Hello Folks,
The lakes are startin’ to go down a little, but a lot of lakes still have plenty of water in ‘em, especially the smaller lakes in our area. There is some runnin’ water in some of the lakes from the afternoon rains we were havin’.
Some of the major chains like the Kissimmee Chain still have some runnin’ water and the fishin’ has been good in the chain. The Harris Chain has quit pullin’ water so the fishin’ has been a little slower than in previous weeks, when they were pullin’ the water out of the chain. If you can find some runnin’ water, you should be able to locate some bass hangin’ around those areas of the lake.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers control the levels of the lakes throughout Florida. They are the ones who open the gates or locks that keep the water flowin’ between the lakes. You usually find plenty of bass in the mouths of the lakes where the water is flowin’ into that lake from another lake upstream. Some good lures to fish are a swim-bait, a shallow-runnin’ crankbait, or a lipless crankbait to locate the bass in those areas.
Look for bass feedin’ on bait-fish and be ready in case they start schoolin’. If you find a shell bed in the area, look for bass to be feedin’ in those areas as well. You can try fishin’ a slow-sinkin’ Senko-type bait bounced across the bottom. You may need a small weight in order to keep it on the bottom. You can also try fishin’ a Carolina-rigged plastic worm. Like I said, we still have high water in our lakes in our area. The bass will be scattered throughout the lake so keep fishin’ until you find ‘em bitin’.
If you want to stay close to home and still catch some bass, you need to give Lake Fairview a try. The bass fishin’ has been pretty good, and you can catch some good size bass in the lake. A buddy of mine at work has been catchin’ some nice bass up to 4 lbs. each on slow-sinkin’ Senko-type baits. They usually catch 12 to 15 bass per trip.
If you want to try catchin’ some panfish, you should be able to still catch a few bluegills and shellcrackers in most of the lakes. You will have to drift open water with crickets and red worms until you find ‘em. They will be scattered as well, but once you find ‘em you should be able to catch enough for supper.
Please be careful at the boat ramps. Some of the ramps are gettin’ fixed due to the storm. If you don’t have a boat, try fishin’ the local ponds that have some run-offs, feedin’ into ‘em. You can try also try fishin’ off the docks like the Eustis lakefront area on Lake Eustis.
Hopefully, we are getting’ back to normal, and with some cooler weather finally here, the fishin’ should pick back up, as it will get those fish to bitin’. A few cool mornin’s should get the specks to bitin’. If that happens, it will be speckled perch time real soon.
I also wanted to mention that a fishin’ buddy was out on the St. Johns River, and the river is still pretty high. I would stay away from the State Road 50 area of the river due to the massive fish kill they had out there. If you fish farther north, you should be able to find some runnin’ water throughout the river. So all that bein’ said, the fishin’ should get back to normal real soon.
That’s all I have for this week, I’ll see ya next week.
Tip of the week: Be safe on the water.
Save a few and good luck!
