Hello Folks,
Happy New Year, I hope your new year has started off with a bang. I know there were lots of fireworks goin’ off around my house.
If you got some time off, I hope you got a chance to do some fishin’. Kyle at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle reports that the specks are bitin’ in Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup. The store ran out of minners 3 times due to folks gettin’ on the water and catchin’ some specks. So, if you are want to catch some specks, now is a good time to go.
Folks are also catchin’ some specks in the St. John’s River as well. I’m sure with the new moon comin’ up next week on the 11th, the specks should still be bitin’ real good.
The bass fishin’ has been good, just ask Bobby Bakewell. Bobby and his fishin’ buddy fished the New Year’s Day tournament on the Harris Chain on New Year’s Day. They weighed in 5 bass that hit the scales at 30.87 pounds. They also had big bass for the tournament that weighed 7.79 pounds. That’s good news for the college anglers that are fishin’ Friday, January 5th. MLF is holdin’ a one- day tournament on that day and then next week, the MLF college anglers will be fishin’ the championship on the Kissimmee Chain. The tournament will be held out of Big Toho Marina on West Lake. The tournament days are January 9th ’til January 11th. If you want to see or meet some of the up-and-comin’ college anglers, get out to the weigh-ins and support these anglers.
I forgot to let y’all that on Saturday, January 6th, there will be a MLF High School tournament on the Harris Chain. All of the MLF tournaments will be held out of Venetian Gardens boat ramp at “Ski Beach” in Leesburg.
The Xtreme Bass Series will be holdin’ a tournament on the Harris Chain on January 6th to be held out of Buzzard Beach ramp. So, there will be a lot of boat traffic on the chain, so be very careful if you plan on fishin’ the Harris Chain this weekend. The bass fishin’ on the Butler Chain has been good for small-to-keeper-size bass. You can still catch 20 to 30 bass per trip while fishin’ the chain. You can catch ’em on a variety of baits like swim-jigs, chatter-baits and plastic worms.
Kyle also reports that the bass fishin’ on the Kissimmee Chain has been good at times. It’s still fishin’ good, but you will have to cover a lot of water to find ’em. Most of the bass are bein’ caught off-shore, and by flippin’ the hydrilla. West Lake is really covered in hydrilla, so be careful as you navigate the lake if you plan on fishin’ the chain.
Well, that’s it for this week. Put on your calendars that the FWC meeting is bein’ held on January 24 from 3 ’til 8 p.m. The meetin’ will be held at the Venetian Center located at 1 Dozier Circle, Leesburg. You will have the opportunity to learn about fish, wildlife and habitat on the chain. You will be able to talk to biologists involved with the Harris Chain management.
I hope you have a great week.
Tip of the week: Specks are bitin’.
Save a few and good luck.
