Happy New Year to everyone, now get going and do more fishing. The bass are finally schooling due to the recent cooler weather and are chasing shad getting ready for the spawn in the later January and February moon phases. The bass in the Harris Chain of Lakes have been a little slow due to the recent cold fronts moving in and out, but that should be changing soon. The old standbyes are working; chatter baits, orange or chrome blue back rattle traps, Junebug or black with blue tail plastic worms worked slowly along the deeper Kissimmee grass close to deeper water or ledges. The fish will be staging close to the mouth of canals, creeks or the Dead River in the surrounding cover. Areas with several different types of cover such as Kissimmee grass, reeds, cattails, eel grass, hydrilla, or lily pads in the same area will hold the better fish. Slow trolling a large live wild shiner while casting will always pay off. The Bassmaster Southern Open Tournament in Leesburg is January 19 through 21 – look for the areas these boats are fishing, mark them on your GPS then return there after the event is over.
The boys at Southern Tackleworks in Tavares say that the crappie are really starting to show up both in numbers and size on Lake Dora, in Lake Eustis and Lake Griffin. Anglers are catching them on mylar jigs, Roadrunners and minnow with bobber rigs. Look for them to move up in the shallows on the next new and full moon phases in later January and February. If you are going to fish for crappie, be sure to get registered and enter your big fish in the 8th Annual Central Florida Shad and Crappie Derby, it only takes one fish to win!
