Review of Walt Disney World Guided Bass Fishing Excursion

On our last two visits to Walt Disney World my son and I have gone out of one of Disney’s guided bass fishing excursions.  I wanted to offer a detailed description and review of our experience.

In conjunction with Take Me Fishing, Disney offers guided fishing outings on their various lakes in search of the all mighty bass.  These outings are a great way to experience something different during your Disney visit and will satisfy the serious fisherman or fisherwoman and Disney guest.

As outlined on the Walt Disney World Take Me Fishing website:

Walt Disney World Guided Bass Fishing Excursion

Guided catch-and-release outings let you experience bass fishing at its finest—all year round! Whether you're a seasoned sportsman or an amateur angler, a guided fishing excursion is fun for Guests of all ages.

Choose from Guided Bass Fishing Excursions, which includes a 21-foot Tracker pontoon boat that can accommodate up to 5 Guests, and Bass Nitro Fishing, which features a tournament-style Nitro Bass boat for one or 2 people.

Both 2-hour and 4-hour excursions are offered, and if available, an extra hour may be added in person at the Marina. Solo anglers may book an afternoon excursion at a reduced rate. The 2-hour trip is $270.00 and the 4-hour trip is $455.00. The price is for the boat up to five people not per person.

All Walt Disney World Resort fishing excursions include:

• An experienced guide

⁃           Rods and reels and tackle

⁃           Spinning reels

⁃           One baitcaster (didn't use)

• Tackle
• Artificial and/or live bait
• Non-alcoholic beverages (Guests may not bring beverages, food or coolers aboard.)
• One year BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society) membership, which includes 11 issues of Bassmaster Magazine (one membership per excursion)

Locations

Venture out on Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon, skim across Village Lake or cruise Crescent Lake and World Showcase Lagoon. Fishing excursions are available at the following marinas:

• Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
• Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
• Disney's Contemporary Resort
• Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
• Disney's Old Key West Resort
• Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
• Disney's Port OrleansResort - Riverside
• Disney's Wilderness Lodge
• Disney's Yacht Club Resort

Call (407) 939-BASS or (407) 939-2277 to make a reservation, or submit a BASS Reservation Request Form online now and a Fishing Coordinator will contact you in 12 to 24 hours. Reservations can be made up to 180 days in advance.

Making your Reservation

To reserve your fishing outing you can either call the Disney number (407) 939-BASS or fill out the online form.  On the form you will need to enter basic information about your stay, including dates and locations, three alternative dates and, or times for your fishing outing, place for pickup, and preferred excursion location.

Our Experience

For both this outing and the first outing we selected the Epcot Lakes location (encompasses Crescent Lake and World Showcase Lagoon).  I submitted an on-line request and then spoke with the fishing coordinator on the phone.  In the comments section I requested Rick as our guide the second time and they were able to accommodate our request.

We left from the main dock at the Disney Yacht Club Resort Bayside Marina promptly at 7:00. You do have a choice between the pontoon boat or the bass fishing boat. I highly recommend the pontoon boat as you can fish both live and artificial bait on the pontoon boat.  You can only fish artificial lures on the bass fishing boat.

A little tip - We always plan on arriving twenty to thirty minutes early and stop by the Ale and Compass Lounge for a quick muffin or snack and a juice and coffee before we head out on the waters.

You might think that once all the Disney transportation boats begin service the fishing would suffer however that was not our experience.  As the Crescent Lake and World Showcase Lagoon are not spring fed and the water does not circulate much, the boat traffic actually churns up the food on the lake bottom and the fish really become active feeders.

Benefits

For us there were many benefits:

The main one for us is the bass fishing excursion combines our passion for fishing with our Disney passion.

For the Bass Fisherman:

• We caught a ton of bass.  Well over thirty good size bass with the largest over 6 pounds.

• Our guide Rick was extremely knowledgeable and had the normal pleasant Disney Cast member charm.
• Rick has been a guide for some time and really knew where to take us to locate and catch fish.
• Rick spent the right amount of time at each location where we caught fish at each one.  He provided a good balance between moving around to different spots and catching fish.  We definitely spent a lot more time fishing than moving around.  There was another guide out in the same lake and their boat moved considerably more and to different locations.  Not sure they caught the same quantity and size of fish.

• Interestingly on both outings we finished up at the “money spot” right by the dock where we caught a significant number of fish and actually my son caught the largest one of the day (over six pounds).
• This is serious fishing with either live or artificial bait.  The lake is not stocked.
• As the Disney waters are private there is very little traffic on the lake outside of the Disney transportation boats, the fishing guides and a few pontoon rentals.  Nobody else is on the lake.
• Rick was not a clock-watcher so he was flexible on when we left and returned to the dock.   On both the two-hour outing in December and the four-hour outing this June we got plenty of fishing in.  That being said, Rick was prompt and ready to go right at 7:00 with towels on the wet seats and a full load of shiners in the live well.

For the Vacationer:

• You get to see Disney from a different vantage point before the park is open if you select the 7:00 outing.
• The lakes and locations are small so you are always close to the restrooms.  We headed in for a quick break after two hours and were right back out fishing.
• I enjoyed talking with the guide Rick getting the Castmember perspective on things.  For me I find that interesting.
• My son actually lost one of the poles overboard but there was no issue and he just baited up another rod and my son was off fishing.
• A side benefit was that while my son and I were out the door early my wife was able to relax, sleep and enjoy a wonderful morning.
• Even with the four-hour outing we got to the parks by lunchtime to hit all our afternoon FastPass+ reservations.

Drawbacks

• Could be considered costly.  Like most things at Disney it isn’t cheap.  The 2-hour excursion is $270 with the four-hour excursion at $455.  Don’t forget to use your DVC discount; we received a 15% discount.
• If you take the early excursion and are on property, you may need to get a cab to the location.  On this first outing we had to arrange and pay for a cab.  On the second outing we got a taxi voucher from the concierge - worth asking.
• If you select the afternoon outing it will take away from time in the parks if this is a first time or you are one to go non-stop at the parks.
• You cannot bring your own tackle, which may or may not be a big deal for you.  There is actually no private fishing allowed on Walt Disney World property.

Overall Conclusion

Bass fishing on the Walt Disney World guided fishing excursions is highly recommended.  Although it isn't cheap I believe this is an exciting way to enjoy your Disney visit that will satisfy both the fishing enthusiast and Disney fan.

Is Fishing 99% Failure?

99% of the time you don't have a fish on.  Does that mean you're failing 99% of time?  Not a very motivating thought.  No, fishing for me is much more than just fish on. Interesting thought though and made me want to think about why I fish.  I do it for relaxation, the challenge of getting a fish on, and the satisfaction of catching fish on flies that I have built.  Fishing is a great stress reliever for me.  I also enjoy shopping for the next great lure or reel or rod; something that will double my success rate.  Boy, a lot of work for 1%.  Improvising on how I fish a bait to see if I can push my luck past 1%.  I really enjoy the scenery and nature as I fish.  I enjoy the anticipation and planning for that outing. I enjoy meeting new people or guides on the water.  I enjoy the learning part just as much as the cork in my hand.

Most of all I enjoy being with my son on the water.  The time spent with him makes it successful 100% of the time, even if we are just fishing.  Don't miss out on that.

Lake Monroe and Tom's Guiding Service Review

A weekend outing with your child is a great way to enjoy fishing.  My son and I spent a weekend at Lake Monroe outside Bloomington Indiana with Tom’s Guide Service fishing for crappie.

Lake Monroe

Lake Monroe is a 10,750-acre lake just outside of Bloomington Indiana managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.  As a managed lake the shoreline is pristine and not littered with cottages and lake homes.  Lake Monroe is the largest lake completely within Indiana.

According to Wikipedia

"Construction on the lake began in 1960 and was finished in 1965 at a cost of $16.5 million. Salt Creek was dammed south of Bloomington, Indiana and the reservoir fills the valley to the northeast of the dam extending into adjacent Brown County."

Another interesting and relevant fact is that almost 30% of the lake is "non-wake" so the wake boarders, skiing and fast boating is on separate part of the lake from where we fished.  Nice and calm.

The lake is known for:

• Crappie

• Largemouth bass

• Smallmouth bass

• Stripped and White bass

• Catfish

• Walleye

• Spotted bass

Tom’s Guide Service

Tom Todd II, the owner of Tom’s Guide Service was whom we used for the day.  Tom took my son and I out for a full day of crappie fishing.

Tom has been on the lake since it opened in 1965.  Currently he is one of two guides working the lake full-time.   A fuel truck driver who retired, Tom has been guiding full-time for the past few years.

Tom had a great 18' Alumacraft Tunnel Hull Boat with a 50 HP Mercury motor that was nimble enough to get right into the weeds, brush and key spots where the Crappie were.  Tom also has his boat rigged with two fish finders.  The boat may seem small but with us being on the "non-wake" portion of the lake the boat was extremely stable and more than big enough for the three of us to fish comfortably.

Cost and What’s Included

We were out on the water from 9:00 AM to 6:00. The rate was $250 (single person rate) as children are free.  In my view, this this was more than a fair rate.

Tackle - Tom provided all the rods, live bait and artificial bait for the day.  I believe this is common for fishing guides although this was only my second guided trip.  We had spinning rods and reels and fished both crappie minnows and a special jig (insert image)

Food and Snacks

Lunch was provided and included sandwiches with fresh sliced ham water sodas and cookies.

The Day on the Lake

We stayed at the Fourwinds Resort and Marina http://www.fourwindsresort.com/ which is right on the lake, but to save time for fishing, Tom met us at the Cutright Boat Launch to start the day.  This was about a 30-minute drive around the lake.

The Cutright Boat Launch is south of Bloomington right off of Old 446.   Cutright is only 1 of 3 marinas on the lake.

The weather was perfect, although a little cool when we started out.  The water temperature was approximately 51 degrees with the air temperature warming up into the 60 by the afternoon.

Tom's understanding of the lake was evident as we had a well laid out plan of attack for both technique and locations.  We moved around the lake to specific locations he knew and in such a way that we spent much more time fishing that moving between locations.  Also he let my son “drive the boat” which is always a fun thing. (insert image]

We were after crappie.  Tom really spent time with both my son and I showing us how to use the jigs, where to fish, and most importantly; worked the many snags we encountered.

The snag-less jigs we used INSERT PICTURES were good. On the surface you would think that using only 1 jig for the day would be constricting but I found it a positive.  With my 11 year old, and probably any kid, there is a tendency to constantly switch bait; lures and you end up spending more time with dry lines than wet ones.  Using 1 jig (and a live bait rig on the other rods) worked well.

Customer service

Tom's service was great and I found Tom to be really down to earth and authentic.  He is just a great guy to talk with and extremely patient with my son.  We decided on Wednesday (right before Easter) that we wanted to fish and filled out the information form on his website and he responded that night (right after he got off the water).  We set the day and time and that was it.

The Lake had had over 1.4 inches of rain during the week so that much new, fresh water in the Lake played havoc with the fishing.  In spite of that we caught over 20 fish for the day.  Everyone was happy.

Conclusion

If you are new to Lake Monroe or want a guide to help you effectively fish the lake, I highly recommend using Tom's Fishing Guide service.  The overall experience was excellent and he is wonderful with children.

Have you used Tom’s Guiding Service? What did you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.