For generations Northeast Florida’s Rodman Reservoir (Lake Ocklawaha) has offered excellent fishing. Many anglers target largemouth bass, which can grow huge. If you want to catch a 10-pound largemouth bass or some lunker crappies now is the time to head there.
The reservoir is undergoing a scheduled drawdown by Florida officials to dry out the lake bottom and rejuvenate the reservoir. Because the lake is greatly reduced in size, fish are massed in deep creeks and channels and areas near the dam.
Crappie fishing has been outstanding for heavyweight “specks,” many weighing in the 2-pound class. But it’s bigmouth bass that many anglers seek, especially those folks wanting a bass over 10 pounds for their lifetime angling bucket list.
Bass are so vulnerable now in Rodman to skilled anglers who know the lake, that the state has recently issued a catch-and-release regulation for anglers there. Not so for crappies and other panfish, which are high target species for many visiting fishermen.
A Tough Reservoir to Navigate
Rodman is an old flooded forest, and with the lake level down, safely running boats is difficult for those who don’t know the reservoir. Kayakers do well, but the lake is huge, and access is currently limited for most power boats. Yet fishing boat traffic in the lower lake remains heavy.
For those unfamiliar with Rodman, hiring a guide is wise, and cost effective so as not to risk your own boat damage from the perils of trees, downed logs, and other structure.
Guide Sean Rush has been chasing Rodman bass for nearly 40 years. He’s a traveling guide, meaning he launches his boat wherever the fish are hitting. He takes his clients to any of the local bass lakes experiencing a hot bite, as well as on Rodman.
“The Rodman bass fishing has been great, but the lake is sketchy to run a boat in, and there’s a lot of pressure from fishermen after crappies and other panfish,” the 54-year-old guide, from Salt Springs, told Wired2fish. “Debris from the drawdown is everywhere, and treacherous for many boaters. I’m using a 19-foot ‘mud boat’ style aluminum boat to skim safely over trouble spots.”
Bass Love Shiners
For big bass Rush exclusively uses live native shiners – the bigger the baits the better. Getting fresh live shiners isn’t easy these days in the area, but Rush is well connected to the bait catching community. The result is he’s torching Rodman bigmouths – all catch-and-release fishing.
“It’s not been easy,” he said. “When the water’s low, many ramps are unusable, and you gotta know where and how to get on the lake. You have to work a little and accept some boat dings and scratches. You’ve got to have the right equipment and a strong will, but if you do, it can really pay off with some great fishing.”
Rush says he’s working the far upper reservoir, where access is better and pressure is less. In the last couple weeks, his charter anglers have caught six bass each weighing over 10 pounds, and some even topping 11 pounds. All fish were weighed, measured and released safely.
“I’m using corked shiners in the upper lake’s Ocklawaha River channel,” he explained. “The current is fast with some deep holes. I fish the necked down areas and the mouths of creeks.
“With two anglers in my boat, we’ll catch 25 to 40 bass per day. They’re all sizes, with lots in the 4- to 6-pound class. About 25 percent of what we catch weighs over 6 pounds, and there’s always a chance of a 10-pounder.”
Rush uses heavy 40-pound braided line and baitcasting reels, probing deep holes and soaking shiners over submerged tree tops. Like bass fishing everywhere, it can be unpredictable – great for a few days, not-so-great on some days.
“Rodman is a special fishing spot and it always will be with good lake management like the current drawdown,” said Rush, who runs Trophy Bass Expeditions of Central Florida. “I expect top fishing in the reservoir will continue until the lake begins to reflood to full pool level in late February.”
