NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA 

Hot weather arrived this year, with our fresh waters in need of more.
It ends with them satisfied. The very rainy season came as a mixed blessing, but it will pay
dividends to freshwater anglers for a long while. In the short term, this autumn
figures to be  above average for anglers not snatched in the myriad other directions that the fall
season offers the sportsman.  Hunting season claims a large number of
outdoors folk, who would otherwise take advantage of the fine fall
fishing weather.  Fanatical football fan/fishermen, always miss casting
time to properly root for their favorite teams. And so, the October angler on the lake
or river figures to have a lot of water to himself.  In my memory, it has always been this way.  But
this year, the summer rains left even more water to have to yourself.
To date, Gainesville’s nearest lake has produced, hands down, the best
speckled perch catches.  It is a bit unusual for crappies to bite so
well, in really hot weather.  But, spurred by the almost-sudden influx
of rainwater in June and July, the specks demonstrated just how
abundant they really were in Newnan’s, with an all-out feed.  And, not
only that, fishers were surprised to find that many of the larger
specimens carried midsummer roe.
Lochloosa and Orange Lakes also have big populations of specks, and
this figures to be a top-notch month for both crappie and bass here,
as well.  The speck bite started to pick up here in early September.
There’s plenty of water to allow boat traffic between the two lakes
through Cross Creek.  Only a wind that pushes floating tussocks into
the creek’s Orange Lake entrance, can thwart that free passage.
Rodman Reservoir is another of our best lakes, and it has arguably been
the number one bass producer, within an hour or so of Gainesville
through 2017.  October largemouths will be on an all-out shad feed in
the famed stump flats, and crappie fishers slow-trolling jigs and/or
minnows along the edges of the barge canal, will score well with big
Rodman specks.
Most years, the Suwannee River is a great bet in October/November.
This year, however, has been solidly sub-par for fishing on the old
river.  Maybe cooler temperatures, like usual, will finally fire the
Suwannee bassing action.
October is a fine fishing month.  The weather tends to be nice and the
water is never crowded.

Gary Simpson
Gary’s Tackle Box
Gainesville, Fl.    352-372-1791
garystacklebox.com / garystacklebox@gmail.com