To fish the varying conditions, he uses two boats-a 23-foot aluminum War Eagle with a pair of big livewells to hold shiners, and an 18-foot custom-made Prodigy Mud Boat with an air-cooled Gator Tail Outboard, built to tackle the backcountry or reservoir drawdowns, which occur every three to four years on Rodman to control vegetation and the buildup of muck.Ĭaptain Jamie Jackson centers his Orlando Bass Guide Service on the Kissimmee Chain, mostly West Tohopekaliga. He’s lately gained notoriety for putting visiting anglers on many fish qualifying for the Florida Fish Commission’s Troph圜atch Big Fish Contest, including three that qualified for “Hall of Fame” status by exceeding 13 pounds, and the state’s biggest bass of 2013, just shy of 14 pounds. He focuses on Rodman Reservoir near Ocala on the Ocklawaha River, occasionally visiting other top locations and fishing at least 300 days a year. At age-17, he started guiding on his own and has been at it for 30 years, now owner of Florida Bass Fishing Guide Service. Johns River, and lakes Orange and Lochloosa produced amazing fish and helped inspire his love of hunting big bass. During the 1970s and 1980s, Rodman Reservoir, the St. His grandfather was a Florida bass guide and Rush learned the ways of water and fish from him, as well as other top guides. And the way bass sometimes play cat-and-mouse with their prey is a fascinating show in itself.Ĭaptain Sean Rush represents the tradition of shiner fishing, while also bringing it up-to-date with equipment and techniques for habitats that are regularly shifting due to nature and human activity. All anglers love to watch a float wiggle, then plunge below the surface, whether what’s on the other end of the line is a crappie or a lunker bass. Shiner fishing has a long tradition there and has remained popular because it’s so effective. I know because I’ve made the trip many times, and rarely come home disappointed. For anglers eager to head south in pursuit of lunkers, there’s no place like Florida during the winter months. “In the top Florida bass lakes, I’d bet over 80 percent of bass over 10 pounds are caught on live shiners,” says Captain Jamie Jackson, renowned guide on West Lake Tohopekaliga on the Kissimmee Chain.
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