Hello Folks,
We had another cool front come through town last weekend. After the rain and wind, we had bluebird skies on Monday, which meant that the fishin’ was probably a little tough. As the wind and the weather settle down, we should have some good fishin’ by the end of this week.
Before the front, the fishin’ wasn’t doin’ too bad and folks were catchin’ some panfish and some nice bass. You can still catch a few specks but they will be movin’ into deeper water for the summer. You can still catch specks durin’ the summer but it will take some patience and time to find ‘em. Lots of folks will troll deeper water with a Beetle Spin or a 1/4-oz. Rat-L-Trap to locate the specks. Once you find ‘em, you can try usin’ jigs tipped with a minner.
The bluegills and shellcrackers will soon be goin’ on the beds in most of the chains and local lakes in our area. We are two weeks from the full moon, so now might be a good time to start lookin’ for the beds. Once they get on the beds, you will have a blast catchin’ ‘em. Make sure you take along plenty of red worms and crickets. If you like to use artificial lures, try a small Beetle Spin, a Road Runner, or small hair jigs.
When the bluegills and the shellcrackers get on the beds, take the family, especially if you have kids. They will keep you busy baitin’ their hooks until you run out of bait. The bass fishin’ was doin’ real good before the front came to town.
Folks have been catchin’ some nice bass on shiners, and artificials, including plastic frogs and toads or a swim-bait fished up on top of the water. Once the sun gets up, try fishin’ with plastic worms, slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits.
The Kissimmee Chain has been real good as of late for bass. You will do best with top-water early and then move to deeper water to fish the submerged hydrilla beds and pepper grass through out the lake. Shallow-runnin’ crank baits and swim-baits have been workin’ the best.
Try fishin’ with a spinnerbait or a chatter-bait if you can’t get any bites. Also try plastic worms and slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits.
The St. Johns River has been producin’ some a few nice bass. You can catch ‘em on shiners around the shoreline cover. Look for bait pods up and down the river and you should find the bass bustin’ on the bait-fish. If you can find any runnin’ water flowin’ into the river, look for the bass to be feedin’ in those areas, too.
The Butler Chain has been good chain to fish for bass. Most folks are fishin’ with noisy top-water baits along the shoreline cover. You can also fish with plastic worms and Senko-type baits as well. Also try fishin’ the hydrilla clumps and peeper grass. A swim bait or speed worms will also work.
I have a co-worker who loves to fish speed worms. As a matter of fact, he was fishin’ with his girlfriend over the weekend and they caught and released more than 12 bass they caught on speed worms.
The biggest bass was around 6 lbs. Rich also lost a bigger bass he hooked on a speed worm.
So, if you have never tried fishin’ a speed worm, give ‘em a try to see if that works for you as good as it does for Rich.
I didn’t get a chance to go fishin’ this past week due to my fishin’ partner Rick, recoverin’ from surgery. We are plannin’ to go toward the end of the week.
Well, that’s it for this week. Have a great week and I hope to see you on the water.
Tip of the week: speed worms.
Save a few and good luck!
