With the cooling water, the largemouth bass and specks will become increasingly active. Specks will start moving shallower into emergent grass lines and timber laydowns with spawning in mind. Try drifting small 1/32 oz. jigs tipped with minnows and, especially if fishing from shore, floating 4 to 5 feet beneath a slip bobber. Typically, I’m in about 6 to 8 feet depths or shallower this time of year. Of course, activity around bridges can produce good results as well, keep an eye out for any flowing water through the chain. Lake Minnehaha and Palatlakaha are among my favorite destinations for specks.
The Chain’s canals currently have a lot of golden shiner, bluegill, and bream activity. My kids have a blast catching them and the bass are following right behind them feeding up prior to the spawn. The shiner is a favorite meal for bass and very few baits emulate that forage better than the 6” Culprit Skinny Jerk in Dark Wild Shiner, tried and true June Bug is also a good color option. Main lake points of Kissimmee grass (maidencane) adjacent to canals and even better with a transition from deeper water nearby are yielding good results. Follow that pattern through to the canals with the Skinny Jerk soft baits rigged weightless or pegged with a 1/16 oz tungsten nail weight.
Fish will also relate to harder cover such as the cypress trees. My go-to application here is the Culprit 7” Fat Max in Okeechobee color rigged Texas style with a 5/16 oz tungsten bullet weight on a 5/0 wide gap hook. The bait isn’t excessively large but has a thicker profile that will attract a bigger bite. Cast softly at the base of the Cypress knees and let the bait soak before dragging slowly. Both of these baits are poured about 5 miles from the Clermont chain of lakes and available at The Florida Angler either in-store or at www.thefloridaangler.com.