Hello Folks,  

Summer starts this comin’ Sunday on Father’s Day. I think summer’s already started…. if you ask me. Just my opinion, of course! It’s been kinda hot lately, but fortunately, we’ve had some breezes blowin’ to keep it a little cooler. We’ve had a couple showers but very littleimprovement on our overall drought conditions in the area. But, don’t give up; the rain is comin’; just keep on prayin’!  

The fishin’ isn’t doin’ too bad in most of the lakes in our area. John over at Bitter’s Bait & Tackle reports that folks are still goin’ after those shellcrackers. Lake Kissimmee down east of Lake Wales is on fire for shellcrackers, and so is Lake Monroe and in the St. Johns River out near the Highway 46 bridge. John reports that he sold lots of red worms over the weekend. So, if you want to catch some shellcrackers, now’s your chance to get out there and… just start catchin’ em!  

If you don’t have a boat, try fishin’ off the seawall up in Sanford. Folks’ve been catchin’ a mixed bag of shellcrackers, bluegills, catfish, and some mullet in Lake Monroe right off the seawall.   

The bass fishin’ slowed down some this past weekend. The Johns Lake Wednesday Night Shootout had 21 boats last week, and it only took 8.80 pounds to win. Congrats to Don Fisher and Billy Charland on their win. The biggest bass for the tournament was caught by the team of Doug Saul and Mike Bruton which hit the scales at 4.60 pounds.   

The bass are still bitin’ in Lake Fairview, but it’s been better fishin’ at night instead of durin’ the day.   

The bass fishin’ is pretty good on the Butler Chain. You need to get on the water early because the kids are out of school now, and they start wave-ridin’ durin’ the day. If you don’t want to bob around like a bobber, you need to get out on the water as early as you can to avoid all the boat traffic out there.   

On Wednesday nights, there’s a tournament bein’ held out of Big Toho Marine. Last week it took 19.50 pounds to win. Congrats to Fred and Terry on their win. Big bass for the night was caught by the team of Jesse and Don who caught a bass that hit the scales at 8.49 pounds. That’s a nice one!  

The bass are still bitin’ good at the Headwaters Lake down in Palm Bay. The guides are reportin’ that the topwater bite is really good first thing in the mornin’. It lasts for about two hours and then you have to start fishin’ with chatterbaits, speed worms, or the Gambler Big EZ. Try and find some clear water flats with a little scattered hydrilla, and you should be able to catch some bass! The water temperature is about 84 degrees, so it’s warmin’ up real fast.   

The bass fishin’ is doin’ good down at Lake Okeechobee. The bass are schoolin’ up around the grass line and the isolated hydrilla patches. Some folks are fishin’ with shiners in the openings and the boat trails throughout the lake. The water is still low, so you need to be vigilant while you’re navigatin’ the lake. All the lakes, for that matter!  

Like I reported earlier, it’s a little cooler fishin’ at night, and there are plenty of tournaments close by in our area if you do like to fish at night.   

Well, that’s it for this week. I hope to see ya on the water real soon.    

Tip of the week: Happy Father’s Day!   

SAVE A FEW AND GOOD LUCK!