Hello Folks,
I hope everyone is doin’ well. Unfortunately, we are still dealin’ with high water. There are lots of folks who are in areas that still have a lot of high water.
The St. Johns River is still very high and lots of folks are waitin’ for the water levels to subside. I’m sure you, like me, have seen the high water on the river and the flooded homes and areas where folks live. I hope everyone will keep these folks in your thoughts and prayers.
I checked the Orange County website earlier this week and, as far as I can see, the boat ramps in Orange County are still closed due to hurricane Ian. If you want to go fishin’ or just get out of the house, the boat ramps in Lake County are open. My neighbor, John, and his nephew, Chet, fished Lake Dora last week and they caught and released 11 bass up to 5.5 lbs. each. They caught their bass on plastic worms, jigs, and lipless crank-baits. John reported that it was great just gettin’ on the water and doin’ some fishin’.
My buddy, Ken, who lives on the Maitland Chain of Lakes says that his dock is still under water. The water has gone down about six inches but is still high. They do have some of the boat ramps open on the Maitland Chain. According to their website, Lake Osceola, Lake Virginia, and Dinky Dock are now open. The folks who live on the chain ask that folks please keep boating speeds and wakes low as these lakes recover from Hurricane Ian.
I talked to Kyle at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle, and he reports that the fishin’ in his area is slow due to the high water in Lake Monroe, Lake Jesup, and Lake Harney. We all know that the St. Johns River in those areas is still very high and the ramps are closed so folks aren’t getting’ on the water and fishin’. Kyle also mentioned that the John’s Lake ramp is still closed as well. The Butler Chain ramp is closed at Keene’s Point, too. So, about the only place to fish has been the Harris Chain and up in the Palatka area on the St. Johns River. You can also catch some bass in the mouth of the Kissimmee River. Folks are fishin’ the runnin’ water that is flowin’ into the mouth of Lake Kissimmee and catchin’ plenty of bass.
So, that’s about it for this week. I wish I had better news, but we just have to let Mother Nature take her course.
See ya next week.
Tip of the week: movin’ water.
Save a few and good luck!
