By Jim Keck

Hello Folks, 

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and you got to eat all of your favorite foods and then some. There is nothin’ better than Thanksgiving with family and friends.

If you are fishin’ on the Harris Chain or any waters in our state, you need to be on the lookout for manatees! They are movin’ to warmer waters in both fresh and salt water. You need to abide by all manatee protection zones.  

Durin’ the cooler months, seasonal manatee zones require boaters and personal watercraft users to reduce speed in certain areas or to avoid those areas altogether to prevent collisions that can injure or kill manatees.  

If you see injured, distressed, sick, or dead manatees, please report it to the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline. The number is 1-888-404-3922. 

Believe me when I say that you can find ’em in the Harris Chain, because just last year I had one swim right by my boat while I was fishin’ in Lake Beauclair. I used to fish a lot in the St. Johns River, and I have had ’em come right up beside my boat and bump it and scare the heck out of me. So please be alert.   

Up on the St. Johns River, folks are still gettin’ limits of specks in Lake Woodruff. Folks are havin’ a blast catchin ’em… and eatin’ ’em! You can catch specks on jigs and jigs tipped with a minner.  

Kyle at Bitter’s B&T reports the specks are still bitin’ in Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup. Most of the specks are bein’ caught in deeper water driftin’ with a minner fished naked — which means no bobber or weight is bein’ used; just put the minner on the hook and let it sink to the depth you want to fish. If it’s windy, you might have to add a little weight to the line to keep the minner down to the depth you want it. Most folks just drift usin’ this technique, and they are catchin ’em! 

The bass fishin’ has started to pick up in most of our lakes this past week. It may take some time to figure ’em out, but once you find ’em, you should be able to catch ‘em. Look for the bass to be feedin’ on or around the shell beds, submerged hydrilla, and eelgrass beds. You need to fish a variety of lures to see which one works the best for you. You can also fish with shiners over the submerged hydrilla and eelgrass beds. 

The fishin’ is also startin’ to pick back up in the Butler Chain. Folks are seein’ some schoolin’ action on the chain. Make sure you have a lipless crankbait tied on to one of your rods in case the bass come up and start thrashin’ the water while they’re feedin’ on bait fish. They may only feed for a short time and you want to be ready for ‘em. You won’t have time to tie on another lure before the bass quit feedin’.

Well, that’s it for this week. Now that Thanksgiving is over, I hope you’re ready to go catch some fish!  

Tip of the week: Go Fishin! 

SAVE A FEW AND GOOD LUCK!