Steve vonBrandt Catches Huge Florida Bass.

FLORIDA LUNKERS #1--2000 ArchiveCompiled by: Herb Allen
Where should I go for the best opportunity to catch that elusive 10-pound or bigger bass?
"Florida," advises the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (BASS) ..... by a whopping margin (See Bassmaster® Magazine, February 2000)!
According to statistics compiled by the Bassmaster Lunker Club, our Sunshine State accounts for 26.6% of its world-wide entries from anglers catching a 10-pound or heavier largemouth. Runner-up Texas with 18.7% and third-place California (16.2%) round out the top-3 locales. Other states and countries represented on the Lunker Club roster include Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arizona, North Carolina, Virginia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Mexico and South Africa.
E.C. "Doodle Bug" Dressler holds "Millie," the largest recorded bass (a 17.13 pounds) from Lake Lochloosa which was only ounces away from being a new official Florida record. The fish was caught on 11 March 2000 and now resides with cinematographer Glen Lau, where once reconditioned (she was post spawn when weighed), he hopes to spawn her. Photo by Greg Walker.
In the Bassmaster® Magazine feature written by Editor Dave Precht, Lake Walk-In-Water was cited for producing nine Lunker Club qualifiers, followed by Stick Marsh/Farm 13 and Lake Istokpoga with a half-dozen fish each.
Not surprisingly, live shiners generated the most monster-sized bass catches in Florida. However, on a world-wide basis, plastic worms were listed as leading baits used with 23.7 percent, followed by shiners (13.7%).
Other successful lures/baits itemized by percentages were jigs-and-pigs (11.2), spinnerbaits (10.1), crankbaits (7.2), lizards (6.9), jerkbaits (6.5), topwater plugs (4.7), soft jerkbaits (3.9), buzzbaits (2.9), plastic grubs (2.5), lipless crankbaits (2.2), plastic crawfish (1.8), live waterdogs (1.4), and live nightcrawlers (1.1). Precht's stats show that most trophies are caught in March (20.2%), followed by April (17.3%), January and February (13.2% each), May (8.8%), June (7.4%), August (4.8%), July (4.4%), September (3.3%), October and December (2.6% each), and November (2.2%). More than half (53.6%) of Club admissions were caught in depths of 5 feet or less, while 26.4 percent were taken in 6 to 10 feet of water, followed by 13 percent in 11 to 15 feet, and 6.9 percent in greater depths.
Good news for those of us who hate to get up before daybreak. Only 10.8 percent of those fish qualifying for Lunker Club status were caught BEFORE 8 a.m.
Seems the very best time for connecting with big 'uns is between 10 a.m. and noon (22.1%), followed by 8-10 a.m. (14.0%), 2-4 p.m. (11.7%), noon to 2 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. (11.3% each), 4-6 p.m. (10.8%), and after 8 p.m. (7.8%).
It's interesting to note that Florida created its own Big Catch Program in 1990 and, last year, certificates issued paralleled those of BASS's Lunker Club awards with Lake Walk-In-Water, Stick Marsh/Farm 13 and Lake Istokpoga nailing down the top-3 spots. The program is now sponsored by eAngler.com and recognizes bass that are caught legally in Florida and weigh more than eight pounds or are longer than 24 inches. Of 426 Big Catch certificates for bass issued in 1999, 134 were recorded at Walk-In-Water, 24 from Stick Marsh/Farm 13, and 23 from Lake Istokpoga, according to Jim Estes of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
In January 2000, John Balint of South Bend, Indiana, picked off a 14-pound, 8-ounce largemouth in Lake Kissimmee, while Steve von Brandt of Wilmington, Delaware, collected a pair of trophy bass from Lake Jackson on successive days that scaled 10.4 and 12.4 pounds, and all three of these released-alive prizes were captured between 10 a.m. and noon.
Since it has now been doubly confirmed that Florida has regained its Big Bass Capital of the World crown, it doesn't take a genius to conclude that the Sunshine State is the place to be for folks seeking that 10-pound or above wall-hanger.