Kissimmee Chain of Lakes and West Lake Toho: With most of the hydrilla topped out this time of year, your best bet is to fish the edges of the hydrilla patches. Plastic baits are a good choice – Zoom trick worm, Flukes, and the Vibe are the most popular. The summer showers are producing flow out of shingle creek. Best bet is right at daylight. Goblins Cove has been producing very good quality fish. Most fish are hanging deep in the hydrilla patches. Another good area to fish is around the Mackinson and Paradise Island in the open water and look for schooling shad. Another good are to fish this month is shallow water shell beds. A lot of large bass will hang around the shell beds ambushing smaller bait fish.
Panfish – Kissimmee Chain: The shell cracker and bluegill are pretty much done spawning and have moved to open water shell beds. Live red worms or crickets are your best bets to catch them over the shell beds. For Crappie, fish the open water. Use jigs tipped with minnows and vary the depth until you start catching fish. Lake Marion seems to be the hot spot this time of year. The Alligator Chain of lakes have not been bad for crappie. Fish in the mornings in open water deep holes, trolling jigs tipped with minnow. Crappie usually will be found suspended, just off the bottom.
Catfishing – red worms with split shot weights and 12-pound test and a medium action fishing pole should do the trick. Fish deeper water near the mouth of the creeks or in the bends of the creeks and rivers.
