Hello Folks, Well, we have been prayin’ for some rain and we finally got some over the past week. We are due to get some more this week and it couldn’t come at a better time. Our ponds and lakes are gettin’ low so keep prayin’ for rain. The thunderstorms are usually comin’ in the afternoon so if you get a chance to do some fishin’, keep an eye out for them because they will creep on ya before you know it. With all that said, the fishin’ is still doin’ good in most of the lakes in our area. Folks are still catchin’ plenty of bluegills and shellcrackers, and the bass fishin’ has been good to real good. You can catch some bluegills and shellcrackers in Lake Harney, Lake Woodruff, and Lake Jesup. Most of the bluegills are on the beds with last week’s full moon. You will do best to try and locate a bed of ‘em in 2 ft. to 4 ft. of water. You can find ‘em on the lake by watchin’ for a slick on top of the water or you can smell ‘em as you go across the water. You can also find some beds in shallow water around the pads and submerged grass beds just off the shoreline. Crickets and worms have been the baits of choice or you can try some grass-shrimp, but you will have to catch ‘em yourself. If you go up to the Harris Chain to catch some panfish, try fishin’ in Lake Dora, Lake Griffin, or Big Lake Harris. Look for beddin’ areas throughout the lake in 2 ft. to 4 ft. of water. Again, you can use crickets or red worms to catch ‘em. The bass fishin’ is still doin’ good in most of the lakes in our area. Folks are gettin’ on the water real early and gettin’ in on the early-mornin’ bite. Folks are fishin’ with plastic frogs and plastic toads at first light. You can also fish a swim-bait on top of the water to get in on the first-light bite. Once the sun gets up, the fish will move to deeper water nearby, so look for some drop-offs near the shoreline. You can also try fishin’ the off-shore submerged grass beds and eel-grass beds. You can fish a swim-bait or a lip-less crankbait over the top of the grass for some nice size bass. Once the sun gets up, you will have to move to deeper water or find deep water along the grass-line. You will need to use slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits or plastic worms to catch ‘em. If you are fishin’ in clear water, try usin’ watermelon-seed with red fleck or green pumpkin. The Kissimmee Chain has been producin’ some nice bass both on shiners and artificials. The bigger bass are bein’ caught on shiners. You will do best by gettin’ on the water at first light and then move to off-shore grass-beds later in the day. You can also try flippin’ your favorite flippin’ bait in the heavy cover when the sun gets high in the sky. I got a chance to do some fishin’ over the weekend with my fishin’ partner Rick. We went to the Butler Chain and had a great day on the water. We caught and released more than 30 bass up to 5 lbs. each. We caught most of our bass on plastic worms. Rick and I both caught 5-pounders with several 2- to 3-pounders durin’ the day. The only difference on this trip was overcast skies most of the mornin’ and the bigger bass were feedin’ on the bait-fish closer to the grass-line. Once the sun broke through the clouds, most of the bass we caught were in deeper water around the submerged hydrilla and eel-grass beds. If we found some hydrilla or eel-grass in or about 10 ft. to 15 ft. of water, we would get bit. We went through two bags each of plastic worms, then we decided to get off the water with the ensuing thunder storms in the area. So, don’t wait until it gets too hot to go fishin’. Get your rods and reels ready and let’s go fishin’. See ya next week. Tip of the week: get on the water early. Save a few and good luck!
