CENTRAL FLORIDA INLAND

Alright forest fishers, fall is here, and if you’ve been fishing lately, you have noticed a lot of commotion out in the middle of our lakes.  There’s a huge amount of crappie (specks) this year, and they’re feeding like crazy.  So get your light tackle ready; it’s gonna be one heck of a cold season.

While there are loads of crappie around; they’re still pretty small.  Give these little guys a couple months and we’re gonna be knee deep in delicious fried fish.  The only species as tasty as crappie are warmouth, and these chunky fighters are raiding the shallows for anything that moves.  I’ve actually been catching quite a few of them while bass fishing.  The best tactic though, is to use a long rod and dip panfish jigs around any kind of wood.  Cypress trees are warmouth magnets.

As far as bass go, they’re a little tricky to catch right now.  However, when you do hit one of their feeding times, you can quickly catch a load of them.  I recently saw the beach at Moss Bluff loaded with people, and they were hooking up on every cast.  This craziness went down right at sunset, but I’ve seen the same kind of frenzy, switch on in the middle of a sunny afternoon.  When it’s on, it’s on!  Plus, they’re thickening up and fight way harder than during summer months.

For the catfish anglers out here, I’ve been hearing good reports.  In fact, I talked to someone who had recently caught a 17 pounder.  He told me that using chicken breasts was his secret; a little expensive for my taste, but you can’t argue with success.  There are definitely some big ones being caught, but catfish fishing will get harder as the temperature drops.  Personally, my favorite spot for cats is Lake Eaton, but as of right now, that lake is almost completely topped out with Hydrilla.  Rodman Dam would be a much better choice.  Tip: Add a packet of cherry flavored Kool-Aid to your bait of choice (chicken parts) for extra attraction; sounds weird, but it really works.

Whichever species you prefer to target, they’re all feeling the change of seasons.  They know winter’s almost here, and it’s time to pack on the pounds.  So, if you end up on the water during a slow bite; hang in there a bit longer than usual.  This is the time of year when that surprise (last cast) giant slams your rod so hard, you’ll be praying your gear can handle the power of “the one you’ve been after all year”!