Despite copious amounts of rain, bass fishin’ still good

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Hello Folks,

We got rain. The rain is helpin’ raise the level of our lakes and keepin’ everything green. That’s a good thing but I know some folks are tired of the rain. The other good news is the bass fishin’ has been good even with all the rain. I’m gettin’ some good reports in most of the lakes and chains in our area. If you want to go bass fishin’, you need to get on the water early and get off the water before the afternoon rains and thunderstorms.

Mark at Big Toho Bait and Tackle reports that they are catchin’ some bass on top-water baits like a Devils Horse at first light. Once the sun gets up, you need to start fishin’ Ole Monster junebug worms, and Speed Worms.

The bass are hangin’ around the edges of the hydrilla beds. The hydrilla is toppin’ out throughout the lake, so you may have to locate the edges of hydrilla in order to fish.

Folks are catchin’ some panfish as well, Mark said. The shellcrackers, and bluegills are bitin’ between Paradise island and Makinson islands. Most folks are usin’ red worms and crickets to catch ’em. You can find a few panfish out from Red’s Fish Camp as well. The hydrilla is startin’ to cover up the shell-bed out from Red’s, so until they spray the hydrilla again, you need to fish that area real soon.

Kyle at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle reports that the panfishin’ is over in his area. It seems that not many folks are goin’ out due to the storms. The panfish bite has been kinda slow lately so I’m sure that’s keepin’ a lot of folks from goin’ as well. Kyle did report that the bass fishin’ is still doin’ good in most of the lakes in his area. Folks are fishin’ the Maitland Chain and they are catchin’ bass on shiners and artificials. The bass fishin’ is still doin good on John’s Lake. You need to get on the water early before the storms get ya in the afternoon.

Folks are catchin’ some bass in the Butler Chain as well. You can catch a lot of small bass and if you are lucky enough, you might catch a 3 pounder to 5 pounder durin’ the day. Most of the bass are bein’ caught on plastic worms and slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits. Some folks are catchin’ some bigger bass on swim-baits around the pads and grass, too.

Kyle reports that the bass fishin’ was a little slow this past weekend on Lake Yale. Kyle fished his club’s tournament on Sunday. It took five bass that weighed a little over 10 lbs. to win.

The bass fishin’ has been pretty good on the Harris Chain. There are some areas where the water is flowin’ into the lakes and folks are catchin’ some bass feedin’ on baitfish. You can also catch some bass out from the grass-line early in the mornin’ and then you will have to get that long rod out and flip the heavy cover durin’ the day.

Don’t forget to flip the docks for bass as well. The docks provide shade for the bass.

If you guide on the Butler Chain or hold your club tournaments on the Butler Chain as of July 1, it is no longer allowed. The Orange County commissioners have put in place rules that forbid any of these activities on the chain. There is a big sign at the R.D. Keene ramp lettin’ everyone know of the new rules. Please make sure you read these changes before doin’ any of these activities.

Well, that’s it for this week.  I’ll see ya next week.

Tip of the week: go early.

Save a few and good luck!