By Jim Keck

Hello Folks, 

We are just about out of summer, and I don’t know about you, but I’m happy! The summers are gettin’ hotter, and I’m glad we’re only two weeks away from fall. Doesn’t that have a nice ring to it? “F-allll”. So, with that, we get cooler days ahead and cooler days on the water.  

The bluegills and shellcrackers are still bitin’ on the Kissimmee Chain. It’s been a summer of panfish. Folks’re havin’ a blast catchin’em this summer in the pads and the reeds. Red worms and grass-shrimp have been the best baits so far.  

We have a full moon this weekend, so that’s probably gonna wrap up the panfishin’ for a while. Once the weather starts to cool down, it’ll be “speckled perch” time again. So, some folks fish for specks all year long, but the fall and winter is really the best time to catch’em.  

If you’re new to our area, we call ’em specks down here in the South, whereas up North, ya’ll call ’em Crappie. It’s the same fish, just different names. 

Folks’re still catchin’ plenty of bass at Headwaters Lake in Palm Bay. I’ve been gettin’ reports from the guides down there of 30 to 40 bass per trip. The shiner bite is good in the mornin’, but once you run out of shiners, folks’re switchin’ over to artificials. 

The Harris Chain is still fishin’ pretty good, seein’ as how it’s been so hot. The X-treme Bass Series held a tournament there a couple of weeks ago, and it took 20.16 pounds to win. Congrats to Randy Collins and Charles Tucker on their win. And, the team of Neil Davis and Brent Stagg had big bass of the tournament that hit the scales at 6.49 pounds. 

Kyle at Bitter’s B &T reports that folks’re fishin a lot of the local lakes with shiners, and they’re doin’ real good. They sold out of shiners over the weekend due to so many folks gettin’ out and fishin’ their local lakes.  

Kyle reports folks’re catchin’ some bass on West Lake Tohopekaliga. It’s been kinda hit or miss, but the lake is lookin’ good and, hopefully,  this fall, the fishin’ will get real good. 

Kyle also reports that the St. John’s River is fishin’ great right now. Folks’re catchin’ some nice bass on shiners and plastic worms. Some schoolers are showin’ up in the river, so a lipless crankbait will catch ’em. 

The Butler Chain is also fishin’ good now for keeper-size bass in most of the lakes in that chain. Plastic worms, slow-sinkin Senko type baits are workin’ the best. Kyle also reports that the bass fishin’ has slowed down some on Johns Lake. It’s not takin a lot of weight to win the Wednesday night shootout, so hopefully, the fishin’ will get better as the weather starts to cool down, and the water temps go down. 

Well, that’s it for this week. I hope you get a chance to get out and do some fishin’ real soon.  

See ya next week.  

Tip of the week: Full Moon Sunday 

SAVE A FEW AND GOOD LUCK!