Key Points
Hello Folks,
We have a new moon Saturday mornin’, so the fishin’ should be really good… if the weather doesn’t get too bad.
If you need some rain in your area, this just might be the week to help resolve some of our current drought problems. We really can use all the rain we can get. Accordin’ to local meteorologists, this is the driest year on record. And, due to the ongoin’ drought conditions over the summer, our local lakes are strugglin’ with low water levels even when you compare them with other parts of the state where water levels are either risin’ or stable.
But the (prayed-for) rain will get the fish to bitin’… if everything goes accordin’ to plan! (Ha ha!) Water that flows into the lakes and rivers will wash all kinds of terrestrial insects, worms, and small crawfish into the main bodies of water.
Baitfish (like shiners) along with panfish, will start swarmin’ to these inflow points to feed on the washed-in nutrients. Once this happens, the predatory bass will move to those areas and start feedin’ on the baitfish. The movin’ water from ditches and culverts and creeks is freshly oxygenated water which triggers an active feedin’ mood.
Many years ago, my fishin’ partner Bruce and I won a tournament when conditions mirrored this exact situation. We found some water flowin’ into the lake, and we fished there all day; we won by catchin’ a limit of bass and the biggest bass of the day!
The bass fishin’ on the Butler Chain is still doin’ good. Most folks are gettin’ out there real early and catchin’ some bass around the shoreline grass, on topwater baits.
They’re still catchin’ panfish in Lake Kissimmee, down at the southern end of the Kissimmee chain of lakes, east of Lake Wales. Most of those panfish are bein’ caught in the pads on red worms.
The bass fishin’ is still goin’ strong on the Kissimmee chain, in general. The folks gettin’ on the water real early (at first light) are catchin’ some nice bass on topwater baits.
As the sun gets up, you can try fishin’ the edges of the hydrilla mats with slow-sinkin Senko type baits. If the hydrilla is kinda sparse, you can try usin a jerkbait in those types of areas. The bass fishin’ on the Headwaters is still doin’ good, too. Again, the rule seems to be: the folks gettin’ out on the water early and armed with a bunch of shiners are catchin’ some very nice bass.
Some folks are bookin’ speck trips already, and they’ve started catchin’ some nice specks. You’ll have to hunt for’em, but once you find’em, you should be able to catch a few good’uns to take home to eat!
October 1st, 2026, kicked off Season 15 of Trophy Catch. It will end on September 30th of next year (2027). There are some changes this year. They are goin’ bigger with special promotions. One change this year is whoever is the first angler to catch an approved bass weighin’ 15 pounds or better will get a special prize package.
If you want to see what the new changes are, go to the TrophyCatch Website which is TrophyCatch.com, for complete program terms and conditions, submission requirements, and Season 15 promotion details.
Well, I hope the rain doesn’t keep you off the water this week. (But don’t stop prayin’ for rain!)
But before I go, here’s a question for ya’: when you first started fishin’, were you hooked on fishin’ by a panfish?
Tip of the week: New Moon!
Well, I’ll see ya’ next week. SAVE A FEW AND GOOD LUCK!