Central Florida Inland

Well dang, Forest Fishers.  No matter how many times you go through summer out here, you never get used to the insane heat our area puts out.  This year started blazing a bit earlier than usual, but don’t let that keep you off the water.  There’s plenty of tricks to beat the heat, and with the quality of fishing we’re having this year, it’s worth the sweat no matter how hot it gets.

One of the most important things to note about summer fishing is, these fish are trying to avoid the sun just like we are.  That’s a huge advantage anglers have when looking for fish, especially on blue-bird days.  You know they’ll be hiding under some sort of cover  (shade).  So you can eliminate fishing open water right off the bat.  That alone, makes fishing new lakes much easier, and there’s plenty of hidden gems to find.  If you aren’t exploring, you’re missing out!  Note: With maps/gps standard on all phones now, the days of endlessly driving down unknown dirt roads are over.

Another thing to remember, is that most of the time, these fish will do the majority of their feeding at night.  The sunnier and calmer the day is, the more action night will bring.  I’ve been super fortunate to have broken my personal best (PB) bass this year, twice!  After decades of thinking it may never happen, I finally broke the elusive 10 pound mark, with a beautiful 10.2 pounder.  Not more than two months later, in June, the seemingly impossible happened again with an insane 12.1 pounder (pic)!  The massive bream spawn has given bass a dinner table (beds) of protein, which has them thicker, heavier, and stronger than ever before.

The one common thread between these giants is, they were both caught about an hour after sunset.  The first was during a “super” full moon, which had just started rising behind the trees.  The second time, the moon was 1/4 full and still had hours before it would begin its rise.  These two benchmarks have changed how I look at the habits of a trophy largemouth.  Previously, I was convinced that the only night fishing worthwhile, was when the moon was at its fullest, and directly overhead.  Although there is definitely more action at those times, a fully grown adult bass lives by different rules than the majority of the population.  Now it’s time to test the “lunker theory” on catfish.  Get your spotlights charging, and I’ll see you out there.