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Highlands Today

Larger Fish On Outside Edges Of Vegetation

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Dave Douglass

Published: May 25, 2008

The last quarter moon phase will arrive Wednesday, but instead of the usual affect –– a terrific late afternoon bite –– we'll see the start of an exceptional early morning bite because the distance from the moon from the earth is greater than in recent months.

Expect the afternoon bite to diminish quickly each day and be non-existent by Wednesday, replaced by the rapid improvement of the early morning bite. To take full advantage, be on the water by 6 a.m., working areas of proven migration. Remember, the vegetation uses oxygen at night during the summer months which means the larger fish will be on the outside edges and covering more distance in their search for food.

As the water heats up during the day, be expecting to move into the vegetation, as these areas start to produce oxygen and shade resulting in the food chain moving into the area.

The early morning bite ends somewhere around 11 a.m., and this is when some of the largest bass will move into these migration routes to feed. If you've done your homework and know the ambush points of the migration routes leading to your favorite fishing hole, you should be hooking into a bass over 10 pounds.

Fishing Facts

The Florida Summer angler must learn where the oxygenated areas are in the lake in order to set the hook on the larger Florida largemouth. These huge fish need a lot of air, and the only way to get it is to move in accordance with the weather. On calm, cloudy days or overcast days, oxygen levels will be much lower, so the largest fish will be in vegetated shaded areas –– deeper areas with hydrilla or lily pads in two to three feet of depth.

Fishing Report

Friday I traveled out to Lake Istokpoga and continued my methodical, ongoing search for the latest greatest hydrilla area near the recent treatment areas. Within a few hours, of dragging a ¾ oz jig, I located fresh three-foot tall hydrilla in five feet of water, which is perfect for the home of the Florida largemouth.

I had previously set up three rods with the same bait but each with a slight variation –– one a proven bait, which outperforms the dozens I use on a regular basis.

I started by casting downwind, working each cast in a clockwise rotation approximately 15 feet apart. I used a 15-second pause, five-foot slow swimming retrieve, stopping when I felt the resistance of the hydrilla. This allows the bait to fall to the bottom of the plant for 15 seconds before I very slowly rattle and shake the bait up and through the plant to the other side to fall to the bottom again to wait fifteen seconds. The key here is to smoothly move the bait –– no quick jerking type moves –– along at one crank per second until feeling the next weed area.

Now as I said, I had previously set up three rods to use after completing one clockwise rotation. The plan was to work each area with three presentations before moving one casting distance down wind to repeat the process.

After the third movement, using the third rod in the rotation, as the bait fell (after slowly coaxing it through the hydrilla for well over a minute), the highly anticipated "tap-feel" occurred, causing me to raise the rod tip to determine if there was a firm resistance. Confirming that there was indeed the caught-on-a-log experience in progress, I set the hook - time lapse here is approximately 1.5 to two seconds.

Now, the trademark of the "Trophy Bass" reveals itself.

She pulls through 30 feet of thick green weed in a circular motion and pauses in one of the thicker areas. Instead of pulling back on the rod as I used to do, I free-spooled the reel, and used the trolling motor to get closer, hoping to keep her moving instead of resting.

This worked perfectly. She moved into open deeper water, which enabled me to guide her with the rod back to the boat to so I could use the net. Like all huge bass, she was exhausted and too tired to resist after 50 feet of hard fought battle.

I repeated this exact method seven times that day, and all "on" fish preferred the same setup. I gave each rod equal time –– even after catching the first Bass of 10.2 pounds, I still rotated rods. The final count was 10.2 pounds, 9 pounds, 6.12 pounds, Bass 4&5 = two five-pounders, two three-pounders and two dinks.

My second best three-fish total in four years on Lake Istokpoga occurred in 30 minutes of a two-hour feeding migration. The first three bass equaled a total weight of 25.14 pounds, but my best three-fish total on a day I landed two twelve pounders and one four.

Fishing Tournaments

The Wednesday Morning Black Bass Fishing Tournament is open to the public. Next Event is from 7:30 a.m. to noon on May 28 on Lake Josephine.

NOTE: Next week is NOT the last tournament, as I had mistakenly reported in my last column. In fact, it's the beginning of a new schedule of using only lakes Josephine and June because of the extremely low lake levels in the other lakes this trail typically uses.

Pay at ramp — entry fee is $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), 863-446-1310 (cell) or e-mail bassbutchie60@aol.com. You can also contact Dwight Ameling at 863-471-3305.

Dave Douglass is a bass fishing guide and teacher, bass tournament fisherman and CEO of SOS-Florida Lakes, Inc. You can reach him at 863-381-8474, e-mail davedouglass@sos-floridalakes.org or visit reds-bass-fishing-guides.com and sos-floridalakes.org.

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