CL ASSIC TIME

Please join us for the Weigh-In Hosted at Jolly Gator Fish Camp at 3pm to crown this season’s Champion.

Please join us for an afternoon of family fun on August 12th at Jolly Gator Fish Camp Bar & Grill – come and see the best St Johns River anglers in Central Florida bring their bass to the scales at 3:00 pm. Jolly Gator Bass Series 2023 Classic Tournament will crown the winning Team, 1st and 2nd big bass of the day, award cash prizes for Team of the Year points leaders, big bass of the 2023 season and also award $250 bucks cash for the smallest weight on a 5 bass limit. Over $10,000.00 in cash plus prizes are up for grabs and all teams who qualify and fish our event will get awards. It is always a fun time so come and have some great food along with the coldest beer in town and see who this seasons’ champs are. Located next to the Highway 46 bridge at the C.S. Lee boat ramp, weigh-in will be at the Jolly Gator!

Hosted by:

Hello Coastal Angler readers, SJA friends and families. My name is Troy Bennett and I have the honor of helping a talented group of high school anglers participate in the sport of competitive bass fishing. For the second year in a row, Seminole Junior Anglers received club of the year from the Florida Bass Nation high school series.

Our leader Dave Dimaro has stepped down to follow his boys’ college fishing careers and I have been asked to carry the torch with big shoes to fill. If you have an experienced high school angler looking to fish the competitive Bass Nation Series, please join us for our informational meeting about the 2023/2024 season. The meeting will take place at 6:30 pm on August 10th at Mud Hole Custom Tackle in Oviedo FL. We are looking forward to meeting new anglers and team captains. For additional questions please feel free to reach me on my cell phone at 321-303-0650.

Our 2023/2024 season spans the state of Florida from south Okeechobee to Palatka on the St. Johns River and even into South Georgia at Lake Seminole. The schedule consists of a tournament one weekend a month starting in September and running through April, with the State tournament taking place in June 2024. In past years, Florida Bass Nation has had over 150 teams competing in both the Junior and High School divisions to make up the largest youth national bass competition.

As far as Central Florida fishing, August temperatures are the hottest all year, and the fish move to deep water or find shade under a dock. Getting on the water early can be a big help to get on the early bite. Usually, it is time to head home around lunchtime before the heat really sets in but if you can stand the heat they will bite throughout the day. Don’t forget sunscreen and stay hydrated while on the water as the reflection of the sun can make it even hotter. With afternoon showers look for moving cooler water from creeks and rivers or get offshore in deep cooler water to produce the big fish - even with the sweltering heat.

Seminole Junior Anglers would like to thank all the parents and our sponsors for helping to keep the teens on the water… Coastal Angler Magazine, Airport Jeep Dodge, AFTCO, Huey Magoos, Mud Hole Custom Tackle, Boat Tree Marina, Gumbo Wars, Bitters Bait and Takle, Oakley, Power Pole, Lowrance, Florida Rental Equipment, and of course all our volunteer boat Captains.

Summer pattern fishing is here. The fish eat early in the morning, late evening, and at night. Bass, panfish, and catfish are going to bite if you fish where they live and fish when they feed.

Early morning means before daylight until around 9:00 am. Take advantage of schooling bass at the mouths of the lakes where the St. Johns exits the lakes. Lipless crankbaits like a Rattle Trap, or a shallow suspending slash bait, or a white colored fluke will get lots of action. When you see them swirling on bait, don’t blind cast or fan cast, the key is to land the bait right on top of the surface striking fish. Wait to see the fish striking shad on top and then quickly and accurately place the lure. If the feeding fish miss- es the shad, it will take the lure. If the feeding fish eats the shad, another schoolie will take the lure – the key is a fast, accurate presentation. For nighttime, fishing on a calm night with a big moon and a black-colored topwater Jitterbug or a 10-inch black worm dead sticked on the bottom is sure to draw the big bass strike.

Panfish are eating crickets and insects on days they have a hatch. Target them on the downstream bends adjacent to deeper water. Fish moving water but look for the areas where the flow creates eddies and slower water. In the lakes, use red worms over sandy or shell bottom. Catfish like to feed where the water is fast moving. After a couple days of heavy rain, target them in deep bends with just enough weight to hold bottom and a half a piece of fresh peeled shrimp. Try an egg sinker to allow the bait to slowly roll. Cast upstream of the deep holes in the river bend and allow it to roll down the drop off and into the hole.

The Harris Chain is hot - both the weather and the bass bite. Areas with any current from the breezes or running and moving water from our afternoon rains have been the key. The best times are low light conditions in the early morning before the sun gets up or later evening. The best bite has been when the sun is just starting to come up or the sky just starts to turn gray. Get out on the water by 5 am. Top water baits like the trusted Devils Horse, Pop-R or the plastic frogs have been producing explosive strikes from above average size bass. If you have not experienced a bass engulfing a top-water bait in heavy cover or just off the edge off the vegetation, it’s about as exciting as it gets. Patience is a must, sometimes the fish will explode on your bait knocking it in the air without ever getting the hook. If you are fishing the frog, soft or hard you must drop your rod and allow the line to come tight before you set the hook. Later in the day as the sun gets high, switch to flipping the heavy grass and mats with black-blue creature baits or Junebug colored 7- or 8-inch plastic worms. The larger deeper docks located all around the chain have been producing keeper bites later in the day as well. Target docks with the largest shaded areas.

The panfish and crappie bite has been a little slow, but you can still catch them near the shoreline vegetation and scattered lily-pad fields near Dead River, around the mouth of Haines Creek at both ends and around the northwest corner of Lake Eustis. Try red worms, crickets or grass shrimp for the panfish or jig tipped with a minnow for crappie. The deeper holes in big Lake Harris have been producing the best bites for crappie. Watch out for the afternoon thunderstorms and stay safe!

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Lake Okeechobee’s water level has been hovering around 15.00 feet. When people call to book a trip, they are asking about the water quality/ clarity in particular, algae blooms that happen this time of year due to rainfall. To answer the questions, yes, I am seeing some algae bloom areas out on the lake, scattered in the lake ranging from the west-side of the shoal area to Dyess ditch and on up towards horse island, worm cove, parts of tin house and some areas between 1st-3rd point and a few in/ around kings’ bar. I will be checking out the east side of the lake near Hendry creek down towards the J&S canal areas with that information included in September’s fishing report.

For the most part bass fishing is slow in August, but the deeper water areas in the Kissimmee River, J & S canals and Hendry Creek have been pretty good at catching bass with crank baits, top water and worms/senkos. Fishing for bream can be very successful fishing along the river and canal edges and offers anglers easy boat access by anchoring on active bream beds and shelter from the wind. When fishing for the bream I use live crickets and/or small red worms, depending on what the customer is comfortable with. I use a 6-7ft ultra-light spinning rod rigged with 6lb mono line, peg above and below the bobber once the fishing depth is established, small bobber and hooks. This style and type of fishing, once you find an active bream bed, is engagingly fun for both young and old, offers non-stop catching - a great-tasting panfish to eat. The bream bedding season typically falls between the months of April to October, although bream can be caught year-round just like crappie but it’s best to fish for them when they are bedding. The upcoming bedding season for bass and crappies typically starts kicking in gear November.

To book your next fun-filled, productive day fishing Lake Okeechobee call me at 863-228-7263 or check out my website www.southfloridabassfishing.com where you’ll find guide trip pricing, hotel accommodations and discounts available, current customer pictures and their catches, etc.

Angie’s sponsors include Mercury Marine; Toho Marine (St. Cloud, FL); Gill; Rapala; Bullet Weights; BnM Poles; Mid-South Tackle; Lews; Real Magic; Tru-Turn hooks; G-Loomis; Gene Larew and Pradco Brands.

West Lake Toho - The summer bass bite has been improving with the best times to fish in the early morning and late evening. Summer rains have kept the flood control gates open every few days. The water quality is clear. Goblins Cove is still producing good numbers of bass - fishing with live shiners over hydrilla. Fish the boat runs’ entrances at sunrise for good top water action. Every morning at sunrise, bass can be found schooling on shad; anywhere there is flow. It usually lasts 30 minutes after sunrise. Big beetle spins and small M-5 Rapalas work best.

Bluegill - I have been trying a new tactic this summer. A good way to beat the heat. I have been fishing at nighttime in the canals using a fly rod, throwing popping bugs up against the bank. On a good moon phase, the bluegill will crush the popping bug. I have thoroughly en- joyed hearing the popping bug get hit. Daytime anglers are catching good numbers fishing the shallow bedding areas. Bait of choice is crickets fished under a float. Another good area to fish is canals when the water is flowing, trolling will only trigger more bites. Crappie - Anglers are fishing open water for crappie using jigs tipped with a minnow. Anglers trolling jigs are catching good limits of crappie. The key is to find them suspended in open water.

East Lake Toho - Bass fishing on East Lake has been good using artificial baits early morning. The best place to fish will be at the edges of the cattails. Then move to open water as the morning progresses. Most anglers are flipping open water pepper grass matts with good success. Fish the deeper edges of the grass - watermelon seed, Junebug, and red colors work best.

Panfish - Fish open water shell beds with red wigglers. If you are looking to fill the cooler for dinner, the open water shell beds are hard to beat.