Hello Folks,
It’s great to be back in the saddle again, so the sayin’ goes.
A few days after my back surgery, I wasn’t sure I would be back, but I guess The LORD wasn’t finished with me just yet. I’m very thankful, cause I still want to catch another 10 pounder before I go.
The fishin’ is still off a bit, but it should be gettin’ better. We have had some cooler weather so that should get the specks to bittin’ better. Kyle at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle reports that a few folks are speck fishin’ in Lake Jesup, Lake Harney, and the St. Johns River. Most of the specks are bein’ caught around pads, laydowns, and driftin’ open water with minners.
The bass fishin’ in our area is good most days, but sometimes it’s a little slow. Kyle reports that he has been out on the lakes in our area. The Butler Chain has been good for numbers of bass. Most of the bass are bein’ caught on swim-baits, chatter-baits, and Senko-type baits. A few bass are bein’ caught on lip-less crank-baits. My fishin’ buddy Rich Niles fished a private pond last week and it was a little slow. Rich said he caught around 10 bass on a chatter-bait. Rich fished the Harris Chain Sunday and caught five bass. It was a tough day due to the weather, but he managed to catch two bass over five pounds. Rich caught all of his bass on chatter-baits, and Vibe Speed Worm.
I asked Kyle about the bass fishin’ on the Kissimmee Chain. Kyle reports that the hydrilla is so high it’s affecting the navigation on the lake. West Lake Tohopekaliga is over 80 percent covered in hydrilla on the lake. Kyle says that there are some areas on the lake that are non-navigable. So, please be careful when and if you decide to go fishin’ in West Lake Toho.
There have been some meetings bein’ held by the FWC about the hydrilla situation, and the FWC is sayin’ that they didn’t get enough money to spray the hydrilla in 2023, and they didn’t get any money budgeted for 2024 either. The FWC is hopin’ to get some money to spray West Lake in 2025. Well, if the situation goes another year without any control bein’ used to knock this grass down, you definitely won’t be able to fish the lake.
The FWC held a meeting January 16th of 2024 about the ever-increasing hydrilla growing on the lake. They asked for money to be allocated for the spraying of West Lake Toho. It was reported at the meetin’ that the FWC hasn’t received any money to address the problem.
So, folks, if you like fishin’ West Lake Toho, I would contact your state representatives or the Governor’s office to see if we can get some money allocated for this project. It needs to be addressed immediately.
Well, y’all have a great week, and I hope to see you on the water real soon.
Tip of the week: Go Catch’em.
Save a few and good luck.
