Hello Folks,
A new year has begun and I sure hope it is better than 2022.
We have lots of new water from the hurricanes, and that is goin’ to allow new vegetation to grow along the shoreline in most of the lakes in our area. It will open up new spawnin’ grounds for bass, bluegills, and shellcrackers, as well.
I would think that will help this year’s spawn and it will produce lots of fish for everyone to enjoy. The water temperatures are in the 60s right now so, with a few days of warm weather, the shallow water areas will start to warm and we should see some spawnin’ start in our lakes.
My buddy Rich was on the Harris Chain last week and he reported that he found some fresh beds bein’ made throughout the lakes.
He reported that he didn’t see any fish on ‘em so, with the full moon this week, we might see some fish goin’ on the beds. The fish will be movin’ in and out to spawn. Rich caught eight in all, while fishin’ the chain.
He caught his bass on a variety of baits includin’ plastic worms, swim-jigs, topwater, chatter-baits, and speed-worms. His biggest bass weighed around four pounds.
Folks are getting’ on Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup and catchin’ some specks. I’m sure this week and this comin’ weekend, you should be able to catch a stringer full of specks, if we have some good weather.
Kyle at Bitter’s Bait & Tackle reports that a lot of folks are gettin’ a bucket of minners and goin’ speck fishin’ and doin’ pretty good. As I mentioned last week, the Johns Lake ramp is open and it’s gettin’ plenty of activity. Lots of folks are fishin’ for bass and a few anglers are fishin’ for specks on Johns Lake. If you want to go to Johns Lake, you need to get there early to get a parkin’ spot since there are so few places to park your vehicle and trailer.
The bass fishin’ on the Kissimmee Chain has been good if you fish with shiners.
Congrats to Bobby Bakewell and his fishin’ partner Jeremy Knepper on their win New Year’s Day. They weighed in five bass that hit the scales with 27.05 pounds. They also caught big bass of the tournament which weighed in at 8.69 pounds. I would have to say Bobby is on a roll and in his words, “Keep this train goin’ in 2023.” I would say his train is chuggin’ down the tracks this year at a pretty good pace.
Well, I hope you get on the water and do some fishin,’ and I’ll see ya next week.
Tip of the week: full moon.
Save a few and good luck!
