Topeekeegee Park 2/19/18

rchiuz · February 19, 2018, 04:11:05 PM

Weather: Overcast
Wind: 11
Temp: mid 70s

Thought I would try TY Park again since I haven't been there in a long time. Started the day at around 8:15 and ended it at 2:00 pm.

I wasn't sure what to throw so I experimented.
Topwater

Squarebill

Texas rigged senko

Texas rigged uvibe

Jerkbait

Spybait

Once I figured they were chasing small bait I stuck with the spybait minnow and caught 3 little bass and a peacock

When it got closer to 11 it completely died down and more people were out fishing which limited bank space. I finally moved from the spot I was setup at around 1pm and start to cast on my way to the car. I hooked on to another bass but it came off before I could land it.

Saw schooling bass here and there but of course it was out of my range

Couldn't get any big bass there but maybe another time I just rent a boat lol

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Capt. BassinLou · February 19, 2018, 05:22:10 PM

Roberto, thank you for the report. I haven't been by TY in years. I didn't know there was accessible bank at that park.

Lipripper · February 19, 2018, 05:41:13 PM

Roberto thanks for the report and it looks like you tried everything but the kitchen sink

Glad you find what they wanted and caught a few.

I can't wait till our water gets soft so I can go.

SFL BassHunter · February 19, 2018, 06:04:36 PM

Thanks for the report! Too bad it was tough to figure them out.

big g · February 19, 2018, 07:15:47 PM

Congrats, TY Park was quite an away game. Glad you caught some.

Deadeye · February 20, 2018, 03:17:38 AM

If they are chasing those small Glass Minnows, here's a couple of tricks to try:

Crappie Jigs, either tied straight on OR used under a bobber to keep them up off the bottom. While I haven't had the chance to try this myself, one day the Bass were schooling and I couldn't buy a bite. One guy I met on the water was having quite the day a mix bag of Speck, 'Gills and Bass. Told me this was what he was doing. Since that day I have carried a few of those with me, but haven't run onto it again--yet.

Little George. This is a old time lure that is simply a lead colored head with a hook and a spinner blade attached. They come in different sizes, but all of them tend to be small overall and yes they catch Bass.

rchiuz · February 20, 2018, 07:15:50 AM

Quote from: Deadeye on February 20, 2018, 03:17:38 AM
If they are chasing those small Glass Minnows, here's a couple of tricks to try:

Crappie Jigs, either tied straight on OR used under a bobber to keep them up off the bottom. While I haven't had the chance to try this myself, one day the Bass were schooling and I couldn't buy a bite. One guy I met on the water was having quite the day a mix bag of Speck, 'Gills and Bass. Told me this was what he was doing. Since that day I have carried a few of those with me, but haven't run onto it again--yet.

Little George. This is a old time lure that is simply a lead colored head with a hook and a spinner blade attached. They come in different sizes, but all of them tend to be small overall and yes they catch Bass.

Thanks for the tip!

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FlatsNBay · February 20, 2018, 01:25:04 PM

TY Park is my old stomping ground! I grew up fishing that place as a kid and know every rock and nook and cranny. Oh, the memories! If you rent a paddle boat during the weekend, there's a killer rock pile in the middle of the lake. It holds a ton of fish. My biggest as a kid at TY was 7-4 and my buddy got a 9 pounder off the rock pile on a crankbait. Our fish pics were in the newspaper and we were the talk of the town. We felt like Bass Pros!

I will make back to that rock pile someday......

cport · February 20, 2018, 01:33:15 PM

Quote from: FlatsNBay on February 20, 2018, 01:25:04 PM
TY Park is my old stomping ground! I grew up fishing that place as a kid and know every rock and nook and cranny. Oh, the memories! If you rent a paddle boat during the weekend, there's a killer rock pile in the middle of the lake. It holds a ton of fish. My biggest as a kid at TY was 7-4 and my buddy got a 9 pounder off the rock pile on a crankbait. Our fish pics were in the newspaper and we were the talk of the town. We felt like Bass Pros!

I will make back to that rock pile someday......

That's awesome! I had a place like that from my youth in Norfolk, VA. Lake Whitehurst. There was a causeway leading to the botanical gardens that split the reservoir down the middle, and there was a channel that went under the road. The water would flow pretty strong through it; we used to snag shad with a treble and throw them at the outflow, where hungry bass waited. We also used to sneak into the gardens; they had awesome lily pad ponds in there loaded with big bass and pickerel. That's where I cut my teeth fishing on my own, riding my Schwinn the 5 miles to the lake, double-sided Plano Magnum and whatever spinning combo I had at the time precariously balanced between my handlebars. Man, I'd love to go back to that lake and attack it now with the experience I have gained.

FlatsNBay · February 21, 2018, 05:21:26 AM

Double sided Plano tackle box! I had one of those too!

Canesfan · February 21, 2018, 05:53:33 AM

Quote from: FlatsNBay on February 20, 2018, 01:25:04 PM
TY Park is my old stomping ground! I grew up fishing that place as a kid and know every rock and nook and cranny. Oh, the memories! If you rent a paddle boat during the weekend, there's a killer rock pile in the middle of the lake. It holds a ton of fish. My biggest as a kid at TY was 7-4 and my buddy got a 9 pounder off the rock pile on a crankbait. Our fish pics were in the newspaper and we were the talk of the town. We felt like Bass Pros!

I will make back to that rock pile someday......

I've lived in this area for a gazillion years and used to live near TY and never fished it. Never even thought about it. Weird. Nice to know it has big fish in it (or at least had).

FlatsNBay · February 21, 2018, 01:54:39 PM

The cool thing about it when I was a kid we made friends with the park manager. He was really supportive of our crazy addiction to bass fishing and us "keeping out of trouble". He gave us permission to enter the park before opening hours and helping ourselves to a paddle boat before the park opened. All the workers were instructed to leave us alone because we were staying out of trouble. The only stipulation was we had to bring the correct number of life jackets on the boat. We used to fish every chance that we could and many times all day long from the boats. We learned a lot about bass fishing at TY. We even convinced the park manager to host a bass tournament for us kids. We had about 10 boats out there with a weigh master floating around in a separate boat. It was a big fish tournament with the fish immediately weighed and released by the weigh master. I ended up taking 2nd place with about a 2 pounder. Good times! That park manager really did keep us out of trouble! I could never see that happen now a days due to liability. The average fish back then was less than a pound. We were lucky to catch one any bigger.

Canesfan · February 22, 2018, 06:47:46 AM

Quote from: FlatsNBay on February 21, 2018, 01:54:39 PM
The cool thing about it when I was a kid we made friends with the park manager. He was really supportive of our crazy addiction to bass fishing and us "keeping out of trouble". He gave us permission to enter the park before opening hours and helping ourselves to a paddle boat before the park opened. All the workers were instructed to leave us alone because we were staying out of trouble. The only stipulation was we had to bring the correct number of life jackets on the boat. We used to fish every chance that we could and many times all day long from the boats. We learned a lot about bass fishing at TY. We even convinced the park manager to host a bass tournament for us kids. We had about 10 boats out there with a weigh master floating around in a separate boat. It was a big fish tournament with the fish immediately weighed and released by the weigh master. I ended up taking 2nd place with about a 2 pounder. Good times! That park manager really did keep us out of trouble! I could never see that happen now a days due to liability. The average fish back then was less than a pound. We were lucky to catch one any bigger.

I remember reading about the fishing tournaments at various local parks. I think they still do it. I think the now closed Everglades Pro Bass shop on Griffin used to be a sponsor. Used to go there and Hinkles, further east on Griffin way before BPS was even thought of.