[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f you enjoy early morning big bass action with artificials or wild river shiners come and join us on Florida’s longest river, the beautiful St. Johns River. When you chose schooling bass, go with rattle traps, fast moving shallow running crank baits or small wild shiners. Better yet, catch threadfin shad, abundant this time of the year using a small cast net. Make sure you use a light wire hook so not to weigh down these fragile baits. After the mid morning slow down try dark colored plastic worms or deep running crank baits on the deeper drop offs in the main channel. The 6A and 7A bomber fire tiger is a favorite in dark water.
A big part of summertime fishing, of course is pan fish. Bluegill and warmouth thrive in the warm months and fall prey to a variety of baits, live and artificial.
Remember, the full moon is July 12th and there will be a major bluegill spawn at that time. There are several large bedding areas in Lake Woodruff where Bluegill and Shell cracker gather every year. Ask the camps for a map and they will show you where the shell beds are. Best fishing is four or five days before the moon fulls. Live worms or crickets take the most fish.
When the Bluegill are not bedding, work the shore line in the Norris Dead River, north and south, with live crickets suspended on a small float. It is very important to place your bait near floating vegetation. Use light line 6 to 10 pound, and a #4 hook 1/32 oz beetle spins are great too. Yellow with a black strip or white with red breast are the best.
Warmouth will be hitting crickets and live minnows. These heavy built pan fish are fierce fighters and make sweet table fare. Call Highland Park Fish Camp for an updated fishing report. 1-800-525-3477
Forecast by:
Capt. Bryn Rawlins
Highland Park Fish Camp
2640 W. Highland Park Rd. DeLand, FL 32720
www.Highlandparkfishcamp.com
(386) 734-2334
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