Bass need a break from all the tournaments on Central Florida lakes

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Hello Folks,

It’s a great thing to live here in our area. The weather has been great, a little warm, but it beats snow and ice.

The fishin’ has been pretty good in our area and lots of bass tournaments are bein’ held here. It seems that folks want to come to Florida to fish because it’s definitely warmer here than other areas of the country. We have been gettin’ a lot of national and regional and local tournaments on our home waters.

Folks, I’m just goin’ to come out and say it: In my opinion, we are havin’ too many tournaments. I’ve talked to other people who feel the same way I do. We need to have some time for these bass to spawn and reproduce so we can enjoy the fishin’ in years to come. The Harris Chain has been beaten to death for the past two months and they are havin’ another tournament there this week. The FLW Toyota Series is this week March 17 and March 18. The second annual Teen Challenge tournament is on March 20. Elite One Man tournament is on March 20.

I love to bass fish just as much as anybody and I know these trails bring a lot of revenue to Central Florida. I’m not against tournaments because I used to fish them myself. I just feel there is too much pressure on these bass and they need a break.

We need to have an off-limits durin’ spawnin’ time, and an off-limits for tournaments. If you are as concerned as I am, please email or call FWC about your feelin’s.

The speck fishin’ has slowed down a little in Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup. Kyle at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle reports that you can still catch a few specks on minners but the bite is slowin’ down a little. Folks will soon be fishin’ for bluegills and shellcrackers. Kyle reports that they are sellin’ a few buckets of red worms, so they must be bitin’ somewhere.

The bass fishin’ has been good this past week. I reported last week that Rick and his brother-in-law Greg from Kentucky fished together all of last week. They ended up catchin’ more than 100 bass for six days. These are bass that made it in the boat as Rick likes to say. Rick doesn’t count the bass that get off or the ones that are lost. I would have to say it was a good week for bass fishin’.

Mark at Big Toho Bait and Tackle reports that the bass fishin’ has been good on West Lake and the Kissimmee Chain. If you can get some shiners, you should be able to catch some nice bass in all the lakes in the chain. The south end of the West Lake has been good for catchin’ bass on artificials, too. Folks are usin’ chatter-baits, spinner-baits when it’s windy, and Senko-type baits to catch some nice bass, too.

The Butler Chain has been good for bass fishin’ as of late. I fished out there this past week and was able to catch and release 12 bass up to 3 lbs. each. Rick and Greg were fishin’ out there as well and they caught 21 bass and released them to be caught again. The fishin’ on John’s Lake has been good as well. Folks are catchin’ some nice bass on plastic worms and slow-sinkin Senko-type baits.

Well, that’s if for this week. I hope you get a chance to get on the water and do some fishin’. See ya next week.

Tip of the week: go fishin’. Save a few and good luck!