Hello Folks,
Well, it’s soon to be 2023 and another year is in the books. We have had some cold weather over the Christmas holidays, and in some parts of Florida, they got some sleet and a little bit of snow. It was cold and it sure did a number on the travelers for the holidays.
I’m glad we stayed home this year and enjoyed our time with our children, grandchildren, friends, and family. I hope your Christmas holidays were as enjoyable as ours.
I talked to Kyle at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle, and he reports that the specks are bitin’ in Lake Jesup. Most of the specks are bein’ caught on minners. A few folks are catchin’ some specks in Lake Monroe and in the St. Johns River. After this cold weather, the specks are bitin’, so get ya some minners and go fishin’.
I’ve been checkin’ my resources to see if the bass were bitin’ in the Harris Chain, and the bass bite is a little slow on the chain. The bass are bitin’ on John’s Lake and folks are catchin’ ’em on a variety of baits. They are usin’ top-water lures at first light and the then switchin’ over to plastic worms and chatter-baits throughout the day.
The ramp on the Butler Chain remains closed. The Orange County Parks and Recreation Department doesn’t know when the ramp will open back up at R.D. Keene Park.
The FWC has announced a 2023 Triple Threat Throwdown challenge. This is goin’ to be a saltwater angler recognition program. The challenge will run from January 1, 2023 until September 5, 2023. The winner will win a Bonafide SS127 fishing kayak. It will be fully outfitted with an accessory package from YakAttack. You can go to FWC’s website for rules and regulations and while you are there, you can register for this Catch a Florida Memory challenge. Good luck, everyone, and make sure you register for this program, and win a new kayak.
The bass fishin’ on the Kissimmee Chain has been hit or miss. Most of the bigger bass are bein’ caught on wild shiners. You can catch a few bass on artificials, but fishin’ shiners this time of year is the way to go.
The bass fishin’ on the Maitland Chain is a little slow due to the cold weather. Your best bet would be to free-line shiners over the submerged hydrilla and eel-grass beds throughout the chain.
Well, I wish I had more and better news for you, but with the weather and the holidays last week, not too many folks got to go fishin’.
See ya next week.
Tip of the week: Lake Jesup specks are bitin’.
Save a few and good luck!
