reed island between Kiss. canal and Cypress canal. The most northern reed island is the key. About 20 yards north of the island, move towards the shore to the north. As you get close to this point, you’ll see a drop to 9 ft. I like working the deep water then moving away from the cypress canal towards the main lake into 4 ft. There is usually quite a bit of hydrilla here. Look for schoolers as well. Use a #7 shadrap, 1/2 ounce rattletrap to search them out. Once found, switch to a worm 1/8-1/4 ounce. A spinnerbait can be gold in the hydrilla pockets. A hard jerk bait can also produce such as a Husky jerk or rattlin rogue. Good in the summer and fall.
Mouth of Cypress canal- Work either side (4-6 feet), the right side is deeper. Worm 1/4 ounce and #7 shadrap right down the middle of the canal. Good schooling spot. Summertime action, great if current moving.
Open water near point-Nice fairly deep area 6-8 ft for rattletraps and #7 shadraps. Watch for schooling fish. Good for summer through fall.
Open water with hydrilla near mouth of Kissimmee canal- Just as the canal to Kissimmee widens into Hatch. usually hydrilla here and some schooling fish. I like to use 1/4 ounce Texas rig Junebug Zoom worm. 7-9 ft deep. Any time of year.
Open water hydrilla- Relatively deep (7-8 ft). Look for hydrilla and pockets. 1/4-3/8 ounce spinnerbaits, hard jerkbaits and rattletraps work well.
Buggy whip line- 3-4 ft deep. Pitch 1/4 ounce junebug worm to reeds and pad patches. Usually early to late spring.
Peppergrass field- Bunches of peppergrass patches here in 4-5 ft. I like the willow leaf spinnerbait here working into the patches of grass. Good summertime and spring area.
Deep water hydrilla between 2 main lake points- If hydrilla’s here(8-9 ft), work the deepest line. Use #7 shadrap and rip the edges. A rattletrap can be used in the cuts of hydrilla as well as casting a 1/4 ounce worm. Best in summer.
I found this cool guide to fishing Lake Kissimmee on floridabasslakes.com. I agree with many of the spots outlined here and perhaps found some new places to go hawg hunting. Here’s an explanation of the hot spots outlined on the map below:
1. Brahma Island-Pads/kissimmee grass- East side of island has much pads and kissimmee grass in 5-6 ft of water. Best time late fall through early spring. Pitch red shad or June bug worm in kissimmee grass especially near pad root intersections (1/4-1/2 ounce).
2. Bird Island/Horse island-Kissimmee grass/buggy whips- Work inside edge of grass/pads/whips in 2-3 ft using Junebug worm both casting and pitching. Flip 1/2- 1 ounce black/blue craw in and around grass mats. Summertime spot.
3. Small Grass island just south of Brahma-near the rocks- Don’t get this location mixed up with the entrance to the cut to Grape Hammock. This small grass island (several others next to each other) is just south of Brahma. Work the grass line (4-5 ft) near the island with junebug worms and the outside edge with #7 shadrap. Work towards the cut between Brahma and shore. Work outside hydrilla with rattletraps/shadraps as well as casting a worm (6 ft). This is a summertime spot.
4. North Cove- East side, mix of pads and kissimmee grass- Big Fish spot. Late spring area (May/June). 3-5 ft. Work pads and cuts with chart./white willow leaf spinnerbait. Make sure spinnerbait hits grass/pads as it moves through. Pitch large tailed worms (similar to Gator tail) in redshad/junebug 1/4 ounce weight. Flip craw (black/blue) into mats.
5. Seven Palms- Kissimmee grass and offshore hydrilla- This is a good summertime area if hydrilla is there (6 ft). Work rattletrap fast through hydrilla and Kissimmee grass cuts. Rip it! If hydrilla edge exists, slow worm with Junebug and 1/4 ounce weight.
6. Kissimmee Grass Line- Just exiting the north cove prior to Overstreet Cove- Late spring spot, May-June. Work outside grass line pitching junebug worm with 3/8 ounce weight. 5-6 ft.
7. Deep Hole on North Wets side of Brahma- Summer spot, 9-10 ft. Look for hydrilla or work Kissimmee grass. Use redshad/junebug worm 1/4 ounce.. Rattletrap if hydrilla present.
8. Tiger Cove north side Pads/grass- Flipping/pitching craws and worms 3/8 ounce to grass and pads. 3-4 ft. Springtime pattern.
9. Tiger Creek- Good spot when water flowing strong in creek. Work area just in creek to 100 yards down. Watch for schoolers. Work worms with 1/8-1/4 ounce weight. Use small worms or tube baits as well. 3-5 ft and good summertime to fall spot if current exists.
10. Jackson Slough- Great spot for early spring spawners. Work close to creek mouth all the way out to scattered pads and grass. Some beds not visible next to pads due to dark tannic stained water. Use any typical bait for spawning fish. I like the Zoom trick worm.
11. Open water hydrilla- In the large cove approaching the Hatchineha Canal, there sometimes is hydrilla in 7-9 ft of water. Cast junebug worms (1/4 ounce), flip the matted hydrilla as well(1/2 ounce). Look for the hydrilla south of the canal towards the main channel marker in the middle of the cove.
All the big bags during the Southern Open this past week on the Harris Chain came from sight fishing. Anyone who’s checked out these waters will tell ya that the water’s not clear enough to do it. For the most part they’re right, but there are some areas with clear water.
I believe the biggest sack on day 1 from Sanford’s John Kremer and day 2′s big bag from Brian Hudgins came out of the so called Clear Canal. It’s located on the north side of the Apopka Beauclaire canal. I say this because I went and sight fished in the same area during the full moon 2 weeks prior to the tournament.
This area produces bags over 20 pounds quite regularly during the spawn. Just watch out for the shallow water getting there. The water levels are extremely low and you’ll have to be running on plane to get through some of the areas that are only a foot deep.
Captain Mo from the Bassholes forum let me know about a few spots on the Harris Chain that’s reputed to hold some giant fish. One is the Gator Hole which everyone knows about located on the northwest end of Lake Eustis. It’s a giant hole that can produce some of the biggest bass on the chain at the right times. It’s actually off the NW corner of this map but you get the idea.
The other spot is the old clay mining ditch on west shore of Lake Harris that ranges in depths of 15 ft to 17 ft of water with lots of shell beds and brush piles scattered throughout the area. This spot sounds like a perfect place for the carolina rig or a deep diver in firetiger for pre and post spawners.
I’ll be checking out both these spots in the next couple of weeks and will report if these spots living up to their reputation.
I’ll also be checking some of the canals off the Clear Canal along with other clear water areas for some sight fishing. I’m getting excited just thinking about it.
