Hello Folks,
It’s gettin’ a little cooler. It’s not cool enough for me, but it’s not in the high 90s when you go outside. I can hardly wait for some cooler weather and some good fishin’ this fall.
I talked to Kyle at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle earlier this week and he reports that the shop is a little slow right now. There are just a handful of people fishin’ for bluegills, but that season is just about over here in Central Florida. It will soon be time to start catchin’ some specks.
Kyle reports that the specks were really bitin’ about a week ago, but all of a sudden, they quit bitin’ over the past few days. Most of the specks were bein’ caught in Lake Monroe on minners. Folks were driftin’ the deeper channels through the lake. Some folks are catchin’ a few specks in Lake Jesup under the State Road 417 bridge. You need a bucket of minners, a cane pole, some floats, and a small split shot, along with a number 2 or 4 size hook. The ole timers told me to always use a gold hook. Ever since I started fishin’ for specks, that’s all I have ever used. I’m sure other hooks work as well, but for me, that’s what I use to catch ’em.
The bass fishin has been good most days, but most of the folks will tell you, you need to get on the water real early. Some folks are gettin’ on the water before sunrise. Well, if that’s your thing, go for it. I like gettin’ on the water early as well, but that’s a little too early for me. Kyle has been fishin’ the Harris Chain for the past two weeks and has some good days on the water. There have been a few days that it’s been kinda slow, but overall, it’s been pretty good. Most of the bass are bitin’ on chatter-baits, plastic worms, and swim-jigs. You can catch a few bass early in the mornin’ on top-water baits as well.
Kyle also mentioned that the water temperature has come down quite a bit, about 10 degrees since summer. That’s really good news, since it’s been so hot this summer. The bass fishin’ on West Lake has been good if you are fishin’ with shiners. You can catch a few bass on plastic worms, swim-jigs around the shoreline cover. When the sun gets up, try flippin’ the heavy cover with your favorite flippin’ bait.
The bass fishin’ on the Maitland Chain has been pretty good. Most of the bass are bein’ caught around the submerged hydrilla and eel-grass throughout the chain. You can use lipless crank-baits, spinner-baits, and chatter-baits. If you can’t get a bite on one of those baits, try fishin’ the grass with slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits or your favorite plastic worm.
We are comin’ up to the end of Trophy Bass Season 11. You must get your Trophy Catch bass into the FWC by September 30. Your bass must weigh at least 8 lbs. or larger in order to qualify for some awesome prizes.
You can visit the FWC website Trophy Bass for all the requirements for submitting your bass.
On September 29, we are goin’ to have a full moon. The fishin’ should really start to pick up, and, hopefully with a little cooler weather, those fish will start to bite. See ya next week.
Tip of the week: full moon.
Save a few and good luck!
