Hello Folks, 

Sorry I missed y’all last week. I had a health issue, but all is well, and it’s back to goin’ fishin’! 

If you want to catch some panfish I would suggest that you fish in the St. Johns River around the highway 46 bridge. You could also try fishin’ in Lake Kissimmee for some shellcrackers.  

We have a full moon next week, Wednesday, July 29, so the fishin’ should still be doin’ good. I didn’t get any reports on panfish this week. I know that Lake Jesup currently has an active blue-green algae health alert. Experts are warnin’ people to avoid drinkin’, swimmin’, or wadin’ in Lake Jesup waters. 

The Maitland Bass Series was held last Wednesday night at Lake Fairview. Congrats go out to the team of Billy and Steve who had three bass that hit the scales at 13.42 pounds. They also had Big Bass that weighed in at 6.20 pounds. So if you want to catch some fish, now would be a good time to go fishin’.  

The bass are bitin’ good, even in this heat. The bass fishin’ on the Harris Chain is still doin’ good. The X-treme Bass Series held a tournament on the Harris Chain, and it took 28.52 pounds to win. Congrats to the team of Jonathan Semento and Rick Bak on their win. They also had Big Bass of the day which hit the scales at 8.79 pounds. There were 24 boats in the tournament, so hat’s off to all those anglers who endured that hot day on the water.  

Also, recognition goes to Eric Panzironi on his win on the X-treme Bass Series down on West Lake Toho. Eric fished by himself and won the tournament with five bass that hit the scales at 27.67 pounds. Eric also caught the biggest bass for the day which weighed in at 7.64 pounds. There were 24 boats in the tournament, and, congrats to Eric on your win; hopefully, many more to come.  

I wanted to let everyone know that the FWC has a Fishin’ Program for schools in the State of Florida. Registration opens August 20, 2026. The School Fishing Program provides every registered school with a ready to use curriculum. This allows schools to engage in lessons and hands-on activities that can be taught throughout the school year.  This program is for freshwater and saltwater fishin’. Some schools will receive materials and fishin’ equipment to help start their fishin’ program. You can contact Brandon.Stys@MyFWC.com for information on this program.  

Also, the FWC wants folks to know that, as we enter the peak summer months, they are encouraging anglers to check the TrophyCare page (go to license.gooutdoorsflorida.com/Angler/Page) and then scroll down to TrophyCare for recommendations on handling your fish that you catch this summer. If you practice Catch-n-Release, and you want your fish to have a healthy live-release during these hotter months, you need to check out FWC’s page on tips on how to handle it when you are un-hooking that fish and the proper way to release it back into its natural habitat.  

If you haven’t submitted your Trophy Catch bass for the year, we are in the last quarter of Season 14 which ends September 30, 2026. You have until October 15th to complete your submission. There have been 17,166 approved bass submittals so far this year. All of the bass submitted this year must be over 8.0 pounds to be approved for submittal.  

I hope ya’ll have a great week, and I’ll… see ya next week! 

Tip of the week: Full Moon! 

SAVE A FEW AND GOOD LUCK!