Lake George

ocala

Hey guys. New to this forum as I spend most of my time on the Big Bend forum in the Gulf. I have always heard of Redfish in the lake but never actually went out and  found them. Have also heard that the area around the bombing range is the general area. I am not expecting anyone's hot spot or particular lure to use but is it worth it to take a trip out there to find them? I would be launching from the Salt Springs ramp. 

bswiv

In general....no. That said, if you're set on fishing the lake it's about time to try Rat-L-Traps around the various pilings in the lake.....out much further from the bank that you may think.....some being near on a mile.

One more thing. If you do catch a red.....or a striper......you'll notice that it is not the same eating as a red from the clear salt water of the Gulf. We always toss them back.....FWIIW

Jonsredfishin

You can launch from below Rodman D am and run out to the river and fish the “croaker hole”. With all the rain, I don’t know if they’d be there for sure though. 

ocala

Thank you. Wasn't planning on keeping anything, just want something to pull on the rod. Rattle traps were going to be the lure of choice. 
We decided to launch out of Salt Springs. Going to fish the lake first and if no luck go back and do some early evening/night fishing in the SS Run. Have done well  there in the past. Only issue may be the wind on the lake. Heard in may be a bit gusty tomorrow afternoon. 
Will post this weekend with the results. Hopefully some pics too. 

ocala

The trip did not turn out well. Great weather on the lake but the water was almost black. A pearl Rattle Trap disappeared in about 10 inches. Don't know how anything could hunt in water that discolored. Tried several area's but it just wasn't happening. So we went back to the Salt Springs run. Quickly found out there is hardly any grass there. Even in the large  pool by the spring it was pretty barren.  Did see some Manatees on the way out and we figured they just bulldozed all the weeds that were in there. Seen the same this happen in Crystal River on the Gulf. We were ready for some good night fishing but we couldn't even muster a bite. Kind of depressing. To top it all off they charge $10 to launch a boat at Salt Springs. That's freakin nuts. Crappy report, I know, but that's the way it goes sometimes. 

jawray

I’ve had luck just trolling a paddle tail on a jig head in Salt Springs run. Had bass and Stripers. Right up the middle. I did this after trying pounding the banks with no luck.