Hello Folks,

We have celebrated another Christmas, and by the time you read this article, it will be 2026. I can’t believe we are already into a new year, and we get to celebrate our 250th year as a country. This is quite a milestone in our history — that on July 4, 1776, we signed our Declaration of Independence.  

I remember celebrating 200 years back in 1976. This has to be a sign that I’m gettin’ old. Anyway, welcome to 2026, and all I can say is that I’mexcited about the yearlong celebrations. I’m also lookin’ forward to a great year of fishin’, and I hope you are as well.  

Right now, the speck fishin’ is on fire, if you know where to go.  I saw a post this past week that a group of anglers went fishin’ out of Highland Park Fish Camp. There were 6 anglers — the Loomans group — and they were guided by Capt. Ronnie Paige and Capt. James Hillman. In four hours, they caught 127 specks. Now folks, that’s what I call gettin’ on ’em. Congrats to all involved.  

If I had to guess, they were fishin’ in Lake Woodruff because the specks have been bitin’ like crazy there. I have been talkin’ about it for weeks, and it seems to be gettin’ better each week. We have a full moon comin’ Saturday, January 3rd — my rule of thumb is 3 days before the full moon and 3 days after the full moon is a peak time to go fishin’.  

Kyle at Bitter’s B&T reports that folks are startin’ to catch some nice specks in Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup. Most of the specks are bein’ caught on bright-colored jigs tipped with a minner. Some folks are fishin’ with road runners — white, chartreuse, pink, and speckled green have been workin’the best.  

The bass fishin’ has been good in the Butler Chain. Most of the bass are small, but you will have a good time catchin’ ‘em. Some folks are free-linin’shiners out the back of the boat, lettin’ the shiner swim over the top of the submerged hydrilla and the pepper grass. You can also catch ’em on lipless crank-baits, like Rat-L-traps, or chatter-baits.  

If you are around submerged grass, try fishin’ a jerk-bait around those types of areas. You just might get a surprise and catch a good ’un. The bass fishin’ on the Harris Chain has been off and on for a couple of weeks. Some of the male bass are tryin’ to move to shoreline to start makin’ beds for the females to spawn.  

We have a cold front comin’ to town this week, so bein’ how Florida bass don’t like cold weather, I’m sure the males will pull back from goin’ to shallow water to start makin’ beds. The best way to locate some bass is to cover a lot of water with lipless crank-baits and chatter-baits until you locate some bitin’ bass. The bass right now are scattered throughout the chain, so it’s gonna take some time to find ’em. Hopefully with this cold front, that will get the bigger bass to start movin’ and feedin’ better.  

Well, that’s it for this week. I hope everyone had a great new year, and you are lookin’ forward to a great year of fishin’. See ya next week. 

Tip of the week: Full Moon. 

SAVE A FEW AND GOOD LUCK!