Hello Folks,
It looks like September is just around the corner. Hopefully, some cooler weather is in the forecast in our area. I know a lot of folks don’t like the cooler weather and that’s why you live in Florida. I get it, but I’m ready for some cooler days ahead.
The fishin’ is still doin’ good in most of the chains and lakes in our area. Kyle at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle reports that folks are still catchin’ some bluegills and shellcrackers in Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup. The bite has slowed down just a little but once you locate a bed of ’em, you should be able to catch ’em. Red worms have been the best bait to catch ’em on in those two lakes. You can catch a mixed bag of panfish and a few catfish off the seawall up in Sanford.
The bass fishin’ has slowed down a little in most of the chains but folks are just wantin’ to get out of the house and be on the water. You don’t have to stay all day if it’s hot, but a few hours on the water is good for your soul.
Rick and I got out last week for a few hours and that’s just what we did on the water. We fished the Harris Chain and Rick caught two bass on plastic worms. We fished the fish attractors and that’s the only place we could get a bite. Kyle reports that the bass in the Harris Chain have been hangin’ around the fish attractors durin’ the day, but folks have been catchin’ ’em better at night. Some of the bigger bass were bein’ caught at night. So, give it a try and see if you can find ’em on the fish attractors at night.
Kyle reports that they are still sellin’ lots of shiners and folks are fishin’ for bass in the local lakes and doin’ pretty good. One of Kyle’s buddies is still catchin’ some nice bass in the Maitland Chain on shiners. He is free-linin’ the shiners behind the boat, over the submerged hydrilla and eel-grass beds. Kyle reports that you need to get on the water and take advantage of the early mornin’ bite. Once the sun gets up, the fishin’ is a little tough. Early in the mornin’ or late in the day have been the best times to try and catch some bass. Of course, you can try at night as well.
The bass fishin’ on the Butler Chain has been good for numbers and small bass. There have been a few schoolers in the chain, so keep an eye out for the divin’ birds or the bass that are blowin’ up on the bait-fish. If the schoolers come up, try fishin’ noisy top-water baits or lipless crank-baits. You should be able to put a few bass in the boat by fishin’ these baits.
As everyone knows, that is those that read my column, we are into Season 8 of the Trophy Catch program, sponsored by Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Most folks know it as the FWC here in our area and across the state. I wanted to let you know we have another Hall of Fame bass that was caught and released in Polk County. An angler by the name of Vance McCullers, caught a 15 lb. 2 oz. bass on August 4. Congrats to Vance on his beautiful bass that he caught in an unnamed lake in Polk County.
Well, that’s it for this week. I hope you get a chance to do some fishin’ this weekend and I’ll see ya next week.
Tip of the week: go fishin’.
Save a few and good luck!
