Cooler weather already on the mind as calendar rolls into August

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Hello Folks,

We have a few more days of summer. Just think, in 46 days from Friday, it will be fall. Fall starts on September 22 this year and I’m ready for it to get here. I say this every year, but I’m lookin’ forward to some cooler weather. It has been a hot summer, but this too will pass.

Folks are still gettin’ on the water and they are still catchin’ fish. It has been a great summer for fishin’, but since we have been quarantined a lot this summer, more folks are gettin’ out of the house and goin’ fishin’. Kyle at Bitter’s B&T reports that summer fishin’ is still goin’ strong in our area. All the years that I’ve been writin’ my column, this has been the best summer to catch specks.

Kyle reports that folks are still catchin’ specks in Lake Jesup. Most of the specks are bein’ caught on minners under the State Road 417 bridge. If you get on ’em, you can catch a nice stringer of specks. You can also catch some bluegills and a few shellcrackers in Lake Jesup and Lake Monroe on red worms. These two lakes have been goin’ strong all summer long.

The bass fishin’ on the St. Johns River has been good now for about two weeks. The baitfish are runnin’ the river and folks are catchin’ some nice bass. Look for the bass to be schoolin’ on the baitfish in the mouth of the feeder creeks and in the main part of the river. You can try throwin’ a noisy top-water bait or a lipless crank-bait.

The Maitland Chain has been good again this week for catchin’ bass. Most of the bass are bein’ caught on shiners, freelinin’ out the back of the boat. You need to freeline the shiners over the submerged hydrilla and eel-grass beds. You can catch some bass in the Butler Chain but you will have to follow the birds. Look for divin’ birds on the bait-fish throughout the chain. You should catch plenty of smaller bass on lipless crank-baits and top-water baits early in the mornin’. Once the sun gets up, you need to move to deeper water and fish the submerged hydrilla and eel-grass beds in the bigger lakes.

Kyle also reports that the bass fishin’ on John’s Lake has been good for the past few days. Most of the bass are bein’ caught at night and it’s takin’ some good stringers to win the Wednesday night tournaments that are held out there each week. Folks have been catchin’ their bass on chatter-baits, top-water baits, plastic worms, and slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits. It’s a little cooler fishin’ at night so give it a try and see how it goes for you.

Well, that’s it for this week. I hope you get a chance to do some fishin’ and I’ll see ya next week.

Tip of the week: look for baitfish.

Save a few and good
luck!