Fishin’ is hot or not depending on our weather

3206
Rick Mullins holds a 3-lb. bass he caught fishin’ on a plastic worm in a local lake.

Hello Folks,

As I write this column, we are only a few days away from Christmas. I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I wish for you and your family to remember the reason for the season, and enjoy the gifts that we all have received this past year.

The bass fishin’ right now is hit or miss due to the weather changes. Once the weather gets to where it wants to stay, the fishin’ will get better. Rick and I fished a private lake in Lake County last week and caught and released 10 bass. We both caught two bass around 2.5 lbs. each. Most of our fish were caught on plastic worms and slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits.  Earlier this week, we fished the Butler Chain and it was kinda slow. We did manage to catch 10 bass up to around 3 lbs. each. It was a little slow and Rick caught most of the bass. We caught our bass on plastic worms and swim-baits. There are some schoolers in the chain but they are small bass.

The specks are still bitin’ in Lake Monroe and Lake Woodruff. Most folks are fishin’ with minners and driftin’ open water. You can also try fishin’ with jigs tipped with a minner. Brightly colored jigs have been workin’ the best, including lemon-orange, chartreuse, lime-green with glitter, are some that will get their attention.

Kyle at Bitters Bait and Tackle reports that the folks in his area are goin’ after the specks. More folks are showin’ up at the store and buyin’ minners. His anglers are catchin’ specks in Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup. They are driftin’ open water and coverin’ lots of water. Kyle also reports that some folks are cartchin’ some specks in the St. Johns River as well. So it sounds like folks are gettin’ up and goin’ fishin’ and catchin’ some specks. Kyle also fished a tournament on the Butler Chain last Sunday in that rainstorm we had. They caught lots of bass but none of size. They caught around 20 bass on a variety of lures.

The bass fishin’ on the Kissimmee Chain has been good to real good. Folks are catchin’ some nice bass on shiners fished around the shoreline cover and around the hydrilla clumps throughout the chain. You can catch some bass on plastic frogs and toads in those same areas first thing in the mornin’. Once the sun gets up, flip those same areas for a few nice bass.

Well, hopefully, the weather will settle down and the fishin’ will keep gettin’ better each week. Again, Merry Christmas to you and your family. 

Tip of the week: speck fishin’ is pickin’ up. Save a few and good luck!