Hello Folks,
We are still gettin’ lots of rain in our area just about every afternoon. Afternoon rains are good because it kinda cools things down a little.
The St. Johns River is still high and lots of ramps are bein’ closed due to the high water. Please make sure you check and see if the ramp is open before you venture out on the St. Johns.
The rains we have been havin’ has got the water movin’ from lake to lake. The Kissimmee Chain is a perfect example. The locks on the south end of West Lake open up and let the water flow to Lake Cypress and then Lake Hatchineha and finally to Lake Kissimmee. Of course, there are plenty of feeder creeks along the way. You will catch some bass where you have current movin’. You can try a swim-bait, a lipless crank-bait, or a Carolina-rigged plastic worm, just to name a few.
I just got a report that the fishin’ on West Lake Toho has been good this month. A lot of the guides have been catchin’ 20 to 40 bass per trip. They are usin’ shiners to catch ’em, and they have caught some nice bass between 5 lbs. and 10 lbs. each. The Army Corps of Engineers has lowered the lake levels a foot lower than they usually do for the summer pool.
The bass have pulled out into the deeper areas of the lake where you have hydrilla and eel-grass beds. You would have a good chance to catch a trophy bass if you want to fish with shiners. If you fish with artificials, try usin’ a swim-bait or flip the edge of the mats.
My buddy at work Rich and his girlfriend Julie caught some nice bass on Lake Dora over the weekend. The fishin’ was real good and Julie was able to catch the biggest bass on this fishin’ trip. She was very happy to finally beat Rich. You go, girl.
The bass fishin’ on the Harris Chain has been good if you can locate some bass around the submerged hydrilla and eel-grass beds. You will do best with a shallow-runnin’ crank-bait or a swim-bait. If the grass is to thick, try fishin’ a plastic worm or a slow-sinkin’ Senko-type bait in those areas.
The Butler Chain is still a good chain to catch some bass. A lot of the guides are takin’ their clients to the chain and doin’ real well. The clients are catchin’ 20 to 30 bass per trip. Most of the bass are bein’ caught on shiners or plastic worms.
Rick and I had a chance to fish the Butler Chain last week as well. We caught and released 18 bass up to 4 lbs. each. The bass are still schoolin’ in the chain so make sure you have a lipless crank-bait tied on to one of your rods. We caught most of our bass on slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits.
Well, I hope you get a chance to do some fishin’ this week or over the weekend.
See ya next week.
Tip of the week: go early.
Save a few and good luck!
