Hello Folks, In case you haven’t noticed, summer is officially here and it started last Sunday on Fathers’ Day. I think it started before that here in our area, but all I can tell ya it’s hot. If you are plannin’ to go fishin’, you need to go real early in the mornin’ or think about fishin’ at night. The fishin’ is still pretty good in most of the lakes and the reports that I’m gettin’ state folks are catchin’ some nice stringers of panfish and bass. I believe the afternoon rains have been help in coolin’ things off just before dark and the rain have created some run-offs in the St. Johns River. If you can find some runnin’ water on the river or water flowin’ into a lake, you should be able to find some bass hangin’ around those areas as well. Folks are catchin’ some nice stringers of panfish in Lake Griffin, Lake Harris, and Lake Dora. Most of the panfish are bein’ caught on crickets, red worms, and grass shrimp. Folks are gettin’ their limits of bluegills with a few shellcrackers mixed in on John’s Lake on the west side of Winter Garden. You can drift mid-lake for ‘em or if you find a bed of ‘em, anchor off the beds and cast your baits onto the beds. You will also find the bluegills around the shoreline grass and a few in the pads. Folks are still catchin’ some nice stringers of panfish in Lake Woodruff off the St. Johns River. Folks are fishin’ with red worms and crickets. Fish around the dollar pads or drift mid-lake until you find a bed of ‘em. The bass fishin’ is still good first thing in the mornin’. You need to get on the water at the break of day. You can start out with noisy top-water baits, like a buzz-bait or a swim-bait fished real fast across the top of the water. You can also try fishin’ with a plastic toad or plastic frogs around the shoreline cover. Once that ol’ sun gets up, you need to move to deeper water or find some submerged hydrilla or eel-grass beds to fish. You will find the bait-fish in those areas and the bass should be feedin’ on the bait fish. Plastic worms and slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits will work in those areas. Always be on the lookout for some schoolin’ bass as well. Keep a lipless crankbait tied on in case they come up bustin’ on the bait-fish. You will find some bass feedin’ on the bait pods in the St. Johns River. Look for the bass to bust on the bait-fish early in the mornin’ in the mouth of the canals, especially where you have water flowin’ into the river. Once they quit schoolin’, you can still catch ‘em by Carolina riggin’ a plastic worm or drop-shottin’ small bait-fish-type baits. If you have a shell bed there, your chances will increase with the bass hangin’ around those type of areas. The Butler Chain is still doin’ good for bass. Rick and his son Craig got a chance to fish together over the weekend. They caught and released 15 bass up to 4 lbs. each. Rumor has it that Craig caught more bass than his dad, but like I said, that’s just a rumor I heard. Anyway, I hope you get a chance to do some fishin’ over the weekend and remember to take along plenty of water cause it’s gonna be hot. Stay safe with the afternoon showers, especially if that lightnin’ starts poppin’ around ya. You’ll need to get off the water and head to the house. See ya next week. Tip of the week: go early. Save a few and good luck!
