Hello Folks,
I hope everyone is enjoyin’ the last of the cooler weather we have been havin’. The days aren’t too hot and the fishin’ has been really good this past week. Lots of folks are gettin’ on the water and catchin’ some nice fish.
Kyle at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle reports that the folks in his area are still catchin’ a few specks on minners. The best two lakes have been Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup. The specks are gettin’ ready to go to their summer pattern and you will have to locate ’em in deeper water for the summer. The bluegills should start bitin’ real good in the next few weeks. We have a new moon this weekend and a few bluegills are already showin’ up on the beds.
Rick and I found a couple of beds this week while bass fishin’ in John’s Lake, so the bluegills should kick in gear real soon. You need to get you a bucket or a cup of red wigglers and look for the beds on the lake. You will know you have found ’em because you will smell ’em. When bluegills get on the beds, there is a distinct odor they give off.
Kyle also reports that folks are catchin’ some bass in most of the lakes in our area on shiners. The Butler Chain has been real good for numbers of bass. Most of the bass are bein’ caught on plastic worms and slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits. You need to look out for a few schoolers showin’ up in the chain as well. You need to keep a lipless crank-bait tied on to one of your rods just in case they decide to start bustin’ on baitfish.
Mark at Big Toho Bait and Tackle reports that the bass fishin’ has picked up a little. Most of the guides are catchin’ bass on shiners now that shiners are available. Mark reports that some nice 6 pound and 7 pound bass are bein’ caught each week. You can also catch some bass on artificials as well. Mark also reports that West Lake has turned over and the north end of the lake is green. You need to fish the middle part of the lake or the southern part of the lake where the water is a little clearer.
If you get on the water early, try fishin’ top-water baits at first light and then switch over to plastic worms like speed worms or eight-inch ribbon tail worms. A slow-sinkin’ Senko will catch you some bass as well.
As I mentioned earlier, Rick and I fished John’s Lake this week and we had a good day on the water. We caught and released 19 bass up to 6 lbs. each. Just as an FYI, we found a few bass still on the beds. We didn’t try and catch ’em off the beds but we did catch four bass includin’ the 6 pounder that had roe in ’em. With the new moon this weekend, I’m sure the remainin’ bass that haven’t spawned will be on the beds by the weekend. Please practice catch and release durin’ this time of the year on the spawnin’ females that are on the beds. You can take a picture and if you’re registered in the www.Trophycatchflorida.com program, you can enter the program and earn some nice rewards.
Well, that’s it for this week. I hope to see you on the water real soon.
Tip of the week: new moon Sunday.
Save a few and good luck!
