Unlike the rest of the country, we Floridians only have 2 seasons, Summer and Winter. Now that we have had our first blistering cold front come through, dropping the air temperature 4 whole degrees, we are officially in winter mode. Ha ha!
The lake is still high at around 16 feet but, they have just started releasing water from all of the spillways. Dropping the lake a foot or so will do good for the lake and make our Bass a bit easier to find and catch.
As I mentioned we are now in winter mode, but what exactly does that mean? It means these fish are now on the move, traveling further and further back into the grass week after week. All of the schooling fish you would find or had found grouped up on the outside edge are now likely to be dispersing and seeking shelter. The cooler the water temperature gets, the more fish will “come in” and the bigger they will be.
We have seen plenty of male fish showing up in the spawning areas already, but not too many big females. This is right on track though, because we typically need a massive front or two to roll through before seeing groups of giant fish in certain areas.
Still however, if you are to find a group of male fish in a given area, milk it. The females are likely close by or on their way.
Key techniques lately have been throwing moving baits through the football fields of grass like Big EZ’s or Speed Worms. Mixing in swim jigs has also produced a lot of bites.
Pitching the outside reeds has been slow but punching any blown in grass mats around the other grasses close to spawning areas has been a good way to catch better quality fish. Big females will use the mats to stage under before making the push to the spawning flats. Any bait you have confidence in flipping will get bit. With the water still warm, these fish are aggressively hitting the baits on the fall!
It is only going to get better from here! Come on down for your fishing trip of a lifetime and stop in to see us!
-Capt. Cody Davis