Hello Folks, 

Folks, we really need rain, so keep those prayers goin’ for two to three more inches of rain.  

The fishin’ is still doin’ real good in most of the lakes and rivers in our area, and the shellcrackers should start bitin’ real soon.  

Folks have been catchin’ plenty of shellcrackers in the Kissimmee Chain for the last month. I spoke to John Bitters of Bitters Bait & Tackle, and he reports that the shellcrackers haven’t yet started good here in our area. He reports that the speck bite is slowin’ down quite a bit in Lake Monroe and the St. Johns River.  

We have a full moon Wednesday, April 1, (tomorrow as I write), so that might help the shellcrackers to start bitin’ better by the weekend.  

The bass fishin’ is still goin’ strong up at the north end of the St. Johns River.  John told me that the bass are schoolin’ from Astor down to Hontoon Island. Topwater baits and lipless crankbaits have been gettin’ the job done. You can also catch’em on Bitters Vibe and the Bitters Swimmers. You’ll have a blast catchin’ these bass when they come up and start feedin’ on baitfish. Some big bass are actuallybein’ caught in with these schoolin’ bass.  

Lake Fairview bass fishin’ is still hot. Lots of bass are bein’ caught in the lake durin’ the day and late into the evenin’.  

There was a tournament on the Conway Chain last week, and they really caught ’em. Congrats to Bobby Bakewell and his dad Robert; they won the tournament. Together, they brought five bass to the scales that weighed in at 23 pounds 12 ounces. They also had Big Bass of that tournament which hit the scales at 8 pounds 8 ounces. I don’t know if you’ve ever fished the Conway Chain, but you usually catch a bunch of one-pounders and maybe a three-pounder every once in a while. Bobby and his dad have been fishin’ the Conway Chain since Bobby was eight years old. So once again, congrats to Bobby and Robert on their win.  

Another congratulation goes out to one of my fishin’  buddies, Rich Niles. Rich fished his club tournament on West Lake Toho in all that wind last Sunday. Rich said that West Lake was as bad as he’s ever seen it. He ran to the south end of the lake and fished there all day. When he was ready to come in, there were rollers on the lake. He ran to the east side thinkin’ it might be a little calmer, but nope; it was still bad. The good news is that he did win the tournament with five bass that weighed in at 13.5 pounds. Rich also had Big Bass of the tournament which hit the scales at 4.0 pounds. There were 15 boats in that tournament.  

If there are any bass that haven’t spawned yet, this week would probably be a good week for that to happen. So, keep your eye out for some spawnin’ bass on the beds. Please make sure you practice catch and release for these big females. They need to lay their eggs,and hopefully, the fry will have a great survival rate this year.  

Well, that’s it for this week. I hope you get a chance to do some fishin’ durin’ the week or over the weekend. License-free freshwater fishing is Saturday and Sunday April 4th and April 5th. You don’t have to have a license to fish in freshwater, and it’s for residents and visitors exploring freshwater fishing. 

Tip of the week: Pray for Rain! 

SAVE A FEW AND GOOD LUCK!