Key Points
Hello Folks,
I hope you’re havin’ a great week, and hopefully… you got a chance to do some fishin’. This may be wishful thinkin’, but I actually think it might be gettin’ a tad bit cooler… at least as I write this column first thing on Tuesday mornin’ it seems that way!
In case it’s slipped your mind, September 30th will be the last day for the Season 14 TrophyCatch. Season 14 will end this month on September 30th. Season 15 will begin on October 1st of 2026. There will be some new challenges along with rewards in Season 15. You can go to TrophyCatch@MyFWC.com with all the rules and regulations to enter your Big Bass.
There are three types of clubs in which you can enter your Big Bass: The Lunker Club, which is a bass that weighs 8.0 – 9.9 pounds. The next club is The Trophy Club, which is a bass the weighs between 10.0 and 12.9 pounds. The last one is The Hall-of-Fame Club, and that bass must weigh 13 pounds or more. So, if you’re not already registered, you need to get that done without delay; just make sure you have the necessary equipment to weigh and record your Big Bass which includes a tape measure, scales, and a camera. You also must first release your Big Bass to even submit your catch.
Over on the Butler Chain, the bass fishin’ is still holdin’ its own. Folks’re gettin’ out on the water early and catchin’ some bass along the shoreline grass and pads with a noisy topwater bait. As the sun gets up, you’ll need to move to deeper water and try fishin’ the submerged hydrilla and pepper grass throughout the chain. Keep an eye peeled for bass feedin’ on baitfish. With fall right around the corner, the bass will really be feedin’, gettin’ their bellies full because it won’t be long before they’ll be goin’ on the beds for winter. The water temperature needs to come down a lot though before that happens. When the water temps get down in the 60s, that’s gonna trigger the fish to move in to shallow water to spawn. With the water temperature now bein’ up around 84 to 86 degrees, we’ve got a long way to go before the spawn happens.
The bass fishin’ on Johns Lake has slowed down some from last week. The Johns Lake Wednesday Night Shootout had 18 boats fish the tournament. Congrats to the winnin’ team of Doug Saul and Mike Bruton who brought three bass to the scales that weighed 9.05 pounds. They also had Big Bass for the night that weighed in at 3.85 pounds.
On the Harris Chain, the bass fishin’ is still doin’ pretty good. You’ll just have to hunt until you locate a school of ’em. Try fishin’ the shoreline grass at first light. Then you’ll need to move to deeper water and try and locate a school of ‘em in 10 to 15 feet of water. Most folks are usin’ a dropshot rig or a Carolina rig to catch’em. If you can locate a shell bed that has some bass feedin’ on it, that would be a good place to try, as well.
Down in Lake Kissimmee, the fishin’ is still doin’ pretty good for shellcrackers. Again, you need to get a bucket of worms and then go find some lily pads, and you should be good to go.
And, folks’re still catchin’ some nice bass on shiners down at the Headwaters, too. Early mornin’ has been the best time to get out there to catch some bass.
Well, I hope you get out there real soon… and catch some fish! And I’ll see ya next week.
Tip of the week: Go early! And, rule number 1: keep yourself safe! Then, you can go and load the boat with fish!
SAVE A FEW AND GOOD LUCK!!