Hello Folks,
Well, as the sayin’ goes, April showers bring May flowers. We have been gettin’ our fair share of rain and I know that some folks are happy and some folks are sad. We needed the rain to fill up the lakes, but I’m sure some folks are ready for some sunshine. Well, sunshine seems to be on the way for the weekend and folks will be gettin’ on the water and doin’ some fishin’.
Mark at Big Toho Bait and Tackle reports that West Lake on the north end is nothin’ but pea soup. It’s as green as it can be, so the fishin’ on the north end is not good. The water clears up in the middle of the lake and on the south end of the lake. In those two areas of the lake, the bass are bitin’ on shiners. Most of the guide trips are reportin’ that you can catch bass in those two areas.
Over at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle, Dan reports that folks are catchin’ some bluegills in the pads in Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup. You can also catch some bluegills in most of the lakes in our area around the laydowns, pads, and around the docks. Try to find some shaded areas durin’ the day and you should be able to catch some bluegills. Most of the folks are usin’ red worms and crickets to catch ’em.
The bass fishin’ has been off and on due to the rain, but they are still bitin’ on the Kissimmee Chain. Last weekend the Extreme Bass Series held its monthly tournament on West Lake Toho and it took 28.50 lbs. to win.
Congrats to Josh Wolf and Jeff Barth on their win. Big Bass of the tournament was caught by the team of Brandon Terry and Mike Shaw. Their big bass came in at 8.75 lbs. The bass are bitin’; you just need to find ’em.
On the Butler Chain, the bass fishin’ has been good for numbers of bass. Folks are catchin’ ’em on plastic worms, slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits, and lipless crank-baits. Look for the birds to be feedin’ on the baitfish and you should find some bass bustin’ on the baitfish as well.
The Harris Chain has slowed down on the bass fishin’ this past week. Danny Mosley was out there last week and it was a little slow for him on the chain.
Most of the bass are through spawnin’ so they will be movin’ to their summer pattern real soon. You can fish the shoreline grass, trees, laydowns, and boat docks at first light. Once the sun gets up, you will need to move to offshore grass, like hydrilla, and eel-grass.
If you can locate some shellbeds, try fishin’ those types of areas with a crank-bait or a swim-jig. You can try a speed worm fished very slowly through the grass beds as well.
I hope you get a chance to go fishin’ this weekend. I’ll see ya next week.
Tip of the week: sunshine.
Save a few and good luck!
