Hot weather still keeps anglers off the lakes in midday

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Hello Folks,

It’s been hot and it’s still hot. I guess due to the hot weather not too many folks are gettin’ on the water and fishin’.

Kyle at Bitter’s Bait  and Tackle reports that the usual folks who come in the store early in the mornin’ to get some minners or red worms aren’t comin’ in too much. He says it’s been a little slow for the folks in his area, and I know it’s been a little slow around our area, too. Kyle also reports that he had one customer come in and get some minners and he reported that he is still catchin’ some specks in Lake Jesup. He’s not loadin’ the boat but he is catchin’ a few for supper.

The bass fishin’ is a little slow in most of the chains in our area. The only chain that is producin’ some nice stringers is the Butler Chain. John and his nephew Chet are still catchin’ plenty of bass in the chain. On their last trip, they caught and released more than 30 bass. They are catchin’ most of their bass on jigs, plastic worms, and slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits.

Kyle reports that the bass fishin’ on the Harris Chain and West Lake Toho has slowed down some. A few anglers are gettin’ on the water early in the mornin’ and if there isn’t much wind, they are off the water by 10 a.m. Those ole bass like cooler water, so they go deep in the summer or get in some thick hydrilla mats where they can stay cool in the shade. Kyle wanted me to let everyone know that the water is pretty low on the Kissimmee Chain. They lowered the water and sprayed Lake Cypress this past week to thin out the hydrilla.

I had a chance last week to go to The ICAST show held here in Orlando. The ICAST stands for International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades. This show brings together business relationships that are born, strengthened, and celebrated. The show offers fishing gear, clothing, and marine accessories. Anything that has to do with fishing whether it be fishing tackle, rods, reels, electronics, lures, pliers, you name it, it’s there.

I had the pleasure to hang around with Elite Pro Bernie Shultz as he visited all of his sponsors’ booths. I met a lot of the pros who fish MLF and BassMaster Tournaments. I enjoyed seeing and meeting a lot of the Florida pros, like John Cox, Shaw Grigsby, and Bobby and Chris Lane. I met Gerald Swindle and his lovely wife, LeAnn. Gerald calls her Lu-Lu. She is a very nice lady and, yes, Gerald is just as crazy in person as he is on TV.

All the pros were very nice and courteous to all the fans, especially the kids who came by the booth for autographs and pictures. I could go on and on but that’s enough for now. In case you were wondering, the show isn’t open to the public, so it was a special treat for me to be invited to the show.

Well, I hope y’all have a great week and if it cools down a little, maybe you can get in a couple of hours fishin’ in the evenin’. See ya next week.

Tip of the week: stay cool. Save a few and good luck!