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East Lake Tohopekalgia (usually shortened to
`Toho'), and not as popular as its more famous cousin,
West (or Big) Lake Tohopekalgia. While they are located
almost
adjacent to one another and connected by a
canal. As most lakes, each of these two lakes are very different and
have their own hotspots. West Lake Toho
is different do to the islands, flowing feeder
creeks and big coves with normally clear
water and a tremendous amount of
vegetation.
East Lake, on the
other hand, is exceptionally clear, often with
great visibility to depths up to 10 feet. It
contains much less vegetation than West Lake
Toho and, with the exception of its northwest
corner, the existing growths are basically
confined to a narrow band of perimeter reeds and
kissimmee grass. While water color is still the same tannic
acid rain color common to most of the lakes,
rivers and canals of Florida, the lesser
vegetation results in only a noticeable color
rather than a dark stain. East Lake is nearly
circular in shape and covers approximately
12,000 acres. It is a perfect example of what is
often called a `soup bowl' lake. There are no
continuously flowing tributaries, which helps lake level
by maintaining
influx of water to the upper watershed lakes.
The St. Cloud Canal
exits East Lake in its southwest corner and
connects to West Lake. The canal in navigable
for a short distance, but has a lock (number
S-59) which is not passable by boat. C-29 canal
connects East Lake, through Fells Cove and small
Ajay Lake in the northeast corner, to the upper
watershed lakes of Hart and Mary Jane. These two
bodies are the actual start of the famous
Kissimmee waterway, which eventually stretches
its way South to sprawling
Lake Okeechobee.
Navigation is limited, but possible, up to lock
number S-62 at Lake Hart. Runnymede Lake, a
small shallow body, lies just off the
southeastern rim of East Toho and feeds into the
main lake by way of a navigable, connecting
canal.
With an average
depth of 10-14 feet, and a maximum of 18 in one
small location, the lake bottom is predominately
clean and hard. A few good shell beds exist, as
well as some bottom rock structure. The latter
is somewhat difficult to find, but is well worth
the effort when you do. A heavily weighted
plastic worm is the best rig to use for locating
these rocks, as well as the shell beds.
A couple of these
rock areas can be found in the close proximity
of the single fish attractor located in the
northeast corner of the lake. Forget using the
fish attractor as an indicator of artificially
placed brush tops. Instead, use it as a
reference point in the search for the rocks. One
`patch' of rock will be found approximately 30
yards West of the attractor marker, at a depth
of 10-12 feet and adjacent to a small two-foot
drop-off. The depth sounder will show the
surrounding area to resemble the start of a
small gully running to the West, towards the
deeper water. Another area of either small
gravel or shells lies directly in front of the
St. Cloud canal and approximately 300 yards out
into the lake. There is no reasonable way to
locate this open water feature consistently,
short of a good depth finder unit. I use a heavy,
one-ounce slip sinker and a Carolina rig worm
and just `feel' the bottom until I locate the
hard, rough bottom. This particular place has
always produced bass, so it worth the effort to
locate each time.
There is apparently
no open water vegetation in East Lake, save the
small strips of shoreline cover. However, in the
northwest corner of the lake, the Boggy Cove
area provides a large concentration of reeds,
pads and grasses for the shallow water purist
who desires to `fish the cover'. Likewise, the
connecting neck between the main lake and Fells
Cove contains a bountiful amount of growth
cover. Let's take a tour of East Lake Toho and
note the specific landmarks and characteristics
of this fine body of water. We'll start at the
St. Cloud canal, simply because it is a major
feature of the lake.
If the reader will
recall, we stated above that a lock restricts
navigation of all but a small portion of the
canal. However, that short distance can be
especially bountiful for the bass angler, if the
lake is being lowered or if the effects of
recent heavy rains are being drawn off. The
presence of current flow in the canal draws bass
to feed along the edges of the canal and,
especially, at its mouth. To either side of the
mouth, we find the same stands of reeds that
ring the lake. And, when the water is flowing
past them, they form excellent ambush points. A
plastic worm, or a floating Bang-O-Lure, usually
work best in these locations, with the former
being the better choice. An important point to
note is that the bass do not always take up
position in the canal or along the edges of the
reeds when the water is being pulled through the
lock. Quite often, they will school in the open
water just in front of the canal opening. When
this is the case, the fish usually give
themselves away by chasing baitfish on the
surface. The top lure for these conditions is
the vibrating crank plug, such as the Bagley
`Shad-A-Lac' and Lewis `Rat-L-Trap'.
A
tip worth its weight in 10-pound bass is that
the plastic worm also has an excellent
application in this open water location. Once
the surface action has ceased, try tossing a
lightly weighted plastic worm into the same
area. Normally, the bass are still there and
have just settled to the bottom in wait for the
next baitfish school to happen by.
Moving up the West
shoreline, there is little deviation of any
significance. All we note are the standard East
Lake reed band and minor grasses along the
shore. Experience has shown, however, that any
indentation or protrusion of the reed-line, no
matter how slight, has the potential to produce
fish. Be particularly attuned to the protrusions
of reeds out towards the open water, as bass
like to set up ambush points at these type
locations.
Just before we come
to Boggy Cove, we note the marshy land area
referred to as Hillard Island. The significance
of this landmark is actually the widening of the
shallow-water flat in front of it. On the edge
of the flat, generally where the depth changes
from three to six feet rather quickly, we have
noted productive shell beds. These will be found
right at the upper lip of the drop-off feature.
There do not appear to be too many of these
beds, but they generally produce fish when
found. Bass hold on them year-round, except just
before and during their spawning season. While
the bass are away, it appears that large schools
of shellcrackers and some speckled perch
(crappie) move onto the shell beds for short
periods. If you get a lot of light strikes, but
no `takers', during this season, consider
changing lures and checking for concentrations
of pan fish. Boggy Cove can be fished in just
about any manner the shallow water enthusiast
desires. The thick cover calls out for the
angler who likes to flip for bass. In the outer
reed bands, where the intertwining grasses are
less dense, a spinner bait and plastic worm work
well. Be sure to cast the lures well back into
the reeds along these outer edges, as snags will
be few.
The open water
pockets within the Boggy Cove growth will
normally have hydrilla and coontail moss under
the surface. A spinner bait and top water lure
are good choices here. In this one section of
East Toho, we often find a concentration of
small chain pickerel and they all seem to fall
in love with white spinner baits. Although they
have too many bones to be easy eating, the
pickerel are game fighters and their fillets
very tasty when rolled in corn meal and
deep-fried. The bass spawning season will find
largemouths occupying their beds along the outer
reeds of the Boggy Cove area, as well as within
the open water pockets of the growth. Most beds
are usually found in relations to the reeds, but
some will be on clean sand in the lily pads.
These exact same
locations will hold huge schools of spawning
bluegills and shellcrackers in the
June-September timeframe, with July and August
being the prime months. The better places for
these panfish will be within the interior of the
Boggy Cove cover. The northern shoreline of East
Lake can be good for bass angling and has the
advantage of warming more rapidly in the early
Spring. This means that bass spawning will
usually begin earlier than in other parts of the
lake. Additionally, the effects of the brisk,
northerly winds of late Winter and the coming
Spring will be lessened along this section of
the lake. There are two major fish camps along
this shoreline, just off paralleling Highway
530.
Fells Cove occupies
the northeast corner of East Lake Toho. The
connection between the two bodies is a boat
trail running across a wide expanse of reeds,
pads and grasses. Usually, there is too much
boat traffic and it is too narrow to fish in the
trail. However, during the more undesirable
times to be on the water (i.e., rain, cold
weather), the edges of this vegetation slash can
produce outstanding bass action. I particularly
like to fish it during extended periods of foul,
rainy weather when the high-powered, `go-faster'
pleasure boats are all on their trailers in
someone's garage. The water in the boat trail is
deeper than in the adjacent areas of vegetation
and that answers `why' the location holds fish.
Fells Cove is
generally a saucer-shaped, dishpan lake, with
little difference from larger East Toho. The
cover along the West and North shorelines has
always proven to be the best for bass, probably
because the deeper water (about 9-11 feet) is
closest to those areas. Again, be sure to home
in on the small pockets and reed points. Panfish
usually spawn heavily in the cover of the
southeast shore. Drifting for speckled perch
(crappie) is most productive in the open waters
of the West side of the lake.
The bass of Fells
Cove can often be located on hard bottom areas
or shell beds in the open portion of the lake,
normally in the deeper sections towards the West
side. Since the lake is relatively small, a
quick way to locate these fish has been to
troll. For control purposes, we like to use only
a short line and a fairly deep-running plug. A
Rebel Deep Wee-R or a Bagley DB-I will run
approximately 10-11 feet deep on 60-70 feet of
12-pound test line, which is the general depth
we want to work. Once we locate the bass school,
we drop a reference marker buoy and simply cast
to the fish. Remember not to place the marker
directly on the school location, as you may
spook the school or take the chance of tangling
a lure in it later. When fishing a school of
bass, such as found here, do not return any fish
to the water until you are ready to move off the
school location. Otherwise, the released bass
may return to the school and his nervousness
cause it to spook and move away. A short
distance down the East Lake shore below Fells
Cove, we find a few buildings visible in the
trees. The local people refer to this a the Boy
Scout Camp and its significance to us is as a
reference point. One-half mile South of the Camp
and one-half mile West into the lake, we find
the fish attractor and associated rocks that
were mentioned earlier.
The East shoreline
should be approached the same as the others, in
that the angler would be wise to key to the
small pockets and protrusions of the reed line
and grass. Small Runnymede Lake lies just of the
southeast corner of East Lake Toho and has a
connecting canal. The reeds and grass on both
sides of the canal mouth are fairly productive
bass locations. The deeper water drop-off, out
in front of the canal mouth, can be even better.
Watch for a few surface schooling bass here.
We have often found
an abundance of small bass holding on the reeds
and grass down the sides of the canal, itself.
Approximately 40 yards into the canal and on the
right (South) side, there is a small, narrow cut
running back into the marsh. For a good
distance, this cut has 5-6 feet of water in it.
Don't pass it up, as it often produces a big
bass. Be prepared for fast action, in that the
hooked bass will probably have no place to go
except back under your boat. At the very South
end of East Lake Toho lies a public launch ramp
and parking area. It is protected from the winds
by a dike, which often produce a few bass.
Always fish it with a plastic worm, especially
on Sundays and early in the week. If a
tournament was held out of this launch area over
the weekend, they released their fish here and
you can probably catch a few of them.
The better times to
fish East Lake for bass are during the months of
December through March, with live wild shiners
being the most popular lure. Artificial's work
best in October and November and again in March
through early June. Spinner baits and top water
minnow imitations, such as the Bang-O-Lure and
Rapala, are top local choices, with the reliable
plastic worm being second. Hot weather is
flipping time for bass, so go to East Lake's
thickest cover or offshore shell beds and rocks.
Speckled perch (crappie) fishing picks up in the
late Fall, just after the first cool nights
arrive, and improves up to and through the
Spring spawn. Spawning usually occurs in late
January through March, when the fish will be
found in the reeds and standing grasses. At all
other times, the crappie will be schooled in the
open water and must be caught by drifting small
minnows and jigs. During the hot months, drift
the baits at 12 feet (or two feet above the
bottom) in the deepest parts of the lake. Just
before and after the spawn, look for them to be
5-7 feet deep more near the shorelines. East
Lake Toho is the `sleeper' in Central Florida
lakes
on Florida. It produces many
trophy bass annually and is an excellent crappie
lake also.
More great links to information on this
location,
East Lake Toho on ESPN
http://www.jimporter.org/articles/article53.shtml
http://myfwc.com/boating/access/ramps/ne-ramps.html
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