Hello Folks,
We are gettin’ plenty of rain and by lookin’ at the ponds and lakes near my house, you can see the water is comin’ up. We are supposed to get some more rain next week, so if you want to go fishin’, this weekend would be a good time to go catch some fish.
The bluegills are on the beds, and with last week’s full moon, folks are havin’ no problem catchin’ limits of panfish. Lake Monroe and the St. Johns River have been excellent for catchin’ limits of panfish. Most folks are fishin’ in shallow water with crickets and red worms. If you don’t have a boat, no problem. Folks are catchin’ panfish off the seawall in Sanford and off the seawall at Crow’s Bluff. If you are fishin’ in the SJR, try fishin’ the shoreline cover like the pads, laydowns, reeds, and docks.
The Harris Chain has been excellent for bluegills, too. Most folks are fishin’ in Lake Griffin and Lake Dora with crickets and red-worms. Look for some bluegills in shallow water and if that doesn’t work, try driftin’ mid-lake with crickets and worms. The Kissimmee Chain has been good for bluegills and shellcrackers. Most folks are fishin’ in shallow water around the shell-beds with crickets and red-worms.
The bass fishin’ has been good as well. Since we have been gettin’ all this rain, folks are findin’ bass hangin’ around the feeder creeks and run-offs that feed into the lakes. If you can find some runnin’ water, you should be able to find the bass feedin’ on the bait-fish and crawdads. You will also find some bass feedin’ real early in the mornin’ up to about 9:30 or 10:00 o’clock. Once that ole sun gets up, the mornin’ bite is just about over. The Butler Chain, and the Kissimmee Chain have been good spots to catch bass as well. You can fish the shoreline cover early in the mornin’ and then move to deeper water as the sun gets up. You can try fishin’ with plastic toads and frogs at first light and then try plastic worms later in the day.
On the Kissimmee Chain, you can fish the areas where the water is feedin’ into the lakes from the rain that we have been gettin’. Carolina-rigged plastic worms, or drop shots work well where the water is runnin’ into the lakes. Also, look for bass bustin’ on bait-fish that are hangin’ around those areas. You might try a lipless crankbait or a shallow runnin’ crankbait where the bait-fish are active. A noisy topwater bait might get some action as well. Well, I hope you get a chance to get on the water this weekend.
Have a great week and I’ll see ya next week.
Tip of the week: Runnin’ water.
Save a few and good luck!