Hello Folks,
I missed y’all last week. I was out of town attendin’ a funeral. The fishin’ wasn’t too bad last week but things changed when Tropical Storm Eta came a-callin’.
The wind and the rain kept a lot of anglers off the water and rightly so. Hopefully, things will get back to normal next week.
Kyle at Bitter’s Bait and Tackle reports that the speck fishin’ was doin’ good in Lake Jesup and Lake Monroe. Most of the specks bein’ caught in Lake Jesup were still under the State Road 417 bridge. The specks that are bein’ caught in Lake Monroe are out in open water. Most of the specks are bein’ caught on minners and few are bein’ caught on jigs tipped with a minner. You need to use brightly colored jigs for best results. Try usin’ a chartreuse or lime green-colored jig.
Kyle also reports that the bass fishin’ has been really good in most of the lakes in our area. Bartow Ford-Toho Marine Elite Pro Team Trail had its two-day classics on the Kissimmee Chain on October 31 and November 1. The team of Blake Williams and Tom Davis won the event with a two-day total of 50.99 lbs. of fish. They took home a check for $15,000. Congrats, guys, and good luck next year.
If you were wonderin’ if they caught any big bass in this tournament, yes they did. The biggest bass weighed 10.14 lbs. There were four bass that weighed more than nine pounds each and three bass more than eight pounds each. After all the tournaments and pressure this chain of lakes gets, that’s awesome that you can still catch these type of stringers, and big bass like this.
Kyle also reports that the folks in his area includin’ himself were catchin’ some nice bass in John’s Lake before Eta. Most of the bass are bein’ caught on a variety of baits. Kyle was usin’ Bitter’s speed worms and fishin’ with top-water baits in the mornin’.
The bass fishin’ on The Maitland Chain is still goin’ good. Most of the bass are bein’ caught on shiners and speed worms. You need to free-line the shiners and fish the speed worms very slowly over the submerged hydrilla and eel-grass beds.
Mark at Big Toho Bait and Tackle reports that the weather has slowed folks gettin’ out to bass fish. Before the storms, most of the bass were bein’ caught on shiners. The guides are takin’ folks out and fishin’ with shiners. On a half-day trip, folks are catchin’ about 10 to 15 bass per trip. Mark also reports that the specks haven’t startin’ bitin’ yet but some cooler weather and colder water will help. I will keep you up to date on when the specks start bitin’ in Lake Toho. Well, hopefully after Eta has gone we can get back on the water and do some fishin’.
See ya next week.
Tip of the week: clear skies.
Save a few and good luck!
