Lake Istokpoga, at 27,692 acres (43¼ square miles, 112 km²) is the 5th largest lake in Florida. The lake is generally shallow (4-8 feet deep) and kept that way most of the year as part of an ill-fated 1940s-era flood control project.
The name "Istokpoga" is a Seminole word meaning "our people died there." I doubt the Seminole could be pleased with what white men have done with the lake.
Lake Istokpoga is today the largest single source of permitted consumptive use water in the Kissimmee Valley (an estimated 100 million gallons per day). The lake's water level is mandated by the 1948 Flood Control Act and the resultant Central and Southern Florida Project which did irreparable environmental damage to a huge swath of Florida.
Many areas adjacent to the Lake that once flooded seasonally or infrequently are now drained as part of the disastrous Flood Control Act of 1948.
A reduction of high lake levels has provided the catalyst for development around shores of the Lake, including agriculture (citrus and caladium farms), pasture land, residential and commercial establishments.
The major tributaries to Lake Istokpoga are Josephine Creek and Arbuckle Creek, which are located in the northwest and north areas of the Lake, respectively.
Water is discharged from the Lake through two major outlets, the Istokpoga canal that flows to the Kissimmee River and the S-68 Canal that flows through a series of canals to both Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River.
The 1948 Flood Control Act and rules set subsequent to the Act dictate that in August the lake level is not permitted to be above 38.5-feet above sea level which makes the lake artificially shallow at about 4-feet deep (average).
Lake Istokpoga is located in Highlands County Florida with the base City being Lake Placid. Lake Istokpoga is one of the biggest trophy Bass fishing lakes in Florida and throughout the United States. This lake is designated as a Fish Management Area by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Largemouth bass are the fish of choice here, although fishing for black crappie (specks), bluegill (shellcrackers) are very productive. You will see lots of wild alligators, birds like osprey, snowy egret, bald eagles and many other can be seen on a day’s fishing trip. Wild ducks and frogs are also plentiful all over the lake and typically seen while fishing.
Largemouth bass fishing is very good during the spring, and continues through early summer. Some customer are catching weights for five-fish of over 30 pounds, which is a six-pound per fish average. On this lake live wild shiners work about as well as artificial lures, so if you like fishing artificial this may be the lake for you. Bass generally finish spawning by the end of March to early April. Bass will begin schooling chasing threadfin and gizzard shad along weed lines in the open water.
Catch and Release
As of June 2017, there have been a whopping 372 TrophyCatch submissions of bass larger than 8 pounds since the program was launched in October 2012! A total of 303 fish have been entered into the Lunker Club (8-9.99 lb) and 69 into Trophy Club (10-12.99 lb). Remember, as part of the TrophyCatch program, all of these big bass have been released, so your trophy still swims in Lake Istokpoga.
Largemouth bass fishing has slowed a bit with the water temperature rising in the lake, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be caught. Slow working baits like large plastic worms or crawfish style baits in Junebug, black and blue, and red shad colors have been the baits of choice during the “dog days of summer.” Just remember you need to have patience while working these baits to entice a bite.
As the sun reaches its highest point in the middle of the day, begin flipping thick vegetation with deeper water nearby for bass seeking shade. Usually this technique is most effective when you pair a large weight (3/4 – 1.5oz depending on thickness of cover) with a crawfish style bait to produce a reaction strike from the pigs lurking below the vegetation mats. Braided line and a heavy action rod is critical in landing fish with this technique. Also, bass can be caught shallow when the bluegill spawn throughout the summer months. If you see colonies of bluegill beds don’t hesitate to throw bladed or swim style jigs in black and blue color to catch bass chasing the bluegill.
Lake Istokpoga is located five miles northeast of Lake Placid, Highlands County, this lake has quality fishing for black crappie (specks) and one of the highest catch ratios for largemouth bass in the state. The best speck fishing occurs during winter months drifting over open water, particularly in the northeast and southwest corners. Aquatic vegetation includes spadderdock (bonnets), bulrush (buggy whips), cattail, and pondweed (pepper grass). Kissimmee grass on the south end is particularly productive when there is flow into the Istokpoga Canal. This canal, located off County Highway 621, provides excellent largemouth bass fishing from the bank when the gates are open. Arbuckle and Josephine Creek mouths are also good areas when there is flow. The island areas and associated grass can hold bass any time of year and the deepest portion of the lake (10 ft) is in the southwest corner.
Public boat ramps are located on the north, northeast, and southwest shorelines off of U.S. Route 98, Lake Boulevard off Cow House Road, and Highland Lake Drive off of County Route 621, respectively. There are also six fish camps/resorts on the lake with various accommodations.
SPECIAL REGULATIONS FOR LARGEMOUTH BASS ON LAKE ISTOKPOGA
A slot limit protects quality largemouth bass by requiring that all bass between 15 and 24 inches in length must be immediately released back into the lake. The daily bag limit is three fish per day. Only one of the three fish may be greater than 24 inches. This means you may keep three bass less than 15 inches, or two bass less than 15 inches and one bass greater than 24 inches. For more information on the special regulations or tournament exemptions, contact MyFWC.com.
Lake Istokpoga has several marinas, Lake Istokpoga Marina fishing camp and RV park which is located on the South end of the lake. Henderson’s Fish Camp is another great camp that has been around for what seems ever. Don’t forget about Cypress Isle RV Park & Marina another location to get your fishing trip started from.
Most of these photos were made at Istokpoga Park located on the north end of the lake at 720 Istokopoga Park Access Road, Sebring, FL 33876 (near the little town of Lorida off Hwy 98).
From what we've seen on a couple of visits this summer there is never anyone here. We encountered one family fishing from a dock but no other boaters at all. The nicely appointed park was completely devoid of humans which is always fine by me.
Sea Daisy
(Borrichia frutescens)
Sea Daisy is an important species in hypersaline coastal sites.
Also known as 'sea ox-eye' or 'bushy seaside tansy,' it tolerates salinities ranging from less than 20 ppt to 130 ppt. It occurs in substrates low in organic matter and deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
Nearly all reproduction is vegetative from an extensive rhizome system.
Stands of B. frutescens often dominate the landward border of old growth Florida salt marshes.
45 Has an On Camera Meltdown for the Ages
Will this Expedite His Removal From Office?
It was like watching a human Twitter feed.
A combative and unrestrained President Donald Trump opened his authentic political soul, in possibly the most memorable news conference in presidential history, that is certain to become a defining moment of his administration.
It was supposed to be a routine event at Trump Tower in New York to tout the President's infrastructure plan.
But the session quickly veered off course into one of the most surreal political moments in years as Trump unloaded about the fallout from the weekend's protests by "alt-right" activists, white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Virginia.
Gesticulating with his right hand, Trump blasted what he called the "alt-left," protested that he had already condemned neo-Nazis and parroted far-right talking points on the Confederacy.
On the substance, it was a performance that quickly emboldened white nationalist groups and appeared certain to heighten racial tensions and fear in the country.
There's no chance that Trump's political team can finesse this one, or walk it back.
But the tone and the spectacle of Trump's unchained performance was equally stunning.
The unapologetic, stream-of-consciousness style of delivery left no doubt at all: This was the real Trump, not the scripted version who appeared in the White House on Monday and tried to clean up his initial failure to condemn white supremacists after the death of a counter-protester in Charlottesville.
His anger emerged in a torrent, as he obliterated any benefit of the doubt he earned on Monday, thought piling on thought, in a style the nation has become accustomed to from his Twitter feed.
In the most incredible moment, as he stood at a podium bearing the seal of the President of the United States, Trump tore at the nation's racial fault lines by appearing to offer a pass to a racist and neo-Nazi movement.
"I think there is blame on both sides," Trump said, returning to his original position about the protest in Charlottesville, saying that an extreme right demonstration in which marchers held torches and Swastikas and chanted racist and anti-Semitic slogans contained some "bad people .... but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides."
Trump accused counter-demonstrators of being as violent as the white supremacists.
"What about the fact they came charging -- that they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do," he said.
"I think there is blame on both sides," Trump said.
The President's fury was first sparked when he was challenged by reporters on his handling of Charlottesville, evidence of how Trump's extreme sensitivity to personal slights sometimes leads him into politically self-destructive behavior.
It was a display that will renew questions about the suitability of Trump's temperament for the presidency, and at a time of increasing tensions around the world that will exacerbate fears he will be unable to control his emotions at a time of crisis as commander-in-chief.
Trump also condemned efforts to take down statues in southern states dedicated to heroes of the Civil War Confederacy.
"This week it's Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson's coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after?"
"You're changing history. You're changing culture. And you had people, and I'm not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally. But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists."
It did not take long for key figures in the extreme right movement to take comfort in Trump's remarks, after the news conference appeared to nudge the President closer to an isolated spot on the far right of US politics.
"Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa, wrote David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, on Twitter.
Some of Trump's fellow Republicans were quick to condemn him.
"If you are showing up to a Klan rally you are probably a racist or a bigot," Texas Rep Will Hurd said on CNN's "The Situation Room." "I think the outrage across the political spectrum about this is maybe the thing that ultimately unites us."
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was also quick to rebuke Trump.
"Mr. President,you can't allow #WhiteSupremacists to share only part of blame. They support idea which cost nation & world so much pain," Rubio said on Twitter.
"These groups today use SAME symbols & same arguments of #Nazi & #KKK, groups responsible for some of worst crimes against humanity ever."
The overall impression of Trump's performance was of a president out of control, who is captive to his whims and instincts and defies any attempt to manage him -- including by his new Chief of Staff John Kelly.
"That was all him -- this wasn't our plan," a senior White House official told CNN's Jeff Zeleny.
One person who has spent time with Trump over the past 24 hours describes the President as "distracted" and "irritable" in his interactions with top aides. Trump felt pressured into the Monday statement by staff members, the person said. As he went about his day Tuesday, Trump was upset and repeatedly returned to the topic, the person said, culminating in the lobby press conference.
CNN senior political analyst David Axelrod compared Trump to a "runaway truck, there are no brakes, there is no reverse."
Axelrod also questioned why Kelly and other Trump aides even allowed the President to appear before reporters on Tuesday, given their presumed knowledge of the state of his mood over the Charlottesville coverage.
But ultimately, Tuesday's stunning appearance will be remembered for the sentiments that passed the lips of a President of the United States.
In the long and tortured history of a nation still trying to work through its complicated story on race, Trump's meltdown will stand out, as a moment ripped from the darkest pages of history and transposed into the 21st Century.
In the process, he appears to have abdicated any claim to the traditional presidential role as a moral voice for the nation and the world.
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