Key Points
Hello Folks,
As I write my column today, we are three weeks away from fall. I can hardly wait any longer for some cooler weather! I know it’s not goin’ to be in the 60s that same day, but a guy can always dream, right?
The fishin’ is still doin’ pretty good in our area. The Maitland Chain of Lakes Wednesday Nighter is bein’ held at Lake Fairview now instead of on the Maitland Chain of Lakes. The bass fishin’ in Lake Fairview has been pretty good lately. Anglers are weighin’ in three bass that usually weigh about 10 to 12 pounds to win.
In case you’re a bass angler over in the southeast side of Orlando, they have a Wednesday night tournament on the Conway Chain. So, get your fishin’ pole, and catch yourself a big ole grandpa bass! You can always feel sorry for him and let him go. But you showed him who was boss!
If you want to get out of the heat and fish for bass when it’s a little cooler, get you a partner and go fish Johns Lake over in Winter Garden or Lake Fairview in north Orlando, and take part in the Wednesday Nighter’s tournament.
The bass fishin’ on the Harris Chain is still goin’ good…if you know where to look for ’em. Most folks are fishin’ in deeper water with a drop shot rig. They’re catchin’ ’em in 10 to 15 feet of water.
The bass fishin’ on the Butler Chain (known by some as the Windermere chain) is still doin’ good. Most days folks’re gettin’ on the water early and catchin’ a few bass along the shoreline grass on topwater baits. As the day goes along and the sun gets up higher you may need to move to deeper water and fish the submerged hydrilla and pepper grass patches throughout the chain. A swim jig or a slow sinkin’ Senko type bait will get you some bites. Also try fishin’ a Carolina rig in open water where you have submerged vegetation. I’ve caught some nice bass out there usin’ this setup. I haven’t caught any real big ‘uns lately, but you know… bass in the two- to three-pound range.
The Wednesday Night Shootout on Johns Lake was a little rough last week with the storm we had on tournament night. It’s still takin’ around 10 to 12 pounds to win.
The bass fishin’ on West Lake Toho is doin’ good if you get on the water real early or real late in the day. The guides are takin’ folks out and (for this time of the year) catchin’ some really nice bass with shiners. If you want to catch some big bass, shiners are the way to go right now.
Down on the Headwaters Lake west of Fellsmere, the bass fishin’ is still goin’ strong. Most of the guides down there are gettin’ out on the water real early, and they’re catchin’ some pretty nice bass on shiners. Once the shiner bite is over, they’re catchin’ some bass on chatter baits and slow sinkin’ Senko type baits.
Folks’re still catchin’ plenty of shellcrackers down in Lake Kissimmee (east of Lake Wales), most of ’em on red worms and around the pads. You need to get a bucket of worms and go catch you some shellcrackers!
Betcha don’t know why we call ’em “shellcrackers.” Well, it’s because this “Redear Sunfish” (affectionately known to us in the southeast USA as “shellcrackers”) has a unique set of teeth in the back of their mouth that makes ’em capable of crunching the shells of snails and other mollusks! And… that’s my biology lesson for this week!
And that’s it for this week. I hope to see you on the water real soon.
Tip of the week: Go early or late! And…please…be careful! Labor Day weekend is upon us, and some folks tend to forget to just be thoughtful about what they’re doin’ when they start celebratin’ any holiday!
SAVE A FEW, AND GOOD LUCK!