Hello Folks,
We have come to the end of another month and Labor Day weekend is in view. Hopefully, you will get the chance to do some fishin’ over the weekend and get on the water. We have been gettin’ plenty of rain and it’s great to see our lake levels comin’ up.
The bluegills and shellcrackers are bitin’ in most of the lakes in our area. You need to drift open water with crickets and red worms. Lake Monroe is producin’ some nice stringers of bluegills. You can fish the shoreline or off the seawall around the docks for some great action. Plenty of bluegills and shellcrackers are bein’ caught on John’s Lake on the west side of town. Crickets and red worms have been the baits of choice to catch bluegills.
As I mentioned earlier, the recent rains have created some nice runoffs in the St. Johns River and the Wekiva River. Folks are catchin’ some nice bass fishin’ those types of areas. Look for water that is flowin’ into the lakes and you should find some bass hangin’ around the movin’ water.
The Kissimmee Chain is a great chain to fish because the water flows from West Lake Toho through the other lakes all the way down to Lake Kissimmee. So findin’ some runnin’ water shouldn’t be that hard to find.
You can start off the day by fishin’ for bass along the shoreline grass with a top-water bait or a swim-bait. Try a plastic toad or a frog around the pads and isolated clumps of grass. Once the sun gets up, you need to get out the long rod and flip the heavy cover for some good size bass. Also look for some runnin’ water where the bass will be bustin’on bait-fish. Use a lipless crankbait or a noisy top-water bait for some good results.
If you go to the Butler Chain, try driftin’ with shiners or draggin’ a plastic worm behind the boat. Captain Paul Solomon has had some clients on the chain and they have been catchin’ 12 to 15 bass per trip. These are half-day trips so they have to catch ‘em in a short timeframe. They also caught some bass on slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits in open water. Watermelon and watermelon with red glitter have been the best colors to use on the chain.
If you want to catch some bass in the Harris Chain, try to locate some submerged hydrilla and eel-grass areas in about 10 ft. to 12 ft. of water. Slow-sinkin Senko-type baits and Carolina-rigged plastic worms should work well in those areas.
I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend and, hopefully, you will get out and go fishin’. See ya next week.
Tip of the week: movin’ water.
Save a few and good luck!
