Hello Folks,

I missed y’all last week due to a computer glitch. I’m usin’ my grandson’s laptop to write my article this week.

Well, the fishin’ has been great and folks are catchin’ plenty of specks and bass. Folks are catchin’ limits of specks in all the major chains. The Kissimmee Chain, the Harris Chain, and the Butler Chain have been good to catch a mess of specks. Lake Woodruff and Lake Monroe have been producin’ some nice stringers of specks, too.

Most folks are driftin’ open water with jigs tipped with a minner. Use brightly colored jigs or gold ice jigs. We had a full

moon last week so make sure you check the shallow water areas for specks. You may find some of the specks goin’ on the beds in some of the lakes.

The guys who fished the FLW tournament on the Harris Chain a couple of weeks ago really caught some nice bass. The total weight for four days of fishin’ was almost 80 lbs. They could weigh in five bass per day, and the angler that had the heaviest stringer was declared the winner.

Congratulations to Chris Johnston for winnin’ the tournament. He won a check for $125,000. I would have to say that’s not too bad for four days of fishin’.

The bass fishin’ is still doin’ good in most of the chains in our area as well. The bass have been on the beds in some lakes and they are goin’ on the beds in other lakes.

My fishin’ partner Rick is fishin’ his annual week of bass fishin’ with his nephew Chris and his brother-in-law Greg from Kentucky. They have been fishin’ John’s Lake and the Butler Chain. The Butler Chain has been the hot area so far this week. The three of them caught and released more than 40 bass in one day. Most of the bass are bein’ caught on plastic worms, slow-sinkin’ Senkos and lipless crankbaits. The biggest bass so far has been a little over four pounds. They still have a few more days to fish. Chris wants to catch a big bass while he is in Florida.

The bass fishin’ has been good over at the St. John’s River. Folks have been catchin’ some specks, a few shad, and some bass as well. Most of the specks are bein’ caught on minners and jigs tipped with a minner. There is plenty of baitfish in the river so the bass will be bustin’ on the bait fish. Try fishin’ with a top-water bait early in the mornin’ and then make sure you have a lipless crankbait tied on in case the schoolin’ bass start bustin’ on the baitfish. You can also try fishin’ with some shiners along the shoreline cover and the laydowns up and down the river.

Well, I hope you have a great week and take the family and go fishin’.

Tip of the week: fish are bitin’.

Save a few and good luck!