Hello Folks,
If you have been waitin’ for the rain to come, well, don’t wait any longer, it’s here and doin’ well. Our lakes need the rain to get the levels back up and my yard was dryin’ up so, the rain is helpin’ all of us.
The fishin’ has been good, that is, if it ain’t rainin’, which was most every day over the past week. The panfish are still bitin’ but with the rains, they are scattered about in all lakes, includin’ the St. Johns River. Try and find some areas where you have some type of cover. Try all the docks, pads, laydowns, reeds, grass lines, or shell beds if you go to the river. Get some red worms and some crickets and drift open water if you can’t locate any panfish around cover.
We have a full moon comin up next week on Tuesday, May 29. The fishin’ should be good if we don’t get that storm. Since this comin’ weekend is Memorial Day weekend, lots of folks are goin’ to be on the water. Make sure you are watchin’ out for other boats on the lake.
The bass fishin’ is still goin’ strong in most of the lakes in our area. The Kissimmee Chain is good for bass. The water is flowin’ from lake to lake in the chain, so the fishin’ in the mouths of those lakes should provide some great bass fishin’. Try Carolina riggin’ a plastic worm or let your worm drift along the bottom in the mouth of the canals. Also, be on the lookout for some schoolers to come up in the movin’ water.
The bass fishin’ has been good in the St. Johns River since we have been gettin’ all this rain. There are plenty of places where the water is flowin’ into the river and the bass are hangin’ out in those areas feedin’ on bait fish. Try usin’ plastic worms, lipless crank baits, and swim-baits. If you get on the water early, try fishin’ a noisy top-water bait at first light or later in the day when the sun is goin’ down. Some nice bass, up to 6 lbs. each are bein’ caught on the St. Johns.
The Harris Chain has been good for bass, too. Most of the bass are bein’ caught around shoreline cover at first light. Plastic toads, and frogs have been workin’ well. Once the sun gets up, try fishin’ the laydowns, pads, submerged hydrilla, and eel-grass beds. Try plastic worms or a slow-sinkin Senko-type baits around those type of areas.
Folks are still catchin’ some nice bass and lots of small bass in the Butler Chain. Fish the shoreline cover, with top-water baits early or plastic frogs and toads. You can also try swim-baits in those same areas as well. Once the sun gets up, if it does, move to a little deeper water and find some submerged hydrilla or pepper grass beds. You should be able to find some bass in those areas as well, bitin’ on plastic worms, or slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits. As always, be ready with a lipless crank-bait in case the schoolers come up around the boat.
Rick and I were goin’ fishin’ on Friday like we usually do but we decided that it was callin’ for rain so we didn’t go. Well, as luck would have it, the rain didn’t come until late in the afternoon, so we missed a good day on the water. As a result, we have made a deal with each other. If we get up and it’s pourin’ down rain, we ain’t goin’ fishin’. If it’s not rainin’, we are goin’ no matter what the weather report says. Anyway, we did go fishin’ Saturday mornin’ until noon. We fished a local lake and caught and released more than 30 bass. Rick caught a couple nice bass, but we didn’t catch any biguns.
Well, that’s it for this week. I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend and you get a chance to go fishin’. I will see ya next week.
Tip of the week: full moon.
Save a few and good luck!
