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Highlands Today

Temperature Change Brings Location Change

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By DAVE DOUGLASS

Highlands Today

Published: November 19, 2008

The last-quarter moon occurs today at 9:31 p.m., and with it comes the start of the fair to good early-morning bite. However, the recent cold front which moved through our area over the past few days will slow down and diminish this early bite.

The early-morning bite starts at 5 a.m. and ends at 8 a.m. today, a half-hour later tomorrow and each day after that. While this morning bite will stay at about the same rating of "fair" all week, the overall rating for the total day will diminish as the moon moves further away from the earth.

There is a fair to poor evening bite from 5 p.m to 8 p.m., which in shallow lakes could be better due the warming of more of the water column. Bass and crappie will move with the food chain into the warmest water possible in order to maintain the highest rate of feed and digestion.

If nighttime fishing is your preference, you should start out on the lake after 1 a.m. and be ready for the fish to turn on from 3 a.m. to sunrise.

Fishing Facts

The shock of a 10 degree or more drop in water temperatures within 24 hours guarantees a change in location along the established migration routes of the fish.

Along with this change comes a much slower feeding and/or reaction strike because fish are not in an established territory yet. Fish acclimate over a period of three days of constant weather and slowly re-establish a daily migration routine as dictated by the affects of the weather conditions on their metabolisms.

Fishing Formula

The advice is, "downsize and slowdown" to allow the adjusting fish time to find, consider, and pick-up a small, quick, snack - your bait mimicking the suspended state of a food chain member.

If you're not in heavy vegetation, it's a good idea to downsize your line and if you're using braided line, switch to fluorocarbon, or at least monofilament. Bass are unaggressive right now and will remain so for the next two days. Because of the "short-strike" mode most fish will be in, downsizing the hook and bait is essential to having any chance at setting the hook quick enough when you feel the slightest difference in the line's normal retrieval-feel.

Fishing Fiction

"A fish sucks a bait all the way into their mouths when they pick it up, they never just lip the tip or end of the bait."

Nothing could be further from the truth, especially when there was a recent temperature drop of 10 degrees.

When fish are not in a feeding mode, they often times will "suck in" just the end of the bait, or "grab" the tip they believe is the head of the bait so they can kill it and drop it. I have seen film footage of this type of bite and experienced way too many ripped 5-7 inch worms due to the hook ripping through 2/3 of the worm that the fish did not have in its mouth when I set the hook quickly.

This saying is not fiction however when fish are in the feeding mode, they'll suck the entire bait in to crush and eat it as quick as possible.

Fishing Feature

Last week I went out on Lake Istokpoga to try an experiment.

During the non-peak hours I used artificial bait (as I have always done) and during the peak hours I used shiners. I was really hoping to experience the largest fish of the day while using live bait.

As it turned out, the opposite was true. During three hours of plastic-worm angling, I missed two three-pounders in heavy cover and boated one heavy five-pounder in thick hydrilla. My experienced shiner-fisherman partner Terry Dale (who also uses artificial 75 percent of the time) boated one two-pounder and missed two three-pounders.

When the primetime hours started, we switched to open-hole areas within the hydrilla fields where we have both had excellent success recently with artificial baits. The shiners we bought at Cypress Isle were big and healthy and provided lots of action-pulling the floats for long periods of time.

Despite the intense efforts of our live bait, they failed to attract a feed bass. Instead the bass grabbed the shiners, dragged the float down for less than two to three seconds, and released a less-lively shiner. We concluded that we had not chosen an area where enough feeding bass were located so we relocated to another proven area and experienced the same type of thing.

I guess we just didn't get lucky enough to locate a hungry bass.

I'll make some adjustment and try the experiment again this weekend when I have more time. I know the clock travels at the same speed, but during the shiner part of the day, I could have sworn time stood still or at least came to a crawl. How do you full time shiner guides do it all day?

Fishing Flash

The Lake Istokpoga hydrilla treatment by helicopter scheduled for Tuesday did happen, but the contractor said he would not fly if the wind speeds were greater than 25 mph today. If they don't fly today they should be able to finish the treatment before the end of the week since the weather forecast predicts less wind on Thursday and Friday.

There will be airboat hydrilla treatments also happening on the east and north ends of the lake, also using Aquathol Super K contact herbicide. Cow House ramp, Non-Name Creek, and Spring Lake, areas all are scheduled also this week by Parks & Recreation's weed manager Carl Smith. Carl does excellent work supervising his crew so we can expect the best possible results in those lake areas.

Water temperatures are in the mid- to lower-60s as a daily high and the lake level is 39.4 feet above sea level. Since the wind direction is out of the north, there will be non-targeted hydrilla south of the treatment areas affected by the treatment.

All things considered, taxpayers can expect to get the most out of their money spent for this necessary essential weed management program for Istokpoga.

Fishing Tournaments

The Wednesday Morning Black Bass Fishing Tournament is open to the public. Next event is today on Lake Josephine. Time: 7:30 a.m. to noon. Pay at ramp - entry fee $30.00 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.

Triton Owners Tournament presented by Florida Triton Boat Dealers & Fishers of Men National Tournament Trail, will be held this Saturday, Nov. 22, safe-light to 3 p.m., launching from the Southport Ramp on Lake Toho. This is a team event for Triton Boat owners only. The entry fee is $100, with optional $20 big bass pot, and $5 raffle. Pre-registration is no longer available. However, you can pay cash at the boat ramp. A pre-tournament meeting will be held at the ramp at 5:30 a.m. on the day of the event. This is a 100 percent pay back tournament. For more information, contact Don Hatcher at 863-655-0265, or 863-214-1740.

Dave Douglass is a bass-fishing guide and bass tournament angler and CEO of S.O.S.-Florida Lakes, Inc. He can be reached at 863-381-8474, or e-mail him at davedouglass@sos-floridalakes.org.

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