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Mid-Week Bite Looks Best

DAVE DOULASS/Highlands Today

This 22-inch bass with a 13-inch girth weighed only 4.14 pounds. It was caught last Wednesday in an area treated with Aquathal three weeks ago in front of Mossy Cove. The partial dorsal fin indicates something tried to eat it.

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BY Dave Douglass

Published: October 22, 2007

The best time of the fishing day is from sunrise to 11 a.m., no matter which lake you fish.

The start of the full-moon migration formation is this week. Full moon occurs on Friday at 4:52 a.m.
As I have previously stated, the early morning bite is on, which also means the angler has the chance at some of the best top-water strikes of the year.

Any bait which produces a lot of action and floats will attract reaction strikes at the very least, however, bass are feeding early. If you've never seen an eight-pound bass come to the surface to inhale a bait, you haven't lived as a fishermen. I've personally seen an eight-pound bass jump more than foot out of the water while consuming a Devils-Horse all in one explosive motion — an adrenaline rush I won't soon forget.

The National Weather Service is predicting a large cold front to move into the area sometime between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday, which means anglers will have to make adjustments for a day or two to adapt to a migration change. I predict Tuesday and Wednesday as the best days of the week — 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. should put you in the migration cross roads the food chain will be traveling.

Fishing Facts

During the fall months, the bass spawn officially starts with the first major cold front temperature drop –– over 20 degrees in 24 hours. The best genetics of the bass population will make their move first. The males will speed up their feeding and search for bedding areas in sheltered cover. The females will eat more frequently and for longer periods daily, bulking up in preparation for the event to come in about a month. If the angler starts today to research areas looking for the males actively choosing bedding areas, the results in a month to six weeks should produce a real wall-hanger replica.

Fishing Report

I've heard many reports of bass being caught in all the area lakes whether deep or shallow. Drop-Shot, Carolina-Rig, and Dead-Sticking methods are yielding some very good five-fish stringers.
Hydrilla fishing techniques, like all fishing methods and techniques, must be worked with quite a while in order to reach the point you boat medium to large bass. The angler will hook many bass in this thick dense weed, only to loose his potential catch for a variety of reasons. Since the largest bass in the lake are in this weed, there's plenty of incentive to return and try again to get a passing grade from the school of the big bass.

The same stories are coming from all of the area lake's fishermen and anglers: "Yeah, we've caught lots of dinks and finally found five in the two- to three-pound range, but never got that 'big-bite.'"
The average five-fish stringer ranges from 12 to 17 pounds, unless the big-bite happens and pushed the total weight into the low 20s.

I was out this past week several times and my best day came by letting my bait stay on the bottom motionless while I answered my phone. After I hung up, I pulled up on the rod and discovered a 22 1/2-inch bass had eaten my "secret bait." (You wouldn't believe me if I told you).

Another factor everyone experiences is the "window of ppportunity," which is less than an hour for biggerbass, then back to catching the little ones again. There is a very remote chance of setting the hook on larger bass once the prime time has passed, but, most likely, you'll need to dead-stick your bait for up to five minutes to get a chance at feeling the tick.

Tournament Report

Wednesday Morning Black Bass Fishing Tournament is open to the public. Next Event: Oct. 24 on Lake Apthorpe. Time: 7 a.m. to noon. Pay at ramp –– entry fee $30 per boat. One person may fish alone if you do not have a partner. For information, contact Paul Tardiff at 863-385-8007 Home, Cell (863) 446-1310 bassbutchie60@aol.com or Dwight Ameling at (863)471-3305

Dave Douglass is a Bass fishing guide and teacher, Bass tournament fisherman and also an officer of S.O.S.-Florida Lakes, Inc. You can reach him at (863) 381-8474, e-mail davedouglass@sos-floridalakes.org or visit the Web sites reds-bass-fishing-guides.com and sos-floridalakes.org/.

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