Hello Folks,
Well, it’s summer and it’s a little warm but the good news is that if you get up and go fishin’ early, you can get in 6 to 7 hours of good fishin’ time on the water. The fishin’ has been good all summer long so far and folks are gettin’ on the water and havin’ a blast catchin’ bluegills and big shellcrackers.
Kyle at Bitters’ Bait and Tackle reports that folks are catchin’ plenty of bluegills and shellcrackers in Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup. You can also catch plenty of panfish in the St. Johns River. Most folks are fishin’ with red worms and crickets. Kyle also reports some folks are catchin’ some nice specks driftin’ open water with minners. Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup have been the best two lakes to catch some specks.
The bass fishin’ is still doin’ good but again you need to get on the water real early. If you can’t get up early and you are workin’, you can head out and fish at dark-thirty. Kyle reports that the bass fishin’ has been good in John’s Lake again this week. Kyle has been catchin’ plenty of bass on a variety of baits. He has been usin’ top-water and frogs in the mornin’. Once the sun gets up, he switches over to the plastic worms and slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits. Kyle has also been catchin’ some nice bass on the Bitter’s Vibe. Kyle also reports some schoolers comin’ up durin’ the day, so keep a lipless crank-bait tied on to one of your rods.
Rick and I fished John’s Lake last week as well. We caught eight bass that probably weighed around 25 lbs. total. They were all good keepers and fun to catch. We caught our bass on slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits and vibe worms.
In case you missed it, we have a new state record for flathead catfish. A gentleman named Marvin Griffin posted the new FWC state record by catchin’ a 69.3-pound catfish. She was 47 inches long with a girth of 34.25 inches. Marvin caught his record-settin’ catfish in the Yellow River on a rod and reel with live bait. Marvin was fishin’ with his fishin’ buddy John Babb. Marvin reports that it was a good thing that John came fishin’ with him that day because he could have never got the fish in the boat without his help.
Marvin’s family has been fishin’ the Yellow River for years. His family has always caught some of the big catfish over the years. Marvin’s uncle, James Auston Jr., held the record for a flathead catfish from 2011 until 2016. He also caught his catfish in the Yellow River, too.
Well, that’s it for this week. I hope you get a chance to do some fishin’ this weekend.
See ya next week.
Tip of the week: Fish are bitin’.
Save a few and good luck!
