Hello Folks,
Well, we had a great endin’ to January and the fishin’ was goin’ really good. Then February started this week and the wind and cold came back to town with a vengeance. I’m in my office and I can see the trees blowin’ and it’s cold. The temperature as I write this is 43 degrees and it feels like 35 degrees. They are callin’ for even colder temperatures and there are gusty northwest winds up to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. I don’t know about you, but, for me, those conditions are not enticing to go fishin’. It’s not that I don’t want to go fishin’, I just don’t want to get blown off the lake. Hopefully, by the end of the week we can get back on the water and go fishin’.
Before it got cold again earlier this week, the bass fishin’ was pretty good and the speck fishin’ has been fantastic. Rich at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle reports that folks are catchin’ some nice stringers of specks in Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup. Most of the specks are bein’ caught in open water with a few specks bein’ caught in shallow water. Lake Harney has been producin’ some nice stringers of specks, too. All you need is a bucket of minners and a jig or two, and you are good to go. I think that once the weather gets settled a little, the speck fishin’ should pick back up.
The bass fishin’ was really goin’ good up until this week. Lots of folks were catchin’ some nice bass on shiners. Kyle at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle reports that lots of folks were catchin’ some bass on shiners in the local lakes around town. Kyle reports lots of specks bein’ caught in the major lakes as I mentioned earlier.
As at other places, Mark at Big Toho Bait and Tackle reports that the bass fishin’ was doin’ good up until this week. Most of the guides’ clients were catching 10 to 15 bass per trip. They were catchin’ their bass on shiners. Once in a while, a nice bass around 7-8 pounds is bein’ caught on these trips.
The bass fishin’ on the St. Johns River was doin’ very good as of last weekend. The Central Florida Bass Hunters held its monthly tournament on the river and lots of bass were caught. The winnin’ stringer was caught by Clint Boyles and Bill Harland. They weighed in five bass for a total weight of 26.22 pounds. Not only did they catch the winnin’ stringer, they also caught the biggest bass of the tournament that weight 8.33 pounds. Congrats, guys, on your win and for catchin’ the biggest bass of the tournament.
Well, folks, that’s about it for this week. I hope the weather straightens out by the end of the week so we can go fishin’.
See ya next week.
Tip of the week: shiners. Save a few and good luck!
