Hello Folks,
I hope everyone had a great week. We got some cooler weather comin’ to town this week. By the time everyone reads my column, it’s gonna be cold. The highs on Saturday and Sunday are gonna be in the high 60s. So, hopefully, that will get the fish to bit-
in’ real good.
Kyle at Bitter’s Bait & Tackle reports that a few folks are tryin’ to locate some specks in Lake Monroe. The specks are still in deep water due to the high water, so findin’em is gonna be a little tougher this season in Lake Monroe.
The bass fishin’ on the Harris Chain has been pretty good, especially over the weekend. There were a lot of tournaments held out there over the weekend, and it took some good bags to get a check. There were a few big bass caught as well. You can go to the BASS website to scope out the winnin’ stringers and big bass that were caught on the Harris Chain over the weekend.
A local bass club in our area, Miller’s Bass Hunters, fished their monthly bass tournament out of Hickory Point on Lake Harris. It took 22.08 pounds to win. The winnin’ team also had a big bass that hit the scales at 7.92 pounds.
The bass fishin’ has been good on the Butler Chain, even though the ramps are still closed to the public. If you know someone who has access to a ramp, that’s the only way I know you can get on Lake Butler.
If you are a member of the Orange County Sportsman Association, you can get access to the Butler Chain as well. The bass are schoolin’ throughout the chain. You will do best with top water baits early and then fishin’ the submerged hydrilla and pepper grass patches throughout the chain.
Kyle also reports that the bass are schoolin’ in the Maitland Chain as well. You will need to get on the water early for the top water bite. Once the top water bite is over, you need to look for the schoolers with a lipless crank-bait or your favorite swim-bait. Try a fluke-style type bait for those schoolin’ bass. You can always fish the submerged hydrilla beds throughout the chain with a plastic worm of a slow sinkin’ Senko-type bait.
I wanted to remind everyone that if you want to fill out an application for the Vamos a Pescar grant program, the time is drawin’ near. The FWC wants to remind all organizations that want to take part in this program that they need to get in their application by November 30th, 2024.
If you aren’t familiar with this program, it’s a program that is in partnership with the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. It provides funding to local organizations that help Florida Hispanic youth and families learn ethical angling, conservation, and basic fishing skills to become responsible anglers. This program was started in 2016, funding 18 programs over the years. If you are interested in partnering with the FWC to support youth and family fishing education, you can visit MyFWC.com/VAP for more information.
And, guess what – Johns Lake ramp is now open!
Well, that’s it for this week. I wish I had more good news about the speck fishin’, but with some cooler weather movin’ in, hopefully, that will get those ole specks to bitin’.
If you want to catch some bass, now would be a good time to go fishin’.
Tip of the week: Go Fishin’
Save a few and good luck!
