Hello Folks,
I’m writin’ my article on a Monday night which is out of character for me. I usually do this on Tuesdays but due to the storm, I’m doin’ it tonight. The Apopka Chief is goin’ to the press on Tuesday in case they lose power and can’t print the paper.
By the time you read my article on Friday, Hurricane Milton will have passed. I hope and pray everyone is safe and you didn’t have any or no damage durin’ the storm. With the storm comin’ our way, I’m sure we are goin’ to get quite a bit of rain. We already have a lot of ramps closed in our area, and I’m sure they will remain closed after the storm.
The Butler Chain is closed, and the Conway Chain is closed. I haven’t heard about the Maitland Chain bein’ closed, but I’m sure they will close it down due to floodin’.
I forgot to mention that the boat ramp renovations at Hickory Point Recreation Complex in Tavares are now complete. Folks that use that ramp will see six newly upgraded slips. The boat slips and docks reopened last month. The renovations were done on the East slips includin’ new gangways and stable concrete floating docks that are ADA accessible. They redid the tire traction pavement and they made the longer slips deeper, and longer, so you are capable of launchin’ boats up to 30 feet long.
The West slips will be closed for phase two of the renovations. The East Slips will remain open at all times durin’ the construction to ensure boatin’ access to Lake Harris. Folks are asked to to adhere to ramp closure signage and new traffic routes through the project’s final stage. It’s gonna take about 145 days to complete the final stage on the renovations.
On another note, if you are plannin’ a trip to fish the Rodman Reservoir in the near future, you may have to wait awhile. They are goin’ to do a drawdown on the reservoir. There has been an Executive Order implementing a temporary “no harvest” regulation of the takin’ of Black Bass durin’ the drawdown. The order was issued on September 24, 2024. The no harvest of Black Bass will start on Monday, November 4, and will last until Thursday, April 3, 2025.
The X-treme Bass Series held their last tournament of the year for West Lake Toho on October 6th. Jim Topmiller and Lonnie Mead closed the season out with a win durin’ the tournament. They weighed in a 5 bass limit of 19.48 pounds. Chris Maxwell and Dell Danes earned Big Bass honors with a 5.57 kicker. With the last event of the year for the Toho Division, the team of Chad Schroeder and Anthony Cilladi secured the Division Point Champions for the Toho Division. They will now have the opportunity to compete for Team of the Year at the 2024 Blazer Boats X-treme Bass Series Championship.
Well, that’s it for this week. I hope you made it through the storm, and with some cooler weather in our future, the fishin’ should be pickin’ back up real soon. I watched the weather for information about the storm and after the storm, it says we will have some mornin’ temperatures in the high 60s.
Thank you, Lord. See ya next week.
Tip of the week: Stay Safe
Save a few and good luck.
