We seldom throw worms smaller than 8 inches on this lake, and 10″ & 12″ inches isn’t too big. The usage of Swiming worms, spinnerbaits, and buzz baits through the pads, a great way to catch big fish and quite exciting also. We usually can toss topwater plugs and crankbaits along cover edges with great success. To tangle with a “trophy bass” like that in pad roots requires some severe tackle. Hooking one of the Florida big bass is another thing this lake I know has trophy bass up to 15-pound in recent years.

Unfortunately, finding them and getting them into the boat can be two entirely different matters. Concentrating on this cover, especially during the morning hours, is the surest way to find bass on almost any Florida lake. Even when bass spawn on the inside shallows, there will be bass coming and going on these points. Through Florida, this pattern will work during the entire spawning period and even well into the summer. This combination of bulrush and pads seems to be a magnet for Arbuckle bass. The first thing I look for on this lake is a point of bulrush extending out from the main weed line, and that has a bunch of pads just inside each pointed end. And they have definite preferences as to what areas they want to stage in. Before they move onto the beds, however, they can stack up on that outer weed line.

Given the water clarity, which is even darker than Reedy Lake, those bass spawn very shallow in 2 1/2 feet or less of water. The largemouth bass begins to spawn on Arbuckle in January, and completion is usually by early April. It’s the doorway to shallow spawning during the spring, making this lake pretty simple like many Florida lakes. This lake is good every season of the year because of its feeding areas. There’s will always some bass on the outer portion of the shallow vegetation. Very little offshore structure exists, but there is a broad littoral zone loaded with lily pads and bulrush. Arbuckle is a shallow, bowl-shaped lake with only a few spots dropping to more than 12 feet. If finding bass during the spring is simplified on Lake Reedy, it is even more comfortable on Lake Arbuckle. Like Reedy, it too offers dark water, but that is where the similarities end. It connects to Reedy via a shallow creek that is seldom navigable. Water Management Area WMA consists of 13,531 acres east of Avon Park in Polk County 5 miles south of Frostproof. Specifically, Lake Arbuckle is a few miles southeast of Reedy Lake.

Captain jays on 8 mile