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Highlands Today

Early Morning Best Time To Fish

LOW LAKE LEVELS INCREASE THE ODDS

Contributed photo/Dave Douglass

Blair Foley holds up a 3-pound bass he caught recently on an area lake.

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Dave Douglass

Published: May 21, 2008

The Full Moon arrived yesterday at 2:11 a.m. which means the early-morning bite should be very good until the sunlight reaches the depths of the water column.

From 5:45 - 7 a.m. the angler has excellent chances of hooking into his best fish of the day. From 7:30 - 11 a.m. there will be a lull in the feeding migration as fish suspend in transition; waiting for sunlight to start the aquatic vegetation producing oxygen and the wind affects mixing the water column in the more shallow areas.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. the major daytime feeding migration occurs. As I have said before, the weather conditions always trump lunar influences and either starts the migration earlier or later. For instance, if the barometer rises sharply during the mid-morning lull, the timing of the major daytime feeding migration is held up, especially for the larger fish that are affected more by atmospheric and hydraulic pressures.

Now, the ideal combination of weather conditions and lunar cycles is when the barometric pressure arrives just as the lunar affects start to influence the aquatic environment.

Today's perfect case scenario would be if an approaching low pressure weather front arrives at exactly 11:05 a.m. causing the wind to calm just a little, provide lower atmospheric cloud cover, and a falling barometer.

An additional plus to this ideal situation would be if the previous two or three days happened to be the worst possible conditions — causing fish to feed as little as possible. Nothing works better for the bass angler than starving bass migrating along their usual routes in large numbers to feed.

While I am in "Bass Anglers Fantasy World," I might as well add one final essential important ingredient — everything happens on a Wednesday or Thursday when 90 percent of fellow anglers are NOT on the water. Nothing beats having all the best fishing holes to ones self when the conditions are perfect — from the fishes perspective, not the anglers.

Fishing Facts
The distance of the moon from the earth during lunar cycles determines the degree of affect on the aquatic life. One "Full Moon" is not equal to another month's Full Moon if the distance from the earth during both events is not the same. Yesterday's Full Moon was rated "Poor" as compared to the Full Moon in January. This influence is "Key" to understanding why some fish feed and others don't. A large bass feels the hydraulic pressures caused by the atmosphere's influences more than a bass half her size. This fact of "Size" must be considered when examining all the factors which control the environment of the Florida Largemouth Bass.

Fishing Reports
Most of Highlands County lakes are becoming unsafe to use unless you are extra careful as you navigate through them. Most of the access ramps are also hard to use, especially when it comes to pulling your boat out of the lake. Tow vehicles without four wheel drive will have a hard time and on some ramps, won't have enough traction and will need a second vehicle to assist.

However, if you happen to find a way to fish your favorite lake, you'll find that fishing is excellent right now. There is less lake for fish to use. Their migration routes are a lot shorter. The only thing you have to remember is to change or adapt to the shrinking conditions.

Instead of fish having visible surface vegetation to feed in, they use the lake bottom changes which used to be "Holding Points" before the lake level dropped. Now, these areas are the feeding areas and the fish hold or suspend in their deeper water homes.

The anglers who have made this change are literally having the best fishing of their lives. The anglers who don't or won't make the change and attempt to use the same method they always use — throwing at targets believing a fish should be where they think it looks good — are going home muttering to themselves that someone killed the lake.

I have reports of both extremes. Some catching limits and huge trophies, others can't locate a fish to save their lives — which ironically saves the fishes life for those of us who have made the necessary changes.

A bathymetric map of your favorite lake is your best tool to determine the changes the fish must go through to survive. Learn to read the valuable information on a bathymetry map. The lake bottom is what fish move according to. Roadways are established by the fish according to their needs. If you aren't catching fish in the open water areas, you might just need to move 40 feet to the south to find what you're looking for — a lake bottom transition ridge that extends from the deeper area to the holding area.

The angler must approach his art from the standpoint of the fish he seeks to trick.

Adapting like the prey does to environmental conditions places the hunter at the same location at the same time. The angler's skill level determines the successful art — aspiration or attainment?

Fishing News
Bathymetric maps are available at all the local bait stores. If you have a computer and are online, try typing your favorite lake name and "bathymetric map" into the search engine. There are several Web sites which offer maps for free to print out.
Visit the University of Florida "Lakewatch" Web site at http://lakewatch.ifas.ufl.edu/

Fishing Tournaments
Wednesday Morning Black Bass Fishing Tournament is open to the public. Next Event: Today on Lake June. Time: 7:30 a.m. to noon. Pay at ramp — entry fee $30 per boat. One person may fish alone if you do not have a partner.

Next week is the last tournament until the rains come and the lakes return to higher levels. Lake Josephine will conclude this years schedule on May 28. 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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