Hello Folks,
Well, it seems that our prayers are workin’. We have been gettin’ some rain as of late and we need every drop we can get. It’s nice to see the brown go away and the green take its place.
Before I get started, let me inform you about an FWC executive order. The FWC has issued an executive order suspendin’ harvest and possession of shoal bass. This order was issued on June 5.
The shoal bass in the Chipola River and its tributaries have potentially been affected by Hurricane Michael. Recent samples have shown significantly lower catches of shoal bass.
The Chipola River is the only water body in Florida where there is a population of naturally reproducin’ genetically pure shoal bass. I just wanted to let everyone know in case they were plannin’ a trip to north Florida to catch a shoal bass. If you are not familiar with the Chipola River, you can go to YouTube and search “FWC Chipola River” and you can view the river and its surroundings.
The pan fishin’ has been a little slow in our area as of late. You can still catch ’em but you need to get on the water early and get off the water before the afternoon showers.
Lake Monroe, Lake Jesup, and the St. Johns River are still producin’ the best stringers of pan fish.
Take along red worms and crickets, as well as plenty of water and Gatorade to keep you hydrated on your trip.
Kyle at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle reports that the folks in his area are catchin’ some panfish in those lakes so get some crickets and red worms and go fishin’. Kyle also reports that the bass fishin’ has been good to kinda slow in some of the lakes in our area.
The bass fishin’ on the Butler Chain has been a little slow but you can still catch plenty of smaller bass that are schoolin’ in the chain. I had two anglers report to me that they have been catchin’ some nice bass on the Butler Chain but they have been fishin’ the submerged grass beds in deep water. Kyle also reports lots of small bass bein’ caught in the Conway Chain, but every once in a while someone will catch a nice 5 pounder. Most of the bass are bein’ caught on plastic worms and slow’sinkin’ Senko-type baits.
The bass fishin on the Harris Chain has been good on some days and not so good on other days. The American Bass Anglers held a tournament on the Kissimmee Chain last weekend and Dustin Smith from Grand Island won with five bass that totaled 24.69 lbs. He caught his fish on top-water early in the mornin’ and then flippin’ in the grass the rest of the day. Second place finisher was Mason Boylan of Melbourne. He also caught the biggest bass weighin’ in at 8.58 lbs. He reports that he caught most of his bass flippin’ in Lake Kissimmee. In the Co-Angler division, Tomas Gomez of Kissimmee caught the largest bass in his division. He caught his big bass flippin’ in Lake Kissimmee on a Bitters’ Magnum Speed Worm, fishin’ in open water.
Well, that’s it for this week. I hope to see you on the water.
Tip of the week: full moon on Monday.
Save a few and good luck!
