Hello Folks,
I hope you had a great weekend and you had a chance to do some fishin’. Folks are gettin’ on the water and catchin’ plenty of bluegills and shellcrackers. The bass fishin’ hasn’t been bad, but, again, you need to get on the water at daylight. If you plan on catchin’ some panfish, you need to fish the docks, laydowns, under trees, pads, anything that provides some shade. The weather has been hot durin’ the day and the panfish are lookin’ for some shady spots and cooler water. Take along plenty of crickets and red worms for the panfish. Take plenty of water because you are gonna need it when that ole sun gets high in the sky.
You can catch some catfish in the St. Johns River in the deep holes in the bends of the river. Also try the mouths of the feeder creeks for catfish. Most folks like to use small domestic shiners, or stink-baits. Night-crawlers also work well.
The bass fishin’ is a get-up-early-and-get-on-the-water type of thing. If you sleep in, you will miss the mornin’ bite and by the time you get to the lake, it’s too late. At first light, try a noisy top-water bait near or along the shoreline before the sun gets up. If the water is calm, you might try a Rapapla up close to the grass-line, or near the edge of the lily pads. A plastic toad or a plastic frog work as well. I like to use a swim-bait around the pads and the isolated grass patches. I take a swim-bait and fish it kinda fast so as to keep the bait on top of the water. I let the tail make some noise as it comes across the top of the water, and those bass just can’t resist it. They will bust it as it comes across the water. I like to throw a Gambler Big EZ in those areas. You can also try fishin’ a spinner-bait or a buzz-bait in the same areas.
Once the sun gets up, you will have to move to deeper water and fish the submerged hydrilla and eel-grass beds with a plastic worm or a slow-sinkin’ Senko-type bait. Some folks like to Carolina-rig a plastic worm or use a drop shot rig to catch some bass, too. Which ever works best for you, just make sure you don’t get in a hurry and move the bait too fast.
If you’re fishin’ deeper water with a plastic worm in the summer, you want to dead-stick it. That means you let the plastic worm lay there until you can can’t stand any longer and then wait just a second longer and then move it just a little. You will need a lot of patience to make this type of bass fishin’ work.
The Butler Chain and the Conway Chain have been producin’ some nice stringers of bass as of late. Again, folks are gettin’ on the water early and takin’ advantage of the early mornin’ bite. Always be on the lookout for schoolin’ bass. You will see ‘em bustin’ on bait-fish and the birds will be divin’ on the schoolers as well.
Well, I hope you get a chance to do some fishin’ this week. See ya next week.
Tip of the week: daylight.
Save a few and good luck!
